Wildlife
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Moses – Head of Data Collection for our rangers
Moses Lorewa is Head of Data Collection as part of the 85 Wildlife Works rangers that patrol our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project in southeastern Kenya. He is the eldest child in a pastoral family of seven children, from central Kenya. Upon finishing school in 2004, Moses worked in construction for a few years to make ends meet but knew this wasn’t his calling. He first came to the Tsavo ecosystem in 2007 to work as a scout for Southern Cross Eco Safaris who ran Gala Rock Camp, an old lodge within the Wildlife Works project area. Although Moses didn’t have any experience of working in the bush, he had grown…
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Greater Good and Soles 4 Souls Donate Boots to Rangers
Greater Good, a charity organization that is based in the United States working to protect people, pets and the planet, partners with Wildlife Works on a variety of projects, including producing apparel at our eco-factory in Kenya and raising money for our projects through activities in the U.S. Last year, Greater Good paid a visit to the Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in Kenya and saw a need for our rangers to have new boots. The effectiveness of our patrolling ranger staff is critical to protecting the 500,000 acres of the project area from poaching of wildlife and deforestation. Head Ranger Erick Sagwe distributing shoes. Greater Good worked with…
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Changing Kenya’s Landscape for Wildlife and Jobseekers
Changing Kenya’s Landscape for Wildlife and Jobseekers Published in the The Opinion Pages on NY Times By Amy Yee JUNE 8, 2016 RUKINGA SANCTUARY, Kenya — Twenty years ago, this wildlife corridor in southern Kenya was in jeopardy. A scarcity of jobs in this impoverished, arid landscape meant people were hunting wild giraffe and antelope for meat, and chopping down trees to make charcoal. With fewer trees, desertification loomed. Water was so precious that local cattle herders lit fires at water holes to keep giraffes and zebras from drinking. The animals had less vegetation to eat and less forest cover. Cutting down trees combined with poaching decimated wildlife in this…
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World Environment Day Celebrations: Go Wild for Life
Happy World Environment Day! Each year this United Nations day is celebrated on 5th June to raise awareness on taking action to protect nature. The 2016 theme was ‘Go Wild for Life’ promoting zero tolerance for the illegal wildlife trade. World Environment Day parade in Taita Taveta County Wildlife Works took part in the celebrations in Taita Taveta County in Kenya, where the 2016 theme particularly resonates. Kenya’s wildlife is severely affected by the illegal wildlife trade. It is estimated that each year around 30,000 elephants are killed worldwide as a result of poaching and the illegal ivory trade. Grevy’s Zebra, which are found on our Rukinga Sanctuary in Kenya,…
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Miasenyi Secondary School Gets Conservation Education Tour and Safari
Part of Wildlife Works community empowerment strategy includes ensuring that underprivileged students get the chance to view their beautiful ecosystem and see wildlife in its natural habitat. Since March 2015, the Wildlife Works Community Relations Department at our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in Kenya has been running an education program for local students to tour the Wildlife Works diverse operations, learn about conservation at our Tsavo Discovery Center and experience wildlife firsthand. Since the program started just over a year ago, over 25 schools have participated, bringing over 750 students through our curriculum. The aim is to eventually reach 80 schools in the area. On 20th May 2016, Wildlife Works…
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Rangers Free a Snared Buffalo
On 10 May the Wildlife Works team at the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project, Kenya, witnessed a conservation success story; our rangers led the rescue of a young wild buffalo from a poaching snare and set it free to join his herd. The 500,000 acres of land that make up the Wildlife Works project area are patrolled by 85 Wildlife Works Rangers, led by Head Ranger Eric Sagwe. During a routine daily morning patrol, a Special Operations ranger group discovered some unusual tracks and followed them deep into the bush. The team found a young buffalo snared in trap set by poachers for bush meat. The bush meat trade is illegal…
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Great Grevy’s Rally – Grevy Zebra Cencus Count
On January the 30th and 31st 2016, the “Great Grevy’s Rally” was held in Kenya. This was designed to give an overall estimate of population of the Grevy’s zebra in Kenya, as well as to help researchers calculate potential growth. The Grévy’s zebra (Equus grevyi), also known as the imperial zebra, is the largest extant wild equid and the largest and most threatened of the three species of zebra, the other two being the plains zebra and the mountain zebra. Named after Jules Grévy, it is the sole extant member of the subgenus Dolichohippus. The Grévy’s zebra is found in Kenya and Ethiopia. Compared with other zebras, it is tall,…
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Orphaned Baby Zebra Rescued
In the early morning hours of January 8, 2016, Maungu villagers found a six-week old zebra chasing traffic on Mombasa Road, as if it were its herd. They alerted Wildlife Works rangers, who collected the zebra and brought it to Wildlife Works Headquarters, where staff comforted her. Rob Dodson, Wildlife Works Vice-President, African Field Operations, and Joseph Safari, Wildlife Works Ranger, transported the zebra to the Kenya Wildlife Service/David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Voi Stockades for orphaned animals. The zebra was warmly greeted by the other curious stockade orphans, including an 18 month-old zebra, a young buffalo, and three elands. After her initial anxiety from the morning commotion wore off, the…
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Wildlife Works Anti-Poaching Pilot Spots Injured Elephant
Oct 8, 2015 : Rukinga, Kenya: This morning Wildlife Works’ anti poaching pilot Keith Hellyer, spotted this bull elephant in serious trouble on the sanctuary. The elephant was resting in the thicket alone, with a large lump on his side, which was feared to be an infection from a poison arrow. The elephant was unresponsive to the aircraft, a clear sign that he was in severe pain. Wildlife Works ground team immediately responded to the scene and kept watch on the elephant while we waited for a vet from Amboseli National Park to arrive. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust was able to bring their vet team in to tranquilize the bull for treatment. After…
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Three Baby Cheetahs Abandoned by Mother in Bush Fire
On Sept 19th, a team of our rangers responded quickly to black smoke they saw rising from the bush far from their stations on our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in Kenya. They arrived at the fire in the lorry with everyone who was available. Fortunately the wind was blowing softly and the fire was easy to beat out with branches. The smoke blacked the sky and the front of the fire was over 2 miles long and took almost 8 hours to put out. This is the first cheetah cub we found hiding in the grass near the front of the fire. Cheetahs have a white ridge so that they are…