Peace Parks and partners are intent (like the pun!) on protecting, revitalising and reconnecting large ecosystems in southern Africa so that both wildlife and humankind can live together in harmony.
An ecosystem comprises living organisms, their physical environment and all their interrelationships in a particular unit of space. Peace Parks tends to work with vast landscapes and ecosystems like the immense Limpopo National Park or the even larger Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area for example. But ecosystems can be tiny too.
Lésa’s tent is an example of an ecosystem. The tent is the environment. Lésa is the human. The toad and the spiders are the wildlife.
In a way, Lésa and her tent in Zinave National Park is a great example of how Peace Parks Foundation works. Instead of brushing away the toad and the spiders in order for Lésa to get into her tent and get a good night’s sleep, she tries to work around the community that has set up in the tent flaps while she has been out in the bush during the day, so that they all get what they want.
Like all who work for Peace Parks Foundation, Lésa is committed to protecting and preserving southern Africa and its unique flora, fauna and landscapes. Lésa leaves the tent flap open half-way, to allow the toad to continue to hunt the spider. She can still access her warm bed this way, although she does ensure all zips are done up tight! As Lésa sleeps, the toad is left in peace in the tent flap to hunt spiders during the night.
This little ecosystem of Lesa’s tent also shows the incredible ability of animals to adapt to changing habitats around them. The toad has presumably found that the rolled-up tent flap is a nice, cool spot during the day, affording him coverage and a good place to hide. Luckily there are a few spiders that have also taken up residence in the tent flaps, otherwise this toad would go hungry. So, this funny scene also illustrates the more serious side of conservation, highlighting the importance of maintaining habitats in their wild state, so that biodiversity can prosper.
