THE FACTS
An elephant is SLAUGHTERED every 15 minutes.
AT THIS RATE Elephants in the wild could be extinct in 12 years.
African terrorist groups such as al-Shabaab, The Lord's Resistance Army, Boko Haram and Janjaweed use the sale of illegal ivory to carry out attacks.
Trafficking in endangered species is the 4th largest illegal business in the world after drugs, weapons and humans.
19 rangers have been killed in action since 2006 PROTECTING GARAMBA NATIONAL PARK IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. TODAY, UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF african parks, THERE ARE 140 rangers IN GARAMBA RISKING THEIR LVES everyday to protect the park and its wildlife.
The world's park ranger services took more casualties in the line of duty in the last year alone (more than 150 casualties) than the us has lost to combat deaths in iraq since 2010.
Garamba's elephant population has fallen by 90%, from 20,000 in the 1960's to FEWER THAN 1,300 today. in 2012, 22 elephants were killed in a helicopter attack by poachers who hacked off their tusks. in 2014, poachers killed 68 elephants, including ones without tusks, in two months from mid-april.
Garamba was the last natural habitat of the northern white rhino. today only three REMAIN ON THE PLANET IN CAPTIVITY.
Now is the time to come together and put an end to ivory-funded terrorism by supporting african parkS' rangers.
AFRICAN PARKS MANAGES PROTECTED AREAS ON BEHALF OF GOVERNMENTS ACROSS AFRICA. THEY HAVE THE LARGEST COUNTER-POACHING FORCE FOR ANY ONE NGO PROTECTING AFRICA'S WILDLIFE.
THE PROTECTORS
The Protectors, Walk in the Ranger’s Shoes, is a documentary short shot in Virtual Reality that chronicles a day in the life of a ranger in Garamba National Park, managed by African Parks, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. These rangers are often the last line of defense in a race against extinction at the hands of poachers slaughtering elephants for their ivory tusks. The rangers face constant danger and even death, at the service of these sentient, noble creatures. Rangers are truly the unsung heroes in this race against time.
Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (“Last Days,” “The Hurt Locker”) and VR creator Imraan Ismail (“The Displaced,” “Valen’s Reef”) have co-created The Protectors in partnership with African Parks, National Geographic Channel, Here Be Dragons - one of the leading innovators in VR spherical filmmaking, and Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures, known for their critically acclaimed films including “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Her,” “Foxcatcher” and “American Hustle”.
The Protectors will be released in 2017 by National Geographic.
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African Parks is a conservation NGO that takes on the direct, long-term management of national parks and protected areas in partnership with governments to save wildlife, restore landscapes and ensure sustainable livelihoods for local communities.
The Enough Project seeks to create real consequences for the perpetrators and facilitators of mass atrocities, armed groups and violent kleptocratic regimes that are fueled by grand corruption, transnational crime and terror, and the pillaging and trafficking of ivory, minerals and natural resources.
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News & Updates
5.8.17
The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger's Shoes Now Available
After an amazing premiere at The Tribeca Film Festival that featured a panel with Hillary Clinton, The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger's Shoes is now available online.
Experience here.
4.22.17
Hillary Clinton Makes Surprise Appearance During Kathryn Bigelow's VR Tribeca Panel
Hillary Clinton surprised Tribeca Film Festival goers tonight, making a special appearance during Kathryn Bigelow and Imraan Ismail’s The Protectors: A Walk in the Ranger’s Shoes panel. “Thanks for seeing this remarkable film which brings to reality what we’re up against,” Clinton said. “I first became really focused on the horrific slaughter of elephants when I was Secretary of State. It was clear it wasn’t just a terrible crisis, it was the trafficking that was a lot of bad actors. A militia out of Sudan, Boka Harom. It was used to buy weapons and fund the terrorist activities of [many] groups.”
Read More at Deadline Hollywood
4.18.17
The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger's Shoes Premieres at The Tribeca Film Festival
At first, the elephant looks like it's asleep. But then you notice it has stumps where there should be feet. Its tusks have been sawed off. And there are countless maggots crawling along a gaping hole in its face. It's a horrifying image as I describe it -- but when viewed as a 360-degree video in a VR headset, it's even more so. You can't easily look away without shutting your eyes. And the three-dimensional sound makes you feel as if you're actually there.
Read More at Engadget
7.30.16
Kathryn Bigelow’s VR Documentary Short On Ivory Poaching Set At Nat Geo Channel
National Geographic Channel announced production of its first virtual reality documentary short film, The Protectors, co-created by Oscar-winning director Kathyrn Bigelow (Last Days, The Hurt Locker) and VR creator Imraan Ismail (The Displaced, Valen’s Reef). The project, according to Nat Geo, will expose the dangerous and grueling reality faced by rangers protecting African elephants from ivory poachers. The 8-minute VR film will be made in partnership with Here Be Dragons (formerly Vrse.works), and Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures.
Read more at Deadline Hollywood
