We’re proud to be partnering with Tsavo Trust, an organisation doing vital, hands-on work in one of Kenya’s most dramatic and important conservation landscapes.
The Tsavo ecosystem is vast - larger than many countries - and teeming with life. It’s a land of red soil plains, palm-fringed rivers, and wild, remote bush, home to some of Africa’s most iconic wildlife. Among them are the legendary “Super Tuskers,” elephants with tusks so long they almost touch the ground. There are also black rhinos here, coated in Tsavo’s red dust and moving like rusty boulders through the brush, half-hidden in deep commiphora thickets. These giants are not only rare, they’re symbols of what’s still possible when conservation is working.
But keeping Tsavo wild and secure takes deep local knowledge, constant effort, and a genuine commitment to the people and wildlife who depend on it. Since 2012, Tsavo Trust has been driving that effort. Their work spans everything from ground and aerial patrols to rhino monitoring and community conservancy support, carried out in close partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Together, they’ve built one of East Africa’s most effective, long-term conservation operations.
WildLandscapes International has supported Tsavo Trust in several ways over the past year, thanks in part to support from the Essex Avenue Foundation. We provide a monthly unrestricted grant, giving their team the flexibility to meet day-to-day needs and sustain operations across the landscape. We also funded the donation of four fully equipped vehicles to KWS, delivered through Tsavo Trust, to bolster rhino protection in Tsavo West. These vehicles improve ranger mobility, speed up response times, and help reinforce the protection of one of Kenya’s most sensitive black rhino zones.
Our support also helps cover core operational costs like fuel, rations, and real-time tracking tools such as EarthRanger, which are the quiet but crucial foundations of effective conservation. It even stretches to small but important things like reliable internet at the Tsavo Hub headquarters, which keeps teams connected across this enormous landscape.
Beyond security, a key focus has been supporting community-led conservation. In Kamungi Conservancy where Tsavo Trust has helped set up a local governance model and permanent ranger presence. We’ve contributed towards the upgrade of the community dispensary, which serves families living on the border of Tsavo East. In a place where access to healthcare is limited, it’s a practical way to improve well-being while building long-term trust in conservation.
Between January and June alone, Tsavo Trust teams carried out hundreds of joint patrol days across rugged terrain, both by vehicle and on foot. These efforts led to key arrests, the removal of snares, the dismantling of illegal livestock structures, and the recovery of bushmeat. Their aerial teams flew extensive hours across Tsavo East and West, including dedicated flights supporting black rhino protection.
A major part of their work now focuses on scaling up protection around Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary, known as the Intensive Protection Zone. This area will soon be able to support more rhinos as the population grows, something only possible thanks to sustained field presence and infrastructure. Meanwhile, their Big Tusker database continues to grow, with new individuals added regularly, including not only the great bulls but also emerging males and iconic cows. One particularly exciting recent addition was a new female Tusker, a sign of what may be the start of a long-overdue generational shift.
In the surrounding community conservancies, Tsavo Trust's human–wildlife conflict teams continue to respond to incidents, particularly involving crop-raiding elephants, helping prevent retaliation and reduce risk to both people and wildlife. Their collaboration with the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) also remains strong, with efforts to submit MIKE reports and track some of Tsavo’s most elusive and important elephants.
Through this work, Tsavo Trust is advancing three long-term goals:
The effective protection of wildlife and habitats under KWS;
Strong, community-led conservation and development;
A more resilient model for long-term conservation financing in Tsavo.
The results are tangible. Rhino numbers are increasing, and Tsavo has become one of the few places where Africa’s largest elephants can still grow old and die of natural causes. That simple fact, that some of the continent’s biggest bulls are living out full lives, is a testament to years of well-placed protection.
Photo: Tsavo Trust
Photo: Tsavo Trust
And they’re far from alone. Tsavo is also home to lions, leopards, wild dogs, Grevy’s zebra, fringe-eared oryx, lesser kudu, hirola, and hundreds of bird species. It’s a true stronghold for biodiversity, where conservation benefits the entire ecosystem.
Earlier this year, our Conservation Programmes Officer, Nancy, spent time with the Tsavo Trust team through a field internship. She returned full of admiration, both for the complexity of the work and the deep, day-to-day purpose that carries it forward.
““WildLandscapes is a trusted partner whose support flows directly to field impact. Their commitment helps us do more - protect more wildlife, support more communities, and build stronger systems to secure Tsavo’s future.””
We’re incredibly grateful for this partnership, not just for what’s being achieved, but for how it’s being done. Tsavo Trust is grounded, focused, and relentlessly practical. We’re honoured to walk alongside them and help strengthen the work they do best.
Photos: Donal Boyd
