Ofir Drori

Ofir Drori is a leading force in the fight against corruption and wildlife crime across ten countries in West and Central Africa. He works within law enforcement and judicial systems to bring wildlife traffickers to justice. Ofir is the founder of LAGA (The Last Great Ape Organisation), an NGO that targets wildlife criminals in Cameroon and ensures they are prosecuted and sentenced. LAGA was responsible for the first-ever wildlife trafficking conviction in West and Central Africa.

Once the LAGA model had proven it could effectively enforce wildlife laws and measure success—by the number of traffickers that were arrested and punished—the next step was to expand the model and scale up activities.

In 2017, the LAGA model was used to set up the EAGLE Network — a broader initiative that now operates in ten countries and maintains an impressive rate of at least one major wildlife trafficker arrested and prosecuted each day.

Ofir and his team have helped to imprison over 2,500 traffickers (anno 2025).

Background

Ofir’s journey began in the rainforests of Central Africa. What started as an adventurous exploration soon turned into a deep commitment to activism. While traveling the continent and reporting as a journalist, everything changed in 2002 when he encountered a baby chimpanzee named Kita being held by traffickers. He rescued her and ensured her captor was jailed — marking the first successful wildlife trafficking conviction in the region.

During his early investigations, Ofir learned that unless urgent action was taken, great apes could disappear within two decades due to illegal hunting and trafficking.

The documentary Ofir – A Wildlife Crime Documentary follows Ofir’s groundbreaking work in wildlife law enforcement in Cameroon. The 1-hour film offers an intimate look at his tireless fight against poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking, while also capturing his deep emotional bond with three orphaned apes: two baby chimpanzees, Future and Kita, and a baby gorilla named Life.

Ofir is also the author of the book The Last Great Ape: the story of his life and work, and his journey to activism.

Vision and Approach

Ofir is driven by a powerful vision: to end the illegal trafficking of endangered wildlife and protect the natural world for future generations. He confronts this global crisis with courage and determination, leading undercover operations and working closely with law enforcement and governments to expose and dismantle criminal networks. His work often involves significant personal risk — a testament to his deep commitment to justice and conservation.

Stopping traffickers is only part of the mission. Ofir believes in the power of transparency and public awareness. After each successful operation, his team shares the results through their website, social media, and annual reports. By shining a light on these crimes — and on the results from the teams’ actions — Ofir aims to inspire action, mobilise support, and prevent people from becoming involved in the illegal wildlife trade.

In this interview at the Future For Nature Awards Ceremony in 2011, Ofir shares his vision and motivation with us:

“Future For Nature combines a strong ideology and a unique approach in conservation: the idea that conservation should go back to values, that it is and should be personal. That passion matters. We need new approach, and conservation has to change. We all need to build a vibrant community of new-generation conservationists that encourages transformation.”

Ofir Drori

Impact of the Future For Nature Award

• The Future For Nature Award significantly boosted LAGA’s credibility, helping the organisation build stronger partnerships with African governments and law enforcement agencies.
• With this support, LAGA established a new model of collaboration between NGOs and state institutions—one that integrates anti-corruption efforts directly into conservation work.
• Just seven months after LAGA was founded, it secured Cameroon’s first wildlife trafficking conviction. Since 2006, a major wildlife trafficker has been arrested every week, with approximately 87% of them held without bail from the moment of arrest.
• The financial and reputational support from the award has helped LAGA expand its work and gain broader acceptance for its bold, results-driven approach.

In 2016, Ofir was the Guest of Honour at the FFN Awards ceremony and held a lecture at the Future For Nature Academy, inspiring and empowering the next generation of nature conservationists.

Moving Forward

LAGA and the EAGLE Network continue to scale their impact, pushing for stronger enforcement, greater accountability, and deeper partnerships to protect wildlife and challenge corruption across Africa. They have successfully brought over 2,500 major wildlife traffickers to justice and this number is increasing week by week.

The monthly EAGLE briefings provide an overview of arrests since 2015. Available here.

LAGA’s influence goes beyond conservation. It has been described by several national ambassadors as “one of Africa’s significant anti-corruption success stories” and has inspired similar activities in policing corruption, child trafficking and human rights issues.

Read about Ofir’s successes in recent years on our website: 2025, 2019, 2018. For the latest news, visit this website.

"Ofir tackles the 'bad' guys; but he does so through legal channels. You can go only so far with soft approaches of awareness. At the end of the day, you have to be willing to stand firm and enforce the regulations. By being visibly anti-corruption, you place yourself in the firing line. Perhaps the real hero of this nomination is the chimpanzee 'Future' who turned Ofir's life around."

Mr. John MacKinnon, International Selection Committee