Big Life’s rangers are the key to our success at keeping Amboseli’s people and wildlife safe. They are on the ground every day of the year, and collectively cover hundreds of thousands of kilometers. It is a difficult job that requires a varied set of complex skills.

What is not as widely acknowledged is the intense training needed acquire these skills. New recruits and seasoned veterans alike are all taught at the Amboseli Conservation Academy, which we established in 2018 thanks to generous donors. Training covers everything from specialist courses to refreshers on essential skills like wildlife tracking and first aid.

Constable Lekatoo has risen through the ranks over the course of many years with Big Life to become one of our ranger instructors, and in doing so has broken the mould in a profound way. Her competence has demonstrated that women are just as capable of doing a job that was previously believed to be the domain of men. And more, she is now teaching men how to do that job.

So, to Susan, our ten other female rangers, and the dozens of women working behind the scenes at Big Life, we salute you. Happy International Women’s Day. Footage from: The Shege