News & Updates

An imposing fig tree once stood here, thriving in health, beauty and vigour and surrounded by smaller indigenous trees. Ngaya Forest was the hub of ambience and serenity with its branches offering cool shelter for all. It was a perfect place to recharge the soul and uplift the spirit. Pregnant elephants ambled here to give birth, hence its reference as the elephant maternity.

Born Free is extremely concerned about the new captive tiger facility reportedly being built in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. A company called ‘Golden Tiger Co. Ltd’ has been granted a provisional licence to build and operate a ‘zoo’, which apparently plans to hold hundreds of tigers. We understand that there may also be plans for this zoo to use tigers as ‘props’ for souvenir tourist photographs and visitor interaction activities.

A polar bear has died at SeaWorld San Diego this week. The 21-year-old female, Szenja, had been without her friend Snowflake for two months after Snowflake was shipped to a zoo in Pittsburgh for breeding purposes. Following the separation of the two companions, Szenja’s keepers said she had been showing signs of lethargy and loss of appetite. SeaWorld has said that it could be several weeks before the cause of death is determined, whilst there is even speculation that it was sheer loneliness and boredom that killed Szenja.

News of the death of a tourist who had posed for a photograph with an Indian cobra, again highlights the dangers of interactions between people and wild animals. Born Free is deeply concerned about the recent surge in reports of unsuspecting tourists being injured, or worse, following interactions with wild animals whilst on holiday. In particular, people are being placed at risk of injury when encouraged to hold or pose with a wild animal for a souvenir photograph. Wild animals are naturally unpredictable and potentially dangerous.

Warm congratulations to our long-term colleague Dr Cheryl Mvula for receiving an MBE for her dedication to community development and conservation in Africa.

After many years of co-existence, the Maasai community living in Lemasusu area in the Amboseli ecosystem and lions from the neighbouring Chyulu Hills National Park suddenly got on a collision course. Predation on the community’s livestock by lions had increased.

Born Free was dismayed to learn that a licence to hunt a so-called ‘super tusker’ has been granted by Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, which borders the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Born Free will launch a 15-point plan designed to protect and ensure the future welfare of the millions of wild animals kept in captivity in the UK - in zoos, circuses and as exotic pets. The priorities will be unveiled at Beyond the Bars: The Welfare of Captive Wild Animals in the UK - a high-profile event involving Members of Parliament, animal welfare experts, conservationists, veterinarians, wildlife NGOs and special guests - in Westminster this evening.

Not one, but three good news stories from our colleagues at GRI- ZPP. Zambia Primate Project have had a busy few days! First off, our troop of rescued vervet monkeys are free at last. All victims of the illegal bush meat and pet trades in Zambia, they are looking fit and healthy back in the bush at our release site in Kafue National Park. They are being monitored daily by our dedicated team of field researchers - Caribou, Dalliso and Matthews, to support them in their transition back to a truly wild life after, for some, years on the end of a short chain at the hands of humans. How good it must feel to be free at last!

On the eve of a high-profile event at Westminster, international wildlife charity, the Born Free Foundation, has today sounded the alarm over the viability of current regulations for monitoring and inspecting the UK’s more than 250 zoos.