Page 85 - World of Animals - Issue #29

Chessington Zoo

There are plenty of unusual
faces to discover at the park,
including curious critters
such as the raccoon

Now classifi ed as
extinct in the wild,
the scimitar horned
oryx is benefi ting
hugely from breeding
programmes
such as the one at
Chessington Zoo

The fight against poaching
Chessington’s conservation charity is doing
everything it can to protect white rhinos in Zimbabwe

Conservation efforts don’t just include the preservation of land
and habitats, but also the protection of those species at risk of
being wiped out in the wild for good. And, while natural events
and changing ecological factors can’t always be helped, there’s
definitely a war to be waged against poaching and the illegal

trade of endangered animal remains.
In cooperation with the Dambari Wildlife Trust based
in Zimbabwe, the CCF is helping fund and support rhino
monitoring, conservation and protection efforts, including the

purchase of a Land Rover to help rangers navigate one of the
main sites: Matopos National Park in the Matopos Hills region.
Even something as simple as buying reserves of equipment
– such as binoculars, cameras and rhino identification cards –

has made all the difference to the rangers working to prevent
poaching of the threatened white rhino. Members of the team
at Chessington Zoo also make visits to the sites in Zimbabwe, © Chesington Zoo
giving them first-hand experience of how conservation

projects work.
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