Big Life Foundation

BABY BOOM It’s official: 2025 will go down in the records as an elephant baby boom. Our partners at the Amboseli Trust for Elephants (ATE) announced more than 220 elephant births last year. At 22 months, elephant gestation periods are some of the longest in the mammal kingdom. The breeding bonanza that led to this boom came following heavy rainfall back in 2023 and 2024. A drought back in 2022 claimed the lives of many. According to ATE, more than 30% of Amboseli’s female elephants gave birth last year, 5% more than they had expected. These new calves now represent 10% of Amboseli’s total elephant population. We are so fortunate to have a conservation partner like the ATE, which has studied this elephant population for more than 50 years. To have such long-term research for these long-lived animals is as remarkable as it is indispensable. Data informs how we build our programs. As an example, the GPS tracking data of radio-collared elephants has been instrumental in helping us identify habitat areas needing protection. Elephants live almost as long as we do. Despite their size and intelligence, they are still threatened by one predator: us. Fifty years from now, when this cohort of calves has matured into the matriarchs and super tuskers of the future, what will Amboseli look like? If we do not conserve their habitat, there will be nowhere for them to live. We are working hard to ensure that the land in Greater Amboseli stays open, partnering with Maasai landowners to create community conservancies that benefit both livestock and wildlife. Not all of these 220 babies will survive – they face daunting challenges, from natural predators to droughts to conflict with humans. But with your support, we’ll be there every step of the way to give them the best chance at success, far into the future. 📹: Joshua Clay

Looking for inspiration for Valentine’s Day? Give a gift with heart—and a little wild spirit 💛 Our longtime partner Temple St. Clair has created a beautiful collection of animal pendants inspired by the iconic wildlife of Amboseli. Each piece celebrates the elephants, lions, rhinos, and giraffes our rangers work every day to protect. 20% of proceeds from the Arcadia Collection directly benefits Big Life’s on-the-ground conservation efforts. When you choose one of these pendants, you’re not just sharing something meaningful with someone you love. You’re also standing alongside the local rangers and communities protecting critical habitat in East Africa. Visit her website to explore the collection. https://lnkd.in/gH-cGpaW

DISASTER, AVERTED The rains are everything in Amboseli. Most of the ecosystem is semi-arid savannah; the nutritional value of its vast grasslands depends entirely on water from above. One season of failed rains can spell disaster for the animals (both wildlife and livestock) that rely on grass for survival. By the end of November last year, we were worried. Very worried. The short rains, which fall from October through December, were failing. A drought was looming. But at the last minute, late December rains came to the rescue, and our rainfall station at Big Life’s Headquarters recorded one quarter of our annual rainfall in the month alone. And two thirds of December’s rainfall fell in just 3 lucky days. The rain that did fall was isolated and wildlife and livestock animals have had to move long distances to find grazing. But it was enough to pull the situation back from the brink of disaster, for now. We are now well into the short dry season and don’t expect more rain for at least another month or two. Thanks to December, however, we should have enough grass to get us there. 📸: Jeremy Goss

KILIAVO LOSES 5th COURT CASE We don’t usually celebrate failure, but… Yesterday, Kiliavo’s fifth legal case - this one a petition to Kenya’s Supreme Court - ended the same way as all their previous cases: in failure. For those not familiar with Kiliavo, it’s a saga that is now into its 5th year. In 2020 Kiliavo started ploughing land to plant avocados in the Kimana Conservancies to the east of Amboseli, in an important wildlife corridor. Following an uproar by local community, government, and tourism and conservation stakeholders, their license to operate was revoked. Yesterday was another important step in the protracted legal battle that has followed. The Supreme Court dismissal means that the 2021 license revocation stands, and the farm has no legal grounds for operation. We would never have expected Kiliavo to keep fighting after so many legal setbacks, and we can’t predict what will happen next. Nevertheless, as our CEO Benson Leyian says: “Today marks another big win in Amboseli’s battle against illegal and unsustainable development. Faced with growing pressure on land, water, and wildlife, local residents and the Kajiado County Government have taken the responsible step of agreeing on clear land-use plans to sustain the productivity of this landscape for future generations.” “Unscrupulous developers are trying all means to undermine these plans, and KiliAvo’s repeated court failures send a strong message that these attempts carry serious financial, legal, and reputational costs.” Thank you to everyone who has supported and fought alongside us so far, including local residents (ALOCA), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Conservation Alliance of Kenya, Amboseli Trust for Elephants, and Wildlife Direct, among many others. 📸: Jeremy Goss

Zebra stripes aren’t just beautiful—they’re brilliant. Every zebra wears a one-of-a-kind pattern, as unique as a fingerprint. Those bold stripes may help confuse predators, deter biting insects, and regulate body temperature. And when zebras move together in a group called a dazzle, their stripes blur into a living optical illusion—nature at its most clever. Across the Greater Amboseli ecosystem, zebras move through wide rangelands and wildlife corridors on community lands, following rain and fresh grass. These shared grazing lands support both wildlife and livestock, which is one of the reasons why protecting these areas has become a critical focus for Big Life. Big Life rangers, working together with local communities—and supported by people like you—protect habitat, prevent poaching, and even rescue and support the recovery of injured zebras. Some other fun facts about zebras: - Foals recognize their moms by their stripes, memorizing them within days of being born; - Zebras cannot be domesticated and are known for being feisty; - They can run up to 40 mph (65 km/h); - They communicate with barks and brays, in addition to neighs, often sounding more like dogs than horses. Tomorrow is International Zebra Day, and we’re delighted that zebras continue to dazzle us all thanks to the rangers, communities and supporters behind us. #internationalzebraday #funfactfriday 📸: Jeremy Goss

