Megafauna Project

Aim

Help us re-establish viable chimp and mandrill populations in Batéké National Park, and support an exciting megafauna restoration project.

Our Project

In the 1990s, The Aspinall Foundation began its renowned western lowland gorilla reintroduction programme in Batéké National Park as part of a long term commitment to reverse decades of decimation of wildlife populations by poaching. These magnificent animals had been completely eradicated from the area, but now, although numbers are still relatively low, births within several of the reintroduced groups are a positive step towards creating a viable population for the future.

The Park consists of half a million acres of forest and grasslands mosaic in south eastern Gabon. This combination of forest and savannah results in an incredible diversity of wildlife; an area where lions and elephants are able to share their habitat with gorillas and chimpanzees. And, as a result of the dedication of the Foundation and their partners, the wildlife in the region is slowly beginning to recover.   

 These results, and  the success of the gorilla project, have inspired us to create the Megafauna Project; an ambitious initiative to restore this wonderful area by reintroducing other threatened species.

What are we trying to achieve?

Our ultimate goal is to create and protect a self-sustaining stable ecosystem. Our presence in Batéké National Park has already made a significant difference. Gorillas are considered an umbrella species. Protecting them indirectly protects many other species that make up the ecological community of the area they inhabit. That said, where a species has been significantly reduced in numbers, or completely wiped out, we believe a reintroduction programme is the only option to re-build populations.

Our Megafauna Project has led to the identification of a number of large mammal species once present in significant numbers to the area. Our aim is to reintroduce small numbers to create self-sufficient and reproductive groups which will establish their home-range within the Park.

The First Phase

Later this year, as part of the project's first phase,  we will reintroduce a group of 6 chimps and up to 30 mandrills to the Park. Like  many of the reintroduced gorillas, the chimps are bush meat orphans, rescued and rehabilitated in a wildlife sanctuary called Lékédi Park in Gabon, where they are currently being cared for. The mandrills are also in Gabon and are part of a colony created for behavioural studies at a research centre in Franceville.

Following a period of quarantine, the chimpanzees will be transferred to the Park for what is known as a 'soft release' phase. They will be spend at least 6 months on an  island created by our team where they will be closely monitored as they acclimatise, learning what to eat and how to live in the wild. Once they are ready, a rope bridge will be put in place to release them to the mainland. GPS collars will then allow trackers to follow the group’s movement for the following two years.

Meanwhile, our mandrills will be collared and released directly into the forest. Complementary feeding will be provided for the first few months to help them adjust to their new environment and they will be monitored using both tracking collars and our extensive network of camera traps. 

We Need Your Help

As you can imagine the costs of such an operation are high and we urgently need your help to succeed. The overall basic cost of the project is £36,000 which includes food for the animals, vet costs and monitoring expenses. 

Monitoring of both groups is essential to evaluate the long term results and provide us with the evidence and scientific data that we need to progress with the rest of Megafauna. We need about £25,000 just for the purchase of GPS and VHF collars, which will be used for future projects as well. 

Will you join us?  Your support will be a crucial element in the realization of our dream. A donation of just £10 would provide food for 2 days for our chimps, £150 would pay for a patrol guard for a week whilst £1500 would allow us to buy a tracking collar.

Your donation will start our journey to restore one of the world’s rarest and diverse habitats; together we can undo decades of poaching and revive, restore and repopulate this wild paradise. 

Thank You

We hope you will enjoy our unique way of saying thank you. Our rewards range from £5 to £150.

And you can help in others ways too, by spreading the word about our crowdfunding project to friends, family, and work colleagues. Whether it is through word of mouth, twitter, facebook, or instagram – please help by telling as many people as you can. And don’t forget to check back every so often as we will be releasing more updates throughout the month.

We really appreciate your support...our work is only possible because of people like you. 

This project successfully funded on 27th July 2018