FEBRUARY / MARCH 2025 - Black Rhino, Cheetah, and Incredible People in Kenya
I was lucky enough to spend 3 weeks at Loisaba Conservancy in January, documenting their various departments and programmes. This took me from exciting darting operations treating wounded elephants to local community demonstrations to top security measures with rhino monitoring and K9 units. It was an incredible experience and really pushed me out of my photography comfort zone. I wanted to take you through some of the exciting things I got to be involved with and show you some of the thousands of photographs that I took while I was there.
We started off strong with only my second day after arriving, being called out with the KWS, Kenya Wildlife Service, to dart and treat two separate elephants with different leg wounds. The first one was a gunshot wound, probably inflicted by a local farmer for crop raiding, and the second one had a snare embedded around its foot. Both operations went smoothly, the elephants were treated swiftly and reunited with their companions. Unfortunately during my stay, I found out that the elephant with the gunshot wound didn’t survive - her injuries were too deep and damaging. However, the elephant with the snare around her leg went on to make a full recovery. It was amazing to see an experienced and professional team executing such impactful work.
After the initial excitement of wildlife intervention, my focuses were directed on documenting the local schools and community and the work that’s being done to support them. The community officers Paul and Unita took me to visit Chui Mamas who make beaded jewellery and trinkets to sell at local markets. I even visited one of the markets and was treated to a traditional Maasai ‘Adumu’, a rite of passage for Maasai Warriors where they don themselves in beautiful kikois and beaded headdresses and perform their iconic jumping dance. It was amazing to see them in such a beautiful traditional setting and to witness them enjoying themselves through song and dance.
As well as this, I visited a couple of different schools around the local area, including one that was built and funded by Loisaba themselves. I also attended a conservation education day where one of the schools had been invited to Loisaba HQ to be taught about wildlife and the importance of conservation. At first, the kids were shy of the camera but they soon warmed up to it and all they wanted to do was pose for photos.
As well as visiting the local communities and documenting all the work being done with them, I spent a lot of time with the security team. In 2024, Loisaba released 21 endangered Black Rhinos into the conservancy with the hopes they would thrive and repopulate. With this commitment came the need for extreme security measures to protect the rhinos from their usual threats. The security is made up of highly trained rangers who patrol day and night, stay at outposts to monitor the fence lines and go on regular walking patrols. They have a live-in Pilot who flies over the entire conservancy twice daily to account for each individual rhino and remains at hand for any emergencies. There is also a K9 unit with dogs trained specifically to track down poachers, as well as a Rapid Response Team who are also highly trained in dangerous situations.
I was impressed by the sheer volume of rangers and the level of expertise that goes into protecting the conservancy and its wildlife. I was lucky enough to go along with some of these rangers on Rhino patrols and document the experience. Upon talking to the rangers, it highlighted to me just how much they love their job and care for the protection of the species. Not just the Rhino but all of the wildlife in the conservancy. My time with the Rangers was probably among my favourite experiences in Kenya.
Finally, after about two and a half busy, immersive weeks of documenting so many aspects of Loisaba, I was craving the time to simply observe and photograph wildlife. So I arranged for one of the Rangers, Saruni, to come for a morning drive with me each day. Leaving at 6:30 every morning, just as the light came up, we set off in a car borrowed from the pilot to see what we could find. I had been out quite a few times by myself but not knowing the best areas to go to or any recent sightings meant I didn’t see all that much on my own so having Saruni with me made the world of difference. He was able to communicate with other rangers to track down specific wildlife like lions and cheetahs, as well as help to look out while I did the driving.
One morning we were driving along the open plains when I spotted something running through the long grass. It turned out to be two male cheetahs, probably brothers. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting a yellow-orange glow across the sky, when one of the cheetahs jumped into a dead tree to use as a lookout spot. I quickly grabbed my camera to snap a few shots before he jumped back down again to continue on his hunt for breakfast. We began to follow them off-road but they were fast and I was apprehensive about not being able to see what I was driving into (for good reason). Suddenly Saruni got a call that one of the Rhino had got through the fence.
Around 90% of Loisaba has a “Rhino” fence to keep the rhino in for monitoring purposes. Being most of the conservancy’s size, it still allows them more than enough room to roam and establish territories but Rhino can be stubborn and if two males got in a fight, there’s a good chance that one would get pushed out of that fence. It’s vital that the rhinos stay within the fenced area to ensure their protection.
I was called to go along in the chopper to document the process of moving this bull back into the safe fenced area. An operation where they cut down large stretches of the fence line and using the chopper, gently coax him back through into the safe zone before repairing the fence. Obviously, I jumped at this opportunity, even though part of me wanted to stay with the cheetahs. So I turned around and started to make my way back to the road when bang, we hit a warthog hole. The front left wheel was stuck in the hole, causing the back right wheel to be slightly lifted off the ground. Time was of the essence as they were waiting for me back at HQ to take off in the chopper. By chance, Andre the pilot happened to be flying over us when it happened so he called to instruct me on getting out of the hole, it was his car after all. I tried my best to get into low range while poor Saruni was digging the wheel out and piling rocks underneath it. Having limited experience with 4x4’s I wasn’t entirely sure what I was doing and I couldn’t tell if the car was in low range and it wasn’t helping or if it was refusing to even go into low range. Eventually, Daniel (the head of security) drove out to help and as soon as he got there, it easily slipped into low range and reversed straight out. I was mortified and of course, word spread through HQ like wildfire but at the end of the day we all laughed it off. I wasn’t the first person to get stuck and I certainly wouldn’t be the last. I got to fly in the chopper and assist with pushing the rhino back through the fence which was an experience I’ll never forget. That was definitely one of the most memorable mornings of my trip.
I can confidently say that my first trip to Kenya was an epic one and I hope to return one day. I was really lucky with sightings and I feel extremely privileged to have experienced so much. Meeting so many incredible people was a real highlight, everyone was incredibly kind and welcoming and I’m very grateful to all for making the experience memorable. Special thanks to Saruni, Peter, Dan, and the other Saruni for giving me incredible experiences, to Rose and Captain for taking such good care of me, to Andre for being a friend, and of course to Tom and Jo for making the trip possible.
Since returning, I have been thrown back into full-time work, not leaving me much time for anything else (hence why this blog post is so late). But stay tuned because I have some exciting news to announce next time. More adventures are on the horizon!
Thanks for reading.
Until next time,
C