FOR as long as they could remember, Mathew Wright and Natalie Rautenbach have always loved nature. Travelling to nature reserves or camping with family during the school holidays were regular occurrences for the adventurous duo. So it was only natural that the former Northwood School and Danville Park Girls’ High School pupils gravitated towards conservation, when they were recently inducted as honourary officers at the Umfolozi Nature Reserve.
While Mathew and Natalie admitted they were honoured by the induction, they have insisted their focus is lion conservation.
Northglen News recently caught up with them to discuss the lion collaring project they are involved in. While trying to raise funds to cover the costs of a collar, the duo is also trying to raise awareness on canned hunting and the loss of habitat for lions.
“It’s a humbling experience and we are thrilled. Most importantly, we see ourselves as ambassadors for the younger generation. We have the greatest influence over the future of the project we are involved in. So we are trying to spread awareness about lion conservation and specifically collaring,” Natalie said.
Mathew also expanded on the collaring aspect of the project the duo has been tasked with.
“Everyone is well aware of the decimation of our country’s rhinos through illegal poaching. While lions are not persecuted to that extent, their populations are declining. The collaring project is in order to monitor the number of lions at the park and their demographics (sex and age structure). We are hoping that local businesses and schools will come on board to help raise funds for the project as well as listen to our message of conservation,” Mathew said.
If you would like to get involved in Mathew and Natalie’s project, e-mail matwright10@gmail.com.
