Greater Liuwa and Kabompo Team

Lucky Chama

Lucky grew up with and around wildlife in the Kasika Conservancy in Namibia. As a young boy he experienced human wildlife conflicts, which stoked his interest in learning more about wild animals and pursuing a career in wildlife conservation. In 2016 Lucky enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in wildlife management programme at Copperbelt University. After he graduated, he started as an intern with ZCP in the Greater Kafue Ecosystem and ultimately joined the Liuwa team as part of the ZCP Conservation Biologist Training Programme. Since 2023 Lucky is fill the role as Senior Field Ecologist and and makes field plans and assists with coordinating field teams. Lucky also runs the Liuwa Conservation Club at Sibemi and Mishulundu School.

Fidelis Muchimba

Fidelis was born in Livingstone, the Southern province of Zambia and the home of the mighty Victoria Falls - one of the seven natural wonders of world!! He completed his high school education at David Livingstone High School and later obtained a Bachelor’s of Science Education degree from the University of Zambia majoring in Biology with a Geography minor. After University studies he worked as a teacher at private school within Lusaka and later on worked with Hilcrest Missions as an Assistant Pastor. He is now happy to have joined Zambian Carnivore Programme in the Liuwa National Park as a Camp Administration Coordinator. He enjoys working within the Park and put his mathematical and accounting skills to work updating Liuwa’s Excel workbooks and other documents on google sheets. In his current position he coordinates and supports team members in both of Liuwa’s field camps. Living in the national park brings him closer to all the animals that he enjoyed watching on the National Geographic Channel. Fidelis enjoys reading science books and waking up to the beautiful sounds of lions and whooping monkeys.

Kings Chimungu

Kings began his conservation journey at the age of 18 in April 2016 as part of ZCP’s Conservation Biologist Training Programme. His passion for wildlife led him to pursue studies in animal science at the Natural Resources Development College in Lusaka in 2017. During his school holidays, he returned to Liuwa, the place he calls home, to work and deepen his connection to nature.

Currently, Kings is studying at Copperbelt University, where he is working toward a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources Management and Climate Change. He is excited about the knowledge he’s gaining both theoretically and practically, as it prepares him to make a positive impact in his community and contribute to environmental conservation.

Dean Banda

Dean grew up Mfuwe and joined ZCP as part of the Conservation Biologist Training Programme in 2017. He is a former Conservation Club member who completed his education at Mfuwe Day Secondary School. Dean’s past work experience involves working with a community-based organization to promote economic empowerment through conservation farming. His future interests include wildlife research and community outreach on issues affecting large carnivores. In 2021 Dean began his university studies at Copperbelt University for a Bachelors of Science in wildlife management. Through his studies he will acquire the set of skills he needs to become one of Zambia’s future conservation leader.

Kamuti Likezo

Kamuti grew up in the Zambezi floodplains north of Liuwa Plain National Park and started as an intern with ZCP in 2023, assisting with a wildlife camera trap survey between the park and the Angolan border. He then joined the team as a wildlife conservation trainee and now is an integral part of our field monitoring team. Kamuti is the grand-son of a local Chief in the Greater Liuwa Ecosystem and, in his free time, he is very passionate about football and used to play actively. His interest in wildlife stems from his youth; he seeks to understand animals, their behaviours and survival in greater detail. Ultimately, Kamuti wishes to pursue a university degree in Wildlife Management in the coming years.

Esther Nkhoma

Esther first came to Liuwa as an intern in early 2024, with the task of managing and curating the new digital data collection protocols and the associated carnivore database. Before joining ZCP, Esther completed her Bachelor degree in Environmental Education at the University of Zambia. Esther enjoys wildlife documentaries, which also sparked her interest in pursuing a conservation career. She is passionate about teaching the youth about learning and career opportunities. Esther’s professional interests revolve around community outreach, human-wildlife coexistence and environmental management topics. Aside from work, she enjoys watching movies and listening to music. Esther now is the first-ever full-time data assistant at Liuwa.

Maurice Chikumba

Maurice first joined ZCP as an intern at Liuwa in August 2023 and has advanced to become a permanent member of our field team. He grew up in Mfuwe, where he was a member of the Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust from 2008 until 2015, the year he also completed his secondary school certificate. Thereafter, he worked as a sales person at Kafunta Safaris for a year and a half before commencing his degree studies in Natural Resource Management and Climate Change at Copperbelt University in 2017. Maurice was awarded his degree in 2022. Besides his passion for nature and wildlife, Maurice has a keen interest in photography, which is very helpful for documenting and identifying new carnivores in Liuwa. He’s also an excellent motor bike rider and enjoys football and music in his free time. Maurice always has a positive attitude and smile on his face.

