Elephants, Rhinos & People (ERP) has launched a fundraising initiative, the Signature Campaign, to secure funding for a new airplane to bolster anti-poaching efforts in Southern Africa.
ERP is asking 500 pilots to each donate $1,000 to purchase a CubCrafters NX Cub. This aircraft will be the second of two NX Cubs utilized by the organization. Both backcountry airplanes will be crated together and shipped to Namibia later this year. Equipped with radio tracking systems and infrared cameras, the NX Cubs will be flown by rangers who will look to spot poachers and monitor herds of desert-dwelling elephants and black rhinos.
Black rhinos are the last free-roaming desert-adapted rhinos on earth and are some of the most endangered animals on the planet, with over 97 percent of its population being lost over the last 60 years, according to ERP.
Founded in 2016, ERP’s mission is to conserve populations of Elephant and Rhinos in Southern Africa through the alleviation of poverty in surrounding communities. By providing economic opportunities, ERP aims to reduce the reliance of poaching as a means of survival, giving these communities a stake in the animals’ survival.
ERP’s primary benefactor is Group Elephant, a group of boutique service firms and software companies, spanning over 40 countries. One percent of the group’s total revenue each year is funneled to ERP directly to cover overhead and other operational costs.
Prior to the aviation initiative in Namibia, the ERP has operated the “ERP Air Force,” which uses drones to patrol wildlife areas in South Africa. Drones have been instrumental in curbing poaching and identifying potential incidents of elephant breakouts from reserved lands, which often lead to dangerous human-elephant conflicts.
Pilots who donate to the Signature Campaign in Namibia will have their name affixed to the NX Cub’s fuselage. There will also be opportunities later in the program for donors to visit Namibia, utilize the aircraft, and work with the ERP directly.
“Planet Earth loses two rhinos a day and an elephant every 15 minutes to poaching,” said Quintin Smith, an ERP director and private pilot. “It is imperative that we work together to stem the losses and to protect these magnificent creatures, and general aviation can play a pivotal role in that.”
The first ERP NX Cub will be featured at the Redbird Flight Simulations exhibit throughout AirVenture, July 21 through 27, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
