Center Raises Awareness of Challenges Facing Elephants and Giraffes As poachers continue to kill thousands of elephants across Africa and an increasing number of giraffes, organizations throughout Kenya are banding together to develop strategies to help curtail the illegal killing of these iconic animals. Education is one of these key strategies. To share information […]
A colorful day of celebration was held at Morijo Primary school last week. Despite being the school holidays, students, their parents and the Morijo community all gathered to celebrate the arrival of 38 desks and text books, generously donated to the school by San Diego Zoo Global. Moijo Primary School is situated in Kirimon Conservancy […]
Photo: © Hannah Campbell 2016 By: Kirstie Ruppert (San Diego Zoo Global) “Do leopards cause you any problems?” Your answer to this question likely depends on where you live in the world and your primary source of income. When this question was asked to community members around Loisaba Conservancy, 75% of people said yes, that […]
No day is ever the same! For the sake of this blog let me try and break it down into the main thematic areas of my work. As the sun rises I am on my way to the security office to check up on the patrol teams. While their jobs include collecting data on wildlife […]
The future of Laikipia, Kenya and the continent as a whole lies firmly in the hands of the new generation and the decisions they will make in due course. Loisaba Conservancy recognizes the importance of creating stewards of the natural environment to safeguard this spectacular country. Consequently, we have developed a programme to connect children […]
On Thursday morning Amos Chege, our Conservation Officer, received an urgent report from the Starbeds Lodge manager, a malnourished looking elephant calf had been spotted. He immediately rushed to the scene, easily located the calf and carefully observed the situation – to avoid making any rash decisions. Amos observed the elephant calf try to join […]
With 56,000 acres of land to protect, what better means to do so other than by air? Loisaba Conservancy’s latest venture introduces their new Aerial Unit with “Kathy”, our very own Piper Super Cub. She may be small and rugged but she is ideally suited for the flying required at Loisaba. Her large windows provide […]
Two nights ago, Ekaran our Dog handler received a call for assistance from our sniffer dogs Machine and Warrior, following an incident at Ol Gaboli Community Bandas. A small Community lodge run by the Ilmotiok Community. Early the next morning, Ekaran prepared the dogs and the equipment and arrived at the scene at first light. […]
By: Nicholas Pilfold, Ph.D., San Diego Zoo Global Dr. Nicholas Pilfold is a Large Carnivore Specialist with the Institute for Conservation Research at San Diego Zoo Global, and is a co-investigator for the Leopard Conservation Project. The aims of the Leopard Conservation Project are to better understand the ecology of leopards living on Loisaba Conservancy […]
After a roaring bush fire which burnt down the existing Lodge and Private House in October 2013, The Phoenix has now risen from the ashes. On the 1st of May we proudly opened our doors to The new Loisaba Tented Camp. Partnered with The Elewana Collection, the Camp sits on the same beautiful site which […]
Loisaba has received conditional approval from KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service) to become a Rhino Sanctuary.
Black rhinos were last seen at Loisaba in the early 70’s, and it is an aim to make Loisaba a permanent home for rhinos again. Laikipia is already a stronghold for the eastern black rhino, with proven success in the similar environments to Loisaba such as Ol Jogi, Ol Pejeta and Lewa-Borana, which are prime black rhino habitat. The national black rhino action plan recognises the need to identify areas for population expansion to achieve the vision of attaining a metapopulation of 2,000 rhinos. Establishing a new rhino sanctuary in Loisaba conservancy will help achieve this vision, and contribute meaningfully to the Biological Management of the black rhino (D.b. michaeli) as Kenya strives to achieve the goal of a minimum population of 830 black rhinos by the end of 2021.
The reintroduction of rhinos to Loisaba not only provides habitat in order to maintain a population growth rate, but also creates an opportunity to widen the gene pool by creating a new breeding population with individuals from several different sanctuaries that have successfully reached carrying capacity.
In order to be ‘rhino ready’, we are working together with The Nature Conservancy to raise funding for the extra costs associated with providing infrastructure and monitoring for rhinos. If you would like to help us bring rhinos home to Loisaba, please click the button below:
