Airplane Program
Dazzle Africa assists in operational funding for the only plane in South Luangwa National Park used for anti-poaching operations and large carnivore research through our Wings for Wildlife program created by Mike Paredes and Nancy Law. This aircraft is shared between our two conservation partners, Conservation South Luangwa and Zambian Carnivore Programme.
Wings for Wildlife allows for vast anti-poaching operations and scientific monitoring that would otherwise be impossible if done exclusively by land due to size and inaccessibility of the landscape.
Since 2018, the Cessna-180 airplane has been instrumental in monitoring populations and conducting surveys of animals, providing a wide-range deterrent to potential poachers, detecting illegal poaching operations, transporting detection dogs for emergency care, and allowing office-based managers to quickly assess field based operations from the air.
Helicopter Program
In 2021, Dana Balaban, a long-time partner and Champion of Dazzle Africa, generously donated to begin a much-needed and critical helicopter program for Conservation South Luangwa in South Luangwa Valley, Zambia.
This ongoing program allows rapid patrol deployment at the scenes of poaching incidents and year-round ability to monitor protected areas, both deterring poaching. The helicopter program also allows for emergency medical evacuation of scouts, resupplying missions for ground teams, transportation of personnel and equipment to remote field camps during the rainy season, and the ability of veterinary teams to to rescue wounded animals.
In 2024
117
Hours of helicopter patrols logged by the CSL team
162
Hours of aerial surveillance logged by the CSL team
12,233
Snare checks conducted on large carnivores by ZCP aided by aerial surveillance
16
Carnivores de-snared by ZCP thanks to aerial monitoring
Learn more about CSL’s aerial unit and ZCP’s research supported by aerial monitoring.