Living The Dream
I am Jaime Dias, conservationist and bush pilot. I am passionate about wildlife and nature, and I believe that I am responsible for their protection. I imagine a world in which African wildlife and ecosystems are safe and thriving. This conviction gives my life meaning, and that's why I founded Wings for Conservation, a Dutch Foundation using aerial support to make this vision a reality.
I am a commercial pilot with FAA and European licenses and 4,000 hours of flight time, most of which consists of bush flying.
I was born in Portugal and spent a lot of time in the sea from an early age and actually wanted to become a marine biologist. But when I saw the movie "Six Days, Seven Nights", in which Harrison Ford is a seaplane pilot in French Polynesia, I decided to become a pilot and live a similar lifestyle on a remote paradise island.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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Kordofan giraffes roaming free in the south of Chad. Kordofan giraffe is a subspecies of giraffe listed as Critically Endangered, and less than 2,500 are left in the wild.
After obtaining my pilot's license at the age of 20, I looked for a job as a seaplane pilot on every island in the world. I soon realized that I didn't have enough flying experience to get such a job, but I still longed for an adventure. I read on the internet that there were opportunities for relatively inexperienced pilots in the safari industry in Southern Africa. At the age of 22, I bought a one-way ticket to Namibia. After Namibia, I moved to Botswana, and while I was there, I read an article in National Geographic about the killing of elephants in Central Africa, in a war-ravaged country called Chad. I contacted the managers of the national park and they gave me my first job as a conservation pilot.
For over ten years, I have been working in Africa in wildlife conservation. In my first years in Africa, I worked for various non-profit organizations until I started my own in 2016.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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Elephants in Zakouma National Park, in the southeast of Chad. Zakouma National Park is home to the largest elephant population in the country and is a vital stronghold for wildlife in central Africa.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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Hippos in Lake Léré in the Binder-Léré Reserve, in the south of Chad. The reserve hosts populations of manatees and hippos in Lake Léré, as well as the third largest elephant population in the country.
I fly a US registered 1958 Cessna 172 called Pine (short for pineapple). I bought it in early 2019 for $21,000 in Arizona, where it had been for a few years after being based in California. During the pre-purchase inspection, I found out that the plane had made an appearance in the 2003 Hollywood blockbuster Terminator 3. The seller ferried the plane from Arizona to Florida, where it was disassembled and loaded into a sea container to be transported to Europe. The crossing from Florida to the Netherlands took less than a month. The aircraft was reassembled and prepared for the long ferry flight to Africa. The ferry flight took 10 flying days and 5,000 miles. I had to cross Europe, the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara desert to get to the capital of Chad, N’Djamena.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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1958 Cessna 172, nicknamed Pine
Aircraft play a crucial role in wildlife conservation in Africa, where most wildlife areas are vast and have few roads. The use of light aircraft is a very cost-effective and time-saving way of covering long distances in these landscapes.
Operating an aircraft in these remote areas is a challenge. Mechanics have to be flown in, all spare parts have to be ordered from the US and Europe, sometimes taking several weeks, and the quality of the fuel is dubious at best in many cases. But the difficulty of operating in these locations is rewarded in some ways—there are very few planes in the sky and you can fly for a whole day without hearing anyone else on the radio.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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The Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Reserve is one of the largest protected areas in Africa. The reserve's area in central Chad was part of Lake Mega-Chad in the Paleolithic period. Today's Lake Chad has shrunk to a fraction of its former size and lies several hundred miles from the reserve.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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The Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve is a World Heritage Site in northeastern Chad. It is a desert and mountain ecosystem and a refuge for many wildlife species. The reserve is an important archaeological site with 7,000-year-old rock art scattered across the landscape.
Due to the high temperatures, which average 86°F for the year and can reach 120°F, I operate my 172 as a two-seater. I do not carry passengers or do logistical flights. I carry out patrol flights to detect poachers, illegal camps, illegal cattle grazing, and other nefarious activities in wilderness areas and direct the deployment of ranger teams on the ground. I conduct ecological monitoring and research flights to collect data on ecosystems and wildlife populations to support their protection and restoration. I also conduct flights and aerial surveys to support wildlife management efforts and develop long-term strategies.
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Dias at the controls of his '58 straight tail 172, preparing to take off for a patrol mission.
Flying is only part of my job as I also spend a lot of time managing my NGO, doing administration work, fundraising and flight planning. It is a very rewarding job and in the course of my work I have led the process to establish a new national park, discovered a new population of giraffe and had a direct impact on the conservation of several species and ecosystems that are now recovering.
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In addition to his duties as pilot, Dias captures the beauty of the northcentral African landscape and its wildlife in photographs.
My favorite projects are those that take place in the desert in very remote areas. These areas are known for harboring rebel groups, traffickers and poachers, but against all odds there is still some wildlife left.
I recently wrote a diary about a week-long expedition to a remote desert area to carry out an aerial survey in search of the Dama gazelle, an endangered antelope known as Ariel in Arabic which I entitled "Ariel, The Rarest Of Them All."
Day 1
I leave the capital N'Djamena early in the morning and head north. The further I get, the worse the dust and the wind become. I can only see a few hundred meters. I spot my team on the ground waiting for me at the agreed location with our food, fuel and water. I start looking for a place to land and manage to squeeze the plane between two small dunes not too far from the vehicle.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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A Dune field in Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Reserve. The Reserve is home to several endangered antelope species such as Addax, Scimitar-Horned Oryx and Dama gazelle.
The scenery is apocalyptic, with blinding dust and a furious wind. It's hard to tell where the ground ends and the sky begins. The desert is indifferent to my arrival, despite the noble reason that brings me here.
