General aviation doesn’t immediately come to mind when thinking of wildlife conservation. However, for The Bateleurs, “southern Africa’s environmental air force,” using general aviation to support environmental and conservation efforts felt like an obvious solution to a critical problem. The Bateleurs is a South African nonprofit and registered NGO. Taking their name from a type of eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa, The Bateleurs pride themselves on being “eyes in the sky,” assisting conservationists and environmentalists with their work. Now celebrating their 25th year, they want to spread the word about the work they do and encourage more GA pilots with a passion for protecting the environment to get involved.
The Bateleurs were founded in 1998 by Nora Kreher, who got the idea of forming a fleet of volunteer pilots dedicated to conservation during the campaign to stop the mining of Lake St. Lucia’s dunes. Kreher, along with her friend, international conservationist Dr. Ian Player, arranged for GA pilots to fly politicians and journalists over the dunes, showing the damaging effects of mining from the sky. Giving people of influence a chance to see the destruction from such a unique vantage point helped turn Lake St. Lucia’s dunes into a World Heritage Site. This was only the beginning. Knowing that conservation groups and government agencies would not always be able to afford aerial surveillance to assist with environmental matters, Kreher formed The Bateleurs as a volunteer-based aviation service provider that gives conservation organizations free flights to assist with their missions. Nora died in 2008. Donavan Bailey, EAA 1504491, who joined the organization as a volunteer pilot in 2005, is now one of the organization’s directors. “I flew my first mission in 2005. Bateleurs has helped me gain an appreciation for aviation and made me fly with a purpose.” Bailey said, “The people I have met during missions are very inspiring and have kept me humble. We forget the people out there that are doing amazing work with very little recognition. Reminds us to be grateful and privileged to be able to do these missions.”
Courtesy of The Bateleurs
In their 25 years, The Bateleurs have flown hundreds of missions throughout southern Africa. Their fleet of volunteer pilots has steadily grown via word of mouth in the aviation community. Their pilots fly fixed-wing and ultralight (called “microlight” in South Africa) aircraft to support a wide range of conservation projects. From anti-poaching efforts like dehorning rhinos to performing surveys of wetlands or for endangered species such as vultures and red-billed oxpeckers, every mission request they receive is evaluated by their skilled and diverse board. They authorize pilots and aircraft for a flight request only if they determine that it is environmentally significant, does not pose excessive aviation risks, and has a reasonable probability of success. Not only are these free-of-charge flights able to assess the environmental problems from a unique perspective, but they are also able to transport animals without endangering them further and quickly enough that there is less stress on the animal. A recent flight took 10 leopard tortoises up in a Beech Baron to the Kwandwe Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape of South Africa where they will be released back into the wild after being rehabilitated by the organization, FreeMeWildlife. Steve McCurrach, General Manager, pilot, and one of the directors for The Bateleurs, emphasized that no mission is too big or small for their team, “Thousands of miles have been flown in the name of conservation over the past 25 years. Some missions have crossed countries from South Africa into Mozambique relocating wild dogs, while others cover shorter distances – it all depends on the request from the organizations and what needs to be achieved.”
Courtesy of The Bateleurs
While the rest of the world was shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Bateleurs had a productive year transporting African lions, a fur seal, African wild dogs, and African penguins. They flew aerial searches for collared leopards and a whale entangled in fishing gear, as well as performed anti-poaching missions and shot aerial photography of mining operations.
Heading into their next quarter century with 200-plus pilots, the goal of The Bateleurs is to preserve and safeguard the diverse natural world. In acknowledgment of the urgent need to shield our planet’s dwindling habitats and species, The Bateleurs recognize they must expand their endeavors to counteract these escalating threats. Whether it’s their number of missions accomplished, the number of pilots flying for them, or funds to sustain the important work they do. The Bateleurs hope to carry on Nora Kreher’s legacy of free conservation assistance into the future.
To learn more about how you can get involved with The Bateleurs visit Bateleurs.org.