Field diary: protecting elephants on the ground

Our weekly field diary gives you an insight into the day-to-day work of Space for Giants scouts, working in Laikipia, Kenya to save elephants.

Space for Giants trains and employs community scouts to patrol their local area and report incidents of poaching.

All over Africa, elephants are being killed in their thousands to feed the increasing demand for ivory in Asia. Space for Giants employs community scouts who patrol the areas they live and work in and report incidents of poaching to the wildlife authorities. They are a critical bridge between conservationists and local communities.

The scouts work closely with MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants system) Officers who record information of elephant carcasses, allowing them to monitor the impact of the trade in ivory on local elephant populations.

Our weekly field diary will give you an insight into the day-to-day work to save elephants taking place in Laikipia, Kenya now.

20 January – Ann Githaiga, Space for Giants Project Officer

17 and 18 January have been hectic for our field operations. Several gun shots were heard over the two days in the Rumuruti forest. The forest is a protected wildlife area, which is home to many elephants. Last year, there were at least five confirmed cases of poached elephants in the forest.

On 18 January at around 3pm, Charles Kinyua, one of our MIKE field officers reported gunshots. Charles, together with Kenya Wildlife Service rangers from Rumuruti and Nyahururu stations, mobilised immediately and took to the forest for a ground patrol.

They didn’t come across any suspected poachers, and fortunately found no carcasses or injured elephants. We are continuing to patrol the area and are hopeful that no elephants were hurt.

We'll be updating the diary weekly, so watch this space.

Visit our elephant campaign page.

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