Category: Remembering Bears

Remembering Wildlife Launches Milestone 10th Book To Help Save Pangolins

The Mission Is To Raise Awareness Of The Threats Facing Pangolins Through The Stunning Images From Many Of The World’s Top Wildlife Photographers

Front Cover: Pangolin image by Tristan Dicks.

Remembering Wildlife has launched several charity photo books over the years that highlight endangered species and act to raise funds for the protection of the animals featured with the help of famous supporters and talented photographers around the world. Remembering Elephants, Remembering Rhinos, Remembering Great Apes, Remembering Lions, Remembering Cheetahs, Remembering African Wild Dogs, Remembering Bears, and Remembering Leopards have already been produced, Remembering Tigers was funded and delivered last year. Remembering Wildlife is the latest release in the series and will bring attention to Pangolins that are threatened around the world with the help of beautiful images of Pangolins generously donated by many of the world’s top wildlife photographers.

The aim of the book is to raise awareness of the plight facing Pangolins and to raise money to protect them, with all profits from book sales going to conservation.

Temminck’s Pangolin in Central Namibia. Credit: Todd Gustafson/Remembering Wildife.

Pangolins have been around for 80 million years. It is estimated one is taken from the wild by poachers every five minutes. Demand is largely for pangolin scales for medicine and for meat as a delicacy, mostly in Asia. Pangolins also face habitat loss and electrocution – if they walk into an electric fence, their defence mechanism is to curl around it.

There are eight species, four in Africa and four in Asia, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), lists them as endangered, critically endangered or vulnerable, depending on the species.

A Black-Bellied Pangolin in Sangha Lodge, Dzanga Sangha, Central African Republic. Credit: Michael Lorentz/Remembering Wildlife.

Margot Raggett MBE, founder and producer of Remembering Wildlife, said: “Pangolins are fascinating and endearing creatures, most closely related to mongooses and cats and each has its own individual character. The size of the illegal trade in Pangolins may be higher than we know.

“We don’t know how many are trafficked, but we do know that poachers will use their ingenuity to literally sniff them out of their hiding places. Fortunately, there are conservationists, researchers, vets and volunteers all lending their energy and determination to a fight they are resolute they won’t lose. It is they we will support with funds from this book

An Indian Pangolin in Matale, Sri Lanka. Credit: Heshan Peiris/Remembering Wildlife.

“This book raises awareness of the threats not only facing Pangolins but also wildlife as a whole. Through sales of this book, we can raise funds to support those on the frontline protecting wildlife.  My hope is that this book can remind us all just what will be lost if we don’t.”

A Philippine Pangolin in Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range, Southern Palawan, Philippines. Credit: Gregg Yan/Remembering Wildlife.

More than 280 wildlife photographers have contributed to the Remembering Wildlife series since it started in 2016, working under the banner Wildlife Photographers United. It has now raised over £1.15m GBP/$1.5m USD for 74 conservation projects in 33 countries. 

The photographers who have donated their images for this edition are: Alessandra Sikand (Switzerland, USA, India)  Black-bellied pangolin, Sangha Lodge, Dzanga Sangha, Central African Republic

Andy Skillen (UK) White-bellied pangolin, Sangha Lodge, Dzanga Sangha, Central African Republic

Armand Grobler (South Africa) Sunset Scales Temminck’s pangolin, Manyeleti Game Reserve, South Africa  

Ben Cranke (South Africa) Temminck’s pangolin, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

Chad Cocking (South Africa) Temminck’s pangolin, Tanda Tula, Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, South Africa

Dharmendra Khandal (India) Indian Pangolin,  Karauli Tiger Reserve, India

Gregg Yan (Philippines) Philippine pangolin,  Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range, Southern Palawan, Philippines

Hannes Lochner (South Africa)  Temminck’s pangolin, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Botswana    

