Remarkable website does wonders for conservation

MBOMBELA – It started out as a website to help visitors to the Kruger National Park (KNP) spot wildlife easily. This week, latestsightings.com became a YouTube partner, reaching 100 million views and is the most watched YouTube channel in South Africa – and the founder is still studying for his matric exams.

This is a website which enables visitors to the KNP to post their sightings in real time, allowing others in the vicinity to share theirs by posting videos to YouTube or updates to social media, like the park’s Facebook page. The website became an instant sensation and gained 30 000 members in its first few weeks and today boasts more than 133 000, including President Barack Obama.

Its founder, 18-year-old Nadav Ossendryver, visited the KNP with his family at the age of 15, but for the whole weekend they hardly spotted any game. “Upon returning home I started a YouTube channel where people could post their sightings and allow others to go to that place and view the animals. I couldn’t believe no one had done it. It was so easy.”

And so in 2011, latestsightings.com was born. The site grew rapidly to include information about injured animals, alerting rangers of their location, and soon became a platform for businesses and individuals to participate in anti-poaching and animal-rehabilitation programs. Nadav works closely with rangers of the park. “I receive messages from viewers and alert rangers if need be.”

Ossendryver was invited to meet Obama during his visit to South Africa in June last year. “It was such an honour just to be invited. I never expected it. Honestly, I didn’t even expect the website to reach 10 people and now we are planning to expand it to include all game reserves in Africa.”

The website fully covers the KNP and Pilansberg National Park, but the plan is to expand to all the parks in South Africa within the next year and all others in Africa soon after.

Social media was a key component in its expansion. It has almost 50 000 ‘likes’ on Facebook, more than 14 000 followers on Twitter and almost 42 000 subscribers on YouTube.

“I had no programming background and I didn’t even think of the possibilities it held for conservation.”

One sighting that will never be reported is that of rhino. “We don’t want to disclose the information about the location or number of rhino to poachers.”

Once he is done with school, Nadav will focus on expanding latestsightings.com and become more involved in conservation. “I hope to pursue a career in IT or business to combine technology and conservation and study at either Harvard or Massachusetts Institute of Technology and want to own a game reserve.

Nadav has been dubbed one of the most successful young entrepreneurs. This is because he:

• won the Nelson Mandela Youth Leadership Award 2014

• was a keynote speaker at the opening of Facebook in Africa

• was one of the “21 Super kids who will save the world from adults” by treehugger.com, which includes children from around the world

• was Young Eco Ambassador for the Endangered Wildlife Trust

• was chosen as the first Lead SA Youth Hero by Lead SA

• was a guest speaker at a function where R27 000 was raised for an animal rehabilitation centre

• presented at the School of Economics and Business Science at the University of Witwatersrand

• has been made the youngest virtual honorary ranger by SANParks

• received the Social Media Star of 2014 from World Wide Worx founder Arthur Goldstuck

• made the front page of CNN in December 2012

• appeared on numerous radio station promoting his website, including Cliff Central

• appeared on the South African wildlife shows 50/50 and Fokus

• accompanied Kingsley Holgate on one of his expeditions to the KNP to create awareness in surrounding villages about poaching

• has saved numerous wildlife, including a lioness, a hyena, rhino and wild dog from poachers through his website.