After months of restrictions, Kenya is starting to move again, and so are the ivory traders.

COVID-19 has been tough on all businesses, the illegal ivory trade included. Border closures and increased border security, unpredictable changes to global transport schedules, and air travel restrictions have all made life difficult for wildlife criminals. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that it is possible that traders in both Africa and Asia have simply been stockpiling ivory and other wildlife parts, waiting to come out the other side of this.

Big Life has kept our intelligence network alive over this period but the movements of our intelligence officers have been constrained. With restrictions now lifting, we’ve had to hit the ground running.

In the last two weeks we’ve worked with the Kenya Wildlife Service to make four ivory busts, and confiscated a total of 156.9 kg of ivory.  The most recent (pictured here) was big, with tusks weighing a combined total of 94.5 kg in a single haul. These tusks almost certainly weren’t fresh, and looked to have been in storage for at least 4-5 months.

Whether this uptick continues remains to be seen. We’ve just seen a hugely positive move by Vietnam, a traditional transit country and relative safe haven for the ivory business, to ban the trade in wildlife – dead or alive. Everything points to a declining interest in ivory in China following its ivory trade ban, and prices have fallen over the last few years.

But clearly there is still a demand, and a problem, or we wouldn’t be making these busts.

No one likes to be a stranger. In the wrong neighborhood, it can be downright dangerous, particularly if you’re a male lion.

Lions are highly social cats, with strong bonds that span multiple generations in a single pride. It’s a cozy family picture until young males start to mature at 2-3 years, at which point life takes an unpleasant turn for them. Dad senses the increasing testosterone levels and kicks them not just out of the pride, but out of the territory entirely.

These young lions either end up alone or in small bachelor groups, trying to hunt for themselves and avoiding the territories of other dominant males. They often resort to killing livestock (much easier than wild prey), and in so doing come into conflict with human communities. Few survive this period, but the ones that do are important.

Sarng'ab (which means mud in Maasai, named by Lion Guardians after a particularly wet search for him) pictured here is one of the survivors. He was born on the western side of Amboseli National Park almost 6 years ago, but the Lion Guardians have since identified him in the Kimana Sanctuary, and more recently from this photo which was taken 70 km from where he grew up.

He was with a lioness at the time, and has perhaps found some space and an opportunity to build a pride of his own. He won’t know it, but Big Life is working to protect him from human threats as he moves, through the efforts of our community rangers and Predator Compensation Fund (PCF), which softened the economic loss for the owners of the cows that he killed.

Two decades ago, the Amboseli lion population was headed for local extinction, and in response Big Life worked with local community leaders to engineer the solution: PCF. The lion killing stopped almost immediately after starting the program, and it’s been a stunning turnaround since then. Our partners at Lion Guardians have monitored a dramatic increase in the Amboseli lion population density to more than seven times what it was 15 years ago.

It’s a demonstration that community-focused conservation solutions can create space for one of Africa’s most threatened and iconic species.

Could you ask for better news on World Lion Day? 

Photo: Jeremy Goss

It is now months into the COVID-19 global pandemic, and in Big Life’s area of operation, the fight against the invisible enemy remains in battle mode. Since March, Kenya has had a hardline response to COVID-19, closing schools, putting families in lockdown, and enacting curfews and strict restrictions on travel. The tourism industry, as well as many others, have ground to a halt while reports of new infections and deaths are still on the rise. Kenya has just exceeded 20,000 confirmed cases. As of this writing, 8,165 have recovered and 341 have died.

Back in April, we reported that our established network of 34 Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) were reaching out to communities in our area of operation, educating people on how the virus spreads, how to prevent it, and why staying home is so essential. These volunteers are a trusted resource, who typically work in the community to distribute information about many important health issues, such as family planning.

This work still continues and is as important as ever. Our CHVs have made 5,273 household visits reaching 18,306 people with vital COVID-19 and family planning information in the past 3 months. In addition, Big Life set up a series of 9 meetings with local chiefs, pastors and community leaders. The meetings were kept to limited participants and social distancing was enforced. Information about COVID-19, the means of transmission, symptoms, and prevention measures were discussed in detail. We are also providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), hand soap, and sanitizer for the CHVs and the 9 dispensaries across Mbirikani, Rombo, and Eselengei group ranches on a monthly basis. The nurses and community members alike have received this support with immense gratitude.

Local testing is minimal, so the virus is not yet affecting the community here in a tangible way. There have been 30 confirmed cases in Loitokitok, otherwise, local numbers are somewhat a guess.

As we look to brighter days, we thank our supporters, CHASE Africa, the Leila and Mickey Straus Family Foundation, and Health Yetu Foundation, as well as all our donors worldwide during this challenging time.

Photo: Jeremy Goss

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly people can adapt to changing conditions in a crisis. There are some traditions in Maasailand that I thought might be tough to change. And yet, just last week, I attended a meeting that was held out in the bush, in the shade of the 206 wing with folding chairs. My guests all sat 2 meters apart and we did not shake hands. It felt somewhat strange but in other ways, totally normal. Life moves on.

We’re still getting to grips with the impact on our diverse programs. You’ll see in our 2nd Quarterly Report that some programs are more heavily impacted than others. The courts aren’t in session, so our prosecutions work is paused. Tourism is obviously down as people quarantine at home, so paying visitors to Kimana Sanctuary is also down. Construction projects are on hold. Schools are not in session, although we are continuing to pay the teachers we support. Mobile clinics, which bring community members together, are on hold until it is safe to gather again.

But our rangers, able to isolate at their outposts, are continuing their critical work. In the 2nd quarter, 67 snares were found and destroyed. 16 suspects were arrested, for either bushmeat poaching or trophy possession. 520 kg of bushmeat was recovered.

The challenges created by COVID were offset slightly by an abundance of rains last quarter, which kept the land lush and helped minimize conflict. But as we shift into the dry season, bush fires are becoming a huge threat. As I write, Big Life, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, and KWS rangers are fighting a bush fire in the Chyulu Hills National Park, and an even bigger fire fanned by strong winds is moving across Tsavo West National Park. These are testing times for all of us.

As we have proven time and time again, Big Life’s rangers are up to the challenge.

Thank you all so much for making our work possible.

Richard Bonham
Director of Operations, Big Life Kenya

SEE THE FULL 2ND QUARTERLY REPORT