Simalaha is Zambia’s first and only wildlife community conservancy.
The conservancy was created in 2012 by Senior Chief Inyamo Yeta and the government of Zambia, with support from the Peace Parks Foundation. The conservancy connects wildlife migration routes across Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
It is part of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area - the world’s largest terrestrial cross-border conservation system.
The area is known as Simalah ‘Plain of Blood’ due to overhunting, which decimated wildlife populations. To restock the area, wildlife was relocated from across the border in Namibia. The Zambian Wildlife Authority is now using drones to monitor the wildlife population. Flying at 50km per hour, the conservancy was surveyed.
The drone surveys found that the reintroduced population is faring well. Soon, the wildlife will be freely migrating across national borders. Simalaha is no longer a plain of blood.
Video: Isla Camille Duporge
Edit: Oliver Bradley-Baker
Supported By: The National Geographic Society, The Rhodes Trust And Wingtra
Thanks To: The Peace Parks Foundation & Cifor