Safeguarding Ol Pejeta's Rhino Populations

As we draw a close on 2022, we want to thank you for your incredible support which has enabled the Ol Pejeta team to continue delivering critical anti-poaching and wildlife conservation activities. Our rhino population has now reached a record 212, comprising of 167 black, 43 southern white and 2 northern whites. We have also a witnessed a record 26 births (22 black and 4 white), and therefore maintained a population growth rate of 8% through 2022. This achievement would not be possible without your support, and we sincerely thank you for helping us to grow Kenya's rhino population.

Your support has enabled our anti-poaching team to continue patrolling the Conservancy 24/7. Each day, our rangers cover roughly 10km a day! It is critical that our team remains highly-skilled and well equipped to mitigate security risks and respond to poaching threats. Therefore, all our rangers attend regular re-fresher courses and tactical training workshops. In the last four months, our senior commanders participated in a six day training session from the 6th to the 11th September, and all teams participated in a 10-day session from the 14th to the 23rd November hosted by 51 Degrees. These training sessions covered physical fitness, scenario operations, weapons handling, code of conduct, human rights under the Kenyan law and emergency first-aid. As a result of these efforts, Ol Pejeta celebrates the 5th consecutive year of no rhino poaching incidents. We are extremely proud of this, and thank you for partnering with Ol Pejeta to achieve this incredible milestone.

On Ol Pejeta, we have been blessed with some intermittent rains in recent months. These are yet to achieve any significant widespread ecosystem response throughout the Conservancy, however pastures within certain areas have turned green. For the most vulnerable species like Najin and Fatu, there is now enough grazing during the day, meaning supplementary feeding has moved to only at nighttime. To mitigate the impact of the drought, OPC continues to focus on improving water efficiency and increasing water availability and storage, whilst supplementary feeding where necessary.

From all of us, we are sincerely grateful for the impactful partnership with generous donors like yourself. Your support through another challenging year for all, has enabled us to deliver substantial conservation impact together.

A warm Asante Sana from all of us at Ol Pejeta Conservancy.