DSWF believes in the conservation of all wildlife and wild spaces and does not condone the consumptive use and utilisation of wildlife and natural resources for the benefit of human greed and curiosity.
DSWF’s conservation portfolio primarily focusses on eight core species of endangered and threatened mammals across Africa and Asia. All the species we fight to protect have either been inspired by David Shepherd’s iconic wildlife art and the pressing need to protect them or in response to an escalation in the dangers posed to certain species like pangolins and chimpanzees in more recent years.
DSWF believes that animals should be given the freedom to remain and flourish in their natural environment. Sadly, as human populations increase, competition for land intensifies as agriculture, mining, fossil fuel exploration and extraction, deforestation, infrastructure projects and many other purposes spread alongside us. This causes habitats to be lost or become degraded. Our biodiversity is collapsing at alarming rates and many threatened species are on the brink of extinction.
This crisis is further exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, already being felt, and likely to be more extreme in the future – causing more forest fires, flooding, droughts, and many other disastrous events. These all have profoundly negative consequences for wildlife and habitats. Rising temperatures and climatic changes are also upsetting the delicate balance of nature – disrupting and unravelling incredibly complex ecosystems and the interactions of species in ways we are only just slowly starting to understand.
Through dedication and hard work, we strive to protect some of the last stronghold populations of the iconic creatures listed below and the wildernesses they call home. By protecting these species, we are helping to ensure the integrity of ecosystems and all living creatures within them.
We help fund species conservation across Africa and Asia by working with the key stakeholders who are engaging with local communities and fighting wildlife crime.
Help us to protect endangered species by adopting an animal today
Research and monitoring of endangered species is crucial in order to understand their behaviour and to therefore design the best strategies for protecting Find out more about this work here.
DSWF has been supporting the Wildlife Programme in Zambia (previously known as the Elephant Orphanage Project) since 2007. The programme rescues elephants from the wild who have been orphaned, rehabilitates them, and then gradually releases them back into the wild. Find out more.
Sometimes, rapid, short-term funding is required to deal with emergency wildlife situations. We work with all our conservation partners on the ground to deal with such situations when they arise, and we are nimble enough to respond rapidly when the situation demands it. Find out more here.
