Vultures occupy one of the least glamorous niches in many people’s estimations. But regardless of whether you may find them ugly or revolting, they are highly intelligent creatures who fulfill the crucial role of being the natural world’s clean-up crew. In the wake of the recent drought that devastated Amboseli, their role was doubly important.

Yet for these nomads of the endless horizon, fate hangs in the balance.

Since the 1980s, the trajectory of almost all vulture populations in Africa has been a near nosedive. With the rise in cheap and readily available poisons and pesticides, pastoralists found an effective means of retaliating against lions, hyenas, and other predators that kill their livestock. It’s a simple and deadly formula: lace a carcass with poison and wait as all the predators that return to it die a slow death, doing so alongside the countless vultures who got there first. As a result, six out of the seven vulture species in Kenya are listed as threatened, with four being critically endangered.

It was partly in response to the high frequency of lion poisoning events in Mbirikani that our Predator Protection Program was implemented in 2003, including our Predator Compensation Fund. In the two decades since, poisoning events have been reduced to almost zero across our area of operation. While lions and other predators are the primary focus of those programs, it’s not an accident that vultures are also benefiting.

It will take a shift in human behavior at a global scale to reverse these birds’ fortunes as their ranges exceed mere regional and national boundaries. But as we have shown, change is possible, and we are proud to do what we can to ensure these regal raptors still soar over Amboseli’s skies.

Photo: Josh Clay

Some dogs spend their lives in lofty apartments barking at pigeons, others exist perpetually in pursuit of tennis balls, or waiting semi-patiently for their next meal. But here at Big Life, our tracker dogs do things a little differently. Throughout their illustrious careers, Bonnie and Clyde have hunted down poachers, discovered hidden caches of ivory, and helped solve multiple thefts and petty crimes. 

In the past few months, they have patrolled over 750 km, assisted in two cases of theft where they led our rangers straight to the stolen items, and helped find two people who had become lost in dense bush. One was a young girl who had strayed a little too far, and the other couldn’t find her way home after being chased by an elephant. Both were found and returned to their families.  It’s all in a day’s work for our remarkable canine duo!  Photo: James Suter

RICHARD BONHAM ON BIG LIFE'S WILDLIFE HABITAT PROTECTION EFFORTS 

The impressive numbers in this report reflect the hard work of our 381 rangers. From arresting bushmeat poachers to chasing lions away from human settlements, to helping confiscate illegal ivory and sandalwood, their efforts are measurable, and the numbers tell the story. 

But an increasing amount of Big Life's work is much harder to portray, and that is our effort to protect wildlife habitats. As previously communally-owned Maasai ranches continue to subdivide and privatize, we have invested heavily in supporting our partner communities in their land-use planning and legal processes for gazetting those plans and issuing land titles correctly.

Although your eyes would glaze over at the sheer number of hours spent in meetings discussing all the finer details, the efforts are yielding results. The number of conservation land leases is steadily ticking up and we have signed agreements with over 2,100 landowners (and counting), who own some 70,000 acres of land that is now protected for wildlife.

The threat to Amboseli comes largely from outside developers, who are buying land and converting it to farming and other uses that are not sustainable in a semi-arid environment, nor compatible with the local livestock-keeping culture and economy. There is space for all types of economic activity in appropriate areas in Amboseli, farming included, but conflicting activities can only co-exist if plans are followed.

Political support for these plans is thus extremely important, and we were very encouraged by the recent Presidential Directive from Kenya’s President Ruto to halt issuance of licenses for development in key wildlife areas until appropriate planning is done. The local Kajiado County Government has expressed support for the President's sentiments, and the local county office of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is already acting on it.

In Amboseli, the planning is done. Now those plans need to be enforced. Conservation and livestock farming make a huge economic contribution in the drylands of Kenya and will be the most adaptable use of land as we deal with climate change. Natural habitats are important for wildlife AND for people. We’re extremely grateful that the county and national Kenyan government sees this bigger picture and are taking the issue seriously. Big Life certainly is.

Thank you, as always, for your support.

Richard Bonham
Executive Chairman & Founder – Big Life Foundation Kenya

 SEE THE FULL 2ND QUARTERLY REPORT

Today on World Lion Day, many will rightly draw attention to the fact that Africa’s lion population has been in sharp decline, by some estimates as much as 43% in the last 20 years.

But here in Amboseli we are celebrating a 20-year milestone of a very different kind. In April 2003, the Predator Compensation Fund (PCF) was created in close collaboration with local Maasai communities and elders to find a way of preventing the retaliatory killing of lions and other predators in response to livestock losses.

In the 18 months before the program began, at least 31 lions were killed on Mbirikani Group Ranch.  At that rate, it was highly likely that Amboseli’s lion population would be wiped out by the end of 2003. In the 20 years since, only 20 lions have been killed in violation of PCF on Mbirikani - a 95% reduction in the average number of lions killed on a monthly basis.

Over that same amount of time, Big Life has compensated for 49,457 livestock killed by wild predators with payments of more than US $1.6m to the local Maasai community.

But the real celebration is this: since PCF was started, the lion population across the ecosystem has grown from less than 20 to around 250.

Of course, not all of this lion conservation success can be credited to PCF alone. There has been a lot of hard work by our partners at Lion Guardians and the Born Free Foundation, as well as other more general conservation programs implemented by numerous entities, that have been greatly beneficial.

Lion killing in Amboseli has not been eradicated completely. Violations still occur, notably the recent killings you read about in May. Incidents like this are definite setbacks, but are often catalysts for much needed dialogue, and the community-enforced penalties are important demonstrations of commitment to the agreement.

So, in two decades since our program began, we have seen the Amboseli ecosystem’s lion population go from near local extinction to what scientists believe is the right amount for a healthy population at capacity.

And that is a story we believe should be roared at the top of everyone’s lungs this World Lion Day.

Thanks to all of our partners and supporters for making programs like PCF possible.

Photo: Max Melesi