Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique has become one of Africa’s most celebrated wildlife restoration stories. After a decade of renewed protection, Gorongosa’s large mammal population has increased 10-fold to over 100,000 animals. But the Park must also find a way to co-exist with the 200,000 people living in surrounding communities.

Dominique Gonçalves, a young African elephant ecologist shares the inspiring story of how Gorongosa is becoming a new model for wildlife conservation and community development. By bringing large-scale, long-term health care, agriculture support, and girls’ education to surrounding communities, Gorongosa is redefining the identity and purpose of this national park.

Director Biography - James Byrne

James Byrne – Executive Producer / Director / Producer

Originally from Ireland, James Byrne has a B.A. (Hon) in English and History

from University College, Galway, and a M.A. (Hon) in Modern Drama from

University College, Dublin. He worked as a professional theater director for a

couple of years before moving to New York City to learn film production on

features, music videos and commercials from 1995-2000. In 2000, he moved to

Washington, D.C, to join National Geographic Television. For 12 years, he

worked on TV programs about human culture, science, and specialized in wildlife

films. He was one of the Producers on the Emmy-award winning series

“Untamed Americas” and “Great Migrations”. While at National Geographic, he

produced their first film about Gorongosa National Park, “Africa's Lost Eden”. He

left National Geographic in 2012 and became the Media Director for the Carr

Foundation / Gorongosa Project, overseeing a small team dedicated to sharing

the inspiring story of Gorongosa. Among other credits, he was the Executive

Producer / Producer on the 6-episode PBS / NG series “Gorongosa: Rebirth of

Paradise” and Executive Producer and Director of “On the Front Line: The

Rangers of Gorongosa”.