Saving our gentle giants one swipe at a time.

Lapalala Wilderness Reserve

With the help of the MyPlanet Rhino Fund, Lapalala Wilderness Reserve has responded to increasing poaching threats by establishing an Operators Centre with state-of-the-art systems and technology.

In 2020, Lapalala Wilderness Foundation CEO Glenn Phillips, was tasked with developing a revised area integrity strategy to sharpen its poaching combat approach and overall reserve management. This included setting up an Operations Room in an already existing rangers’ base — equipping it with relevant state-of-the-art systems and technology. The goal: to give real-time situational awareness to reserve management and rangers on the ground to combat poaching and share information.

“Thanks to The MyPlanet Rhino Fund, Lapalala Wilderness Reserve has taken a leap forward in having a central point for the collection of data from our conservation team and field rangers on the ground, as well as various technology platforms and external sources. In addition to this, it enables us as a team to share incident information and intelligence with the other key reserves that form part of the Integrated Waterberg Wildlife Protection Zone,” concludes Glenn Phillips.

Lapalala Wilderness Reserve is a 45 000 hectare nature reserve with an over 114km boundary within the Waterberg Biosphere. Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, along with Welgevonden Game Reserve and Marakele National Park, form the backbone of the Waterberg Biosphere.