At our annual staff celebration recently, we honored two extraordinary women at Big Life.  For International Women’s Day today, we want to highlight their stories. They are part of our team of nearly 600, and just two examples of the incredible work women do behind the scenes in Amboseli every day.

Constable Susan Lekatoo was honored as Big Life’s “Best Training Instructor” for the year. Her eye for detail, paired with her calm demeanor are what make her such an excellent instructor.

Being a ranger takes more than wearing a uniform. Rangers must have skills and knowledge spanning first aid, animal behavior, law enforcement, and psychology. We constantly train our rangers on these and other skills, and Susan’s commitment to this has a huge impact on her fellow rangers.

For her work on the groundskeeping team at Big Life’s headquarters, Alice Yionta Leinko was awarded “Best Employee of the Year.” She grew up close to Big Life’s headquarters, is an avid singer at her local church, and a single mother to five children who mean everything to her. She is often at work before everyone else and leaves after everyone is gone. No matter the task she carries on with grace and humility and is a key member of our team for whom we are very grateful for.

We often talk about the bigger picture: protecting landscapes, saving wildlife, and supporting communities. But it’s the smaller gestures and the quiet dedication of the people who show up every day that make the biggest difference.

Photos: Joshua Clay

We all know that the cheetah is the fastest land mammal on Earth, but how many people know that cheetahs are fast disappearing from Africa’s landscapes?

Hovering at roughly 7,000 individuals, cheetahs are struggling to survive on a continent rapidly losing its wild spaces.

That is why we are thrilled by this news. For the first time in decades, a cheetah mother has given birth to cubs in Kimana Sanctuary.

Two healthy cubs have been delighting Angama guests as they try to keep close to their mother and learn not to get in the way of her as she goes off hunting.

Cheetahs’ return to breeding in Kimana reflects that Big Life’s conservation efforts are paying off.

It also reflects stronger coexistence efforts. Through initiatives like our Predator Compensation Fund (PCF), we work with local communities to offset the costs of livestock losses to predators, including cheetahs. PCF takes the human pressure off cheetahs, whose cubs have very high mortality rates.

We are also grateful for Angama, who fund our ranger teams in Kimana Sanctuary and whose guides have been keeping a watchful eye on these young cubs’ progress.

It is crucial that we continue to develop incentives that keep habitat available for wildlife like cheetahs. There is much to do, but it’s stories like this that help us feel like we’re on the right track.

📸: Joshua Clay

Sandalwood is a beautiful scent in candles and perfumes beloved the world over.

While most of this ‘essential’ oil comes from Asia, Kenya’s dry forests host a small tree called Osyris Lanceolata or ‘African Sandalwood’. While not a ‘true’ sandalwood, it possesses a similarly scented, high-quality oil that is in high demand, and can apparently fetch up to $3,000 per liter internationally.

Despite protections set by the Kenyan government in 2007, and an ‘Endangered’ classification by CITES, overharvesting has been a longstanding issue.

Slow-growing and requiring specific host plants, cultivation of the species is difficult. And being high-value but hard to grow is an enticing combination for black markets.

These sandalwood trees grow throughout the Chyulu Hills, and we have seen a spike in illegal harvesting incidents recently.

From the start of 2017 to the end of 2025, 26.5 tons of sandalwood has been confiscated in Big Life-supported operations, spanning 92 separate events. 171 people have been arrested.

Just last month, work by Big Life’s intelligence unit led to the confiscation of 820 kg of this precious wood. Along with the 10 people arrested, these busts were a significant disruption to the supply chain in our region.

Our rangers and intelligence teams remain vigilant thanks to your support, doing what we can to stifle the persecution of this little-known species.

As we reflect on the year behind us, we do so with both immense pride and profound sorrow. In the final days of the year, we lost our beloved Predator Protection Coordinator, Daniel Ole Sambu. Daniel was more than a colleague—he was a steady presence in the field, a fierce advocate for coexistence, and a trusted partner to the communities and rangers he worked alongside every day. His passing has cast a long shadow over the activities outlined in this report and over all of us who had the privilege to know him. The scale of what our teams accomplished last year was extraordinary, yet it is impossible to turn these pages without feeling the weight of his absence.

And still, the work continues—because that is what Daniel believed in most. Across more than 2 million acres of wilderness, our rangers remain steadfast in their commitment to protecting wildlife and supporting the communities who share this landscape. Through coordinated patrols, intelligence-led operations, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, and deep collaboration with local leaders, they safeguarded critical habitat and helped ensure that elephants, lions, and countless other species continue to roam free. Their 4th Quarter achievements are a testament not only to discipline and skill, but to courage and heart.

This report honors both the measurable impact of our operations and the people behind that impact. It reflects the dedication of the men and women on the ground—many from the very communities most affected by conservation challenges—who stand watch day and night. And it reflects you. Your partnership makes this work possible. Together, we carry forward Daniel’s legacy: protecting nature for the benefit of all, with resilience, integrity, and unwavering resolve.

Richard Bonham
Co-Founder and Executive Chairman
Big Life Foundation Kenya

READ THE FULL Q4 REPORT

📸: Joshua Clay