TRAVEL
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FORTUNE.COM // MAY.1.19
and you don’t want for anything, it
could never be the only draw.”
That’s why the company’s stated
mission is to conserve and restore
Africa’s wilderness: no animals, no
safari. This is achieved in several
ways. Hosting a small number of
well-paying visitors means not
only unobstructed game viewing
but also mitigating disruption to
the animals and their habitat. The
company sets up in remote, under-
visited, and biodiverse locales
where it can rehabilitate the land
and facilitate the return of large
animal species. Its nonprofit arm,
the Wilderness Wildlife Trust, has
funded more than 100 conservation
projects in the past decade.
A notable success of the Trust is
its rhino reintroduction program.If travelers have the privilege of
observing white and black rhinos
during their game drives throughout
the Mombo concession today, it’s
because of the partnership between
Wilderness, Botswana’s Depart-
ment of Wildlife, and the Botswana
government. Their collaborative
operations in translocation and anti-
poaching brought black rhinos back
from localized extinction.
But conservation is about people
too. Bill Given, a wildlife biologist
and founder of the Wild Source,
a safari agency, says Wilderness’s
attention to community
empowerment is a major reason
he recommends the outfitter to
clients. Given mentions Children in
the Wilderness, a program
built around life skills and
environmental education
for children residing in
neighboring villages. “It’s
a brilliant opportunity for
children to experience the
treasure of wildlife in theirregion and have that be positive,”
he says. “This can be rare in areas
where the only wildlife experiences
for locals are in conflict with
animals.” More than creating jobs
for locals—which Given points out
is a prerequisite for operating—
the program’s goal is developing
the environmental leaders of
tomorrow.
In an industry in which “green-
washing” is prevalent, Wilderness
has earned a reputation as more
of a conservation company funded
by tourism than a traditional safari
operator. That’s important for many
travelers. Sixty percent of Ameri-
cans said they were concerned with
the sustainability of their leisure
travels, according to a 2016 survey
by travel website Skift.
Far from resting on that
reputation, Wilderness has bold
ambitions. “We’re looking into
areas that have been
devastated from years
of war—areas that could
potentially hold another
100,000 elephants in
20 years’ time,” says
Vincent excitedly. “Isn’t
that tremendous?”A buffalo herd (left) commuting to a
water hole in Mombo camp, Botswana.
One of the nine spacious tents at
Mombo (above) that overlook the flood-
plain and are just steps from wildlife.Where to book
The Wild Source
thewildsource.com
Natural Migrations
naturalmigrations.com
DANA ALLEN