EXPLORE WILD HOPE

The mountain gorilla, a critically endangered subspecies of the eastern gorilla, has faced a dramatic decline over the past century. By the early 20th century, their population had dwindled due to habitat loss, poaching, and the spread of diseases from humans. At its lowest point in the 1980s, the mountain gorilla population was reduced to fewer than 250 individuals, with their survival hanging by a thread.

The smaller and rarer of the two African rhino species, the black rhinoceros has faced steep decline since the early 20th century.

Two Wild Hope episodes filmed in Gorongosa National Park and produced by NEWF African Science Film Fellows provide a model for empowering local film crews. 

Economic growth and wildlife conservation often run in conflict, but Mozambican scientist Cesária Huo hopes to support a new sustainable and economically viable model for harvesting a potent natural resource: bat guano.

To successfully protect the wildlife in Gorongosa National Park, biologists like Cesária Huo know to first support the communities that call the park home.

Researchers survey the bats in Mozambique's Cheringoma caves looking for insectivorous species known to produce the best quality guano that can be harvested as fertilizer.

Piotr Naskrecki is an entomologist, conservation biologist, and photographer with 30 years of experience in biodiversity research and exploration in both the academic environment and nonprofit conservation organizations.

Cesaria Huo is a conservation biologist focusing on bat research in Gorongosa National Park.

Pangolins are the only scaled mammal on earth, and unfortunately this unique and beautiful feature is the target of poachers and illegal animal traders seeking the scales for use in traditional medicine.

Pangolins are amazing, bizarre creatures that live in Central and Southern Africa. They feed exclusively and voraciously on ants and termites, and they’re perfectly specialized for this type of hunt.