Hendri Venter (South Africa) Temminck’s pangolin, Game Farm, Namibia  

Heshan Peiris (Sri Lanka) Indian pangolin, Matale, Sri Lanka

Jacha Potgieter (UK)  Black-bellied pangolin, Sangha Lodge, Dzanga Sangha, Central African Republic

Marcus Westberg (Sweden) White Bellied Pangolin, Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Marlon du Toit (South Africa) Black Bellied Pangolin, Sangha Lodge, Dzanga Sangha, Central African Republic

Michael Lorentz (South Africa) Black-bellied pangolin, Sangha Lodge, Dzanga Sangha, Central African Republic

Naun Amable Silva (Peru) Temminck’s Pangolin,  Okonjima Nature Reserve, Namibia

Pete Oxford (South Africa) White-bellied pangolin, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Pete Oxford (South Africa) White-bellied pangolin, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Shem Compion (South Africa) Temminck’s pangolin Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

Shivang Mehta (India) Indian pangolin, Corbett Tiger Reserve, India

Suzi Eszterhas (USA) Chinese pangolin, Cuc Phuong Național Park, Vietnam  
Todd Gustafson (USA) Temminck’s pangolin, Central Namibia Tom Mason (UK) Temminck’s pangolin, Okonjima Nature Reserve, Namibia

Tristan Dicks (South Africa) Temminck’s pangolin ‘ScalesOfFortune’ , Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Will Burrard-Lucas (UK) giant pangolin, Nyakweri Forest, Kenya

A Giant Pangolin in Nyakweri Forest, Kenya. Credit: Will Burrard-Lucas/Remembering Wildlife.

How have the Remembering Wildlife books helped conservation

Together, the series has now sold more than 50,000 books and distributed more than £1.15 million GBP / $1.5 million USD to 74 different conservation projects in 33 countries across Africa, North and South America, Asia and Europe.

All books were prefunded by successful Kickstarter campaigns, meaning that all profits can be given straight to projects protecting the species that the book is focused on. 

Since the launch of Remembering Elephants in 2016, over 270 of the world’s best wildlife photographers have generously contributed to the series. Here is the full list of those whose images have appeared in one or more of the Remembering Wildlife titles so far:

