Greg Carr is a multi-millionaire, maybe even a billionaire – we haven’t run a D&B on him. He is single-handedly funding the infrastructure development and re-stocking of Gorongosa National Park. Even the park guards stood at attention as we witnessed the arrival and release of two shipments of elands and another of zebras, which were captured in other parks in Mozambique. In fact we are among the few paying guests at the camp right now. Most everyone else is involved with the restocking; game capture experts, veterinarians, ecologists, zoologists, videographers and even the guy from National Geographic who wrote the feature about Gorongosa for the March issue, which, sadly, we haven’t seen.
Connie and I made up a story – lacking facts has never stopped us from speculating – about how young Greg fell in love with a woman while he was visiting Mozambique. She contracted malaria and died and Greg dedicated his work at Gorongosa to her memory. The truth, we learned, is nowhere near as romantic. Someone heard he was interested in doing something charitable (and tax-deferred) in Africa and approached him with a plan to restore the park. What you see today is the result of eight-years of effort and expenditure, and there is more to come. Peter, one of the scientists – he was trying to catch a worm-sized “blind snake” by torchlight when I met him – said the next project is the E.O. Wilson Research Centre, an on-site laboratory for scientists. Wilson, himself, is scheduled to visit Gorongosa soon, as are Greg and several other notables. It sounds like the park is in good hands.
