Today for World Ranger Day, we honor all rangers who stand between illegal wildlife crime and the world’s natural heritage, and who risk their lives to protect those places and animals that cannot protect themselves. As endangered species continue to fall victim to diminishing habitat, increasing competition for resources, and the ongoing onslaught of illegal poaching activity, their work has become more important than ever.

It’s also become more dangerous than ever. The stakes are increasing, both for wildlife as numbers dwindle, but also for poachers, where the penalties for getting caught continue to increase. Rangers are caught in the middle of an increasingly militarized and confrontational battle for wildlife and wild lands.

According to the International Ranger Foundation, 63 rangers were killed in Africa in the last 12 months. 107 were killed globally. And that number may actually be two to three times higher, as many incidents go unreported. The Game Rangers’ Association of Africa states that 269 rangers have been killed since 2012. This includes Big Life ranger Kior Kulwa who was killed by an elephant late last year.

So today we stand with our rangers. To Big Life’s rangers, as well as the global ranger community, we say: THANK YOU. Thank you for your dedicated efforts protecting the natural world. You help to keep this planet beautiful and habitable for us all.

And thanks, as always, to our donors and partners for ensuring community rangers have the resources they need to protect the Greater Amboseli ecosystem, including For Rangers and The Thin Green Line Foundation, our monthly Ranger Club donors, and our supporters the world over. 

A ranger’s contact with the outside world can be tenuous. Cell phone reception is poor or non-existent, and often the only connection is a small black box: the radio. If things go wrong, it’s a lifeline.

On the other side of the connection sits Ann Taraiya, one of four Big Life radio operators. Ann is a new and very welcome addition to Big Life, having joined earlier this year. She is from Eselengei, an area in the far north of the Amboseli ecosystem where Big Life has recently established a permanent presence thanks to funding from USAID Kenya and East Africa.

After completing a degree in hospitality, Ann worked as a receptionist elsewhere in Kenya, but her father worked in conservation and Ann had always wanted to do the same. She also wanted to return home, and this job presented the perfect opportunity to accomplish both of those things.

But her work won’t be easy; being a focal point for 36 Big Life ranger units is at times a bit like being an air traffic controller. There is someone at the radio 24 hours a day, and two people at times when the rangers are on patrol. Digital radio technology allows Ann and the other operators to track the ranger teams on a screen in real-time, and direct them when emergencies happen.

Big Life’s successes are all thanks to having an excellent team, and we’re very happy to have a woman like Ann on ours. You too can play a critical role by joining the Big Life ranger club, our monthly giving program. Because without the support necessary to keep the rangers in the field, our radio room would be a very quiet place.

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..