Jane Addey, Karine Aigner, Oriol Alamany, Taylor Thomas Albright, Neil Aldridge, Maxime Aliaga, Theo Allofs, Matt Armstrong-Ford, Grant Atkinson, Andrew Aveley, Daniel Bailey, Daryl & Sharna Balfour, Adam Bannister, Brooke Bartleson, Stephen Belcher, Rick Beldegreen, Patrick Bentley, Sabine Bernert, Andy Biggs, Giorgio Bighi, Jayaprakash Bojan, Donal Boyd, Sean Brogan, Kate Brooks, Seyms Brugger, Volodymyr Burdiak, Matt Burrard-Lucas, Will Burrard-Lucas, Benoit Bussard, Alison Buttigieg, Marina Cano, Ayesha Cantor, Mark Cawardine, David Cayless, Vladimir Cech, Vladimir Cech Jr., Peter Chadwick, Paras Chandaria, Sam Clark, Alwyn Coates, Chad Cocking, Marius Coetzee, Martyn Colbeck, Marco Colombo, Shem Compion, Alain Compost, Keith Connelly, Rob Cottle, Ross Couper, Ben Cranke, Brendon Cremer, Mark Deeble & Victoria Stone, Tanja Dekker, Willem Dekker, Melanie Delamare, Peter Delaney, M & C Denis-Huot, Anja Denker, Richard Denyer, Tristan Dicks, Sebastián Di Doménico, Billy Dodson, Kevin Dooley, Mark Dumbleton, Julie Duncan, Michelle & Ken Dyball, Nicholas Dyer, Andy Edge, Kairav Engineer, Morkel Erasmus, Denise Eriksson, Amit Eshel, Suzi Eszterhas, Chris Fallows, Sascha Fonseca, James Gifford, Daisy Gilardini, Paul Goldstein, Sergey Gorshkov, Marc Graf, Fredrik Granath, Chris Grech, Jan van der Greef, Kim Griffin, Owen Grobler, Melissa Groo, Fabrice Guerin, Richard Guijt, Amy Gulick, Todd Gustafson, Josh Guyan, Drew Hamilton, Charlie Hamilton James, Thorsten Hanewald, Hilary Hann, Peter Haygarth, Tony Heald, Harman Singh Heer, Trish Hennessy, Naudé Heunis, Torie Hilley, Joshua Holko, Roger Hooper, Friedrich von Horsten, Andy Howe, Jabruson, Britta Jaschinski, Vicki Jauron, Brendon Jennings, Arnfinn Johansen, Morten Jørgensen, Paul Joynson-Hicks, Jocelin Kagan, Lakshitha Karunarathna, Kyriakos Kaziras, Steven Kazlowski, Sebastian Kennerknecht, Bob Keyser, Clement Kiragu, Agung Ganthar Kusumanto, Tim Laman, Lisa A. Langell, Frans Lanting, Behzad J. Larry, Chien Lee, Ole J Liodden, David Lloyd, Hannes Lochner, George Logan, Michael Lorentz, Nick Lyon, Piper Mackay, Russell MacLaughlin, Kate Malone, Thomas D. Mangelsen, Suhail Manji, Tin Man Lee, Johan Marais, Matt Maran, Tom Mason, Jo-Anne McArthur, Molly McCormick, Phil McFadden, Paul McKenzie, Shivang Mehta, Garry Mills, Sumeet Moghe, Marc Mol, Dale R Morris, Sue Morris, Margot Muir, Mike Muizebelt, Dhritiman Mukherjee, Yashas Narayan, Shareen Nash, Latika Nath, Elliott Neep, Heinrich Neumeyer, Nick Newman, Thomas Nicolon, Kyle de Nobrega, Jules Oldroyd, Hilary O’Leary, Marsel van Oosten, Xavier Ortega, Ben Osborne, Prelena Soma Owen, Pete Oxford, Chris Packham, Richard Packwood, Parinya Padungtin, Andy Parkinson, Dawn Perkins, Richard Peters, Mevan Piyasena, Julien Polet, Michael Poliza, Jacha Potgieter, Isak Pretorius, Graeme Purdy, Nick Rabjohn, Cameron Raffan, Margot Raggett, Abdul Rashid, Ian Redmond, Pierluigi Rizzato, Gregg Robinson, Dee Roelofsz, Fiona Rogers, Gurcharan Roopra, Matthew Roper, Daniel Rosengren, Andy Rouse, David Sandford, Nima Sarikhani, Joel Sartore, Melissa Schäfer, Chris Schmid, Yaron Schmid, Sabrina Schumann, Jonathan & Angela Scott, Pasan Senevirathne, Anup Shah, Ismail Shariff, Amy Shutt, Anjali Singh, Andy Skillen, Andy Skinner, Sarah Skinner, Paul Souders, Kathryn Sowerbutts, Brent Stapelkamp, William Steel, Jonas Stenqvist, Brent Stirton, Charl Stols, Sabine Stols, James Suter, Tom Svensson, Jami Tarris, Austin Thomas, Jessica Tingley Dunn, Roy Toft, Greg du Toit, Marlon du Toit, Steve & Ann Toon, Paolo Torchio, R.J. Turner, Christophe Vasselin, Albie Venter, Bertus Venter, Hendri Venter, Federico Veronesi, Francesco Veronesi, Thomas Vijayan, Fred Vogt, Marion Vollborn, Pim Volkers, Lance van de Vyver, Tami Walker, James Warwick, Tom Way, Marcus Westberg, Christopher Whittier, Staffan Widstrand, Shannon Wild, Jon Wilson, Steve Winter, Shannon Witz, Art Wolfe, Kim Wolhuter, Nelis Wolmarans, Ian Wood, and Jeffrey Wu.

