In 2022, I took over the conservation management of Lolldaiga, a magnificent property set in the heart of Laikipia whose 50,000-acre expanse spans mountainous terrain with thick cedar and olive forests down to traditional arid bushveld to the north. Whilst abundant in wildlife it was – for the last 100 years – run primarily as a cattle ranch. However, the ambition of the new owner is to develop it for wildlife conservation, with a particular focus on rhinos as part of the Kenya Rhino Range Expansion (KRRE) plan.
But monitoring this extensive area is a challenge. The foliage in the forested areas is abundant, and there is seemingly a bull buffalo’s boudoir in every thicket. Even an animal as large as an elephant can render itself almost invisible amongst the vegetation. Many a ranger has stumbled unwittingly onto one of these behemoths: some lucky to escape uninjured, some not. During the last 10 years, we have tragically lost nine of Lolldaiga’s staff (rangers and herders) to buffalo or elephant.
It’s not the wildlife’s fault – we are encroaching on their habitat. But, regardless of the dangers, walking in the bush is necessary. Lolldaiga is bordered on its southern boundaries by densely inhabited farmland, and bushmeat remains a valuable source of protein for those living in poverty. Game trails through the forests are regularly targeted for snaring and wildlife caught in such traps endure gruesome deaths. Rangers patrol to remove these snares, going deep into the bush to find them. It is an arduous task, one that requires a great deal of bushcraft and in many cases, courage.
And there are other conflicts too. The livestock on Lolldaiga is an important economic driver that supports conservation, but also the greatest tool in our belt to regenerate and enhance the habitat for wildlife. The indigenous Boran cattle are incredibly resilient, able to withstand the turbulent weather conditions that, these days, seemingly alternate between flood and drought, as well as the diseases that come with them. Their resilience is only hampered by one thing: lions.
When in a stable pride, lions will generally hunt wild prey, developing strategies for specific species. However, Laikipia’s burgeoning lion population has caused continuous shifts and power struggles, with dynastical take overs more frequent than in a Game of Thrones series. When this happens, prides can become fragmented, making them less effective hunting units. For these individuals, the walking buffet that is a cattle herd becomes too tempting to ignore. To protect cattle from lions, the livestock are accompanied by herders, whose ensure that not only are grazing regimes followed, but also that lions are made unwelcome around the herd.
Monitoring the predators is important and this job falls with the rangers’ work, too. Indeed, the rangers are the eyes of Lolldaiga, providing much of the data from which we can make management decisions. They monitor the large herbivores, helping to clearly map the areas that have had the most rest; they monitor the roads and infrastructure, reporting on what needs repair; they collect fencing wire; and report damage by unruly elephants attempting to leave the Conservancy to pillage crops in the neighbouring communities. Rangers are critical to every aspect of our conservation programme.
However, there is one more job that they are gearing up for. One day, Lolldaiga will see the return of rhino, and – as we know – these animals are highly threatened. Rhinos must be monitored intensely to confirm their location, health, behaviour, calving status and more. All of this information ensures we make informed decisions when deploying armed teams to watch over them in darkness.
Knowing all this, in addition to the challenges of the scale of Lolldaiga, with its mountainous terrain and thickness bush, led to the development of the ForRangers Mounted Scout Programme. In March 2023, ForRangers purchased seven Appaloosa horses to undertake Lolldaiga’s wildlife monitoring, employing former safari grooms to be trained as rangers, specifically in the skills of wildlife monitoring.
On horseback, these rangers can cover three times the area they would otherwise do on foot. Daily, they patrol in pairs (or quads, if we include their equine partners) and we have doubled the number of eyes, noses and ears on each patrol. The data that each Unit brings in through their EarthRanger™ monitoring devices is almost overwhelming and has already made a huge difference to our understanding of the landscape’s ecological dynamics, thus helping to make informed management interventions to regenerate the land for the wildlife.
Rangers patrolling on Lolldaiga with horses. Credit, Sam Taylor.
In the last year, the Mounted Unit has recovered more than 150 snares and their presence has caused a decline in the number of snares being set. Overall, we are now seeing a reduction in the number of illegal encroachments onto Lolldaiga.
The horses have made the rangers safer. They have made them more effective. But most importantly, given the arduous and stressful nature of being a ranger, they have made them happier: As Winston Churchill (supposedly) said:
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”
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