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Out of Africa
Jul. 29th, 2005 04:22 pmA hundred years after the sun set on the British empire, while Stefanie Powers returns to colonial-era Thailand as Anna in the “King and I,” she’s also returning to Kenya to save the wildlife once hunted on safari. Only now, safaris aren’t the danger, but logging and commercial hunting by the impoverished local population and the Kenyan urban elite, for whom hunting elephants, gorillas and chimpanzees has become something of a status symbol.
Stefanie Powers became involved in preserving African wildlife in the early seventies, inspired by the enthusiasm of her longtime companion, William Holden. Holden began his visits to Africa on traditional safari and, in 1960, was one of the first to recognize the disappearance of African wildlife, decades before conservation became a popular Hollywood cause. He purchased land in Kenya and created a game ranch with captive breeding programs to save over thirty-five East African species. He often called his conservation efforts the greatest work of his life.
After his death in 1981, Stefanie expanded his efforts and co-founded the William Holden Wildlife Foundation to address the larger causes of vanishing wildlife. In 2001, as the president of WHWF, she presented findings to the National Press Club, detailing how increased logging not only depleted African habitat, but also created easy access for illegal commercial hunters. The WHWF in conjunction with other wildlife organizations are now pushing for African game regulations and the means to enforce them. Then, in 2003, Stefanie sponsored a gala fundraiser “Broadway Goes To The Movies,” featuring the 120-piece Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lula Washington Dance Theatre. She hopes to sponsor another such event in the near future.
In the meantime, the game ranch continues its work, educating local Kenyan children in agriculture and teaching them to preserve our wild cousins. They’ve raise orphaned cheetah cubs, and now welcome it’s rarest member: a small antelope called the East African bongo.
Stefanie Powers became involved in preserving African wildlife in the early seventies, inspired by the enthusiasm of her longtime companion, William Holden. Holden began his visits to Africa on traditional safari and, in 1960, was one of the first to recognize the disappearance of African wildlife, decades before conservation became a popular Hollywood cause. He purchased land in Kenya and created a game ranch with captive breeding programs to save over thirty-five East African species. He often called his conservation efforts the greatest work of his life.
After his death in 1981, Stefanie expanded his efforts and co-founded the William Holden Wildlife Foundation to address the larger causes of vanishing wildlife. In 2001, as the president of WHWF, she presented findings to the National Press Club, detailing how increased logging not only depleted African habitat, but also created easy access for illegal commercial hunters. The WHWF in conjunction with other wildlife organizations are now pushing for African game regulations and the means to enforce them. Then, in 2003, Stefanie sponsored a gala fundraiser “Broadway Goes To The Movies,” featuring the 120-piece Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lula Washington Dance Theatre. She hopes to sponsor another such event in the near future.
In the meantime, the game ranch continues its work, educating local Kenyan children in agriculture and teaching them to preserve our wild cousins. They’ve raise orphaned cheetah cubs, and now welcome it’s rarest member: a small antelope called the East African bongo.