Know Before You Go

Thermal Imaging to Monitor Black Rhinos
Mara Conservancy, Mara Triangle, Kenya

The Mara Conservancy manages the Mara Triangle, which is the northwestern part of Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. This protected area serves as a migration corridor for thousands of animals moving between the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the Loita Plains. The conservancy strives to reduce poaching, partnering with the Maasai community and conservation professionals to create a secure environment for wildlife and people.

With major support from World Wildlife Fund, the Mara Conservancy is utilizing cutting-edge technology to preserve its population of black rhinos. Nat Hab guests have the opportunity to visit the conservancy headquarters and meet the warden and rangers who are using FLIR thermal imaging cameras to protect the wildlife, ecosystems and communities affected by illegal poachers in Kenya.

Gyekrumlambo Primary School
Karatu, Tanzania

Gyekrumalambo Primary School is on the outskirts of Karatu, a farming town on the edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This rural school emerged as one in need of donations, and Nat Hab Philanthropy became its primary benefactor. This has become an inspirational site for Nat Hab travelers to visit during our safaris in northern Tanzania, which invariably elicits inquiries about opportunities for further support. Nat Hab’s largest project to date has been funding the building of a tank that gives the children access to clean water.

Rhino Conservation and Rescuing Chimpanzees
Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya

Ol Pejeta Conservancy is the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa. One of two conservancies in Africa to receive IUCN Green List status, it has been hailed as a trailblazer for conservation innovation. Ol Pejeta is deeply involved in the protection of both black and southern white rhinos and is home to the last two remaining northern white rhinos in the world. Nat Hab travelers have the chance to speak with staff members about rhino conservation during their stay at Nat Hab’s Private Mobile Camp inside the conservancy.

Ol Pejeta is also home to Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary supported by the Jane Goodall Institute and the Kenya Wildlife Service. These great apes have been rescued from the illegal wildlife trade and can never be fully reintroduced into the wild due to trauma sustained while in human captivity. Sweetwaters provides a lifelong refuge for the orphaned and abused chimpanzees, which are rehabilitated by veterinary experts and live out their lives in vast natural enclosures.

Ol Pejeta’s 90,000 acres support a host of other endangered species, such as Grevy’s zebras and African wild dogs, as well as a herd of Boran cattle, which provide a sustainable source of revenue to fund conservation efforts. The money generated by tourism and agriculture helps Ol Pejeta employ rangers who patrol the area. They utilize creative anti-poaching methods, including a K9 unit, drones, a digital radio system and camera traps that monitor wildlife movements, donated by World Wildlife Fund. Research specialists regularly monitor individual animals, collecting data that contributes to their conservation. Ol Pejeta also supports healthcare, infrastructure and educational initiatives in the surrounding pastoral communities and helps mitigate human-wildlife conflict between farmers and elephants.

Sustainable Conservancy Management
Olderkesi Conservancy, Maasai Mara, Kenya

 Olderkesi is a private conservancy bordering the Maasai Mara National Reserve. During their visit, Nat Hab guests have the opportunity to learn about the challenges and solutions of a community conservancy initiative working to protect the Mara ecosystem. Over the past 20 years, the Cottar’s Wildlife Conservancy Trust (CWCT) and Olderkesi Wildlife Community Trust (OWCT), owned by the Maasai, have worked together to create a truly sustainable management plan. The initiative aims to empower the local community and give them a financial incentive to protect the wildlife found in this area—as a result, species like Maasai giraffe, big cats and elephants are given safe haven.

Rather than fragmenting the land for farming, the conservancy is ‘rented to wildlife’ by the CWCT, which leases the land from OWCT and makes rent payments that exceed what would be charged by sub-dividing. In return, the conservancy is preserved as a crucial wildlife corridor. CWCT also helps with many community projects, including providing medical services, employing locals as rangers and building schools, bridges and water troughs for cattle. In addition, the trust partners with Seedballs Kenya to educate people about the importance of trees and combat desertification in the Maasai Mara through reforestation.