School girl in
Costa Rica

 

 

 

The spectacular
Kirstenbosch

Botanical Garden
in Cape Town

 

 

 

Dr. Tico McNutt

 

 

 

Cynthia Moss

 

 

 

Dr. Iain
Douglas-Hamilton

 

 

 

Daphne Sheldrick

 

 

 

Maria Diekmann

 

 

 

Laurie Marker &
Chewbakka









Aniruddha Mookerjee (Jhampan)


Classic Escapes

Environmental Policy

 

Classic Escapes recognizes that we have social, cultural, and environmental responsibilities to the people who live in the regions we visit. We wish to respect and preserve both their environment and their way of life. Therefore, in all of our business practices and decision-making processes, Classic Escapes strives to:

  • Protect the environment - flora, fauna and landscapes
  • Respect local cultures - traditions, religions and built heritage
  • Benefit local communities - both economically and socially
  • Conserve natural resources - from office to destination
  • Minimize pollution - including noise, waste and congestion

To ensure that our responsible business practices extend from our office into the field, Classic Escapes carefully selects and develops partnerships with others who share our belief in the importance of preserving cultural and natural resources. This includes the ground operators, hotels, lodges, transportation companies, and guides with whom we work. We also engage each of our travelers in this partnership by distributing detailed suggestions on how they can reduce their impact on the local culture and environment while traveling. Tips For Traveling Responsibly

Classic Escapes

Conservation Fund

In keeping with our mission to provide exciting, educational, and fun-filled experiences that nurture and directly support the diverse wildlife and cultures we visit around the world, Classic Escapes has established the Classic Escapes Conservation Fund to ensure that a percentage of all profits go to support conservation and wildlife researchers performing their critical work in the field. By traveling with Classic Escapes, you are supporting travel as a tool for building the mutual respect, awareness and understanding that are vital to preserving this planet for future generations. Listed below are some of the various research projects we collaborate with.

Botswana Wild Dog Project.  Heading up the longest running project on wild dogs, J.W. ("Tico") McNutt  has been living close to the Chitabe concession of Botswana since 1989. Using radio telemetry and an ultralight airplane from his remote research camp, he monitors a sub-population of 150-180 African wild dogs. Running Wild: Dispelling the Myths of the African Wild Dog was written by Tico and his wife Lesley Boggs and photographed by Helene Heldring and Dave Hamman, the owners of Chitabe Camp. Botswana Wild Dog Project

African Wild Dog Conservation, Zambia.  Kellie Leigh, Project Director and founder, has been tracking the wild dog packs of the Lower Zambezi for the past several years. Working closely with Conservation Lower Zambezi and safari operators, Kellie has been largely responsible for the increase in pack size and more frequent sightings of wild dogs in this area. Kellie is currently writing her doctorate in Australia, but the work of the African Wild Dog Conservation Project continues by the team she has put in place. African Wild Dog Conservation

Amboseli Elephant Research Project, Kenya.  Cynthia Moss, the noted American naturalist and author, has followed one elephant population for over 30 years, the longest-running study on elephants.  In Amboseli you are sure to see some of the very elephants Cynthia has immortalized in Elephant Memories and her many other books, as well as the award-winning film Echo of the Elephants and several sequels. Whole generations of elephants are cataloged and individually recognized thereby adding greatly to the knowledge of family structure and behavior. Amboseli Elephant Research Project

 

Save The Elephants, Kenya. Founded by renowned conservationist and elephant researcher Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who made a pioneering study of elephant behavior in the late '60s in Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania, and has worked on elephant migration throughout Africa. STE focuses on research, grassroots, education and protection of these endangered giants. Using radio-tracking and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, vital migration corridors have been identified.  Further afield in Congo, Mali, South Africa and Tanzania, STE is collaborating with scientists to develop an international database on elephant migration patterns. Save The Elephants

Daphne Sheldrick’s Animal Orphanage, Kenya.  The first person to successfully raise orphaned infant elephants, Daphne has rescued and raised hundreds of orphaned elephants, rhino, warthog and antelope.  She also works to reduce the human/animal conflict and poaching that creates orphans, working with schools, training rangers and supporting community development. At the Voi salt lick in Tsavo East National Park, travelers can see where these infants are eventually released into the wild and end up in the care of other orphans who have been successfully reintroduced to the wild. Daphne Sheldrick's Animal Orphanage

