This week we will navigate through the different parks in Kenya. Let the journey begin.
Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve is located in Kenya. Established in 1968, it was one of Kenya’s First marine parks. Its coral gardens are merely 300 metres (980 ft.) from the shore and are home to approximately 600 species of fish, 110 species of stony coral and countless invertebrates, crustaceans and molluscs.
Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve was established in 1968 with Malindi Marine National Park and Reserve. They were established by the Kenyan government. Watamu Marine Park is now part of a UN recognised World Biosphere Reserve.
The park’s coral reefs form the physical and biological backbone of the area. With over 150 species of hard and soft corals, such as brain corals, fan corals and sponges, it provides for abundant nutrients for fish. There are also whale sharks, manta rays, octopus and barracuda as some of the larger species in the park.
Watamu also has a different species of turtles and a turtle watch program which has managed to secure the main park’s beach as 99% viable sea turtle nesting site for endangered sea turtles. The turtles nesting in Watamu include the Green Hawksbill and Olive Ridley turtles. Leatherback turtles do not nest in Watamu or Malindi but they pass by through the nearby waters during their migration.
LOCATED
– In the North Coast of Kenya 110kms from Mombasa
ALTITUDE
– 3 to 5m
AREA
– 10km²
PARK ENTRANCE PAYMENT METHOD
– Kenya Wildlife Service Prepaid Tickets and Cash
ACCOMMODATIONS
– Plenty of choices in Watamu and Malindi
ACCESS
– By Road approx. 2 hours’ drive from Mombasa; Daily scheduled flights from Nairobi and Mombasa
ATTRACTIONS
– Green Turtles, Coral Gardens, Gede Ruins, Diving, Glass Bottom Boat, Snorkelling
What to take with you
Footwear, e.g. sandals or flip flops (to protect your feet from the reef)
T-shirts (to protect your body from sunburn)
Snorkel, mask, fins, all of which are available for hire
Camera, hat, sunscreen, insect repellant
Guide books
Plenty of drinking water
A friend(s)
PARK FEES
Citizen
Resident
Non – Resident
Adults
KSH
Child
KSH
Adults
KSH
Child
KSH
Adults
USD
Child
USD
150
150
350
200
20
15
Enjoy yourself there is always something interesting to see in Kenya, navigate and know your country.
Wangari Maathai was a lady known for her passion for the environment and she fought tirelessly for the environment.
Wangari Muta Maathai was born in Nyeri, a rural area of Kenya (Africa), in 1940. She obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964), a Master of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1966), and pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, before obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi, where she also taught veterinary anatomy. The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai became chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and an associate professor in 1976 and 1977 respectively. In both cases, she was the first woman to attain those positions in the region.
Professor Maathai was active in the National Council of Women of Kenya (1976–1987) and was its chairman (1981–1987). In 1976, while she was serving in the National Council of Women, Professor Maathai introduced the idea of community-based tree planting. She continued to develop this idea into a broad-based grassroots organisation, the Green Belt Movement (GBM), whose main focus is poverty reduction and environmental conservation through tree planting.
In 1986, the Movement established a Pan African Green Belt Network and has exposed over 40 individuals from other African countries to the approach. Some of these individuals have established similar tree planting initiatives in their own countries or they use some of the Green Belt Movement methods to improve their efforts. So far some countries have successfully launched such initiatives in Africa (Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Lesotho, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, etc). In September 1998, she launched a campaign of the Jubilee 2000 Coalition. She has embarked on new challenges, playing a leading global role as a co-chair of the Jubilee 2000 Africa Campaign, which seeks cancellation of the unpayable backlog debts of the poor countries in Africa by the year 2000. Her campaign against land grabbing and rapacious allocation of forests land has caught the limelight in the recent past.
NOBEL PRIZE WINNER WANGARI MAATHAI
Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. In its citation, the Norwegian Nobel Committee noted Professor Maathai’s contribution to “sustainable development, democracy and peace.” The Committee further stated that Professor Maathai “stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa. She has taken a holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights and women’s rights in particular. She thinks globally and acts locally.” In accepting the award, Professor Maathai said: “I believe the Nobel committee was sending a message that protecting and restoring the environment contributes to peace; it is peace work. . . . I always felt that our work was not simply about planting trees. It was about inspiring people to take charge of their environment, the system that governed them, their lives, and their future.”
