Meet The Bush Warriors Clan

“Our task must be to free ourselves … by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” ~  Albert Einstein, in a letter dated 1950

The Chief : Dori Gurwitz, Founder of Bush Warriors

Dori’s passion for wildlife runs deep in his blood.  Having been raised in Kenya, he spent every free moment in the bush tracking wildlife and spending time with the Massai. He left Kenya in his early 20’s and moved to the urban jungle of New York City.  There, he was a part of the digital and social media revolution, working with Fortune 500 and entertainment and luxury brands, establishing their presence globally.

Dori realized the disconnect we have with our natural world, after observing the rapid decline in our world’s  biodiversity over the years, due to human expansion and  consumption of wildlife products.  In November 2009, he started Bush Warriors to give wildlife a voice and a fighting chance to wildlife, hoping to restore some of the balance that has been lost.  Armed with knowledge of the wild and the experience from the “Urban Jungle”,  Dori and the Bush Warriors Clan are on a mission to educate the world and save all that is left of our wildlife and ecosystems.  The reality is that once a species goes extinct, not only is it lost forever, but its ecosystem balance is lost as well.

“People always knew about poaching, but never fully understood it, or the extent of ecosystem damage it causes.  It’s now up to us global citizens of the world to rise up and become a force and a voice for our wildlife.  If we don’t, we will lose it forever.  We will ultimately lose ourselves, as the human race, if we do not put an end to the loss of our world’s natural resources immediately.”

Our mission in Bush Warriors is a simple one: we want to go extinct.  We can only do so when our world’s wildlife is flourishing and nature’s balance is restored once again.  Part of this mission involves reaching as many people as possible and educating them about  the reality faced by the world’s wildlife.  We seek to establish an understanding amongst the global community of how we are impacting our planet and what needs to happen to stop it.

We recently launched the Bush Warriors Fund, a US-based non-profit whose purpose is to generate funds to support conservation projects around the world.  Our Organization of the Day feature highlights small, grassroots organizations that we feel are making large contributions to conservation.  In the future, we plan to fund these types of efforts with the money we raise, in addition to continuing our venture to raise global awareness about the plight of earth’s inhabitants.

I welcome you to join our tribe and spread the word.  One way for you to get involved would be by participating in our Bush Warriors Ambassador program.

My favorite animal: Hippos

Click HERE if you want to see my favorite place in the world.  It is here that you can feel what the world was like when it was first created.  Love the satellite and 3D images… Enjoy!

Favorite Music : Electronic/Trance

The Clan:

Sarah Pappin

All my life I’ve known that I wanted to work with wildlife. At a very young age I moved from California to Oregon, where I spent most of my days outdoors exploring my environment. Back then, I felt that it was truly my life’s purpose to save wildlife – and not much has changed over my 27 years of life!  I’m still as much of a wildlife fanatic as ever.

My first experience directly working with wildlife came in high school, when I spent several weekends job shadowing the marine mammal caretakers at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. I was hooked. I decided to apply to Oregon State University (OSU) to continue to feed my passion for wildlife.

During my time at OSU, I had many incredible opportunities, not only to do incredible things – like travel to Namibia for several months to intern for a cheetah research and conservation project – but also to work with amazing people.  Throughout my life, I have been inspired by personal role models like Dr. Lisa Needles, Dr. Selina Heppell, Dr. Anita Morzillo, and Dr. Joe Beatty.  I was also motivated and influenced by many famous wildlife heroes, especially Jeff Corwin, Steve and Terri Irwin, Alexandra Morton, and Jane Goodall. When I graduated with my B.S. in Wildlife Science, I knew that, like them, I was destined to become a Wildlife Warrior.

After graduation, I spent considerable time involved in research on bears, sea turtles, as well as other reptiles and amphibians. Most recently, I worked for the State of New York as a big game technician, with focus on black bears. Since joining Bush Warriors in the fall of 2009, I’ve officially added “Wildlife Warrior” to my resume!

I am currently writing many of our blog posts and managing our online operations. I am also developing several Bush Warriors projects that I am very excited to get off the ground and introduce to the world!

I strongly believe that together we can save the world’s wildlife from what now seems to be an inevitably grim future. Man is the only species that is actually capable of halting biodiversity loss, so it is up to us to make this happen.  We must unite on behalf of wildlife everywhere to fight their battles and show the world that animals are no different from humans!

My favorite animal: Just one!? Can’t do it.  Some of my favorites are sea turtles, African Wild Dogs, orcas, wolves, and tigers.

Favorite place: I’m still on a quest to find my most favorite place in the world, but I do love Hawaii!

Favorite music: I listen to everything, but especially electronic, reggae, blues, and classic rock.  Here is one of my favorite songs…

Guest Writer:Gerry Van der Walt

Bio coming soon…….

Parick Stromvall

Bush Warriors East Africa

Bio coming Soon……

Sujan Dhakal

Bush Warriors Nepal

Bio coming soon……

Caroline Thompson

I grew up on the west coast, where I developed my life-long passion for nature and all of its creatures. While I was growing up, there were always animals in my life –horses, dogs, cats – and I loved it! I began to picture a future in which I’d be able to make a living working with animals. At a young age, I drew inspiration from a PBS kids’ show starring Ben Affleck called, “The Voyage of the Mimi”.  The main character traveled the world on a research vessel that followed whales, and learned so much about nature and animals of all kinds throughout his journeys.  The Voyage of the Mimi left me with a thirst for knowledge and ignited my interest in the natural world.

I moved to Florida in 2005 to attend the University of South Florida. I graduated with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Social Science and soon after headed to the University of Central Florida for an M.A. in Nonprofit Management. Along the way, I’ve been able to nurture my dream of working with animals by working at zoos and aquariums, doing things like education, grant writing, and animal husbandry. I have also worked with international medical groups to provide aid to those in need across the globe, especially in Haiti.

I am very excited to be a part of the Bush Warriors team, where I am currently developing the non-profit aspect of the organization.

I think it is very important for humans and wildlife to co-exist peacefully.  It is critical that we foster positive, embracing attitudes towards wildlife and their habitats.  By bringing an understanding of the human condition and a passion for nature and wild animals, I believe that I, along with a global network of Bush Warriors, can help to change humanity’s current relationship with our natural world.

My favorite animals: Leafy sea dragons, red pandas, and okapis

My favorite place: Crater Lake in Oregon

My favorite song: