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According to WWF’s recent “Living Planet Report,” the African continent has suffered a “catastrophic”  73% decline in the average size of its wildlife populations since 1970.

In the Greater Amboseli Ecosystem, the most glaring population decline has undoubtedly been that of the Eastern black rhinoceros. Today, any mention of Amboseli brings to mind vast herds of elephants, but it was actually rhinos which first attracted tourists to its white, dusty plains back in the 1950s and 60s.

Decades of poaching reduced Kenya’s rhino population from the tens of thousands to just 400 in the 1980s. Amboseli’s rhinos had disappeared by the 90s, but just 50 kms to the east, a small group of rhinos was hiding. Their presence was only discovered when rangers working for Big Life’s co-founder, Richard Bonham, found tracks deep in the lava forests of the Chyulu Hills.

Since then, Big Life has invested considerable resources towards protecting them. With 63 rangers across 10 outposts, this intense monitoring has ensured that no rhino has been poached in the area since 2016.

These efforts received an enormous boost thanks to the near miraculous birth of a Chyulu rhino calf last year, bringing the total population to 8, including the ghostly apparition of Dickson, seen here on a camera trap one recent misty morning. 

While Kenya’s black rhino population has dropped vertiginously, it is slowly emerging as a conservation success story. Current estimates put them at more than 1,000 across Kenya, and that is expected to double by 2040.

We hope to do our bit by reintroducing more rhinos to bolster this tiny Chyulu population in future. Maybe by 2040, Amboseli will once again welcome tourists to see its rhinos.

Now wouldn’t that be a treat?

We want to thank all those who support our rhino program, particularly the Kenya Wildlife Service, USFWS, and Chester Zoo as well as Royal African Safaris.

The short rains, called vuli, are imminent. Dark clouds are amassing on the horizon and although the rains have arrived elsewhere in Kenya, we’ve only had a smattering so far in Amboseli.

As always happens this time of year at the height of the dry season, with resources in short supply and fewer employment opportunities on local farms, bushmeat poaching and human-wildlife conflict have increased. These increases are expected, and assuming the rains arrive on time, will stay within the range of “normal” for our area of operation. That said, our rangers are working extraordinarily hard right now, and we thank you for your support in keeping them in the field.

Another notable update is the addition of two new tracker dogs to our team, who are currently undergoing extensive training: Holmes and Watson. We hear from their trainers that they’re a handful, as is to be expected with the breed (Belgian Malinois). The training can take up to a year or more, but we’re hoping to have them back and supporting Clyde with field operations as soon as possible.

Also, many of you have inquired about the status of the hunting situation in Tanzania, just across the border from us in the Enduimet Wildlife Management Area. As far as we know, both from our rangers operating in Enduimet and from other partners, no elephants have been killed by hunters in that area since June. What that means for the issuance of hunting licenses for the Amboseli-Kilimanjaro population remains to be seen. We do know that talks between Kenya and Tanzania are ongoing, and we remain optimistic for a positive resolution. We’ll let you know as soon as there’s a substantive update.

And lastly, I’d be remiss not to use this opportunity to eulogize on the late, great Tom Hill, whom I miss dearly. Tom was a staunch advocate for conservation in Amboseli for more than 25 years, particularly for lions through the Maasai Olympics and Predator Compensation Fund. He has left an indelible mark on this ecosystem. I will think of him every time a lion roars.

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

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Photo: Jeremy Goss

It’s been another fast-paced year here in Amboseli, and the momentum is really starting to build for the Maasai Olympics Finals on December 14th. After fierce local competition, team selections have been made and the regional competitions are complete. Everyone is now looking towards the upcoming finals, when warriors will try to leap, hurl, or sprint to glory.

This time, the warriors are not just competing against their fellow age-mates, but also against the incoming generation of warriors, for whom this will be their first Olympics. It is a significant milestone, because it marks the transfer of knowledge and understanding about conserving lions to the next generation, exemplifying the multi-generational impact the Maasai Olympics has made.

Twelve years since the first Maasai Olympics, and the lion population of the Greater Amboseli Ecosystem is stronger than ever, boasting more than 250 lions. It is a dramatic reversal from the double-digit counts when the games first began. The focus on ending lion killing has been so widespread, that discussions at Olympics-related meetings and regional events are now able to address additional challenges facing conservation in local communities, including habitat protection for lions and other animals, in order to reduce the human-wildlife conflicts that arise.

We’re honored that the games this year will be hosted yet again on Kimana Sanctuary, thanks to our partners at Angama Amboseli. And we’re grateful for the support of our sponsors: Chester Zoo and Play for Nature / Parc Animalier d'Auvergne.

Through our Predator Protection Programs like the Maasai Olympics, we hope that both local communities and lion populations will continue to win – today, tomorrow, and far into the future.    

An ostrich chick looks like an odd combination of a hedgehog, a serval, and a velociraptor.

This delightful scene is currently unfolding here on the plains below the Chyulu Hills: a brood of 18 ostrich chicks.  

While they are quite obviously adorable, the odds do not favour these little balls of fluff.

Less than one in ten nests hatch, and of those that do, only 15% of chicks make it to one year. They have all manner of natural predators, including other male ostriches trying to breed with the mother.

If these chicks make it to adulthood, they could live for several decades.

But what use will that be if their habitat no longer exists?

Like many grassland species, ostriches need SPACE. The Greater Amboseli ecosystem has been a stronghold for the Masai ostrich because it has remained open and interconnected, where many others in Kenya have become choked by fences, farms, and human development. As the land around Amboseli is subdivided into tens of thousands of tiny plots, the risk of habitat loss is a serious one.

Big Life is striving ensure that this ecosystem remains interconnected for generations to come by working with communities to lease land for conservation, establish protected areas and conservancies, and maintain open wildlife corridors.

Keeping the grasslands open will give these baby chicks, and all those to come, a chance to thrive.

Video: Joshua Clay