Big Life’s intelligence work continues to pay off, as just last week, we supported yet another ivory bust in Kenya.

One of our informers caught wind of a potential ivory sale and pretended to be a buyer in order to set up a deal. When the ivory and the suspects were all in one place, Kenya Wildlife Service officers made the arrest, removing 21 kg of illegal ivory from the black market.

Ironically, on that very same day, the Standing Committee (SC) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) shocked the world by exempting Kenya and Tanzania (along with a handful of other countries) from the National Ivory Action Plan (NIAP) process—a process designed to strengthen controls over and help combat the illegal trade in ivory.

Applauded for “substantially achieving” their NIAPs and for “further measures taken to address illegal trade in ivory,” it was agreed that Kenya and Tanzania—both Category A Parties, meaning they are the “most affected by the illegal trade in ivory”—may now exit the reporting process altogether.

While both Kenya and Tanzania have made measurable progress, it is a stretch for CITES to suggest that they have “achieved their NIAPs.”

It is well known that Kenya, particularly Mombasa, remains a key exit point for illegal ivory that is headed to Asia. And although Kenya (whose elephant population is now relatively stable and increasing in some areas) set a commendable example to the world by burning its ivory stockpile in 2016, Tanzania (whose elephant population has suffered one of the most dramatic declines of any African range state) continues to sit on over 100 tons of ivory. Of this, no large-scale seizure has undergone any form of CITES-required DNA analysis in the last eight years.

Both countries do, of course, have long histories of corruption, although efforts are being made to address this. But the result has been weakened enforcement, insufficient conviction rates, lenient sentencing, and irregular reporting to CITES. All of which leaves us scratching our heads and wondering: What is CITES thinking??

Given the amount of illegal ivory that Big Life continues to confiscate moving through our area of operation—over a ton last year, and rapidly closing in on the same this year—we find it extremely alarming that CITES has made this decision, with very little reasonable justification, when there is clearly much more work to be done.

In the face of this setback, Big Life remains more committed than ever to our intelligence operations and to ending the trafficking of illegal ivory.

We thank you, as always, for your support, which makes our work possible.         

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.