Unleashed Outdoor Education & Wildlife Conservation Inc. On NEWSMAX with Carl Higbie!!

Larysa Switlyk of Larysa Unleashed and owner of Unleashed Global Adventures had the opportunity to speak LIVE with Carl Higbie on this 5 pm show "Frontline" and Jeff Sturgies of Whitetail Habitat Solutions about hunting and the end of Deer Season.

Switlyk spoke about our Hunting Heritage and how we need to focus on getting more youth involved in the outdoors because they are the ones who will keep the fight going for wildlife conservation. That is part of her mission of her new Non-Profit - Unleashed Outdoor Education & Wildlife Conservation Inc. .

There is a lot of misinformation out there and we as hunters need to get the right message across and education others, especially our youth!

Carl also asked what her message was about deer season ending and looking forward. Well if you are sad whitetail deer season is ending, then contact Unleashed Global Adventures and we will find you a hunt that has open season! We keep up to date on all the different hunting locations and hunting seasons so you can wipe away your tears and still enjoy the outdoors with your family and friends!

Book your next trip with UGA - Contact us Today!

www.UnleashedGlobalAdventures.com

UGABOOKINGS@gmail.com

Looking to get more involved? Unleashed Outdoor Education & Wildlife Conservation Inc. is always looking for volunteers! Contact us to find out way to get involved and help our mission!

Elephant Experience at the Myakka Elephant Ranch, Donating to Wildlife Conservation!

My name is Larysa Switlyk and I’m a certified public accountant who is now a professional hunter. I have self produced and hosted a hunting TV show that has been in rotation on national and international television for the past ten years. In addition to producing a television show, I also run a consulting agency called Unleashed Global Adventures that books clients on hunting and fishing trips I’ve personally done and filmed. I reside in Sarasota, Florida, where I have lived since 2002, and I am a board member of the Safari Club International Tampa Florida Chapter. Every year the Chapter donates to wildlife conservation, outdoor education and humanitarian services. This year the Chapter was asked by one of our members Angie Hall, a 2017 Diana Award Winner, to donate to the Myakka Elephant Ranch to help in their efforts of expanding their facility as well as clean up from the recent Hurricane Ian.

I had the honor of presenting the Chapter’s $500 donation to the Myakka Elephant Ranch in March 2023. It was amazing to see first-hand how impactful their operation is and how well they take care of their elephants. Through these donations and people paying for personal experiences such as grooming the elephants, the ranch raises enough money to care for them as well as send a large donation to Africa in association with the International Elephant Foundation. This money goes towards protecting these elephant’s native habitats and setting up anti-poaching units to protect them from being killed for their ivory. Almost 100 elephants per a day are being poached in Africa for their Ivory. In 1930 there were over 10 million elephants in Africa and today there are only approximately 350,000-400,000 African Elephants left. The Asian Elephant is far more endangered with only around 40,000 left. Something needs to be done before they go extinct!

After presenting the Chapter’s donation, I surprised everyone with an additional matching donation from my new nonprofit Unleashed Outdoor Education & Wildlife Conservation Inc. which was a pleasant surprise to everyone there! The mission of my new nonprofit is to empower people through the outdoors, and to preserve and protect the future of wildlife.

Myakka Elephant Ranch does an exceptional job letting you experience these majestic creatures up close and personal! You can book different experiences like helping to bathe them, have an educational encounter where you learn how they behave in the wild, and get up close and personal photos with them (you can even take a selfie). The staff at the ranch teaches you the difference between the Asian and African Elephants, struggles that they face, and what conservationists are doing to protect them.

The most important thing an experience like this will have is to give the patrons of the ranch a lifelong memory, especially the young children, about how critical it is to ensure that these magnificent creatures never disappear from the Earth. Educating everyone on how important the conservation of elephants is for the survival of the species will help spread the message to even more people. Spreading this knowledge will help influence permanent change.

I was so happy as I watched about 60 attendees, who were there for the educational encounter, take their turns capturing family photos with the elephants and touching their trunks and heads. I could see every single person in the shed have their own personal and unique connection with the elephants. The kid’s faces lit up, while their parents and grandparents were able to share those family moments and turn them into memories.

