The killing of three elephants by trophy hunters in Tanzania in the last 6 months has made global news.

Trophy hunting of elephants is legal in Tanzania, but this is different. These elephants have been hunted just across the international border, in the Tanzanian part of the Greater Amboseli Ecosystem.

One of these elephants has been identified by our partners at Amboseli Trust for Elephants; he was an Amboseli Supertusker named Gilgil, aged 35 and just entering his prime breeding years.

Very few bulls make it to this age; only 3.8% of all males in the Amboseli population are above 35 and this is one of the best protected elephant populations in the world. To shoot them at this time, particularly free-roaming elephants that are extremely habituated to humans, is certainly not a ‘conservation strategy’ as many like to call it.

We do disagree with one piece of this news coverage - this is not Kenya vs Tanzania. There has been global outrage against these killings, including from within the hunting industry itself.

We appreciate the Kenyan leaders who are standing up, including the governor of Kajiado County, and our partners at ElephantVoices, WildlifeDirect, and Amboseli Trust for Elephants, among others.

There are permits available to hunt further elephants from this cross-border Amboseli population, and we join the rest of the world in continuing to call on Tanzania and Kenya to formalize the historic moratorium of hunting of bulls from this unique population.

Click to read or watch the story, which includes a statement from Big Life’s Richard Bonham.

In remote areas like those where Maasai communities live, access to healthcare is a constant struggle. Limited clinics and a shortage of qualified professionals leave these communities vulnerable, jeopardizing their health and well-being.

Big Life's Community Health Program is working to dismantle barriers to healthcare. In partnering with CHASE Africa and the Kajiado South Department of Health, we are able to bring vital services directly to remote communities through outreach clinics and backpack nurses.  Both offer a range of services, including consultations with clinical officers and nurses, HIV testing and counseling, nutritional assessments and supplementation, immunizations, basic pharmacy access, and family planning options.

Beyond these clinics, we also manage a dedicated team of Community Health Workers (CHWs). These trusted neighbors, who share the cultural background of the communities they serve, provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights education. Imagine having a familiar face, someone you know and trust, to guide you through complex decisions about your family's health. This is the invaluable role our CHWs fulfill. In 2022, over 108,000 people were reached with family planning information. In 2023, we reached over 140,000 people, increasing our reach by 30%.

We believe that conservation thrives when communities thrive. We advocate for a world where healthcare is a fundamental right, not a privilege. Together, we can build a healthier future for all. Photo: Nikki Best

It was a pitiful scene: powerful muscles, large paws, and a regal head, all rendered inert. Golden fur contrasted sharply with the bare, dark earth, and laboured, monotonous breathing was the only indicator that this male lion was still alive.

He lay barely a hundred metres from the carcass he’d fed on the night before. The lions had killed a cow and the cow’s herder had laced it with poison in retaliation, which is illegal in Kenya.

Big Life rangers and our partners at Lion Guardians hurried to the scene and were soon joined by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust-funded KWS Amboseli vet. He administered treatment immediately and moved the lion to a safer location, but despite everyone’s effort, the lion died that evening.

Lion Guardians tracked the 6 others in this male’s group, who fortunately all seem to be fit and well, and the remainder of the carcass was destroyed to prevent further devastation.

This incident occurred just inside an area called Kaputei, neighbouring Big Life’s core area of operation. It is an area that is unfriendly for wildlife, but animals don’t know that, and without fences they roam freely.

If the lions had killed the cow just 1.4 km south of this spot on Mbirikani Ranch, inside Big Life’s core area, this male would likely still be alive. Why? Because Big Life’s Predator Compensation Fund (PCF) works.

PCF reimburses livestock owners a portion of the value of depredations on the condition that no predators are killed in retaliation.  Since 2015, only one poisoning incident has happened on Mbirikani, and that was done by a Kaputei resident who came onto Mbirikani who’d had a cow killed by lions.  Over the same period, 9 lions have been poisoned in Kaputei ‘next door’.

This comparison is a stark illustration of the impact that conservation interventions can have, but also highlights the challenges in protecting free-roaming wildlife. Amboseli is an open system and animals come and go. What we can do is create a safe zone for predators, so long as we can maintain our PCF coverage.

Please donate and help keep our PCF program funded and predators like lions, leopards, and cheetah protected from retaliation.

And a special thank you to our partners at Lion Guardians, KWS, and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for their support. Photo: Josh Clay

Isinya is a hot, dusty town situated along the Namanga Highway, a key artery connecting Nairobi to Tanzania. It’s a key refueling station for the hundreds of trucks that pass through it every day. And for those who might be tempted, a seemingly perfect location to sell illicit items before disappearing without a trace.

To combat this, Big Life has built a wide and highly effective network of informers across Kenya and Tanzania to ensure such people are exposed and prosecuted.

That is exactly what happened to two men attempting to sell 24 pieces of ivory weighing 56 kg near a shopping center in Isinya last week. Using Big Life intelligence, a KWS agent acted as a buyer while another team swooped in to make the arrest. This bust brings the total ivory confiscated this year to 213 kg. While it is suspected that the tusks are 2-4 years old, it continues an upward trend we’ve been tracking in ivory trafficking.

According to our data, there was a clear reduction in confiscated ivory from 2017 to 2021, dropping from 1,000 kg to 370 kg. But alarmingly, these numbers have been creeping back up. Last year, we confiscated 1,482 kg, the most since our records began in 2016.

It is very difficult to point the finger at any one cause. But is likely due to a combination of “opportunistic” ivory sales following high elephant mortalities during the recent drought, lower farm yields and labor opportunities, overshadowed by nationwide rates of inflation and rising cost of living that could be making such incomes from illegal means appear more attractive. The rate of elephant poaching, while still low, has also risen elsewhere in Kenya since 2020.

The illegal trade in elephant ivory is a serious threat. Big Life's intelligence network and partnership with KWS are critical in the fight against this trade. Together, we continue to demonstrate that wildlife conservation is a collaborative effort that spans governmental organizations, NGOs, and the local community.