It has taken some time to process Daniel Ole Sambu’s sudden passing last week, and it will take much longer to come to terms with the personal loss and repercussions of the void that he leaves behind. Yesterday was his funeral, and we had a chance to say goodbye and share in our grief.
My heart goes out to Daniel’s family, a wife now without a husband and children without their guiding father. They will be supported by the community and by Big Life, where Daniel invested so much of his life. That is without question.
Daniel appeared, almost preordained, just as Big Life was starting to realize that human wildlife conflict was fast becoming the battle of our times. He stepped into his role as a bridge and ambassador between the community and the ecosystem’s predators, seeking ways to mitigate losses on both sides. For over twenty years, he played his role as a master strategist, understanding both sides of the equation as a land and livestock owner himself, yet sympathetic to the wildlife that shares the landscape.
Daniel played a key role in the negotiations that led to the creation of the compensation program in the Amboseli ecosystem, the success of which has brought lions and other predators back from the brink of local extinction.
Lions have rebounded from probably less than 25 to more than 250 over the past 23 years. That is truly a legacy to be proud of, and without Daniel I doubt there would be lions roaring in the shadows of Mount Kilimanjaro today.
He was naturally charismatic and played by his own rules, sometimes conventional, sometimes not. His gifts and insights did not go unnoticed. At the national level, he was constantly called in as an advisor on national policy, particularly regarding human-wildlife conflict mitigation. He left his mark there as well.
I will miss this man, a conservation hero, who always had a sense of humor bubbling just beneath his distinguished and elegant demeanor, eyes with a sparkle and chuckle never far away.
Richard Bonham
Executive Chairman
Big Life Foundation Kenya
