You can follow campaign updates on social media with #ForWildlifeRangers or find out more at WildlifeRangerChallenge.org.

About the Wildlife Ranger Challenge:

The impacts of Covid-19 are pushing some of Africa's most threatened species closer to extinction. With the collapse of ecotourism, the rangers who care for wildlife lack the resources to do their jobs. Our wildlife ranger teams are joining thousands of other people across the continent taking part in the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a series of physical and mental challenges, culminating in a 21km virtual race on Saturday 18th September.

You can join them! Show your support and sign up to run or walk with the community game scout team from wherever you are in the world:  WildlifeRangerChallenge.org/registration. Now is the time to go the extra mile to support our rangers!

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Your contribution will help support 6 rangers and an estimated 1500 livelihoods in and around the Communities for Red Colobus (C4RC) Project area in the Central River Region of The Gambia. Every dollar we raise via JustGiving will earn an additional 25% match!

Your donation also helps to unlock vital funds for other ranger teams across Africa; the Scheinberg Relief Fund will donate the equivalent of 75% of the amount raised to the Ranger Fund!

The role of rangers:

The C4RC project is administered by Dr Mic Mayhew from the University of Cumbria in The UK and employs 6 rangers who are supported by Lamin Saho, the project manager. The team is tasked with securing the largest known population of endangered Temminck’s red colobus (Piliocolobus badius temminckii) monkeys by building local capacity for primate conservation and developing community livelihood initiatives to reduce the dependency on logging for charcoal production. 

The rangers contribute to a range of activities including education and awareness programmes, primate surveys, forest patrols, the development of red colobus ecotourism and the propagation of native and non-native trees.

Impact that 2020 WRC had on Organisation & Rangers:

The Ranger Fund provided a vital lifeline to the C4RC team and the local communities during the Covid 19 crisis. Two additional salaried rangers and 12 trainee rangers were recruited to increase forest patrols, prevent poaching and intercept illegal activity. Motorcycles were purchased to enable access to red colobus forest sites and reduce the reliance on public transport with the associated risk of disease transmission. Digital radios, GPS units, and remote camera traps were purchased to ensure the personal safety of the ranger team and to meet their communication needs.

Ongoing effects of the pandemic:

In March 2020, when the C4RC project was launched, The Gambian government closed all educational institutions, restricted travel and closed its borders to international tourists. 

These restrictions imposed a financial burden on the project due to a sharp increase in the cost of public transport and other goods and services and delayed the planned recruitment of 3 additional full-time rangers. The simultaneous collapse in tourism, which accounts for 20% of GDP in The Gambia, resulted in an escalation of felling and charcoal burning in the project area as an alternative source of income. 

While Covid 19 testing and vaccination programmes are being implemented in The Gambia, the impact of the pandemic is still being felt in terms of a depressed tourist sector and inflated costs. Emerging Covid 19 mutations such as the Delta variant continue to pose a threat to the health and financial security of the C4RC team.

How support in 2021 could help:

£20 will buy a pair of boots for forest patrols and primate surveys, £40 will pay a ranger's salary for a week, £60 will support the ranger-led wildlife club for a month, £80 will maintain and fuel the off road motorbikes for a month enabling our rangers to respond rapidly to reports of illegal activity and £250 will buy a pair of digital radios to allow them to communicate and operate safely in the forest.

Your support will secure employment for the rangers, create new job opportunities and expand the scope and reach of C4RC project. Red colobus monkeys are widely recognised as the most threatened group of primates in Africa. Vital funding will help to secure their future and that of the other 5 primate species that share the forest ecosystem. Education and community sensitisation will change perceptions and demonstrate the value of red colobus in terms of ecotourism, and skills development of the trainee rangers will secure a legacy and lasting conservation outcomes for the C4RC project.

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Tusk Trust Limited is a charity registered in England and Wales, No: 1186533, and a company registered in England and Wales, No: 11948023. 

In the US, “The Friends of Tusk Fund” donor advised fund is administered by CAF America (Tax ID 68-0480736)

Donors who pay tax in the UK can enhance their donation through Gift Aid, meaning that for every £10 raised, Tusk can recover an additional £2.50 for the cause from the UK Government.

US supporters wishing to make a tax deductible donation please click here.