Raw Wildlife Encounters was born out Jessica McKelson’s passion for, and dedication to the conservation of Indonesia. One of the earth’s few remaining biodiversity hotspots, Tangkahan is home to some of the world’s most endangered wildlife including Sumatran Tigers, Orang-utans, Asia Rhinos and Asian Elephants. The region is perched on the edge of Gunung Leuser National Park, an area that has been disseminated by illegal logging for timber and to make way for oil palm plantations.

One of the most important and endangered type of forests in Estonia is Western Taiga. Western Taiga is a complex forest habitat type, ranging from dry pine forest (Pinus sylvestris) to damp spruce forests (Picea abies). Some stands in such forests may be quite young, having regenerated after a forest fire that occurred over hundred years ago, while others are significantly more mature.

By Natasha Robinson

Aivar Ruukel has made quite a name for himself in ecotourism, particularly in his native Estonia, where he grew up in the midst of the country’s largest pristine wilderness: Soomaa. Roughly translated as ‘Land of Bogs,’ the area is, in Ruukel’s words, “a vast complex of raised bogs, wet alluvial forests with fens, transition mires and unregulated rivers with flood-plain and wooded meadows.”

Although not widely discovered yet, Estonia is ideal country for observing one of the most spectacular natural shows – massive bird migration. This smallest and northernmost Baltic country lies on the crossroad of the Eastern Atlantic migratory flyway: Estonia is locked between the Finnish Gulf, eastern coast of Baltic Sea and Lake Peipsi near the Russian border. In this respect, geographically the Estonian waters and coastline are the natural stepping-stones, the most natural flyway between breeding and wintering areas for millions of Arctic waterbirds.

Estonia is a small country bordering Russia. Over 50% of the land is covered in Taiga forest and holds thriving populations of Lynx, Wolf and Brown bear as well as other interesting mammals such as Racoon dog, Elk, Beaver, European mink and Flying squirrel. The brown bear population in Estonia is 600 and rising. Their primary “home” is in Alutaguse, the large forested region that includes a national park and a bog in Northeastern Estonia, close to the Russian border.

Part 1 – Ecotourism 20 Years Ago

Before ecotourism emerged, adventure travel was already 10 years old and counting. After rafting, mountain trekking and climbing in Africa and Latin America took off in the 70s, ecotourism businesses began to test out trips with more “nerdy” international ecology themes popularized in the 80s. Most early ecotourism pioneers carried binoculars, watched birds as second nature, and could be found crawling on the ground to observe insects and mushrooms more often than scaling dramatic peaks.

Wilderness Safaris Toka Leya camp – on the banks of the Zambezi River in the western part of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park – offers wildlife treks to view the endangered White Rhino.

The Rhinos have 24 hour armed security following them in the bush to protect them from poaching.

Photos courtesy of Lights of Africa, an 8-month media expedition throughout Southern and Eastern Africa.

In the middle of the Sonoran Desert lie an enormous dormant volcano and the largest “sea” of sand dunes found in North America. Welcome to El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, the fourth largest land reserve in Mexico, where you will find some of the most diverse and fascinating ecosystems in the Sonoran desert.

Between one of the driest deserts on Earth – the Sonoran Desert – and one of the richest seas – the Gulf of California – lie the estuaries of the Northern Gulf of California, areas unique in their great beauty and extraordinary biodiversity. Morúa Estuary, near Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, is a prime example of an ecosystem vital to the biology and socio-economics of this region.

Part 1 – Ecotourism 20 Years Ago

In 1989, hundreds of thousands of acres were being added to park systems to conserve ecosystems around the world. International conservation was going into high gear, driven by the rude fact that development was accelerating in the most vulnerable and biodiverse regions of the planet. Conservationists were talking more about preserving the Amazonian rain forest, and less about “saving the panda.”