As the holiday season approaches, we hope you will consider investing in gifts that give back. Share your joy with others by giving meaningful gifts that support a cause we know you care passionately about. Also, be sure to forward these gift options to others in your community who may be looking for ways to give mindfully this year!

 BIG LIFE MERCHANDISE

Our online store is loaded with sustainable giving options, and 100% of the proceeds benefit Big Life. Choose from 2021 calendars, organic totes, new Mizu water bottles, neck gaiters, organic ball caps, and more. We also source some of our gift items directly from Kenya, supporting the local communities and thus the ecosystem even further.

TEMPLE ST. CLAIR

During the month of November, 20% of each online purchase of Temple St. Clair fine jewelry will directly benefit our life-saving efforts in the field. Temple serves as a member on Big Life’s Advisory Board. Her vibrant, award-winning designs are treasured by collectors the world over.

ELEPHANT GIN

Elephant Gin has committed to donating 15% of profits to elephant conservation in Africa. Since they were founded in 2014, they have donated more than €550,000 to three conservation NGOs, of which Big Life is very proud to be one. Visit their website to learn more and see where you can purchase a delicious bottle for your holiday gathering.

 QUAGGA GREEN LABEL

Quagga Green donates 1% to support Big Life’s efforts in East Africa. Visit their website, check out Big Life’s online store, or visit your local Whole Foods to purchase sustainable Quagga Green gifts.

 POPSOCKETS

50% of the proceeds from every phone grip sold on Big Life’s charity page will be donated to Big Life. Choose from elephant, lion, or cheetah (coming soon).

TRIBUTE DONATIONS

You can now easily make a donation in honor or in memory of someone on Big Life's website.

For in honor donations of $50 or more, we'll send a beautiful personalized Wildlife Warrior certificate, sticker, information about our programs, and a discount code for Big Life merchandise.

Regardless of how you celebrate this holiday season, we are grateful for your support of our vision to create a world where conservation supports people, so that people support conservation. We look forward to continuing our efforts in 2021 with you.

In the meantime, happy holidays from everyone at Big Life!

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I write to you anxiously awaiting rain. It’s the end of a long, dry season and tensions are high as temperatures soar. Life is already difficult in the wake of COVID-19 and the subsequent adjustments to life that have occurred. Schools have been closed, clinics have been shut down, and tourism, and the jobs that comes with it, has been practically nil.

But not everything has come to a halt. As I review our 3rd quarter numbers, I’m impressed by how busy Big Life’s community rangers have been. Among the stats for Q3: 17 arrests for bushmeat poaching, 34 arrests for trophy possession, 222.9 kg of ivory confiscated, 127 snares destroyed, 30 crop-raids prevented, 10 lion hunts prevented, and zero elephant, lion, or rhino mortalities to report. If anything, we are busier than ever.

As we go into the final quarter of the year, new challenges loom. In particular, a proposed avocado farm in the middle of a migratory corridor for elephants that is being developed at odds with land-use plans already approved. Development is on hold while the courts review the situation, and we hope they will make the correct decision. It is a reminder that keeping wild lands open for grazing and wildlife is more critical than ever, especially when there is plenty of land dedicated to agriculture already set aside.

None of the work we do is possible without the support of our partners in the field locally, and our donors the world over. I am confident that we can rise to these new challenges together and protect wildlife and lands in East Africa for the benefit of us all.

Richard Bonham
Director of Operations, Big Life Kenya

SEE THE FULL 3RD QUARTERLY REPORT

Big Life is thrilled to partner with Temple St. Clair as we enter the holiday giving season. During the month of November, 20% of each online purchase of her fine jewelry will directly benefit our life-saving efforts in the field.

Temple serves as a member of Big Life’s Advisory Board. Her vibrant, award-winning designs are treasured by collectors the world over. As a story teller, Temple draws inspiration from the natural world and believes in preserving Earth’s beauty.

Her deep love of nature and passion for East African wildlife have motivated her to partner with Big Life’s holistic approach to preserving wildlife and wild lands across the 1.6 million acres of the Greater Amboseli ecosystem. 

https://templestclair.com/

Some poachers are more successful than others, which unfortunately means more dead animals.

We know them by name, either real or fake, that turn up again and again in Big Life’s intelligence reports. But knowing who they are does not necessarily make them easy to catch. These poachers have their own information networks, providing a warning of ranger patrols and helping them to stay just out of reach.

It can be a chase that lasts months or even years, depending on the wit of the poacher. But everyone makes a mistake eventually, and this month, two of Big Life’s most wanted poachers did just that.

The first was caught on Rombo, bordering Tsavo West National Park in the southern sector of Big Life’s operating area, after killing a giraffe. We have known of him for the last year, during which time his gang was responsible for almost all of the bushmeat poaching incidents in that area.

Days later, the Big Life intelligence team worked with Kenya Wildlife Service to arrest another poacher on the opposite side of the ecosystem, this time with a dead gazelle. This poacher had been on our radar for the last three months.

Ranger units don’t simply walk out on patrol and stumble across a poaching scene. Each arrest is carefully planned, the result of a lot of patience, information-gathering, and background work.

Only by catching enough active poachers can we raise the risk of arrest to a point where it deters others from poaching in the future. Some poachers might evade arrest for a short while, but Big Life’s rangers work to make sure that ultimately there is only one end to a poaching career in Amboseli.