A few weeks ago, I was worried that I’d be writing to you today with bad news. As we entered the 4^th quarter, our fundraising was down, leaving us with a budget gap that threatened to force us to cut back on programs. So it is with immense gratitude and unbelievable relief that I write to you with GOOD news. Because of our incredible supporters and partners around the world, we exceeded our goal for December and are starting off 2022 on solid footing. For now, our programs are thriving, and we are entering the new year optimistic that we will rise to the challenges before us, of which there are many.

All of our programs are intertwined and essential to conservation success in Amboseli, whether it’s protecting wildlife, securing habitat, or supporting the local Maasai community. Just as we ended the year on a high note financially, so too did our programs!

I was amazed to see that our rangers have finally surpassed 4 million kilometers of patrols. When we started keeping track of ranger movements in the early days of Big Life operations, I never dreamed we’d journey so far. Those patrols aren’t casual strolls either. Rangers confiscated ivory and other animal parts, bushmeat, and sandalwood. They destroyed snares, arrested poachers, and rescued injured wildlife. They tracked rhinos, prevented elephants from raiding crops, repaired fencing, put out wildfires, and conducted search and rescue operations. Our community rangers are the heart and soul of Big Life, and our conservation successes are all thanks to them.

Another number that amazed me in our 4^th quarter: more than 400 long-term student scholarships were awarded, up from 300 at the end of 2020. After two years of a pandemic impacting families in myriad ways, keeping local children in school has become more important than ever, and I’m especially proud that more than half our scholarships are going to girls, who have come under an increased risk of premature marriages and underage pregnancies during COVID-19. 

The hills around my home are lush with the recent rains, providing plenty of grass and water for wildlife and spoiling us with stunning vistas of a snow-topped Kilimanjaro beyond.

I wish you all an equally wonderful start to your New Year and know that together, 2022 will be our best yet. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

Richard Bonham
Executive Chairman, Big Life Foundation Kenya

SEE THE FULL 4TH QUARTERLY REPORT

Think of them as international salesmen of the worst kind. The four men had been crisscrossing the boundary between Kenya and Tanzania looking to peddle their contraband, which was in this case extremely unusual - carved ivory.

Big Life’s intelligence network, working with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), has confiscated more than 3.5 tons of ivory in the last 5 years. Until now this has always been raw ivory, destined to be carved on foreign shores. This is the first time that we have confiscated ivory worked in Africa.

There were three Tanzanians and one Kenyan in the group, taking advantage of the international border for access to larger markets, as well as to avoid being caught. What they didn’t expect was a coordinated response.

Big Life has undercover informers working in both countries, one of whom heard about the ivory for sale in Tanzania. A multinational arrest team took over, involving Kenya Wildlife Service and Tanzania National Parks Authority, which caught two of the men with the ivory. The other two of the gang were already gone, but their escape was always going to be temporary.

After three weeks, informers managed to track the two on the run, and they were arrested. They have joined their colleagues in jail.

The Amboseli ecosystem spans an international border, putting it in a perfect storm for criminal activity. This is why Big Life established the first coordinated cross-border anti-poaching and anti-trafficking effort in East Africa. This bust demonstrates why these cross-border operations are as important as ever.

You may be familiar with this magnificent tusker. He is one of the most famous and most photographed elephants that Big Life protects. Most photographs depict him majestically in landscapes devoid of humans, with Kilimanjaro beyond and the dusty earth of Amboseli at his feet. Although beautiful and inspiring, they only tell half the story.

The reality is that Craig and other elephants must frequently navigate landscapes containing people. Whether they’re crossing busy roads, passing through community lands, or occasionally raiding crops, elephants spend a lot of their time outside of protected areas like national parks and amid human development.

Most of their human interactions are harmless. The riders of these motorbikes simply slowed to have a better look before moving on. But some can turn ugly. In areas not protected by Big Life’s crop-protection fence, crop raiding is an ongoing issue. When livelihoods are lost, tempers flare with potentially fatal consequences for both sides.

So far in 2021, Big Life has been alerted to 249 incidents of threats to or active raids on crops. Big Life rangers were able to prevent elephants from entering farms on 113 of these occasions, chasing elephants from fields a further 85 times (limiting the damage caused) and verifying the damage after it was done on the remaining 51.

Because of the constant monitoring by Big Life’s rangers, and their close relationships with each community, Big Life has been able to prevent many of the angry reactions to crop raiding that have been seen in previous years. And as a result, Craig and the other elephants of Amboseli can continue to roam freely.

Thanks to your support, we will continue to keep magnificent elephants like Craig safe. If you haven’t already, please consider making a year-end donation to Big Life. All December donations are being MATCHED up to $250,000. 

The minibus was traveling through the middle of nowhere, the surrounding wilderness just visible in the predawn light, when someone shouted for an unscheduled stop.  The other passengers turned to stare. The man appeared regular enough, just another traveler on his way to a nearby town. But this was no ordinary man: this was a Big Life ranger.

While making a personal trip during his time on leave, he saw something from the minibus that gave him cause for alarm. A giraffe sprinting through the bush near the road, with four men close on its heels.

The driver agreed to stop in return for an extra payment, and the ranger jumped out, calling the Big Life operations room as he went. Our radio operators quickly identified the closest vehicle unit, which happened to be Big Life’s USAID-funded mobile unit on Eselengei.

The ranger waited for the backup unit to arrive, and then they all moved quickly into the bush and onto the giraffe’s tracks. The rangers followed quickly but quietly, eventually stumbling onto a grisly scene. The poachers had chased the giraffe straight into a fence in order to trip it so that they could kill it more easily.

While it was too late to save the giraffe, it wasn’t too late to catch the poacher. The poacher still on scene attempted to run, but he was quickly caught. Rangers got the names of three accomplices who had already bolted, but without hard evidence of their involvement, they will be hard to prosecute. 

The one arrested poacher is now in jail and awaiting trial. But more importantly it’s another lesson to would-be poachers out there: Big Life has eyes and ears everywhere and our rangers are never fully off duty.  Poaching is still a very risky business.

If you haven’t yet, please support our work so our rangers can continue to catch poachers and keep wildlife safe. All donations made in December will be matched up to $250,000, doubling your impact.

 Photo: Jeremy Goss