Bringing wildlife films to everyone via television

May 8, 2020

We hope that you and your family are coping during this pandemic. It is beginning to have huge consequences in Kenya and across Africa. In this edition of Wildlife Tracks, we share how we have adapted to the new stay at home requirements. We can’t take kids to school but we can bring wildlife to them. WildlifeDirect has partnered with Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble, and Off the Fence and Citizen TV to bring award-winning wildlife documentaries made in Africa on local television. The impact has been monumental, now the public is demanding for more wildlife films on TV and better protection of the wild. We are also actively engaging nature lovers across the country through our weekly photo competition. Thank you to all of our loyal supporters who have stood with us during these trying times and contributed to our #GivingTuesdayNow appeal to enable us to get reusable face masks to vulnerable communities.

Our mission is to connect people to their wildlife and nature and inspire them to treasure it and act to conserve it. During this lockdown period, our team is working hard to bring powerful and high-quality wildlife films on local television channels across Kenya. On Easter Sunday, The Elephant Queen, an award-winning film by Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble, debuted on Citizen TV causing massive positive feedback across the country. The screening was followed by a webinar featuring Victoria and Mark and hosted by Dr. Paula Kahumbu. The filmmakers shared their extraordinary experience of shooting in the wild for four years in Tsavo and Amboseli. Watch the panel discussion here.

On Earth Day 2020, The Last Animals, directed by Kate Brooks, was screened on Switch TV and a few days later it also aired on Citizen TV. The gut-wrenching film delves into the wildlife trafficking crisis that is pushing our majestic African elephants and rhinos towards extinction and sparked interest in wildlife crime.

The broadcast of the film was followed by a webinar moderated by Bella Lack, a British conservation youth activist. The panel included Dr. Paula Kahumbu, Kate Brooks, Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt (Germany) Professor and Head of Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), and Dr. Sam Wasser (USA) Director, Center for Conservation Biology, University of Washington. Watch the discussions here.

We are also thrilled to announce a new partnership with Switch TV to screen the Wildlife Warriors: Season 1 every Sunday at 2:00 PM (EAT). Wildlife Warriors shines a light on local conservation heroes who are breaking new ground and risking their lives to conserve that which they hold most dear, the land of their ancestors and the animals they have lived closely with for generations. Switch TV is a new channel that targets youth audiences especially university students. We aired the first episode on Sunday 19th April.

The series is produced by Dr. Paula Kahumbu and filmed by Vivid Features. It was funded by the U.S. State Department of the Interior through USAID, Wild Lives Foundation, and National Geographic.

Watch full episodes of Season One here.

Read the latest news here.