Elephants don’t have sweat glands so in order to stay hydrated, and keep their skin healthy and stay cool, they need to go in water every day or bathe. I was able to partake in the African Elephant’s daily bath along with the other attendees who booked the VIP spa experience. You could literally see the joy in the elephant’s eyes when everyone was taking turns scrubbing their skin with big soapy brushes. When one side was done, she would happily turn around to start the other side. This particular elephant would purr like a large cat when you would scrub her to show she was relaxed and enjoying it.

Visiting the Myakka Elephant Ranch is truly a special encounter which I feel helps solidify what visitors learned today in the hopes that they spread the word that elephants do need desperate help to preserve them! I know the experience changed me personally and it felt good knowing I am a part of their conservation efforts.

This truly is a once in a lifetime experience and with everyone’s efforts I hope everyone will get a chance to experience this close encounter with elephants.

Myakka Elephant Ranch is a non-profit conservation center located in Bradenton, Florida. They strive to educate their guests on elephant conservation while providing a memorable once in a lifetime experience. I truly hope everyone will get a chance to experience it! I can’t believe this hidden gem was in my own backyard.

For more information: https://www.myakkaelephantranch.org

Website Links:

Safari Club International Foundation

Unleashed Outdoor Education & Wildlife Conservation Inc.

Bringing School Supplies to a Remote School in Zimbabwe Africa - Blue Bag Program, Amy Bell

As a hunter, there’s no greater thrill than stalking and harvesting big game. Knowing your money and efforts out in the field impact conservation of these animals and habitat. I recently finished an amazing 2-week safari down in Zimbabwe. As thrilling as this experience was, I must admit, this was not the highlight of my safari.

Thanks to Safari Club International Foundation and my local Tampa SCI chapter, I was sponsored to participate in The Blue Bag Program, which was established to help bring much needed supplies and medicine to remote areas and people in need around the world. The Bell family and Amy Bell Charities became a sponsor to promote the “Pay It Forward” spirit throughout the world in memory of their daughter Amy and in connection with Safari Club International Foundation’s humanitarian support program.

Back in 2021, I was fortunate to participate in this program while on safari in South Africa! With our Blue Bags filled with warm blankets and soft bedding, we delivered them to a remote community that was in serious need because of unseasonal frigid temperatures. We also brought food and dry goods that were purchased locally, as well as some game meat that we had harvested on our safari!

And now, before heading to Zimbabwe this year, I was made aware of an elementary school that was located right next to the area where I was going to be hunting. This school is extra special because it was built especially for the kids of the local Park Rangers and of the Patrolmen who work for the local Anti-Poaching Unit. The dollars spent by hunters coming to the area are directly being put back into the community, and together with the local government, the children of the folks that work to protect the hunting area and to look after the animals are able to get a quality education.

After landing in Harare, and before heading to camp, we stopped at a local market to load up on school supplies for the kids! The Blue Bag Program encourages participants to buy the donated goods locally in order to put money into the local economy, essentially doubling the impact of participation.

As soon as my hunt was finished, I loaded up the truck with the Blue Bags full of notebooks, pencils, pens, colored markers, crayons, coloring books, and math drill books, and drove through remote wilderness across the hunting area. It was hard to imagine that there was a school with small children nearby, when all around was the wildest lands in Africa. After arriving at the school, I was greeted by the schoolmaster, and several of the students, who gave me big smiles and kind hellos. Soon the rest of the students had gathered outside their classrooms to see what was in the bags. When I opened them up, all at once the children gasped, and excitedly said, “Oooooh!” and “Aaaah!”

I can honestly say that even after having such amazing success on my safari in Zimbabwe, the highlight of my trip was seeing the smiles on the faces of the children as they each took their share of the supplies that were brought in the Blue Bags. The kids were so thankful for us coming, and so thankful to all the hunters that come and visit the hunting area, because they truly understand the benefits that the hunting and outfitting operations bring to their lives every day.

It’s my hope that more hunters could participate in The Blue Bag Program, and that they too can experience first-hand the thrill that comes from engaging with the local communities that they visit on their hunts. And I’m sure that they too would agree, among the highlights of life, there are few that rival the joy of giving.

-Larysa Switlyk @LarysaUnleashed. @UnleashedGlobalAdventure

www.unleashedglobaladventures.com

www.LarysaUnleashed.com