What does 20 years of partnership look like? It looks like lions safe and thriving in their habitat, away from communities and conflict.
It looks like Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers having secure and dignified living conditions in strategically important areas.
It looks like veterinary teams with the tools, training, and transport to rescue wildlife in distress.
It looks like field teams staying connected through modern communication networks.
It looks like young Ugandans trained, equipped, and stepping confidently into leadership.
That’s just a glimpse of what we’ve achieved with the incredible support of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund (SWBGCF) over more than two decades! 
We recently had the pleasure of hosting Rob Yordi, Executive Director SWBGCF in Queen Elizabeth National Park. It wasn’t a tour, Rob fully immersed himself in our work, joining the teams in the field to collar lions, manning the Joint Operations Command Centre, and spending considerable time with rangers, vets, park leadership, and the UCF team. It was a great opportunity for SWBGCF to see the impact of their support, not just in equipment and infrastructure, but in the people, lives changed and wildlife protected.
Since 2023, their funding has focused more sharply on the recovery of lion populations in Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls, and Kidepo Valley National Parks. Their support has enabled real-time tracking by satellite collars feeding into EarthRanger, rapid response to emerging issues and hands-on veterinary interventions. 
In QENP alone, over the past two years, we have responded to over 100 alerts of lions nearing areas of potential conflict. Thanks to the early warnings, we have been able to act quickly and avert conflict with the cattle keeping communities neighboring the park and, notably, not losing a single lion to Human Wildlife Conflict in QENP.
It was inspiring to hear more about SeaWorld’s broader work, feel Rob’s passion as he shared stories from various projects across continents, and to gain a deeper appreciation for how this partnership fits into the bigger picture of conservation.
Rob and the entire team at SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, thank you for your steadfast partnership and support since 2004!
