Amboseli is one of the last places on Earth where large amounts of wildlife and people truly coexist, as they have done for thousands of years. Supporting both the animals and people of this ecosystem so that they both thrive is our end goal. Because of you, we know we’ll continue to be successful. 

We have faced urgent threats before. Since our inception, we have brought together local communities, scientists and policy experts, partners and donors to stop ivory poaching in Amboseli.

Together, we’ve succeeded in moving the needle for Amboseli’s megafauna species from a critical threat to a manageable one. We haven’t lost a single elephant to poachers in our area of operation since March 2018, nor a single rhino since 2016.

That success led us to dig deeper into what was needed to protect Amboseli. Beyond poaching, it’s turned into minimizing conflicts between people and wildlife, keeping elephants out of farms and lions out of bomas. We’ve broadened our community programs, supporting education and critical medical support to the most remote areas. These programs have always been implemented pragmatically with the needs of the local community driving the process. In this conservation landscape, education and opportunity are as important as our rangers and Land Cruisers. 

With our boots on the ground and eyes on the horizon, a different, but no less dangerous threat has emerged: habitat loss.

Changes in land ownership from large communally-owned areas to thousands of individually-owned parcels has created the potential for the fabric of Amboseli to unravel, its open savannahs fragmented and wildlife caught in the crosshairs. This threat is as dangerous as ivory poaching ever was. And in some ways, more insidious, because it involves complicated legal filings and land-use plans rather than rangers tracking poachers in the bush.

To win the fight for Amboseli’s future, we support local communities in navigating these complex and expensive processes, at their request. We also now pay conservation leases to directly protect habitat at risk of disappearing.

It has never been more apparent that for conservation to succeed, it must support the local communities. Lease payments to landowners in exchange for keeping their land unfenced and undeveloped is just one piece of the puzzle.

It will take resources and expertise. And it will require you, our loyal supporters.

We’re here on the ground, doing what must be done to protect Amboseli. But only with your help will we continue to be successful. Thank you for being a difference maker as we fight to protect one of the last great wild places on the planet.

Richard Bonham, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman
Craig Millar, Chief Operating Officer
Benson Leyian, Chief Executive Officer
Big Life Kenya

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Photo: Jeremy Goss