The protection of key habitat areas is essential to the survival of many species. Wildlife SOS is involved in buying land in areas that border already-protected lands.

We have one such program in the state of Karnataka in southern India, where we have already purchased some land, and have plans to purchase more, so we can expand the protected habitat. This area is home to an array of wildlife species including sloth bears, leopards, wolves, and pangolins. A teeming and rich bird life is supported by the picturesque Tungabhadra River, which also abounds in crocodiles.

Unprotected land in this area is severely under threat from illegal mining, quarrying, organized ritual hunting and also rapid deforestation. The land that Wildlife SOS purchases helps to protect the core habitat by giving a buffer to the protected habitat that already exists.  Wildlife SOS also hires guards, local people who live in the area, that actively protect the habitat and keep poachers of the forests at bay.  

Habitat protection undertaken now may be the only chance for the bears and other endangered species to survive. By acquiring private land in this area, we are able to protect it, and allow it to return to its original wild state, thus conserving wildlife and the ecosystem.