Central Limpopo Valley Elephant Research Project, Mashatu, Botswana.  As the range of the African elephant continues to decline annually due to the ever increasing human population, up to 90% of Africa’s elephants are now forced to exist in reserves, parks and sanctuaries, seriously altering traditional migration routes, distribution and behavior of these giants and contributing to overpopulation. In Tuli, they move across the borders of three countries, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa bringing them into contact with various communities, often resulting in serious problems for both elephants and people. The Northern Tuli Game Reserve and the Centre for Wildlife Management (University of Pretoria) have initiated a research program to assess and formulate a suitable management plan for the elephants inhabiting the greater Central Limpopo Valley. The aim of the project, being conducted by Jeanetta Selier, is to determine the density, behavioral dynamics, distribution and seasonal movement patterns of the Tuli elephants. Once this data has been collected, it will be used to formulate a suitable management plan for the Tuli elephant population, as well as contributing towards a holistic management strategy for all the elephants inhabiting the greater Central Limpopo Valley. Central Limpopo Valley Elephant Research Project

REST (Rare and Endangered Species Trust) was founded in 2000 in Otjiwarongo, Namibia by Maria Diekmann. The objective of REST is research and logistical support for the preservation of Namibia's endangered species. The primary focus is the Cape Griffon Vulture, Namibia's most endangered species with a maximum of 11 birds remaining in the country. REST (Rare and Endangered Species Trust)

 

Cheetah Conservation Fund, Namibia.  American conservationist Laurie Marker has devoted her life to the preservation of cheetah. As an internationally recognized center of excellence in research and education on cheetahs and their ecosystems, CCF works with all stakeholders to achieve best-practice in the conservation and management of the world's cheetahs, and to develop and implement better livestock management practices, eliminating the need for ranchers to kill cheetah. The center conducts conservation education programs for local villagers, ranchers and school children and continues intensive scientific research in cheetah genetics, biology and species survival. Cheetah Conservation Fund

Action for Cheetahs in Kenya. The Kenya cheetah project was launched in December 2001 after nearly two years of preliminary work. It works in affiliation with the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) under a permit through the Ministry of Education and Technology. ACK Representative Mary Wykstra conducts research and education projects on behalf of ACK. Mary used to work at Utah’s Hogle Zoo for many years, but her dream was always to do field work in Africa.  Her passion for cheetahs and love for the wild brought her in contact with Laurie Marker, the dynamic American who has made it her life’s commitment to conserve cheetahs in the wild and become their ambassador in the world.  The goal of ACK is to carry out field research for the conservation issues in Kenya on areas of commercial farming and high human population where cheetah numbers appear to be declining. Dealing with conflict issues between humans and predators is complicated as translocation means moving potential problem animals from one area to another. Cheetah Conservation Fund

Botswana Rhino Relocation Project.  The populations of both the black and white rhinoceros have declined throughout Africa. Due to demand for their valuable horns rhinos have actually become extinct in several areas, including Botswana, where both species occurred at different times during the 20th century. Wilderness Safaris and the Botswana National Parks have reintroduced white and black rhino to Mombo, a conservation area situated on Chief's Island which forms part of the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta. The primary objective is to re-establish this locally extinct and important species in the Delta, resulting in a major contribution towards the maintenance of the bio-diversity of the region. Botswana Rhino Relocation Project

Save the Rhino Trust, Namibia, was founded by Blythe Lootit with the aim of stopping the horrendous slaughter of rhino, elephant and other wildlife. Since the founding of the Trust over 20 years ago, poaching has drastically declined and the rhino population has more than doubled. The project has been enthusiastically supported by the Chiefs and headmen in the area and the neighboring farming community. Collaboration with government and the local community has been achieved, with the aim to provide security for the rhino, to monitor the rhino population in the region, and to bring benefit to the community through conservation and tourism. Save the Rhino Trust

The Charles Darwin Research Institute (CDRI) is a scientific and educational foundation established to honor and extend the scientific revolution inaugurated by one of the greatest figures in the history of human thought. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) forever changed the way we look at nature and at ourselves. The Charles Darwin Research Institute is dedicated to furthering the Darwinian perspective in the behavioral sciences. It's scope is multi-disciplinary, supporting research in traditional fields such as anthropology, psychology, and sociology as well as the newly emerged disciplines of behavioral genetics, neuroscience, and sociobiology. Charles Darwin Research Institute

The Bellbird Conservation Project was created by Dr. George V.N. Powell, one of the founders of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, in 1992. The mission of the project is to protect the bellbird through research and the implementation of appropriate conservation measures such as habitat protection and restoration. In 1992, the main objective was to learn of the migration of the Monteverde bellbird population. The focus of the project expanded in 1997 to investigate the status of the species throughout Costa Rica and Panama. Bellbird Conservation Project

Travel Operators for Tigers (TOFT), India.Founded by a group of concerned Tour Operators, TOFT has now expanded to become a pioneering International ‘collective action’ campaign, run by Travel Professionals, aimed at those within the nature travel industry and all visitors to India’s wildlife parks, to advocate, endorse and support more responsible use of wilderness areas in India, and the Indian sub continent. Travel Operators for Tigers