QUOTES BY WANGARI MAATHAI
It’s the little things citizens do. That’s what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees.
Wangari Maathai
I don’t really know why I care so much. I just have something inside me that tells me that there is a problem, and I have got to do something about it. I think that is what I would call the God in me.
Wangari Maathai
THIS LADY WAS A PERFECT EXAMPLE THAT TO CREATE CHANGE YOU DO NOT NEED SOMEONE TO GIVE YOU A PLATFORM, YOU CREATE THE PLATFORM AND LEAD THE WAY. CHANGE BEGINS FROM WITHIN, YOU ARE THE CHANGE YOU ARE WAITING FOR.
The area encompassed within the Olare Motorogi Conservancy is a strategic buffer zone for the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the wildlife migration corridors, and will be secured from incompatible land usage, such as wheat farming, charcoal production and subsistence agriculture, which together displace wildlife habitats at an alarming rate in the Narok district. Olare Motorogi Conservancy is set to be a world-class conservancy, generating sustainable income for the landowners, and supporting an increase in wildlife habitat beyond the Maasai Mara National Reserve. This is a wonderful, relatively undisturbed part of the Maasai Mara ecosystem, with good populations of both predators and herbivores, including many elephants. Rhino and wild dog have also been sighted in the area occasionally, and it could become a very viable habitat for these two highly endangered species, given the right sort of protection through sensitive tourism development.
The expansive Olare Motorogi Conservancy borders the Maasai Mara National Reserve and is home to an abundance of animals including all the big cats for which the Mara is famous. It forms part of a vital buffer zone between the Mara Reserve and the wildlife dispersal areas surrounding it.
Wildlife presence, population and diversity have greatly increased since the establishment of the conservancy. The conservancy today offers pleasant and exclusive viewing of game in a pristine environment, with a rich and diverse wildlife population rarely found anywhere else on the African savannah.
It is felt that the Ol Kinyei Conservancy, Olare Motorogi Conservancy and similar future initiatives represent the best chance to save what is undoubtedly the most important part of the Maasai Mara ecosystem outside of the officially protected Mara Reserve area.
Location and Size
The Olare Orok Conservancy covers an area of 33,000 acres directly adjoining the Maasai Mara National Reserve to the south and is an area of outstanding beauty and importance for wildlife. It encompasses the lower river valleys of the Olare Orok and Ntiakitiak rivers, together with the associated riverine woodland. The OOC also features the impressive Ntiakitiak Gorge and a beautiful escarpment of some 12 kms in length. Below the escarpment are extensive areas of acacia woodland, which are important habitats for a number of wildlife species.
Accessibility
The Olare Motorogi Conservancy can be accessed by air, there are daily scheduled flights from Nairobi or alternatively by road Via Narok, a four wheel drive vehicle is recommended as some sections of the road are in poor condition.
The Mara Naboisho Conservancy – a 50,000 acre community pastoralist and wildlife conservation area – is located in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. The conservancy, which falls within the Greater Mara Region and was carved out of the Koyaki-Lemek Group Ranch, borders the world famous Masai Mara National Reserve to the south west, the Olare Orok Conservancy to the west, and the Ol Kinyei Conservancy to the east.
Naboisho, which means “coming together” in the Maasai’s Maa language, is a community response to the challenges of the privatization of group ranches in the Greater Mara Region. Strain was put on the soil, endemic vegetation, and the wildlife as a result of intensive herding and various tourism activities such as camping and off-road vehicle activity. The conservancy provides the opportunity to conserve the land and wildlife, whilst simultaneously creating wealth for the landowners.
There are approximately 500 local Maasai landowners in Naboisho. Inspired by their neighbours in the Olare Orok Conservancy, these landowners asked the Basecamp Foundation Kenya to facilitate the formation of the conservancy as a community wildlife area. In 2008, a forum – which brought together community leaders, upcoming community champions, dedicated resource managers, seasoned conservationists, experienced socio-ecologists and tourism investors – was convened to chart out a broader framework for the development of Naboisho. It was agreed that the conservancy model should combine conservation of nature and cultural heritage, tourism, and the enhancement of livelihoods for the local communities. On the 28th of March 2010, the landowners formerly signed a 15-year lease to create the Mara Naboisho Conservancy.
The Mara Naboisho Conservancy is now the second largest conservancy in the region. Once the conservancy was established, a plan was put in place to ensure that the environment was given a chance to recover, that wildlife was protected, and that the landowners benefited, both financially and from a social development perspective.
