I’ve seen a world without elephants. It’s how I found the Chyulu Hills when I arrived 30 years ago. It was a time following the last poaching crisis of the 1970s and 80s, when we didn’t see so much as a single elephant track. But nature is impatient, and things can change quickly.

The Amboseli elephant population has since rebounded, and giants have filled the space, including some who carry the largest tusks on the continent. One of my favourites has a name—One Ton—so called because of the size of his ivory. Beautiful to look at, but a curse to carry. Big Life rangers have managed to keep him alive through the worst of the recent times, and with only one confirmed elephant poaching in our area of operation in 2017, I feel as though we’re giving him the best anti-poaching protection that we can.

Despite the tremendous success that we’ve had against poachers in the greater Amboseli ecosystem, Big Life rangers can only cover so much ground. Elephants are still dying elsewhere, so we’ve been targeting the supply of ivory further up the chain.

Incidentally, ‘One Ton’ of ivory (over 2,000 pounds) is how much Big Life’s intelligence unit confiscated this year, working closely with Kenya Wildlife Service. Our network of informants has greatly expanded our reach and influence, and in addition to making life difficult for elephant poachers, we’re also working to make it difficult for ivory traffickers.

Another piece of exciting news, and a huge step in the fight to reduce demand for ivory, is that of China’s move this year to finally close its ivory markets, followed soon after by Hong Kong. Things won’t change overnight, and we can expect ongoing circulation on the black market, but the importance of these commitments and the statement they make cannot be overstated.

However, it’s no longer the thought of poachers that keeps me awake at night. These days, I know that I will wake to reports of overnight raids of farmers’ crops by elephants, and occasionally of a retaliatory spear that has found its mark. This is now the biggest threat to One Ton and his kind, and without a viable solution for coexistence between animals and people, all our efforts are worth nothing.

The good news is that our actions are making a difference. The completion in 2017 of Phase 1 (53 km) of crop-protection fencing has hugely reduced incidents of crop-raiding, thus reducing human-elephant conflict. This success has spurred us to move ahead with the next 60 km of fencing, and thanks to the generosity of our supporters, Phase 2 will be completed in 2018.

But there is more to this ecosystem, and to Big Life, than elephants. In collaboration with local partners, we have achieved what must be one of the most remarkable lion recoveries on community land anywhere in Africa. Ironically, this success means we are running out of space for lions, testing the limits of pastoralist tolerance of these costly animals.

The immediate solution is to expand the protective coverage provided by Big Life’s Predator Compensation Fund, which we began to do this year. If we are able to secure the necessary funding, then we plan to continue these efforts in 2018, incentivizing greater tolerance of livestock predation.

The issue of space is a good note on which to end, because it will be increasingly important as the ecosystem continues to develop. There are some critical areas that must be protected, discussed within this report.

As usual, there is not a dull moment here in Kenya. What we are doing is vitally important, and time is of the essence. Thanks to all of you who make it possible, both through financial support and through action on the ground. This truly is a cumulative effort, and one we shall continue.

Richard Bonham
Co-Founder & Director of Operations

Read Big Life's full 2017 Annual Report HERE. 

It’s not an easy life for a lion cub in Africa. If humans don’t get you, sometimes your own kind will.

Big Life has been tracking a collared lioness, Mashael, and her sister, Noosinoni, for the last year, with much excitement after they gave birth to seven cubs between them. It was all going well until recently, when our local conservation partners Lion Guardians witnessed a terrible event.

Two new young males had arrived in Mashael’s territory, looking for space of their own. In such cases, the incoming lions will usually kill existing cubs so that they might have their own sooner. The mothers courageously defended their cubs, clashing with the invaders and managing to chase them off, but with blood drawn on both sides. At that point, only four cubs could be seen; the other three were presumed missing or already dead.

The following day, when the cubs’ fathers returned, the three missing cubs were still nowhere to be found. The lionesses were seen again a week later, but there was no sign of any of the cubs. At this point, we thought that the remaining four may also have been killed.

Prepared for the worst, we tracked Mashael’s collar to see at least how the two females were recovering from their injuries. They were lying in the grass and seemed fine, the wounds having healed well. But then, another body moved in the grass. Then another. We started to count, and couldn’t believe it. All seven cubs, still alive and well, reunited with their mothers!

While invading males pose a challenge, humans remain the greatest threat to this family and their kind. Big Life’s Predator Compensation Fund (PCF) provides them with relative safety from retaliatory killing, but when lions leave protected areas, the result is often death.

We are actively expanding the PCF onto Eselengei Group Ranch in the northern reaches of our area of operation, and will be joining the Lion Guardians in their efforts there. We are also working with partners to expand predator protection along the border of Kenya and Tanzania, in the Enduimet Wildlife Management Area.

Big Life’s ultimate goal is to expand the PCF across our entire area of operation, as funds permit, because as these cubs grow, so too must our protection of their kind.

Please support this innovative effort that helps people and the lions who live among them. 

Today is International Women’s Day, and we would like to recognize the many women who contribute to Big Life’s success. These women are not just wives, mothers, sisters, and friends, they are also rangers, field staff, informers, program officers, educators, fundraisers, scientists, and board directors.

Agnes Sopilal, picture below, has been a Big Life ranger for five years, working in the Olepolos Conservancy near Amboseli National Park. She most enjoys being a ranger because she is able to protect wildlife from being killed. She wants other women to know that, “Ranger work is not for men only. A woman can also do [this work] since you are preserving the beauty of your country and the entire world.”

We are grateful to Agnes, and her conservation colleagues within Big Life and across the world, for their dedication and passion for conserving wildlife and wild lands.

Please join us, along with our partners at The Thin Green Line Foundation, in celebrating female conservationists around the globe.

Sometimes we wish they did. Lions, impressive predators as they are, often wreck havoc in the night, as is their nature.  The local Maasai keep vast numbers of livestock, which are easy prey for big cats like lions, cheetahs, and leopards. As a result, human-predator conflict is a major issue.

Today’s World Wildlife Day theme is 'Big Cats: Predators Under Threat', aiming to raise awareness about the decrease of big cat populations across the world. It’s one of our major program areas at Big Life. Healthy ecosystems rely on apex predators like lions. While they may be challenging for the local human community to coexist with, we’re finding solutions that work.

Last year, across 700,000 acres of Big Life’s area of operation, big cats killed 984 reported livestock, valued at well over $65,000. Fortunately, in collaboration with conservation partners, our predator protection programs (e.g., the Predator Compensation Fund, the Maasai Olympics, and our wildlife rangers) were able to stop ALL retaliatory killings of these cats within that area. As a result, their numbers continue to grow, as evidenced by the seven new lion cubs we have in the Chyulu Hills at the moment.

You may live across the world from Africa, but it is only with your help that Big Life is able to protect lions and all predators within the ecosystem. Please consider celebrating World Wildlife Day by making a lifesaving donation to Big Life. In doing so, you are joining the fight to ensure a future for predators under threat.