Sunset is a bad time to be on your own in Africa, more so if you are a baby elephant.

The young female, not more than a couple of months old, was found by rangers wandering alone late in the afternoon. Not wanting to intervene, some of the ranger unit watched the calf while the rest went in search of her mother.

With darkness closing in, and no sign of the mother, the rangers had no option. The baby, completely trusting of her new human friends, needed no persuasion and simply followed the rangers back to their outpost, where they all spent the night.

At first light the rangers resumed the search for her mother, but again with no luck. Thankfully, in these situations we are able to call on the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The rescue plane was slightly delayed due to a temporary closure of Nairobi airspace, but the baby waited calmly with the rangers at the airstrip, even managing a sleep before being flown out.

With the ongoing dry conditions in Amboseli, elephant families are fragmenting more than normal in their search for food. It is possible that the baby lost her mother in this way, or perhaps that the mother died as a result of the drought conditions. We will likely never know.

What we do know is that there will be a happy ending for this young elephant, who has now been moved to the DSWT orphanage in Nairobi, where she will grow up with a new herd in preparation for her re-release into the wild.

Something is wrong here. The smell of rotting flesh fills the air. Scavengers wander leisurely from one carcass to the next, spoilt for choice and with no need to fight over scraps.

Humans are pretty good killers, but we’ve got nothing on nature. We’re coming to the end of what looks to be the worst year of rainfall since the last major drought in 2008/09, and the impact has been immediate and severe.

We’ve just watched hundreds of wild animals, and thousands of livestock, die from starvation or other drought-related ailments. Among those wild animals have been at least 15 elephants, each known by name to the Amboseli Trust for Elephants. Four of these elephants have been old females, and each of these deaths represents not only the loss of a mother and family member, but a huge amount of important survival knowledge.

Many of these deaths could have been avoided. Droughts will always come and go, but the impact of them depends on how well the land is managed in the periods in between. Across Amboseli, traditional management systems have fallen away, replaced by the inaction typical of modern-day politics. Hard decisions are hard to make, because they can cost leaders their positions.

This is one of the most pressing conservation issues here and across Africa. It’s a question of how we manage the wild land that remains, and keep it productive for wildlife AND for local communities. Big Life is happy to be working with the Amboseli Ecosystem Trust, a grass-roots organization that is taking a leadership role in land-use management decisions. On the ground, we are working with local communities to support grazing planning from the bottom up. This is complicated work, and not very sexy, but it is necessary to the long-term success of our conservation programs.

The rains have now finally started to fall in Amboseli. Not huge amount, but enough to avert complete disaster. The animals have started to lift their heads, slowly regaining their energy levels. We are now holding our breath, and hoping that the rains keep coming.

This week, the Trump Administration announced that the “trophy” body parts of legally hunted elephants from Zimbabwe and Zambia may be imported into the U.S., along with weakened protections for African lions. Allowing hunters to import pieces of the dead bodies of elephants and lions is a direct rollback of two Obama-era regulations meant to protect both of these threatened species, and the argument that this decision was undertaken in the name of conservation is utterly absurd. 

This announcement comes on the heels of the U.S. Administration’s proposed 2018 budget, which includes extensive cuts to already grossly underfunded wildlife conservation programs. If enacted, funding for programs that protect critical species like elephants and rhinos, including in Big Life’s area of operation, will be completely eliminated. Wildlife is not the only potential victim. With further cuts proposed for programs that support local communities, including vitally important support for community rangers, humans will also suffer. 

The world is seeing monumental shifts happening to stem the ivory trade and ensure the broader survival of iconic animals across the African continent. Under global pressure, even countries like China have demonstrated a commitment to shutting down the illegal ivory market. At this critical tipping point, the proposed U.S. budget cuts, compounded by the decision to lift the ban on the import of elephant and lion trophies, sends a confusing and dangerous signal to the rest of the world about the United States’ commitment and leadership in the fight against illegal wildlife poaching and trafficking. 

Decisions made over the next several months have the power to shape the future and chance of survival for some of the world’s most iconic endangered species. While the situation looks dire, there is still time for the political narrative to change.

To join the fight, and use your voice to change the narrative, please consider the following:

1. Donate to support Big Life’s work to protect and secure wildlife and wild lands in East Africa: https://biglife.org/donations
2. Contact US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or tweet @RyanZinke
3. Contact US Fish & Wildlife Service: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or tweet @USFWS

COVID-19 is not the only health crisis Africa is facing. According to new data from the United Nations, while the world’s population is projected to nearly stop growing by the end of the century, Africa’s population is predicted to triple.

In order to achieve long-term protection of wildlife and habitat, it is essential that local communities within Big Life’s area of operation are able to prosper in a stable and peaceful environment, including through reliable access to healthcare, education, and the empowerment of women and girls.

Big Life Foundation tackles all three goals across the 1.6 million acres of the Greater Amboseli ecosystem we protect, based upon the belief that if conservation supports the people, then people will support conservation. As such, we’ve been expanding our Community Health Volunteer (CHV) program to improve the health of local communities, promote sustainable family planning, and advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights.

This past spring, the CHVs conducted a baseline health survey comprising 200 men and 200 women, which included questions about family planning. We learned that the average number of children per household is about 5, and additionally:

• 38% of mothers and 26% of fathers surveyed stated that their most recent pregnancy was unwanted at that time, highlighting an unmet need for family planning services.
• Over 80% of both men and women are misinformed to believe there are long-term negative side effects to modern contraception, with nearly 50% believing they will cause permanent infertility.
• On average, only 40% of men and women knew where they could go to seek family planning services, if wanted.
• 84% of men did not approve of their wives using a modern family planning method.

With our healthcare initiatives – including mobile health clinics, CHVs, and health education – we’re hoping to make positive changes for overall health as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights across the local Maasai community.

With human populations continually on the rise and no corresponding increase in available land or resources for people or wildlife, the timing is critical to educate and empower both men and women, enabling them to make informed choices that may lead to a brighter future for all.

We couldn’t do this critical work without the help of CHASE Africa, the Leila and Mickey Straus Family Foundation, Health Yetu Foundation, or our individual donors worldwide. We are grateful for your support.

Photo: Jeremy Goss