Day by day, wildlife habitats are increasingly threatened by mankind. These companies are finding innovative ways to protect and reintroduce, one creature at a time

WINNER
Large Resort: Phinda Private Game Reserve

Eighteen years ago, the 57,000 acres that make up this South African safari reserve would have been the last place you'd look for wildlife. Nearly all of the animals had been killed by farmers, ivory hunters, and the government (part of a misguided tsetse fly-eradication program). But when CCAfrica bought the land, it engaged in an ambitious stocking program, and more than 2,000 animals—white rhinos, elephants, cheetahs, lions, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, and antelopes—were reintroduced. The program serves as a model throughout the continent. Black rhinos transferred to Phinda by the World Wildlife Fund—15 of just 3,500 left in the world—flourished and even reproduced. The staff are now focusing on small carnivores such as servals and jackals, which may not have the star appeal of big game but are just as integral to the ecosystem. Travel tip: Explore seven distinct habitats within the Phinda Private Game Reserve—ilala palm savanna, montana grassland, riverine forest, acacia thornveld, sand forest, open grassland, and natural pan systems (ccafrica.com).

RUNNER-UP
Cruise Line: Disney Cruise Line
At Castaway Cay, Disney's private Bahamian island, researchers are trying to transplant long-spined sea urchins, which will in turn control algae and encourage coral growth. The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund has distributed $11 million to protect wildlife in more than 110 countries (disneycruises.com)

HONORABLE MENTIONS IN WILDLIFE

Airline: Cathay Pacific Airways
The carrier has transported four tiger cubs from the Shanghai Zoo to a camp in South Africa, where they are learning to survive in the wild. The South China tiger is almost extinct in the wild, but these cubs may one day help repopulate the species (cathaypacific.com).

City Hotel: Montage Laguna Beach
Resort-funded docents educate the public about how to explore tidepools without harming the wildlife—from barnacles to crabs and perch (montagelagunabeach.com).

Hotel Chain: Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts
The company's Green Imperative Fund supports environmental projects, including an endangered sea turtle hatching program and coral regeneration in the Maldives. The company matches all guest contributions to the fund (banyantree.com).

Small Lodge: Campi Ya Kanzi
The lodge's trust employs scouts to arrest poachers on its preserve and in the nearby national park. It pays Masai herders for livestock slaughtered by lions, so they won't kill the cats (maasai.com).

Tour Operator: Metropolitan Touring
While others sponsor cleanups of the touristed areas of the Galápagos, this South American tour operator has paid fishermen to remove almost 50 tons of trash from non-tourist areas where sea lions and other species are threatened (metropolitan-touring.com).