Wildlife Conservation Group Looks to Expand Air Patrol Fleet

Wildlife conservation group Elephants, Rhinos & People (ERP) is seeking additional public donations to help expand its operations in Southern Africa.

In a news release Wednesday, the nonprofit organization announced that  multinational services and software firm Group Elephant had issued a matching grant challenge where if ERP can raise $250,000 from outside donors by February 28, the firm will provide an equal donation.  

“Meeting the challenge will accelerate the growth of the ERP Air Wing and directly support the protection of elephants and rhinos across Southern Africa,” said Quintin Smith, a director at ERP. “But we must raise $250,000 from the aviation and conservation communities to release Group Elephant’s $250,000.”

If its goal is reached, ERP has said it will use the funds to acquire additional aircraft that will be used during wildlife aerial patrols for the organization’s operations in Namibia. The group controls large tracts of conservation land in the country that serve as safe areas for many elephants and some of the last free-roaming, desert-adapted black rhinos .

According to ERP, 97 percent of the black rhino population has been lost over the last 60 years.

Earlier in July at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, ERP took delivery of a CubCrafters NXCub—the first aircraft that will be a part of what the group is calling the ERP Air Wing.   

Prior to conducting patrols in Namibia, ERP operated the “ERP Air Force,” a collection of drones used to patrol wildlife areas. The air force initiative played a large part in curbing the poaching of white elephants at Dinokeng Reserve in South Africa, as well as identifying potential elephant breakouts on reserved lands that often lead to dangerous human-elephant conflicts.

Organization officials noted that aerial surveillance serves as an important complement to ground-based wildlife protection operations.

“The challenge grant will double the impact of donor dollars and help us unlock critical resources needed for aerial anti-poaching surveillance and herd monitoring in Namibia,” said Tom Haines, ERP Air Wing Project lead.

One-hundred percent of donations made to ERP go directly to its field projects.