All of the stunning images used in the books and exhibitions have been generously donated by the photographers, as their way to give back to the species they make their livings from photographing.

Margot Raggett, founder of Remembering Wildlife

I fell in love with wildlife and safaris many years before picking up a camera! In the 2000s, I worked in PR in London and used all my spare cash to book safaris to Africa, as I had become totally addicted to being in nature. It was when I inadvertently signed up to a photography-based safari in 2010 that everything changed for me. It was a trip to see Kenya’s ‘Great Migration’ led by Jonathan & Angela Scott and it was only a few days before I went, that I realised I was supposed to bring a camera. I bought a cheap kit camera & lens and headed to Kenya. It turned out that camera was no good at all for wildlife (it was a very short lens) but nonetheless, I was totally inspired by Jonathan & Angela’s photography. When I got home, I immediately upgraded my gear and signed up for a course at the London School of Photography to learn the basics and I’ve never looked back. For a few years I went on as many photographer-led trips as I could, to learn from the best and then in 2012, agreed a deal to work as a Photographer in Residence at a camp in the Maasai Mara called Entim Camp. At that point I started selling my photos and attracting followers on social media.  

It was in 2014 that everything changed for me once again. I had been working as a resident photographer in Kenya at that point for about three months a year, for three years, and it was at the end of one of those stays that I travelled to Laikipia to visit a friend. We were woken very early in camp by the sound of Hyenas going crazy and at first light, went to investigate. What I saw changed my life, It was an Elephant who had died from a poisoned arrow, likely  poachers had shot him but he’d got away, only to die a slow, painful death over the next few days. The Hyenas had started to eat his body and the sight – and the smell – was so shocking. I came to realise that poaching and the many other threats that wildlife faces are often hidden away from tourists and as a result, many like me at that point, had any idea how bad things really are. I was incredibly angry and upset and resolved to channel those emotions into something positive. That was the trigger for me to start work on what I thought would be a one-off book on Elephants, to raise awareness about poaching and funds for projects working to protect Elephants. I started to approach wildlife photographers I’d met in the field and invited them to donate an image each and it took off from there. 18 months later, Remembering Elephants was published. It sold out in 2 months and raised more than £100,000 and without me knowing it, a series was born. We’ve published seven more books since (Remembering Rhinos, Remembering Great Apes, Remembering Lions, Remembering Cheetahs , Remembering African Wild Dogs, Remembering Bears, Remembering Leopards) and Remembering Tigers will be published in October 2024. Nowadays I spend far less time in the field taking traditional wildlife pictures like before but rather, I spend more time visiting the projects we are able to support with our funds, so I can see how our money is making a difference.  

Margot was awarded an MBE in the The King’s Birthday Honours 2023 for services to International Wildlife Conservation.

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Margot Raggett MBE

Celebrity supporters of Remembering Wildlife

To find out more about Remembering Wildlife, click here: https://rememberingwildlife.com/

To find out more about the projects that Remembering Wildlife has already funded, click here: https://rememberingwildlife.com/projects/

Each book costs £59.50 GBP (approximately $75 USD) and copies can be ordered at www.rememberingwildlife.com.


A Chinese Pangolin in Taipei Zoo, Taipei, Taiwan. Credit: Suzi Eszterhas/Remembering Wildlife.

Remembering Wildlife, Remembering Bears. A Review Of The Book Raising Funds For The Protection Of Bears.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” ~ Mathatma Gandhi.

A new book aims to raise awareness of the plight facing Bears and to raise money to protect them. This is the latest book in the Remembering Wildlife series which has so far raised more than £952,000 for conservation through book sales around the world.

“There can be few species that we humans have such a contradictory relationship with, than Bears. From hugging toys of them at night as children, to labelling them as anything from a nuisance to a threat, entertainment to medicine, we are nothing but hypocritical in how we relate to this most awe inspiring creature. At Remembering Wildlife, we believe it is time to stop and think about this contradiction.

