As our programs have grown to stop poaching and mitigate human-wildlife conflict, so too has another. While it is often the unsung hero, it is just as critical to protecting wildlife and stopping wildlife crime: intelligence. Big Life’s intelligence team remains actively involved in investigating wildlife trafficking, both in the immediate ecosystem and beyond.

Last week, our networks caught word of ivory being trafficked along the Mombasa road, near an area called Kibwezi. When efforts to stage a set-up posing as buyers did not work, Big Life’s team shifted tactics and began tracking the suspects covertly. In the dead of night at 2 AM, the suspects were spotted loading heavy sacks onto a public minibus, known as a matatu.

Quickly, Big Life teams paid for tickets to get on the same bus. At a stop further down the road, they switched out with other team members, to avoid suspicion. This kept up for the remainder of the journey. When the suspects finally got off and collected their sacks, our team, together with Kenya Wildlife Service intelligence officers, were on their tail. By the following night, they had been arrested and charged by KWS with several ivory pieces weighing 24 kg confiscated and off the market.

Even though many legal ivory markets in consumer countries such as China and Hong Kong have closed, there is still a lot of ivory being smuggled out of Africa to far flung destinations. Last year, we confiscated over a ton of ivory, and in the first half of 2018, nearly half a ton. Our teams won’t stop doing what they can to prevent this ivory from ever getting to market. Thank you for your ongoing support to make these results possible.

When bull elephants fight, the ground shakes. The 5-ton giants charge each other, colliding with unimaginable force. The colossal battles determine dominance, and severe injuries are often common.

When Big Life rangers from the Enduimet Wildlife Management Area (part of the greater Amboseli ecosystem in Tanzania) found the bull elephant pictured here, they could not know the reason behind his injury. But they did know that the stakes were high.

The call for assistance went out, and the rangers tracked the elephant again, this time with a medical crew to give him the help that he needed. Once anaesthetized, it became easier to piece together what had likely happened.

The wound was just below the tail, and was a hole that went 2 feet deep. This elephant had probably lost the battle and turned to run, but not fast enough. The victor must have chased him down, spearing him with a tusk in the process.

Thankfully, the rescue team – including Big Life, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Longido District Commissioner, Kikosi Dhidi Ujangili/Wildlife Division Anti-Poaching Unit, Enduimet Wildlife Management Area, and volunteers from the Kilimanjaro Animal Crew - was able to treat the wound and send the elephant on his way. So, while he may have lost the battle, it hasn’t cost him his life.

As part of our efforts to support communities and protect wildlife in this part of the ecosystem, Big Life has two rapid response ranger units, funded by the European Union, that can react to emergencies such as this. We hope that this will be one of many more successes to report as we continue our work with partners in Enduimet.

Handover of Conservation Initiatives from
Big Life Foundation to Olgulului-Ololarashi Group Ranch

For nearly a decade, Big Life Foundation (BLF) has worked successfully in partnership with Olgulului-Ololarashi Group Ranch (OOGR) to protect wildlife and mitigate human-wildlife conflict on the ranch, a part of the greater Amboseli ecosystem, while also benefiting local community members.

During this time, BLF has invested over KES 375,000,000 (USD 3.85M) in the conservation and community of OOGR. Among other things, with support from partners, BLF has constructed 6 anti-poaching ranger outposts; employed, trained, and equipped more than 60 OOGR community rangers; installed crop-protection fencing to help local farmers; and established a livestock compensation program to benefit members of the community whose livestock were killed by predators.

The success of BLF’s conservation programs on OOGR has been extraordinary. At a time when elephant poaching had reached crisis levels elsewhere, the killing was dramatically reduced on OOGR after BLF began its daily ranger patrols. Similarly, nearly 70 lions were killed on OOGR in the 6 years prior to BLF’s engagement, with only 11 lions killed in the 10 years since. This success is thanks to the efforts of many, including other partners and the OOGR community.

Effective July 16, 2018, OOGR chose to end its successful partnership with BLF and took over the management of conservation initiatives on the ranch. While saddened by this decision, BLF accepts it and is doing what it can to facilitate a seamless transition of operations.

In an attempt to help OOGR get off to as strong a start as possible, BLF has contributed infrastructure and equipment to OOGR with an estimated replacement value of over KES 15,000,000 (USD 150k). This includes six fully-furnished ranger outposts with solar equipment, uniforms, GPS devices, cameras, and more (full inventory available on request).

BLF has also honored its commitments to issue termination payouts to the OOGR rangers and remains committed to making final livestock compensation payments to affected community members, despite the termination of this program.

BLF wishes OOGR all the best and remains committed to its support of local communities. Thanks to the ongoing support of other partners, BLF will continue to protect wildlife and wild lands in the surrounding ecosystem for the benefit of all current and future generations.

There are two kinds of wildlife products: those that satisfy a human need, such as animals killed for food, and those that are the equivalent of luxury brands. The things that no-one really needs, but many want to have.

Some of these luxury wildlife products come and go, as fleeting as clothing fashion, but there are three unfortunate species that the world seemingly can’t get enough of: elephant, leopard, and pangolin. Ivory, skins, and scales.

These products pop up time and time again in the frequent busts that happen as a result of Big Life’s intelligence work, and right now it feels like there must be a shopping spree going on somewhere.

In the last month, Big Life’s intelligence team, in partnership with Kenya Wildlife Service’s law enforcement, have made six significant busts across Kenya, some of which required months of investigation and planning. 

The result was the confiscation of 244 kg (540 lb) of ivory, three leopard skins, and about 4 kg (9 lb) of pangolin scales. Thirteen people have been arrested, and Big Life will now follow their cases to ensure that each suspect is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

When it comes to the illegal wildlife trade, less is more. While each arrest and confiscation represents a blow to the trade, it’s also an ongoing reminder that it is still happening. In 2017, Big Life assisted with the confiscation of more than one ton of ivory. In just one month, we have recovered almost a quarter of that. We would prefer not to break last year’s record, because confiscated ivory means dead elephants, but right now it looks like we may be heading that way.