Avid conservationist Amy Lorraine Deane helped start Save the Wild Chinchillas, a not-for-profit organisation that has spent the last 20 years trying to ensure these creatures do not become extinct. Save the Wild Chinchillas is a conservation organisation aiming to restore essential habitat for endangered chinchillas while deterring further habitat degradation.

Our main objectives are to educate and involve people worldwide in conservation, promote habitat regeneration, and create a knowledge base. We work directly with the local community, focusing on creating and enhancing habitats for chinchillas on communal lands. Seeds are collected from mountains, germinated in our modest nursery, and then the seedlings are transplanted into restoration areas. To date we have raised and transplanted 6,500 plants.

In areas where we work, wild populations have increased by two – and three – fold, however these areas are located outside of protected lands. Although we work outside the National Chinchilla Reserve, we support it by compiling reports, conducting scientific training for the guards and sharing field supplies. Our current educational campaign is focused on awakening conservation ethics in the policy makers of Chile.

Our partnership with the local community has strengthened our knowledge and has led to their growing support for local and global conservation too. We are proud to say that people from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North and South America have aided in our achievements, so that one day we may ensure a future where wild chinchillas are able to roam freely in their natural habitat.