Climate change, economic development, and unchecked tourism are threatening animal populations around the world. But these four companies are doing what they can to protect wildlife—in some cases even turning back the clock

Tswalu Kalahari Reserve
Back To The Future
Africa may seem like an eden of untouched ecosystems, but close up, the picture is more complicated. Settlers brought livestock to South Africa's Kalahari Desert a century ago, decimating the local flora and fauna. In the past decade, the Oppenheimer family bought 38 of those farms and converted them into a nearly 400-square-mile conservation area where alien species have been removed and rare wildlife reintroduced. From eight desert black rhinos relocated there in 1995, the herd has grown to 27, roughly a quarter of the entire country's black rhino population. Also reintroduced: a pack of rare African wild dogs. Guests at Tswalu's Relais & Châteaux lodge and private villa can check for black rhino tracks, reintroduce a cheetah, capture a Damaraland mole rat to be studied—or just indulge in a hot-air balloon ride or a massage. But the pampering, says general manager Gus van Dyk, belies a serious mission. "Guests are encouraged to feel the Kalahari sand between their toes. They explore the habitat rather than simply chase after big game," he says. "On Tswalu, tourism is about assisting with the recovery of an ecosystem" (tswalu.com).

Fairmont
Turtle Power
The company's Acapulco Princess and Pierre Marques resorts collect and protect the eggs of endangered marine turtles in a special farm, releasing about 20,000 babies each year (fairmont.com).

Madikwe Game Reserve
Home Again
Like Tswalu, the South African reserve has reintroduced wild dogs, lions, elephants, and black rhinos to land that was once cattle farms.

Tiamo Resorts
Iguana Watch
This hotel, based in the Bahamas, founded the South Andros Island Conservation Society to protect the island's rare orchids, birds, iguanas, and other species.