LUMO Community Wildlife Sanctuary was formed when three community-owned “ranches” namely Lualenyi, Mramba and Oza, agreed to set aside 40,000 hectares of their land for wildlife conservation. This area was merged into a conservancy and legally registered as a trust in 2001. The sanctuary’s 4,000 members benefit from it, ensuring that the wildlife corridor between Tsavo East and West is maintained.
Entrance to the Sanctuary
The LUMO Community Wildlife Sanctuary covers an area of 46,000 hectares in the heart of the Tsavo Eco-system, in Taita Taveta district in southern Kenya. The sanctuary is wedged between Tsavo East and West National Parks and Taita Game Sanctuary. The place is a significant dispersal area for elephants and other species of animals and a migration corridor for the elephants.
LUMO’s main sources of income are gate collection, lodge rent and bed night fees.
However, the organization is looking into looking for more streams of income as the current income cannot meet the recurrent cost.
The Location
Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary Lions Bluff’s Lodge overlooks Lumo Community Wildlife Sanctuary and its neighbour, Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary. The privately owned 110 sq km Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is an abandoned sisal plantation, which failed nearly four decades ago. Comprising savannah plains, a man-made reservoir and a riverine forest that follows the course of the Bura River, this unfenced wilderness has since found new life as a game reserve offering an abundance of zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, elephant, eland, waterbuck, reedbuck, giraffe, vervet monkey, lion, jackal and prolific birdlife. Good relations with this sanctuary means that our guests have the freedom to game drive within the sanctuary broadening the terrain and chances of seeing yet more african wildlife.
Lions Bluff
Grogan’s Castle ‘Part monastery, part Moorish fort and part hacienda it was approached via a road which snakes its way up the hill and deposited visitors at the foot of broad steps leading to an arch in which wrought-iron entrance gates were later set. Beyond the gates was a central courtyard with a fountain and flowerbeds surrounded by cloisters which contained the rooms for the students. Baths were in bedrooms, unpartitioned, as Grogan didn’t see why anyone ‘needed to hide’; beds were enclosed in cages covered with wire mosquito netting; and many of the ceilings and floors were made from sisal poles.
Lost Lion of Empire – Edward Paice 50 kms from the sanctuary near the shores of Lake Jipe is a massive white mansion standing on an isolated hill rising abruptly from the plains. Dubbed Grogan’s Castle it was originally built, in the 1930s, as an agricultural training college for local Africans by ‘Cape to Cairo Grogan’ an influential colonial figure who walked from Cape to Cairo to prove his love of a young lady called Gertrude, whom he later married. Once finished however, the ‘college’ was rejected by the colonial administration and was finally turned into Grogan’s home. Colonel Ewart Grogan was a gentleman adventurer dubbed ‘the boldest and baddest of a bold, bad band’ of pioneering Kenyan settlers who arrived in Africa in 1900 to embark upon a lifetime of grand, if somewhat over-ambitious designs, which included founding the country’s timber industry, building Mombasa’s first deep-water port, constructing what was then reckoned to be East Africa’s finest hotel and building Kenya’s first children’s hospital, Gertrude’s Garden.
Lake Jipe and Tsavo West Lumo Community Wildlife Sanctuary’s west is bordered by the southern most part of Tsavo West park in which is situated Lake Jipe. We are currently trying to set up an arrangement with KWS whereby we can access this part of the park without going onto the road and through the Mwakitau gate. This gate is 10km along the road west from Lions Bluff to Taveta.
The Taita Hills Dubbed ‘Little Switzerland’ by delighted Europeans, these hills are surprisingly cool and lush with panoramic views and steep winding roads. Tropical rain forests still exist at the very heights, protecting rare species of birds and butterflies. These forests can be visited with a guide and rocks at Wesu, Vuria and Eyale climbed to see yet more panoramic views over Africa.
The community has much to show you in the form of skull caves at Mwasungia, its long-ago visitors unsuccessful in their search for a longer life and a cure for their illness. The cultural centre at Njama Mzango Kitukunyi will show you how the Taita build their huts, how they live and they will tell you the stories and origins of their culture.
