It was probably not an easy decision, but she was suffering from pains, and her child was sick. So, she made the 7 km journey to the rural village of Kalesirua.  Luckily, the journey was time well spent.

Big Life Foundation was conducting its second mobile health clinic of the year, and the woman was able to access medical treatment, family planning services, and take-away nutritional supplements for her children. She was one of the 271 people - men, women, and children - that received health services that day.

In the more remote parts of Big Life’s area of operation, there are Maasai communities that are very isolated from healthcare. Consequently, children often go unvaccinated, serious health issues are regularly ignored, and testing and counseling are a rarity.

Realizing healthy families result in healthy communities, Big Life has been stepping in to help fill this lifesaving gap. Thus far, in 2018, Big Life and the Kenya Ministry of Health have provided 527 people access to healthcare, de-wormed 1,107 children, and provided long-term family planning to 23 women.

While the clinics are mobile, for the hundreds of community members who are able to receive medical services, the impact is lasting.

Maasai warriors from across the Amboseli ecosystem are one step closer to their shot at greatness. Traditionally that would have meant killing a lion, but today it is achieved through participation in the Maasai Olympics.

The warriors who will represent their manyattas (warrior villages) in the final event on December 15, 2018 have been chosen, each for their prowess in one of six Maasai Olympics disciplines, all of which are based on traditional warrior skills.

Of the hundreds of warriors that battled for a place to compete on one of four teams, 120 now advancing to compete for medals, prizes, the winner’s trophy, and a prized breeding bull, all in the name of lion conservation.

The regional competitions will be held over the next month. During these one-on-one team duels, competitors and teams will size each other up to see what it’s going to take to come out on top in December.

In 2016, the underdogs (Rombo manyatta) knocked the two-time reigning champions (Mbirikani manyatta) from their pedestal, but only time will tell if they can come back and do it again. There is a hum in the air, and it’s only going to get louder as the regional competitions begin.

Thank you for supporting the Maasai Olympics – the hunt for medals, not lions – by making a donation.

Wildlife tracks are a bit like long pieces of spaghetti; it’s not often that you follow them to a neat and satisfactory ending. So, when a dawn ranger patrol found rhino imprints that seemed to belong to a mother and calf, they could not predict where they would lead, if anywhere.

Regardless, this was an exciting discovery. The Eastern black rhinoceros is the most critically endangered of the black rhino subspecies, and was thought to be extinct in the Chyulu Hills until they were rediscovered in the 1990s by one of Big Life’s first rangers. A small population had been there all along, hiding deep in the lava fields and thick vegetation far east of the Amboseli ecosystem.

That population now comprises eight individuals, including the new calf, each of which is extremely special as a member of an original wild population, not bred under human management. To see a rhino is an extreme privilege, and very rare.

The tracks got fresher as the rangers followed. They slowed, not wanting to startle the animals, or elicit a dangerous charge from the mother. Excitement eventually turned to elation when they spotted two dark shapes in the bush ahead.

Better still, the two rhinos were relaxed enough that local lodge guests had enough time to get out to see them, becoming the first tourists to photograph a rhino in decades here in the Chyulus. We hope that this is the first of many such sightings!

Protecting these rhinos is no small job. There are 51 Big Life rangers based in 7 rhino-specific outposts coordinating with 24 Kenya Wildlife Service rangers who are all committed to keeping the rhinos safe. We’re grateful to all of our partners who help and support us in this, including: Kenya Wildlife Service, Save the Rhino International, Chester Zoo, US Fish and Wildlife, Tusk, and Great Plains Conservation.

Photo Credit: Jackson Lemunge

Without human interference, when left to its own devices, nature can usually stand on its own. But occasionally, even nature needs a helping hand.

This was the case when, on a recent joint patrol by Big Life Foundation and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), a bull elephant was spotted desperately stuck in the mud of a drying water pan near the Chyulu Hills.

Many of us have been conditioned to believe that if we act heroically in situations such as this, good will always prevail. But what happens in the rare instance when, despite the best intentions and most valiant efforts of a deeply committed team, the “heroes” simply aren’t able to save the day?

Day One: Immediate Response

Big Life, KWS, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT), and members of the local community responded immediately to help the stranded elephant. Attempting to pull him free from the mud using light vehicles and ropes, the team quickly found themselves potentially facing the same fate as the elephant, and had to retreat. As night fell and dozens of opportunistic hyenas appeared on the scene, Big Life and KWS rangers, supported by DSWT’s veterinarian unit, remained steadfast throughout the night, guarding the elephant from predators.

Day Two: Double The Effort

On the second morning, more trucks arrived with special, heavy duty straps. As rope after rope snapped under pressure, it became clear that this equipment was no match for the swampy, treacle-like earth. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Using the combined power of industrial tractors from a local Simba Cement factory, multiple trucks, and still stronger straps, the huge elephant was finally pulled from the mud onto firmer ground.

Exhausted and dehydrated, despite attempts to rehydrate, the elephant was still unable to stand. The leg that he had been lying on for days was devoid of strength.

As if on cue, reinforcements arrived, and an elephant herd joined the effort to help the fading bull. Sadly, their attempts failed, as they dug both the bull and themselves further into the muddy pit, risking their own safety in an attempt to pull him out of the quagmire. After a massive struggle, the elephants wound up back where they had started, on slightly firmer ground.

Day Three: Temporary Success

Following another long night with the team vigilantly standing guard over the elephant, daybreak arrived. After several more attempts to help him stand, the elephant was finally repositioned onto his stronger side, now completely out of the mud. He was given more water and medication by the DSWT veterinarian team. Yet still, he lay motionless, apart from the slow rise and fall of his breathing. At this point, all we could do was wait.

Late on the third day, rescue teams could see he wasn't going to stand on his own, so with ropes attached to his tusks, and tied to a vehicle, they pulled his heavy head up so that he could manoeuvre his feet underneath. And with that, the bull rose shakily to his feet and took his first tentative steps. The rangers followed him as he walked slowly into the soft evening light, feeding in the Chyulu Hills, which was likely his original destination.

Day Four: Nature Takes Its Course  

The rangers continued to monitor the elephant’s progress as (we hoped) he regained his strength, and we allowed ourselves to believe that this story might have a happy ending… Until we received the heartbreaking news that he had ultimately succumbed to the stress and trauma of his ordeal. 

Although in most cases, nature can stand on its own, the hard truth is that sometimes it cannot. And sometimes there is reason for this that is beyond our comprehension or ability to intervene.

While we struggle to make sense of the loss, we take comfort in knowing that, together with our partners at KWS, DSWT, and the local community, we did all that we could for this elephant. We are happy to have helped him get back on his feet, if only for long enough to reach his intended destination and enjoy a final meal in the Chyulu Hills.