Current and Past Projects
The success and future of conservation initiatives depends on the ability of organizations to build capacity through the development of human intellectual resources, facility improvement, and sustainable funding. The current infrastructure and staff capabilities within Major South African Wilderness Reserves provides the perfect platform for the development partnerships with the Ajubatus Foundation, and to help recruit and expand this capacity to create tomorrow’s conservation leaders in southern Africa.
Our initiatives include:
- Recruiting partners, who provide additional expertise in developing and implementing research programs, and training graduate and post-graduate students.
- Developing strategic collaborations with local, regional, and international organizations to promote research and professional development goals.
- Creating opportunities to involve local communities in conservation initiatives for educational and socioeconomic advancement.
- Expanding facilities, such as laboratories and housing, to accommodate staff and students for training in the latest techniques of environmental analyses.
Current & Upcoming Projects
Impacts on Savanna Ecology After An Elephant Dies (2023)
In life, elephants are described as ecological engineers because they physically change habitats, for example, by pushing over trees. A new study lead by a consortium of US National Science Foundation-funded researchers, collectively the Megacarcass Ecology...
Student Kruger Adventure Trips (2017 – 2023)
Since early 2017, the Ajubatus Foundation has coordinated many “Student Experiential” tours to the iconic Kruger National Park. Not only has each trip been customized to the group’s learning requirements and/or interests, but also each student has gotten to engage with wildlife and conservation research in a meaningful and personal way…
Lion Demographic Study (2024)
In Kruger National Park, Bovine Tuberculosis in lion populations is well known. However, there has been limited research to understand how infected lions handle this alien disease. A new study will be launched in 2024 to take a closer look at the outcome of infection...
Bovine TB in Kruger Elephants (2023)
A 2021 publication by the Animal TB Research Group, along with Kruger wildlife and state veterinary staff, described two young male elephants having an infection with Mycobacterium bovis (bacterium causing Bovine TB), despite dying of other causes. The report was...
Past Projects
Ajubatus WILD 4 KIDZ Programme (2008 – 2017)
The Ajubatus Foundation managed various specialist projects between 2008 and 2017 in or adjacent to the Kruger National Park, as well as supporting a Community Outreach initiative in a rural area known as Bushbuck Ridge. Over 3 million people live in poverty on the...
Cheetah Demographic Study (2010-2011)
Globally, the Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is considered to be vulnerable based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM. Therefore, it is no exception that the Cheetah is one of the most endangered species of large predators within Africa. Cheetah populations...
Lion Demographic Study – Kruger National Park (2008 – 2013)
The Lion Demographic Study (also known as ‘The Lion Project’) represents one of the most extensive lion research studies undertaken to date. This flagship project is the result of the increasing concern over the prevalence of Bovine Tuberculosis (BTb) in lion...
How The Ajubatus Foundation Began: The Penguin Crisis (2002)
The Ajubatus Foundation was founded early in 2002 and was known, in the early days, as 'The Ajubatus Marine and Wildlife Rescue Foundation' (Strandnet). The concept evolved from a growing public concern over the significant number of “stranding” Penguins (The African...