Samulapo Samulapo

Sam joined ZCP in 2022 as an intern whilst he was still a student at Copperbelt University, pursuing his degree in Wildlife Management. Prior to his own studies, Sam worked on an exchange project investigating solutions to integrate international refugees successfully in Zambia. He is passionate about photography and seeks to develop his skills in this field. He also runs the Conservation Clubs and takes pride in inspiring kids and students to become future conservation leaders. Sam enjoys public speaking and presentations, continually improving his information sharing and communication skills. In 2024, Sam graduated 1st in his class in Wildlife Management, after which he permanently joined the field monitoring team at Liuwa.

Alison Simpanzye

Alison is a graduate from The Copperbelt University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management. After completion of his studies, Alison joined Bats Without Borders in partnership with BirdWatch Zambia for a year as a Conservation Intern. In May 2023, he joined ZCP’s West Lunga Project as a Junior Field Ecologist based at Jivundu Camp in West Lunga National Park. Through his work he has developed and perfected lots of skills including the safe use of equipment, camera trapping and how to use software like QGIS, Survey123, Google Earth Pro, Basecamp, and Digikam. The best parts of his job include working with a likeminded team that is so welcoming and willing to teach and train new staff. Plus he loves living in a tented house powered by solar energy a few meters away from the Kabompo River.

Mwelwa Musama

Mwelwa was born and raised in the Luapula part of Zambia. He completed his secondary education in 2015 at Samfya Secondary School and worked as an Assistant Teacher at Yongolo Primary School, which helped him build a strong foundation in working with young students.

In 2017, he joined The Copperbelt University to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management, graduating in 2022. In July 2023, he participated in ZCP’s Integrated Field Conservation Course (IFCC) training programme at our Luangwa Valley Field Site. The training helped him build skills in leading a team, wildlife tracking, identifying large carnivores, data collection, and use of GPS, Q-GIS, Basecamp, camera traps, etc. Upon completion of the IFCC training, he joined Game Rangers International (GRI) as a Research Intern based in the Kafue National Park. As someone who enjoys field-based conservation work, he jumped at the opportunity to join ZCP’s West Lunga team based in West Lunga National Park at Jivundu Camp, first as an intern and later as a field assistant. In his new role, he enjoys facilitating lessons with the Conservation Club at Jivundu Primary School - teaching learners about the significance of wildlife conservation, knowing that “today’s children are the future leaders of tomorrow.”

Given Kapawa

DNPW/AP Research Scout, Given Kapawa, joined the team in 2020. Since day one Given has been an irreplaceable member of the research team in Liuwa. Given learns quickly, Shows initiative and works incredibly hard. Since Given joined the ZCP team he has learnt how to track animals on a motor bike - which is not an easy task in Liuwa! He has gained a lot of computer skills and since 2023 Given is involved in training young interns joining the team as part of the Conservation Biologist Training Programme. Given was born and raised in Kalabo and completed his training as a scout in 2017.

Anna Kanyanga

Anna has been with the Greater Liuwa team since 2017. Before working with us she spent nine years cooking for missionaries from all over the world; learning to make recipes from countries such as Italy, Mexico, and Kenya. Anna is from the Western Province and spends her off days in Kalabo with her daughter who is studying agriculture. The ZCP team would not run smoothly without the support of Anna and her love for making a variety of foods, her baked goods never last more than a day!

Trust Siyoto

Trust was born and raised in Munde Village which is located in the middle of Liuwa Plain National Park. He enjoyed playing football growing up and now lives in the same village with his family. Trust joined the team in 2021 and is happy to be a part of ZCP. He enjoys the variety of work here in Liuwa and is invaluable to keeping the camp running smoothly - especially on the days we get multiple flat tires!

Maggie Kawina

The always happy and smiling person on the team is Maggie. Maggie grew up in Kalabo, here she completed Grade 12 at Kalabo Secondary School. Maggie joined the Liuwa team in 2022 to assist Anna with her cooking and taking care of the team and camp. Maggie and Anna form a terrific team together and their cooking skills don't go unnoticed by the team or visitors.