Flying For Wildlife

31/10/2021

Lion cubs joining the pride seconds after a Buffalo kill Matusadona kariba

31/10/2021

Zambezi valley.Lots of haze and littel water left inland

18/10/2021

Kariba Matusadona a few days before the Haze arrived..

25/09/2021

Successful few days flying the world heritage site....could not have done this with out the help from Wilderness safari and River god 🙌

17/07/2021

Saving the survivors started 30 years ago....

09/07/2021

Great tool for conservation

06/07/2021

All in the same airspace..

03/07/2021

Rhino darting from chopper

Rhino conservation in todays world takes incredable people with dedication and passion....True warrior...

30/06/2021

Chopper below going in to dart a black rhino

30/06/2021

Pilots resting in the shade of the infamous "Black Betty"

29/06/2021

All aircraft ready for another day of Rhino conservation

All Aircraft ready for another day in Rhino conservation

26/06/2021

Well done to all

25/06/2021

Team work

23/06/2021

Hard work made easer with the the right team

13/10/2020

Flying For Wildlife's cover photo

10/10/2020

Great job team, another successful rhino op completed ..

09/10/2020

Flying For Wildlife Victoria Falls Mission

https://youtu.be/eyrNXItpluA

When 22 elephants were found dead of unknown natural causes in north-western Zimbabwe, the Flying For Wildlife team were invited in to provide assistance. Th...

08/10/2020

Amazing day of intense flying for rhino, well done team

07/10/2020

Flying for rhino ....it’s challenging but rewarding

05/10/2020

The team coming together for rhino ops

03/10/2020

Leaving the plane in the wild over night .....always a worry

19/09/2020

Mana pools early start to a long day of flying.......

10/09/2020

Flying For Wildlife is always happy to provide support for such a great cause.

We would like to thank Flying For Wildlife for their assistance with the recent and continued aerial surveys for ZimParks and our support team that is working on continued monitoring, recording and investigation in the region for elephant moralities. This is helping the team on the ground with management of the current outbreak of disease due to bacterial infection in elephant. We thank Loki Osborn and Connected Conservation for their help with of this exercise.

21/08/2020

13/08/2020

Privilege to support conservation and work with The Tikki Hywood Foundation

A recount of a release from a member of our team:
THT228 this mature lady, weighing in at 12.25 kgs was recovered by Zimparks after a successful operation to deal with traffickers, and handed to THF for care. It was late in the evening when she arrived, eager to get out of the box in which she has been transported to our centre in, we carefully removed her and then allowed her to smell her new “safe” environment. Still extremely nervous and shy – her first instinct was to walk in the opposite direction to where we the humans stood observing. Watching her walking we could clearly hear her armour rattling, her scales loosely rubbing together, showing that she was underweight. Without having been fed or given water for goodness knows how long she was wobbly when walking, needing to use her forearms to stop herself from falling over. Thankfully, she had no wounds and was healthy apart from the above. After assessing her condition, the diagnosis was to allow her to recover in care and then be released as soon as possible.
Conservation is, and must always be, about collaboration. Each organisation brings a skill to the table, for the greater good of the wildlife that we have committed our time and energy to. This operation was no different, a collaboration of like-minded and passionate people. Once THT228 was deemed fit and ready for her second chance at freedom we contacted Flying For Wildlife, a team of enthusiastic pilots and conservationists who have dedicated their time, support, and aircraft for groups such as ourselves. Being in a confined space for any length of time is not ideal, particularly for a wild animal – so to have the opportunity to fly to the release area rather than drive is best case scenario.
Our departure was set at 0600 hours and the sun was already smiling good morning as we drove to the airfield. Prechecks were done and the Savanna aircraft made her way to the runway. Not being too used to small aircrafts I was not 100% sure whether my butterflies flapping madly in my stomach were due to the flight, or the fact that this lady was only hours away from being wild once again. THT228, was in her travel box and she too was eager for her release as she was not wanting to remain curled up in a tight ball and sleep until landing in her new home. Up, up, and away - the Savanna purred into the sky, slowly as we climbed into the atmosphere, the world below became smaller and smaller. Watching our country passing below us, all the trials and tribulations of what she is facing seemed to melt away. With only the noise of the engine, I was alone with my thoughts and having that quiet time realised why this land we call home is so important. Our country is like a quilt, multiple squares which make up each of our own stories. As we passed the Dyke I remembered of our family farm in Darwendale, where I had spent many hours learning about the importance of the land, then Raffingora sprawled below and I was taken back in time to when we did the world’s first ever elephant bull relocation with the legendary Clem Coetzee. With each passing landscape my memories of days gone by were reawakened. And on arriving at our destination, this release would again be a memory which goes into the ‘special’ place that we all have in our minds and which we hold dear. We landed, unpacked and THT 228 had succumbed to the rocking motion, and noise of the plane, curled in a tight ball as thankfully she had settled down soon after we were airborne. What is it about being in the wilds of Africa? The earth under foot seems different the air not only smells different, but you can feel it wrapping around you in a welcoming embrace, and then there are the colours! Natures colours cannot be replicated, within this environment they are perfect. Brown’s, yellow’s, orange’s, and golds they all blend make a perfect photo no matter where you look. THT228 was awake – sniffing the wild air, seemed to excite her too. Did she know that this is where her new journey to freedom would being? I placed her box on my lap as we drove to the release site, with the front of the box looking outwards so she could see where she was. With each km closer her eagerness seemed to grow – she was ready.
We unclipped the hinges on the box to let her out. Gently I picked her up and carried her to the water’s edge. As soon as I placed her onto the ground she straight away started to drink. Her long pink tongue going in and out like a gymnastics ribbon flying through the air. Darting this way and that, she drank and drank. When she had finished drinking, she turned away from the water’s edge and started walking towards the bush which lay behind us. Emotions always run high at any release and today was no different. Watching her walk away from us with purpose, I wondered what she was thinking? As she pushed her way under bushes and over branches it was an incredible feeling knowing that this was her walk to freedom.
Our sincere thanks and gratitude go to Flying For Wildlife and for those who assisted on the ground to make this release possible. To those I have not mentioned for security purpose of not disclosing the release site – thank you once again for helping get this gentle lady to freedom

28/07/2020

Runway obstacles

28/07/2020

MATUSADONA NATIONAL PARK

09/07/2020

What a privilege it is to be able to gaze on sights that literally take your breath away.

01/07/2020

Gold panning....another challenge our wildlife face....the odds are against us.

29/06/2020

Another FFW successful mission undertaken in Matusadona Kariba by our amazing volunteer pilots...We would not be able to do these missions without help from Padenga Holdings...

22/06/2020

Come fly with us and patrol Chikwenya island in the Zambezi

19/06/2020

So nice to see how our efforts are really helping with Antipoaching . Team effort is definitely what is required to help conserve our wildlife!

Aerial 'recces' are a vital tool in any anti-poaching operations. Regular flights not only act as a deterrent, but useful information is gained which saves many hours (and even days) patrolling on the ground. Here we see an example of where an old, previously unknown, elephant carcass is detected from the air. Its position is plotted, and a ground team follows up to carry out a 'crime scene investigation'. A metal detector is used to extract ballistics evidence. This is just part of some of the behind the scenes work carried out by BHAPU, day in and day out. Flying For Wildlife

12/06/2020

Matusadona anti poaching

12/06/2020