Lake Chala 90 mins from the sanctuary, north of Taveta and close to the Taveta – Oloitokitok road, shimmer the emerald-green waters of the 4sq km, said to be bottomless crater lake, Lake Chala. The Kenyan Tanzania border slices through the middle of the lake, which is fed by the melting snows of Kilimanjaro whose massive bulk also serves as a spectacular backdrop.
The Crystal Caves of Lake Chala Missionary, Charles New, the first European to visit Lake Chala in 1871, was told by his guides to listen for the lowing of cattle, the crowing of cocks, the thudding of pestles and mortars and the grinding of flour mills which, they said, were the sounds of the people who lived in the crystal caves at the bottom of the lake. He was also warned to take care because sometimes the people at the bottom of the lake got lonely and came up to look for company.
Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) Meaning: ‘The Mountain of Greatness’ (Swahili) or ‘Mountain of the Demon Njaro’ (Maasai) or ‘The Mountain of Caravans’. Since the time of their first mention, by Ptolemy several thousand years ago, the legendary snows of Kilimanjaro have excited the imagination of explorers, scientists adventurers, climbers and tourists alike. Rising from the surrounding plains like a massive mirage, the three snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro are three degrees south of the Equator and together comprise the highest mountain in Africa and the tallest freestanding mountain in the world. Comparatively young at 750,000 years old, (by comparison Kenya’s Mount Elgon is 24 million years old) Kilimanjaro boasts 4sq km of glaciers and one fifth of all the natural ice in Africa. Previously thought to be extinct it is now believed to be dormant and is made up of three volcanoes: Kibo, the youngest and highest, and most central point at 5,896 m, Mawenzi in the east at 5,149 m and the western Shira at 3,962 m. Kilimanjaro can be climbed all year round by anyone who is reasonably fit (the most popular route is via Marangu and usually takes five days). It lies within its own National Park and is most easily accessed from Moshi, the major Tanzanian town lying at its base.
The Taru Desert Between Voi and the Kenyan coast lies 150 kms of seemingly never-ending, scorching, waterless scrublands, called the Maungu Plains and better known as the Taru Desert. A wilderness of ‘wait-a-bit’ thorns and occasional baobab trees, the plains form the main migratory corridor for wildlife passing from Tsavo East to the foothills of Kilimanjaro. Normally a haze of grey-green scrub and red rocky outcrops where hornbill swoop, in May and June the Taru bursts into a carpet of blue and white convolvulus flowers.
Voi The compact and idyllically situated town of Voi is the capital of this region and the first main upcountry railhead on the Uganda Railway. It was here where the original passengers would have enjoyed the first of many overnight stops and, until recently, the original ‘dak’ bungalow built to accommodate the early passengers still provided dinner, bed and breakfast. Nowadays Voi is better known as one of the main points of entry into Tsavo East National Park and the site of Voi Safari Lodge, a beautiful lodge built into the side of Mzinga Hill. It is also the place where Denys Finch-Hatton, hero of Karen Blixen’s book ‘Out of Africa’, crashed to his death in a light aircraft. (At nearby Voi Airstrip).
Leviathan, the second largest lava cave in the world
In 1975 the Cave Exploration Group of East Africa discovered what was then thought to be the longest and deepest known lava tube cave system on earth (later superseded by Hawaii’s 61.5 km long ‘Kazumura’ lava cave). Dubbed ‘Leviathan’ after the giant serpent of Hebrew legend, the cave extends over 13 km beneath the hills and can be as wide as half a kilometre in places. Lava caves are formed when molten rivers of lava radiating out from erupting volcanoes cool and crust over on exposure to the air thus creating underground channels through which the lava continues to flow until the eruption has subsided.
Kigio Wildlife Conservancy is a noteworthy 3,500-acre protected Conservancy near Gilgil, between Nakuru and Naivasha in Kenya, about 2 hours drive from Nairobi. It was originally a cattle ranch owned by a colonial settler family. It was sold by the family to the local community who after a few years decided to forgo cattle ranching in favour of wildlife conservation. The community now receives a regular income and the conservancy fee each guest pays helps towards the maintenance of the conservancy.
The beautiful conservancy, with stunning views of Mt Longonot, Naivasha and Aberdares, has wide ranging habitats, from riverine and euphorbia woodlands to short grass and Leleshwa shrub, and holds approx. 3,500 heads of wildlife including the endangered Rothschild Giraffe, a 200 strong herd of buffalo, zebra, waterbuck, impala, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelle, eland, hyena, leopard, hippo and over 200 bird species. It is protected by an electric fence on three sides and the Malewa River on one. In addition, the conservancy is at the forefront of protecting nearly 100 species of indigenous plant species which are being destroyed rapidly outside the conservancy.