A RARE RESCUE: PANGOLIN TRAFFICKER THWARTED Pangolins are the most heavily trafficked mammal on Earth. Worse still, they have held this title for more than a decade. Persecuted because of a bogus belief in East Asia that their scales carry medicinal value, all eight pangolin species found across the globe are threatened with extinction. Just like rhino horn and human fingernails, pangolin scales are made of keratin and have no medicinal value. Additionally, due to their rarity, pangolins are also sought after as a luxury food item. The black market for illegally trafficked animals like pangolins appears to know no bounds. Here in the Greater Amboseli ecosystem, pangolins are extremely rare and only found in specific areas that are increasingly shrinking. As a result, arrests for pangolin trafficking are uncommon, comprising just 2% of all arrests we’ve supported since 2016. Nevertheless, our intelligence network is always listening for suspicious activity. Late last year, we received word of an individual trying to sell a live pangolin. After two months of tracking, the suspect was finally arrested towards the end of December. The pangolin was still alive and in decent enough condition to be handed over to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) for eventual release. The suspect pleaded guilty and as per Kenya’s Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, they have been sentenced and will serve three years in prison for possessing and intending to trade in a live wildlife species. While pangolins may not be a major focus of our anti-poaching work because of their rarity, they are an important part of the Amboseli ecosystem and a precious reminder that we share a planet with some of the most incredible animals. We will do all we can to ensure wildlife continues to thrive here in Amboseli. Thank you for your support.

ELEPHANT CALF RESCUED Big Life’s rangers heard the commotion before they even got to the scene. Squealing, splashing, and trumpeting – all clear sounds of distress. Despite being only a few meters wide, the water level in the river flowing through Kimana Sanctuary increased sharply following rains on Mount Kilimanjaro, and an elephant calf had become stuck while attempting to cross it with the rest of its family. It was a delicate situation. The calf’s family was understandably stressed and had to be directed gently away from the scene with a vehicle so that the rangers could attempt to rescue it. Too small to tranquilize, it took three rangers to quickly pull it out of the water. After it was hoisted out, our rangers gave it a moment to collect itself before reuniting it with its family. Whether it’s arresting poachers, preventing elephants from raiding crops, or rescuing little elephant calves, our rangers are on hand day-in and day-out to protect wildlife here in Amboseli. Your donation makes their work possible. Thank you to our supporters the world over for making rescue missions like this a success.

There’s a familiar saying: the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is today. We take this approach across all our programs, but our scholarship and education program exemplifies it most clearly—because education is how conservation grows roots. If you consider scholarships to be seedlings, then we started planting way back in the year 2000. Since then, we have awarded more than 3,600 scholarships from primary to tertiary level. Many of those same seedlings have since grown, graduating from university, taking up prominent positions, and pursuing careers that might not have been possible without this support. Growing from seedlings to tall trees that now offer shade to the next generation, our scholarship recipients are living, thriving examples of how wildlife conservation can benefit society in different ways and over many years. And the more you plant, the more momentum you create. Last year in 2025, we awarded 818 scholarships, on top of the 875 we awarded in 2024, and we are not stopping there. Just as it takes more than trees to make a forest, scholarships are only one piece of the puzzle. Which is why we have also built a primary school, constructed dormitories for girls, dug toilets, provided water, and funded teachers’ salaries. Because we know at the end of the day that if the communities who live across Amboseli do not benefit from our conservation programs, they are not going to support conservation. Education and healthcare are two key ways we can improve the lives of the local communities who share this landscape with the elephants, lions and other species we fight to protect. Thanks to your support, we will continue to make lasting change here in Amboseli. 📸: Joshua Clay #internationaldayofeducation

2025 YEAR IN REVIEW As we step into a new year, we want to pause and say thank you. Your support made real conservation impact across the Greater Amboseli ecosystem. Here are some highlights from the past year: Launched Big Life’s drone unit, giving rangers more eyes in the sky to monitor wildlife, respond faster to threats, and patrol vast landscapes more safely and efficiently. Collared eight elephants during a critical field operation, to better help us understand migratory patterns, protect key corridors, and reduce human-elephant conflict. Secured more than 100,000 acres of habitat for conservation in partnership with local communities, keeping land open for animals and in the hands of the local Maasai. Deployed new tracker dogs who are ready to start detecting snares and supporting anti-poaching patrols that protect elephants and other wildlife every day. Supported a young Maasai woman with an education scholarship, who recently graduated from university and has plans to return home and contribute to conservation efforts in her community. Protected a new rhino calf in the Chyulu Hills, the second in under two years — a quiet but powerful sign that long-term protection works. And in one unforgettable moment, our rangers reunited a lost lion cub with its mother — a reminder that conservation is about care, patience, and presence. Behind every one of these moments are community rangers walking vast distances, building trust with their communities, and showing up every day for wildlife. Your support ensures they have the training, tools, and backing they need to do this work well. Explore the stories here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g6fCpN5x

Big Life is deeply grateful to be a recipient and partner of the Safarious Fund! Responsible tourism plays a critical role in conservation — not only by helping protect wildlife and wild landscapes, but by connecting people around the world to the places, communities, and stories of East Africa. These connections inspire deeper understanding, care, and long-term commitment to conservation. Thank you, Safarious Fund, for standing with us and our rangers, and for helping people everywhere feel personally connected to the future of these extraordinary places. 📸: Jeremy Goss