Very few of Big Life’s community rangers have been with us from the beginning – Nderu Loormunyei is one of them.

Things were different when Nderu started in the early 1990s. Big Life now supports more than 200 rangers, but back then, Nderu was one of 6. Those few rangers had a very specific focus, which was tackling the rampant poaching in the Chyulu Hills. Resources were scarce, and the team worked with little equipment and no vehicle support.

Little did they know that their efforts would turn up an exciting surprise. When they started working, the Eastern black rhinoceros was believed to be extinct in this part of Kenya. That is, until Nderu started reporting rhino tracks and droppings. It took a further five years to get photographic evidence of one of these animals, but the momentum since then has turned Eastern black rhino protection into one of Big Life’s key program areas.

In 27 years, Nderu has moved around Big Life’s area of operation but, after all this time, he’s back where he started: in the Chyulu Hills.  Only, things have changed. Nderu is now second in command of a platoon of over 50 rangers, and a highly-respected veteran in Big Life’s ranger force.

Nderu’s experiences are vast, and we would need a campfire and plenty of time to tell his stories, which include being shot at by poachers, arresting armed poachers, and tracking two rhinos injured by snares. We thank Nderu for dedicating his life to protecting the Greater Amboseli ecosystem’s wildlife and supporting his community, and we hope that his commitment inspires the new recruits.

Please consider supporting Nderu, and all of Big Life’s rangers, by signing up for the Big Life Ranger Club. In doing so, your reliable monthly donation, no matter how small, goes a long way towards keeping these brave people in the field.

As the Football World Cup draws to a dramatic close, Maasai warriors in Kenya are preparing for a tournament that promises to be just as hotly contested. Following a slight delay due to the extreme rains earlier this year, team selections are now fully underway for the 2018 Maasai Olympics.

The warrior villages began choosing their teams at the end of June and this process will run through mid-July, with athletes from each area competing for their chance to represent their community at the biennial sports event, scheduled for December 15, 2018.

The Maasai Olympics was started in 2012 to protect lions by providing young men with a culturally-appropriate alternative to traditional lion hunting. Sports like football (soccer) are missing from the day, and instead the athletic competitions are designed to reflect traditional warrior skills: spear and rungu throwing, running events, and the high jump. Today, instead of participating in lion hunts, warriors compete for medals and local fame.

The rivalries of previous events will be high on everyone’s minds as the teams face off against each other in the regional competitions that run from mid-August through September. From then on, all attention turns to preparation for the final event in December.

The Maasai Olympics are part of an amazing success story: it is an integral part of the conservation effort that is protecting one of few growing lion populations on community land in Africa.

If you want to experience this incredible event for yourself, accommodation can be found at local lodges that attend the event. In the meantime, stay tuned for what promises to be an exciting year of competition!

To support the Maasai Olympics or become a sponsor, please donate or email us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Man’s best friend is more than a loyal companion: their noses are scientific wonders. A dog’s sense of smell is anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 times as acute as our own. While humans have about six million olfactory receptors in their noses, dogs have up to 300 million. In short, their keen noses are an invaluable asset on a ranger team.

Big Life’s Tracker Dog Unit currently has three canine rangers: Didi, Bonnie, and Clyde. Together, they make a disproportionately large contribution to our anti-poaching and conservation goals.

The direct impact is obvious: in instances when a poacher has killed an elephant or other wild animals, the Dog Unit is able to respond to track and apprehend criminals, achieving results no human or machine is capable of.

As a result, their presence alone is a huge deterrent to wildlife crime in the ecosystem. We know from our intelligence network that the dogs factor into poachers’ decision-making process, and that they have increased the threat of arrest to the point where for many, that risk is simply too high.

Their indirect impact is subtler and comes in the form of support to the local community.  This kind of assistance is unpredictable and varied, ranging anywhere from helping to apprehend criminals, to finding lost children in the bush and reuniting them with their families.

So far in 2018, the Dog Unit has helped Big Life ranger teams respond to incidents involving: vandalism, human search and rescue, assault, theft, and wildlife injury.

Please show your support for our canine rangers by making a donation today. Should you choose to make your gift monthly, you’ll join our Ranger Club, and will be entered to win a Big Life Leatherman multitool.

To you, he’s a face. Moriati Tisiki: 27 years old, member of the Big Life Mobile 4 ranger unit, and cover image of the 2017 Big Life annual report.

But there is more to his story.

Moriati is a high-school graduate. He completed his secondary school education, but could not afford to go on to university. He applied for a ranger job that would allow him to stay at home rather than have to move to a distant urban area, and his education and positive attitude made him an easy pick.

Moriati is a husband. In traditional Maasai culture, a man must pay a certain number of cows to the family of his prospective wife. In some cases, no cows means no wedding. After joining Big Life in 2015, Moriati started saving his ranger salary, eventually buying enough cows to get married.

Moriati will soon be a father, expecting his first child this year. His child will grow up in a very different world from the one that he did.

And Moriati is a protector. His unit operates on Rombo Group Ranch (a poaching hotspot in the southernmost reaches of Big Life’s area of operation), and Moriati is responsible for the collection of all monitoring data. This information is used to assess the always-changing threats to wildlife, as well as the efficacy of Big Life’s work, allowing us to adapt our approaches if necessary.

Earlier this year, Big Life supported Moriati’s participation in one of the inaugural ranger trainings at the Amboseli Conservation Academy, and he came out top of his class for the academic component of the training. His colleagues speak of a soft-spoken, hardworking young man who is passionate about what he does.

Moriati is a Big Life ranger. Every face has a story, and their stories are the foundation of Big Life.

You can support these committed men and women by becoming a recurring donor through the Ranger Club program at biglife.org/monthly-giving. Any new supporters who join in the month of July will be entered to win a custom Leatherman multitool, engraved with the Big Life logo.

Photo: Moriati Tisike, on the left, upon completing training at the Amboseli Conservation Academy