The Conservancy’s rich bio-diversity has been recognized internationally by Tusk Trust, Born Free Trust, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and several private donors who have provided funds to improve the infrastructure in the conservancy and help wildlife conservation and surrounding communities.
The Conservancy is at the forefront of ecotourism in the Rift Valley lakes area. Guests are encouraged to participate in complimentary low impact activity – guided nature/bird walks – to ensure that the fragile environment is disturbed as little as possible.Cycling is also available at an extra cost. Day or night game drives are conducted in open-sided 4×4 vehicles and are available at extra cost. Night game drives are often rewarding as there is a chance to see hunting hyenas, leopard, caracal, aardvark, aardwolf, honey badger, spring hare and several other nocturnal species which thrive in this protected area.
Kigio Wildllife Conservancy may be a small conservancy but it is as important as any other protected area in Kenya and, together with the two ecolodges, shows how responsible ecotourism can help sustain wildlife,environment and marginalised communities.
Kalama Community Wildlife Conservancy lies in an area of over 95,000 hectares within the Gir Gir Group Ranch in the Waso Division of Samburu East District. The conservancy borders the Samburu National Reserve to the south and the Samburu County Council has historically shared tourism revenue with Gir Gir Group Ranch members as compensation for their contribution for wildlife conservation in areas bordering the National Reserve. The conservancy was established in 2002 in an effort to draw increasing numbers of wildlife into the area by providing water sources and improved security through community scout patrols.
The conservancy is home to numerous populations of giraffe, cheetah, lion and the endangered Grevy’s zebra. It is also strategically located bordering the Samburu National Reserve to the south, West Gate Community Conservancy to the east and parts of Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust to the north. With a core conservation area of 3,150 hectares, it is a critical migratory corridor between northern and southern conservation areas in northern Kenya. In fact, during the 2009 drought, elephant numbers within the conservancy increased, owing to the availability of water in the established water hole near the recently built eco-lodge, as well as the reduced impact of livestock grazing in the area.
The Grevy’s Zebra Trust
The Grevy’s Zebra Trust (GZT) was established to conserve Grevy’s zebra in collaboration with local communities. It recognises and supports the critical role played by pastoral people whose livelihoods are inextricably linked to the same fragile ecosystem. The Grevy’s zebra has undergone a catastrophic decline in the past 30 years and now only occurs in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia. The Ethiopian population is less than 100 and still declining, whereas in Kenya the population is believed to be 2,500 and stable, largely as a result of the establishment of the NRT community conservancies and grass roots awareness campaigns. GZT works closely with NRT and the community conservancies in collaborative conservations efforts, including Grevy’s zebra research and monitoring, habitat restoration, improving resource access, disease mitigation, and awareness creation. Management actions that are taken to help Grevy’s zebra also help other endangered, threatened and migratory species including African elephants, African wild dogs and cheetahs.http://www.grevyszebratrust.org.
Laikipia County in northern Kenya is arguably one of the most breathtaking places on Earth. It’s home to the country’s second largest population of elephants, one of its few stable lion populations and an abundance of other wildlife. Yet changing land use patterns, rapid population growth and a surge in poaching activity threaten the well being of the area’s wildlife—and its people.
Laikipia County is also home to a 56,000-acre private property called Loisaba. For the past 18 years, Loisaba Ranch has been managed sustainably to conserve wildlife habitat and has created over 200 jobs, developed schools and healthcare clinics, and provided managed grazing access for local communities.
Loisaba also provides refuge for Kenya’s only stable lion population, and an abundance of other wildlife including Grevy zebra, wild dogs, leopard, and cheetah. Loisaba sits in an elephant migratory pathway 100 kilometers north of Mount Kenya, and the Ewaso N’giro and N’gare Narok Rivers form two of the property’s boundaries.
Loisaba is especially important for wild dogs because it provides a “bridge” between Laikipia’s commercial ranches and community lands owned by local Masai and Samburu pastoralists. Several packs use Loisaba, with one pack returning each year to raise their pups safe in Loisaba’s rocky escarpments.
