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melissa@mjacc.co.za
If you research accounting firms, you are likely to find their logo, vision and mission statements centred around numbers and accounting terms. Not the case with Gillitts-based accounting practice, MJ Chartered Accountants. Their logo, slogan, vision & mission are all centred around lions. Business Owner & chartered accountant Melissa Jacobs explains the background to this and it is clear that Melissa is as passionate about lions and lion conservation as she is about accounting and taxes.
Melissa’s love for nature, especially Lions started in her childhood and unbeknown to many, the lion population has declined over the years and lions are now seriously endangered. Melissa and her team want to make a difference and have pledged to do their part in supporting conservation projects aimed at saving this majestic animal.
The MJ team are an all female team – lionesses united under one mission. They are fiercely focused on the needs of their clients and their slogan One Team, One Roar gives them daily purpose to carry out their mission. The business has grown significantly over the last 3 years proving that purpose driven businesses almost always outperform those without real purpose.
It is difficult to comprehend why the majestic African lion is in trouble. For most, lions are the top predator to see on any safari “bucket list”. From the magnificent black-maned male lion whose majesty raises a tingle in the spine of most, to the affectionate females and their adorable cubs.
It is extremely difficult for anyone to estimate exactly how many lions there really are left in the wild. It is incredibly challenging for censuses to give accurate numbers and they are often biased by the agenda of whoever has commissioned them. The most widely accepted figure is an estimated 20,000 lions in the world; substantially less than the estimated 23,000 rhinos and the 400,000 elephants. Statistics that have shocked many.
We need to act now if future generations are to have any hope in enjoying the sound of a wild lion’s roar at dawn.
Most wild lions are now primarily confined to areas under formal protection, their dramatic populations declines driven by conflict with people over the threats that lions pose to humans and livestock, natural prey depletion, habitat conversion and the illegal wildlife trade in lion body parts.
The Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA), which includes the Kruger National Park (KNP) in South Africa, the Limpopo National Park (LNP) in Mozambique, and Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, is one of only 10 remaining lion strongholds in Africa. However, recently published evidence suggests that the GLTFCA strongholds may be under serious threat. Poaching of lions within the conservation area has increased over the last decade, possible due to a rising demand for body parts.
SANParks, Endangered Wildlife Trust, National Administration of Conservation Areas in Mozambique, and the Peace Parks Foundation, with funding from the UK government through the International Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund (IWTCF) and the Lion Recovery Fund, have embarked on an ambitious partnership to understand and protect the population of Africa’s most iconic species within the GLTFCA.
A vital component of the project involves monitoring lion prides across the GLTFCA using GPS satellite collars. The aim of the monitoring is to identify areas with recent lion activity and produce habitat priority maps indicating habitat, landscape features and other resources used regularly by lions, which may also be identified by poachers and enable them to target lions more effectively overtime.
The information provided by the collars will aid anti-poaching teams to focus their protection efforts in space and time rather than trying to secure large swathes of ‘potential’ lion habitat. The collars will also be used to check on the lions more frequently to identify missing individuals more promptly and then track their movements back in time to identify potential poaching activities.
Melissa and her team are working closely with Marnus Roodbol from Endagered Wildlife Trust to help in any way possible, with the pending disaster. They have committed to donating R20,000 towards an operation where specialized collars that have already been installed, and needs their batteries replaced. This project will be actioned early this year.
Melissa’s passion is only growing, and she is committed to contributing further as and when her circumstances permit. If you are wanting to help or get involved with this project or in any other way, please email Melissa, at melissa@mjacc.co.za