At night, before hopping into my plane, I take one last look at the sky, but the stars are still obscured by the haze. I remove the front seat and put my mattress and blanket inside. The wind rocks the wings to lull me to sleep.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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A night spent under the starry sky.
Day 2
A bright red sunrise marks the beginning of our quest. During the engine warm up, the sand under the plane gives way as if she doesn't want us to leave. We put a sand plate under the nose wheel to prevent this from happening again.
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An early start before the first survey flight.
We are airborne, and the first species we find is the dorcas gazelle, a common gazelle of arid lands across the Sahara, unlike the Dama gazelle that we are looking for. After the flight, we drive to the nearest village to meet the local authorities. The desert has been unforgiving, most of the huts are buried by the sands of time. The village chief gives us a warm welcome in his office, a one-room cement building without windows. We sit on the floor and inside there is nothing but a television on a flimsy stand showing international news about a distant war. Before we leave, he gives us cold bottles of water, frozen like a block of ice, a luxurious treat.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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The vast landscape of the Sahel in central Chad.
Day 3
I wake up in the middle of the night, the cold has breached through the fuselage of my plane and I can feel it deep inside. By sunrise, the wind has completely died down and has surely moved to another part of the desert to show its strength. There is a bright light in the sky, it is not a star, but another captain flying his ship high above.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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Photo: Jaime Dias
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The landing area used during the week-long expedition in the desert.
The lack of wind makes it difficult for me to take off from an already short runway. A strong headwind on take-off is like a friend giving a helping hand. For a split second I think I see one, could it be?! No, it's just another camel carcass, the bones shining brightly, similar to the white colour of the Dama skin. We see many camel caravans, which remind me of an ancient world with old traditions. They are colourful and a distraction as we continue our search.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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Nomads crossing the desert en route to the next well.
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Day 4
There are four of us. I met Marc over ten years ago and he is my observer in the plane. I spent my first Christmas in Africa with him and his family in Zakouma National Park in the south of the country. He runs a project for the NGO Sahara Conservation in the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Wildlife Reserve, one of the largest protected areas in Africa and a refuge for endangered antelope species such as the Addax, the scimitar-horned Oryx, and the Dama gazelle.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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Scimitar-horned oryx in central Chad. The scimitar-horned oryx is an antelope that was extinct in the wild for over twenty years until its reintroduction in 2016. In October 2023, we recorded over 500 oryx for the first time. In December, the scimitar-horned oryx was downlisted by IUCN from extinct in the wild to endangered.
In recent years, we have carried out many missions to protect and study these species. We share the same enthusiasm and, at the moment, the same crazy hair blown by the desert winds. Then there are Hissein and Clotaire, the rangers, our security team. Hissein is a veteran and Clotaire is just taking his first steps. We have also sent a scouting party into the area to try and gather information from passing nomads.
Day 5
Before we leave the base camp, Hissein tells us that we will find two Dama gazelles today. His words lift our spirits. During the flight Marc points to some distant dunes, for me they are the gateway to another planet. We go there to investigate, but they are not home to any guests. We do find a few small carnivores, such as jackals and foxes, but not enough to fulfil our high expectations. Clotaire always stands on the back of the Land Cruiser when he hears the plane and holds up a red cloth to indicate the direction of the wind. He is proud of it, and it is hard to tell him that the wind here always comes from the same direction, we know each other well, the desert is an old friend. Hissein is eagerly waiting, and is undeterred by the bad news. He says that we will find them tomorrow. Coming home empty-handed is starting to take its toll.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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Our base camp. The vehicle transported our fuel, food and water.
Day 6
Our scouting party returned to base camp last night. They have spent several days near various wells where nomads stop to drink with their camels and other animals, but there is no news of Ariel. The desert has been kind to us and there is hardly any wind or dust for the fifth day in a row now. Our colleagues who have been here before and are familiar with this area, have been battered and unwelcome by these sands, and will hardly be able to believe our luck. After another five-hour flight, we still haven't found a single one. We continue to record Dorcas gazelles, and I take a photo of almost each one in case my eyes are playing tricks on me. Time is running out, and despite the high temperatures in the afternoon, we decide to fly again and make another attempt. We find an unusually high number of camel carcasses. This area is inhospitable and there is barely anything that can survive here.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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The Erdi region lies north of the Ennedi Reserve in far northeastern Chad, bordering Libya and Sudan. It is one of the most remote and inaccessible places on the African continent and is known to be home to rebel groups and traffickers.
Day 7
Unfortunately, we don't find Ariel. Even on the last flight, I still thought we had a chance. It's possible that a few individuals have escaped our gaze, but if that's not already the case, this population will soon be locally extinct. The last time they were seen was almost four years ago, and only one group of four was found, three of which were captured and taken to a breeding facility.
The Dama gazelle is a critically endangered species with less than 200 individuals left in the wild in isolated populations in Chad and Niger. In recent years, we have been working in the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Reserve in central Chad in partnership with Sahara Conservation and the Chadian government to protect the largest population in the wild. Here we will make the last stand for Ariel and bring her back from the brink of extinction.
Photo: Jaime Dias
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Dama gazelles in Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Reserve in central Chad. Dama gazelle is a critically endangered species with less than 200 individuals left in the wild, in isolated populations in Chad and Niger.
Since 2018, with my NGO Wings For Conservation, I've carried out 88 conservation missions, flown over 1,750 flight hours, covering a distance of more than 150,000 miles. In March 2024, I moved my operation to Mozambique and my 2030 goal is to reach 200 missions, 3,000 hours and 300,000 miles.