A VIEW OF LOISABA
Loisaba collaborates with the Samburu-Laikipia Wild Dog Project to conserve the region’s wild dogs. This project works with local communities, farmers and tour operators to encourage wild dogs’ recovery, identifying and protecting important habitat, discouraging wild dogs from killing livestock, and trying to reduce the transmission of potentially fatal diseases from domestic dogs to wild dogs. The abundance of wild dogs in the area is a testament to the project’s success, and wildlife authorities throughout Africa are watching progress with interest, in the hope of repeating Laikipia’s success in other countries.
A BIRDS EYE VIEW OF LOISABA CONSERVANCY
As well as being globally endangered, wild dogs are elegant, engaging, and even entertaining to watch and Loisaba is one of the best places in Kenya to see them. Better still, watching wild dogs at Loisaba ultimately benefits the species’ conservation, because guests can help with the project’s monitoring work. Every wild dog’s coat pattern is unique; Loisaba staff can identify many of the dogs individually, and project staff can learn even more from photos and sightings that guests share with them. As with so many aspects of Loisaba Wilderness, the collaboration with the wild dog project genuinely combines tourism with successful conservation.
Mugie was established by the Hahn family who have been committed to Africa’s wildlife and people for over forty years. For the last 32 years, Mugie has been managed by Claus Mortensen who was born and brought up in Kenya. Mugie has preserved and increased its population of critically endangered Grevys zebra and Jackson’s Hartebeests. Through their preservation of the delicate ecosystem, the sanctuary has boosted populations of lion, oryx, elephant, giraffe, cape buffalo, eland, as well as over two hundred unique bird species.
Early morning mist over Mugie
Mugie is at the northern end of the Laikipia Plateau with a spectacular view of Mount Kenya. The climate on Mugie at 6,000ft (1,800m) is temperate with warm days, cool nights and constant breezes. A welcome fire is often lit in the evening.
Laikipia is host to many tribes but principally the Pokot, Turkana, Samburu and Il Dorobo whose people have maintained their traditional way of life. Mugie employs people from all these tribes.
Mother and baby Reticulated Giraffe
Mugie Sanctuary
Mugie is 46,000 acres but 22,000 acres have been set aside to create Mugie Sanctuary.
The Mugie sanctuary is home to around seventy species of mammal including lion, cheetah, leopard, buffalo, elephant, eland and hyena. We have many endangered species residing on Mugie including the Grevys zebra and Jacksons Hartebeest.
Eland BullThe rare Grevy ZebraMugie House
There is so much to learn and see at mugie for more information http://www.mugie.org/
Founded in 1977 by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick D.B.E, in honour of the memory of her late husband, famous naturalist and founding Warden of Tsavo East National Park, David Leslie William Sheldrick MBE, the DSWT claims a rich and deeply rooted family history in wildlife and conservation.
Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick D.B.E
At the heart of the DSWT’s conservation activities is the Orphans’ Project, which has achieved world-wide acclaim through its hugely successful elephant and rhino rescue and rehabilitation program. The Orphans’ Project exists to offer hope for the future of Kenya’s threatened elephant and rhino populations as they struggle against the threat of poaching for their ivory and horn, and the loss of habitat due to human population pressures and conflict, deforestation and drought.
To date the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has successfully hand-raised over 150 infant elephants and has accomplished its long-term conservation priority by effectively reintegrating orphans back into the wild herds of Tsavo, claiming many healthy wild-born calves from former-orphaned elephants raised in our care.
The DSWT has remained true to its principles and ideals, remaining a sustainable and flexible organization. Guided by experienced and dedicated Trustees and assisted by an Advisory Committee of proactive naturalists with a lifetime of wildlife and environmental experience, the Trust takes effective action and achieves long-lasting results.
Chaired by Daphne Sheldrick, the DSWT is run by Angela Sheldrick, the daughter of David and Daphne, who has been managing all of the Trust’s activities for over a decade. Growing up in Tsavo and later in the Nairobi National Park, Angela has been part of the Trust’s vision from the start, supported by her husband Robert Carr-Hartley and their two boys Taru and Roan, who are passionate about Kenya’s wildlife and eager to ensure that David and Daphne’s legacy continues.
In 2004 the DSWT was incorporated as a Charitable Company in the U.K. and granted charitable status by the Charities Commission, whilst during the same year the Trust has also attained US Charitable status enhancing its corporate funding capability under the guidance of the U.S. Friends of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
navigatekenya 