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Simon Kipsang; The Ranger and Co-pilot at Wildlife Works
By Jane Okoth For some, a wildlife adventure may seem like a normal thing, but that seemed an impossible opportunity for young Simon Kipsang. As a young boy growing up in Nakuru County, Simon only learnt about elephants, lions and other wildlife in school. “Since I was passionate about the environment, I would spend time taking care of trees in my homestead and wished that I would one day come face to face with wildlife,” he recalls thinking. As fate would have had it, his dream has come true. Now at 30 years old, Kipsang is a full time ranger and co-pilot at Wildlife Works. When the husband and father…
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A Letter from Founder & President Mike Korchinsky on Our No-Gun Policy
We’d like to extend a huge thank you to our supporters and the viewers of ‘Ivory Wars’ for their outpouring of support and encouragement following the initial airings of the series set at our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in Kenya. Elephant poaching remains a serious issue, and we’re glad this opportunity has allowed us to more broadly bring to light its devastating affects. Since the initial airing, we’ve received some questions about the no-gun policy for our rangers. In an effort to ensure transparency and clear communication about our diligent efforts to keep our rangers safe, we’d like to share some detail about this policy, which has developed as a…
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Farmers around the Kasigau Corridor Grow and Sell Seedlings to Wildlife Works
With global warming becoming a more imminent threat, trees and other vegetation remain among our best defense mechanisms. Trees’ ability to absorb greenhouse gases emitted by automobiles, factories, and power plants result in a significant reduction in global climates. As part of the Wildlife Works community empowerment programs, we encourage farmers around the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project to grow and nurture seedlings, which are then sold to our greenhouse team at an average price of ten shillings (12 cents) per seedling. These are then brought back to the Wildlife Works greenhouse facility to be grown until they reach a suitable size for replanting. This seedling collection happens at the end…
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The Rescue of Baby Elephant, Mackinnon
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust recently indicated that an orphaned elephant rescued from the Mackinnon region of our project area is thriving under their care. Mackinnon, as the young elephant has been nicknamed, had somehow become separated from his family and ventured out of the forest before coming upon the town of Mackinnon, which is known for hostility towards wildlife. Fortunately, that night the area chief came upon the stray elephant and immediately called our security department. Usually during such a scenario, plans are swiftly made in collaboration with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to airlift the elephant to an orphanage in Nairobi, but since night had fallen, the only…
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African Wild Dogs in Rukinga
To effectively protect the wildlife in our project area, the Wildlife Works biodiversity monitoring team and rangers employ several strategies to ensure all species present are safely maintained and to record data for referencing purposes. Some ways used to monitor the wildlife include ranger patrols, road transects and camera traps, which are set by the biodiversity team. Wildlife Works rangers, on the other hand, document data of the wildlife they encounter on the ranches whilst on security patrols. Combined, these methods of supervising the wellbeing of our wildlife, has proven effective at uncovering important information on some of the most rare wildlife in the world. Recently, one of the cameras…
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All work and no play? Wildlife Works donates Phys. Ed. clothing to students!
Physical Education is an important part of the curriculum that we offer to children who attend our on-site nursery at Wildlife Works at our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project. Unfortunately, too often a lack of play clothes hinders the children’s full participation, and dusty school uniforms only add to the parents’ burdens. To increase participation in our P.E. program, Wildlife Works has decided to donate two t-shirts and a pair of shorts to each student. The clothing was manufactured at our eco-factory, where many of the students’ parents are employed. Each item is made of cotton and features the Wildlife Works’ elephant logo. The new play clothes were received with joy…
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Wildlife Works rangers fight against illegal ivory trade
With the increase in violence linked to the rising value of ivory, Wildlife Works’ team of rangers, led by Head Ranger and Security Manager Eric Sagwe, have been working harder than ever to curb poaching and protect wildlife. The team encountered three notable events over the past few months, from poachers killing small game for meat to a large-scale slaughter for ivory, and will continue their tireless efforts to discourage poaching and protect wildlife. Recently, two poachers were caught killing small animals to sell as bush meat. The pair had slaughtered two dik diks and two hares using pangas (large, broad-bladed African knives used as tools or weapons) and confessed…
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Going green: Purchasing and planting tree seedlings in Kenya
As part of Wildlife Works’ reforestation efforts, our greenhouse team regularly purchase and replant tree seedlings from around our project area in rural Kenya. The greenhouse staff travel to communities around our Wildlife Sanctuary in Rukinga to purchase the seedlings from local farmers at Ksh10 per plant, providing a source of income for some community members who can not find stable work. After the seedlings are purchased, they are kept at the Wildlife Works greenhouse, nourished and prepared for replanting. Once the seedlings are ready, the team distributes them for free to local schools, churches, environmental groups and individuals for planting. On November 23, the greenhouse team hired a canter,…
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Health, Wealth and Happiness: Rukinga Sanctuary hosts a health and finance management seminar for employees
Living in rural Kenya can mean limited access to formal institutions such as hospitals and banks. The closest hospital to Rukinga is St. Joseph Shelter of Hope located in the town of Voi, along with the closest bank. With Voi several hours away, many staff members at the Wildlife Sanctuary are paid in cash and find it hard to save money for the future. The Sanctuary’s Human Resources Department decided to host a special seminar bringing in speakers to teach Wildlife Works staff members how to stay on top of their health and finances. The goal of the talk was to provide employees with the tools needed for success. On…
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Tragedy strikes Rukinga Sanctuary
WARNING: The following blog post contains graphic photos of elephants killed by ivory poachers. View at your own discretion. As the new year kicks off, we take a look back at the challenges and accomplishments of 2012. We were proud to start the year by building a nursery for Wildlife Works’ employees’ families, and thrilled to be partners with PUMA for their Creative Factory project. We welcomed our first female Wildlife rangers and happily received validation and verification for the first REDD+ project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The greatest challenge we face going into 2013 is the growing threat to wildlife from the increasingly violent ivory trade, and we…
