At the southern tip of Mozambique’s Great Rift Valley lies one of the world’s most buried treasures. Known years ago as the earth’s most wildlife-dense and unspoiled region, Gorongosa National Park was once bubbling over with grunting hippos, regal lions, gentle elephants, striking birds, playful wild dog, and leaping antelope. But after a destructive, 16-year civil dispute that began in the 1970s, Gorongosa began to shift into a pit of darkness. Just how much destruction did this civil unrest do to Gorongosa?
- The Cape buffalo population went from 13,000 to 15.
- The wildebeest population went from 6,400 to 1.
- The hippo went from 3,500 to 44.
- The zebra went from 3,300 to 12.
- The black and white rhino population fell to 0.
A place that once was known for its endless amount of animals was down to less than 100 individual creatures. By the late 1970s and early 80s, Gorongosa laid to rest its reputation as one of Africa’s most beloved and stunning wildlife regions—only to begin resuscitating its claim to fame, again, in 2005.
With nearly 2,500 square miles of lush grasslands and widespread floodplains, elephants, birds, lions, and antelope are now reclaiming Gorongosa has their protected home. Today, the river is abundant with active birds and Nile crocodiles, and the grasslands are swarming with joyful herds of zebra and Cape buffalo.
But how did Gorongosa reestablish its wildlife population and fragile eco-systems after nearly 20 years of barren savanna? It took the powerful vision of one man who had the hope and conviction that Gorongosa could restore its past reputation as Africa’s prime wildlife region. This businessman-turned-philanthropist, is none other than Greg Carr.
Gorongosa National Park’s uplifting transformation:
Breaking free from the norm, in every possible way, Greg Carr is raising the bar for individual conservation contributions, not only in Africa, but also nationwide. With a $40 million, 30-year-pledge to bring life back to Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, Carr’s epic contribution to Gorongosa’s conservation is one of the largest individual efforts ever seen in Africa—in both financial and time contribution.
Greg Carr, also known as Gorongosa’s father of conservation, fell in love with the area years ago and established the Carr Foundation in 2005.
For five years (and counting) Greg Carr is managing to do a complete 360-degree-turnaround with Gorongosa. He is not simply throwing in money and waiting to see what everyone will do with it. He’s taking advice, working with the locals for a better Gorongosa, and lending a hand.
Below are merely a few specific efforts Carr is implementing to help conserve Gorongosa and bring it back to its once thriving state:
- Employing over 100 game scouts: Carr’s decision to hire game scouts has not only helped to prevent poachers from entering the Park, but it has also benefited the hired game scouts, who are locals, bring money into their community. The direct and highly-effective efforts put forth by the game scouts have enabled animals to breed and increase in population, and they are now not as timid toward humans as they were before Carr’s first arrival to the Park.
- Introducing new animals to the Park: With a little help from South Africa, the Carr Foundation was able to relocate buffalo, wildebeest, elephant, and hippos from Kruger National Park to Gorongosa. Now, Gorongosa has a strong wildlife base for breeding.
- Working to increase eco-tourism companies: Bringing in eco-tourism companies can be difficult when there are too few animals for safari tours to operate. This is why Carr is working hard to bring in animals from South Africa. Through an effort to increase eco-tourism companies in the area, Carr hopes to attract thousands of tourists a year, without taking away from Gorongosa’s authenticity and exclusivity. The outcome of more eco-tourism companies is a more sustainable local environment, economy, and community. Today, Gorongosa’s yearly tourist count is roughly 8,000, but those involved in increasing eco-tourism efforts in the Park predict that in 10 years, tourist population will reach 100,000 annually.
- Providing community members with a financial stake in Gorongosa conservation: In order to drastically reduce human / wildlife conflict, and encourage support for the Carr Foundation and their epic efforts, Carr is providing an incentive to the locals. Allowing nearby communities to have a financial stake in the Park’s conservation efforts, Carr hopes to drastically reduce tension between humans and wildlife and increase community participation in helping Gorongosa thrive. Merely a year after first establishing the Carr Foundation, locals were warming up to Carr’s efforts as he hired many of them to be guide visitors around the land, build tree nurseries, and replant vital flora. He also hired more than 100 locals to be game scouts around the Park.
But Gorongosa isn’t completely in the clear. In order to seal its revitalized state into a permanent way of life, conservation models need to be put in places and strictly enforced to eliminate human / wildlife conflict, bring economic stability to the local population, help sustain fragile eco-systems, and restore and protect wildlife.