As you’ll see in this stunning collection of images, the eight Bear species roam from ice sheets to forests, meadows to mountains. From tender moments with their young, to fierce territorial battles between males, we tell their story in a way that commands respect, awe and reappraisal.

American Black Bear (Ursus Americans) by Amy Gulick Tongass. National Forest, Alaska This Black Bear cub was sent up a tree by its mother for safekeeping while she fished in the stream below. It was an unusually hot day and the cub flopped out on the branch until mom gave the signal to come down for a meal.

With this book, we aim to shine a spotlight on their diversity and beauty, their resilience and fortitude and most importantly, to raise funds for those working to protect them. We are supported in this mission once again by many of the world’s top wildlife photographers, who have all generously donated their work. Together, we are determined to stand up for Bears and penetrate the moral consciousness of all those who would exploit or see them destroyed. Because the planet would be poorer without them” – Margot Raggett, Remembering Wildlife Founder.

Chaparri Ecological Reserve, Peru Andean Bear. Photographer Daniel Rosengren was visiting a bear sanctuary in Chaparri when suddenly this wild bear appeared and climbed a tree. Staff explained it visited sometimes and was not shy.

All profits from the sale of the book will be used to support projects working to protect Bears.

Each turn of the page reveals another striking image of one of the eight Bear species –American Black Bear, Andean Bear, Asiatic Black Bear, Brown Bear, Giant Panda, Polar Bear, Sloth Bear and Sun Bear – revealing tender moments with family members, fierce territorial battles and the harsh reality of life as a bear, for example, when searching for food.

Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus) by Tim Laman Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia Sun Bears are rare, and this image was one of a handful of obtained during two years of intensive camera trapping, deep in the remote rainforest of Gunung Palung National Park in Indonesian Borneo.

Actor and comedian Ricky Gervais has endorsed the book, saying it is: “A wonderful book that shows how beautiful Bears are and just what we have to lose if we don’t stand up for them now. They deserve better.”

The hardback coffee table book is a collection of 88 stunning images taken by the world’s top wildlife photographers – including Marsel van Oosten, Art Wolfe, Frans Lanting, Greg du Toit and Daisy Gilardini – who have generously donated images to help protect Bears in the wild.

Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) by Marsel van Oosten Svalbard. Climate change is not the only threat to Polar Bears. In Canada, the world’s largest exporter of Polar Bear skins, more than 600 Bears are legally killed every year. Hunters worldwide kill more Polar Bears than African Rhinos, which are protected by guards against poaching.

Six out of the eight Bear species are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Vulnerable or Endangered due to pressures ranging from climate change to human-wildlife conflict. Even those Bears of least concern, such as Brown Bears, are at risk of being lost for good in certain countries.

Founder of Remembering Wildlife Margot Raggett said: “Humans have long had a special relationship with Bears – we hug them at night as children and love seeing them in story books and on screen. Yet, in the real world, they’re not always viewed with the same affection and can been seen as a nuisance or a threat.

“Some face lives of misery – as dancing Bears, illegally trafficked as pets or used for medicine – or face serious threats and extinction through climate change, hunting or human-wildlife conflict.

Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) by Suzi Estzerhas. Two playful seven-month-old Giant Panda cubs in a tree Chengdu, China

“Through images and words, this book shines a spotlight on their diversity, beauty and resilience as well as raising awareness of their plight and raising funds for organisations passionately fighting for the future of Bears.”

The foreword for the book is by award-winning wildlife filmmaker, presenter and public speaker Gordon Buchanan MBE.

Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) by Tin Man Lee Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. After three hours lying motionless in remote Alaska, the photographer caught this picture of a spring cub waking up from a deep sleep and sitting up, with mother Bear, who was 20 feet away, dashing back to give a cub a nose touch.

Further information about Remembering Wildlife can be found here .

To find out more about the projects that Remembering Wildlife has already funded, click here

Each book costs £45 GBP (approximately $50 USD) and copies can be ordered at Remembering Wildlife