Colleagues

Veterinarian:

Larry Patterson, (BVMS, MSc, MRCVS). Larry manages his own company, Kalahari Game Services, which focuses on various forms of wildlife management. He states “Our work is mainly commercial wildlife translocation, which involves catching and moving large numbers of plains game. We also have a track record of producing management plans for wildlife conservation areas, varying from small game ranches to major national parks throughout Africa.” With over twenty year’s experience in wildlife management and an impeccable record, Larry is EWB’s chief wildlife veterinarian. He conducts the chemical immobilization (darting) of the elephants and ensures the animals’ health and safety during the collaring exercises. During the last eight years Larry has immobilized over 200 elephants with EWB, an impressive feat!

Helicopter Pilot:

Peter Pearlstein. Pete’s business, Okavango Helicopters has been operating in Northern Botswana since 1982. He has considerable experience with wildlife research and filming projects. With 26 years of flying experience, and the “best helicopter pilot” in northern Botswana, Pete does all our flying when we dart elephant from the air. Darting elephants from the air, hovering above the tree tops and landing next to an immobilized elephant requires serious concentration and impeccable timing… “Pete has saved us from many tricky and challenging situations over the years!”

EWB owes a considerable debt of gratitude to both Pete and Larry. These two men are great custodians of Botswana’s elephants and natural heritage. It is always a great honour to work with them in the bush, to hear their incredible and humorous stories and to learn from them.

Fixed-Wing Pilots:

Mike Holding, Afriscreen Films. EWB has flown many hours with Mike, tracking and looking for elephants in the remote corners of the study area. His perceptive and deep knowledge on the distribution of wildlife are not only an asset to EWB, but makes him one of northern Botswana’s most knowledgeable bush pilots.
Mike is dependable and is always willing and ready, volunteering to fly at a moment’s notice. His exceptional tracking skills are invaluable and he miraculously manages to find elephants, which seemingly have disappeared. He is as passionate about wildlife as his cinematography.

Alan and Kim Parnass, Wings4Wildlife,Inc. The Parnasses provide volunteer aviation services to wildlife conservation and animal research projects and are committed to enlisting qualified and dedicated pilots who will donate their time and resources to expand their volunteer activities. Alan has flown over 500 hours for EWB, often over new and difficult terrain, from navigating the devastating bush fires over Khadoum NP in Namibia, to the war torn region of southern Angola. Mike says of Alan: “I can state with authority that Alan is one of the best aerial survey pilots I have had the great privilege to fly with… he is meticulous, flies dead straight transect lines while maintaining a fixed altitude, a gruelling task which he endures for hours and requires committed concentration”. Never one to complain… Alan gets the job done!

Volunteer pilots have included: Player Crosby, Jed Lipskey, Paul and Carolyn Bartlett.

Special Advisor and Mentor:

Professor Curtice Griffin, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. As co-founder of EWB, Curt is an important special adviser and mentor to EWB; he assists EWB with data analysis and publishing our significant work. Curt has been working to conserve wildlife for over 30 years. His research efforts have spanned five continents, from his work with elephants in the savannas of southern and East Africa and the tropical forests of southeast Asia, endangered hawks in the Galapagos and Hawaiian islands, seabirds from Alaska to Hawaii to Maine, sea turtles in the North Atlantic, and wetlands conservation in eastern Europe, South Africa and the U.S. His conservation efforts extend from protecting open space in his small New England community, to helping state and federal agencies protect endangered species and wetlands, to helping other countries develop their biodiversity conservation programs.

Friends:

Martin and Sophie Haupt own and operate Africa Wildlife Tracking, a South African Company based in Pretoria, which specializes in manufacturing satellite and radio tracking equipment for wildlife. EWB uses Africa Wildlife Tracking for all their satellite and radio telemetry requirements, which enables us to successfully tack and monitor collared elephants. Their dedicated personal service to EWB is sincerely appreciated.

John Hanks, (Phd), International Conservation Services. Dr. Hanks is a special friend and adviser to EWB. He was instrumental in the development of the world’s largest conservation initiative, the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA). He has recently completed a technical report on mitigation strategies for human-elephant conflict and is currently writing the first transboundary elephant management strategy for KAZA. He regularly contributes towards topical conservation articles in Africa’s premier conservation journal, Africa Geographic. He also hosts a popular radio program, Talking of Nature; on 1485AM Radio Today.

John and Tina Chase, John Chase Safaris. Born out of a legendary, colorful heritage, John Chase Safaris is a prestigious mobile photographic safari company that offers tailored trips in Botswana. John and Tina Chase’s love and knowledge of the country and its people ensure the company’s dedication to cultural issues, as well as, unwavering support and assistance to EWB’s field activities.

We appreciate the support and approval from the following government ministries:

Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Botswana (DWNP)

Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA)

Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Namibia (MET)

Government of Angola/Governor’s office Kuando Kubango Province