If you had to guess the most endangered wildlife species Big Life rangers help to protect, you might guess rhino. There are only 8 known Eastern black rhinos in Big Life’s area of operation, and they are monitored by dozens of camera traps and rangers at all times to keep them safe from poachers. Despite their size, they are extremely elusive, which helps to keep them safe.

But equally endangered and even more elusive is a surprising species: the pangolin.  Small and nocturnal, these scaly anteaters are the most heavily trafficked wildlife species on the planet. While their meat is considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, their main value on the black market and in Asia is for their scales.

Coincidentally, pangolin scales and rhino horn are made of the same fibrous protein as your own fingernails: keratin. And both are about as useless in medicine (traditional or otherwise) as your nail clippings would be.

Because Big Life’s rangers work to protect the Greater Amboseli ecosystem holistically, we do encounter pangolins from time to time. And as always, our growing intelligence network is ever watchful for pangolins being trafficked. Last year in 2020, rangers helped to rescue 5 live pangolins in five separate trafficking incidents. Each was handed over to the Kenya Wildlife Service for safe reintroduction into the wild. Additionally, in 2020, 2 kg of pangolin scales were confiscated in one trophy poaching incident.

We’ve partnered with the Pangolin Project to learn more about best practices when handling these special animals, which are surprisingly delicate despite their tough exterior. We’ll keep you posted on these efforts when these rare animals turn up, but in the meantime, thank you to all our supporters for keeping our rangers in the field as we celebrate World Pangolin Day.

There is nothing subtle about a message delivered by an elephant.

More so when you put something in their way, as is being discovered by KiliAvo, a company going ahead with the development of a commercial agricultural project located in the Kimana Wildlife Corridor despite widespread opposition and concerns about negative environmental impacts.

The company has erected an electric fence around the planned 180-acre farm, and this fence has already been reported as having been damaged by elephants on three occasions in the last two weeks. It’s a strong warning of things to come, and the inevitable human-wildlife conflict that results from farming in a known wildlife corridor.

The damage to the fence demonstrates how it is already interfering with elephant movements. Further evidence is satellite tracking data from one collared elephant that shows it approaching the fence, only to divert suddenly in a completely different direction, showing signs of distress, such as increased pace whilst moving away from the fence. Other animals are being affected too, becoming trapped between the fence and a road alongside, putting the lives of animals and human drivers at risk.

Opposition to the farm is currently being heard in court in two different sessions of the National Environmental Tribunal, but KiliAvo is continuing regardless, having dug boreholes, constructed water tanks and a shade net nursery, and taken delivery of a consignment of avocado tree seedlings, still waiting to be planted.

The survival of Amboseli’s wildlife and livestock populations depends on their ability to move and find water and grazing in different seasons. Blocking wildlife corridors will not only lead to increased human-wildlife conflict, but it will also slowly erode the very fabric of this ecosystem. While everyone awaits the outcome of the current tribunal court cases, elephants are taking action of their own.

In the wake of Valentine’s Day, we wanted to share some sweet news. Big Life Foundation has partnered with Saving the Wild and Comvita on an exciting new project to help preserve the Kimana wildlife corridor with help from the world’s smallest superhero: the honeybee.

The Kimana wildlife corridor runs through the heart of the Greater Amboseli ecosystem and Big Life’s area of operation. It is a critical wildlife dispersal area, connecting Amboseli National Park to the Chyulu and Tsavo ecosystems beyond. One of the greatest threats to the corridor is a vanishing landscape – habitat loss.

Working in harmony with nature and the existing honeybee density in the ecosystem, 200 beehives are currently being rolled out across the Kimana corridor. Proceeds from the sale of the honey will go into an education scholarship fund, with 70% designated for girls. The growing importance of education in Maasai communities is quickly outpacing many parents’ financial resources to fund it. The need-based scholarships will be available to local students in high school and tertiary education. The beneficial ripple effect of one education is long lasting and can benefit an entire community.

Training will also provide a chance to learn about modern beekeeping techniques, which can then lead to other opportunities to implement nature-based solutions that safeguard the ecosystem and generate income for local communities. By helping to save the wild lands of Amboseli, helping to bridge inequality, and creating a chance for more children to achieve an education, the Saving the Wild Bee Keeping Project fits into Big Life’s ethos that if conservation supports the people, then people will support conservation.

For the first time since Big Life took over management of Kimana Sanctuary back in 2018, we have observed the formation of an elephant supergroup inside its safe boundary. An estimated 100 individual elephants gathered in close proximity to each other, enjoying the lush conditions within the Sanctuary, and each other.

In other parts of Africa, a “supergroup” might be a sign that the animals are stressed and gathering together for safety. But according to our partners at the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, the Amboseli elephants are particularly social and gather in large numbers like this when conditions are right.

While it’s not uncommon to see these gatherings closer to Amboseli National Park (a group of 450 elephants was once recorded together there!), the formation of a supergroup inside Kimana Sanctuary feels like a conservation victory. It’s an opportunity for the elephants to bond, learn from each other, catch up with friends, test rivals, mate, and engage in play. In other words: party!

They obviously feel safe to do so under the watchful eye of Big Life’s rangers across the Sanctuary’s 5,700 acres.

We can’t help but watch awe as they splinter and head off in their own directions again. Many thanks to our partners at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the D.N. Batten Foundation for helping us secure this special place.

Video by Jeremy Goss