The Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust is based in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in the Victoria Falls National Park. We are located in the center of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) which is world’s largest trans-frontier conservation area comprising 5 countries and 520,000 km2 of protected parks and forests, game and wildlife management areas and communities.
Our operational base is situated near The Elephant Camp, on the Wild Horizons Sanctuary, just a few kilometers out of Victoria Falls town. If you are travelling to Victoria Falls and would like to visit us, please Contact Us to arrange a 1 hour guided tour of our facilities.
Location of Victoria Falls within the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. Map modified from: www.kavangozambezi.org
Our History
The Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust began in 2008 by Gavin and Shay Best, two passionate conservationists who at the time were shareholders in Wild Horizons; a top adventure & activity tour operator in Victoria Falls. They believed more needed to be done in the region for wildlife conservation. Wild Horizons helped establish the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, which initially involved a lot of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation due to the economic situation in Zimbabwe.
In the last 15 years we have developed our conservation efforts to include working with local communities to focus on conserving habitats, finding scientific wildlife management solutions, and improving health through screening and prevention of transboundary animal diseases. We have also expanded internationally with registered sister charities in both the USA and the UK.
Looking Forward
Wildlife populations are under threat and that is not going to change in the future. Human populations in Africa are predicted to double by 2050, and we have to find sustainable long-term solutions to manage this increase in population, and the demand that it will place on natural resources.
Wildlife populations are under threat and that is not going to change in the future.
We will need to find ways to keep wildlife and their habitats connected despite fragmented landscapes, increasing human settlements, and pressure to utilize the same natural resources. We will also need to manage the conflict that will continue to arise at the interface between wildlife and people, particularly in rural communities. At the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust we believe that in order to manage this conflict and preserve wildlife at this interface, we need the support of the rural communities, and they in turn, need to see a benefit to having wildlife and protecting it.
