The Rangers

The Rangers

Big Life employs hundreds of local Maasai rangers to protect the Greater Amboseli ecosystem.  Big Life’s rangers are expertly trained and well-equipped, working around-the-clock to protect and secure some of the world’s most iconic species and their habitats. 

the rangersWith animals constantly moving beyond protected park boundaries into unprotected areas with increasing human populations, the future for conservation will be determined by working closely with and supporting local communities. This is the heart of Big Life’s ethos: if conservation supports the local community, then the local community will support conservation.

These community rangers are the embodiment of that ethos and the heart of Big Life’s operations protecting wildlife and wild lands. They’re on the frontlines of conservation, operating in sometimes dangerous conditions, often away from their families for weeks at a time to protect some of earth’s most treasured wildlife.

Big Life’s rangers conduct extensive daily patrols on foot and by vehicle to gather intelligence, detect and intercept illegal activity, monitor activity via hidden field cameras, and use the latest night-vision and GPS technology to thwart poachers and prevent habitat destruction. Working alongside Kenya Wildlife Service and our network of informers from local communities, Big Life rangers are able to prevent most instances of poaching and successfully apprehend poachers who do manage to kill. Once poachers are apprehended, Big Life works with local prosecutors to ensure that they are punished to the fullest, and most appropriate, extent of the law.

381 Trained Rangers
45 Ranger Units
32 Permanent Outposts
11 Mobile Units

 

Becoming a Big Life Ranger

For some, growing up alongside the most amazing animal species on the planet ignites a desire to protect. Not everyone rises up to meet the challenges and demands of being a community ranger in Africa, but Daniel Kutata has.  Learn about the work Kutata does as a ranger for Big Life Foundation and how you can help.  Video by: Saving the Wild

 

FEATURED RANGERS

June 07, 2024

The Importance of Being Mobile

Illuminated by a solar lamp and small fire, the rangers of this mobile unit cut lonely figures in the wilderness. They are far from home, and evening hours provide a chance to wind down, eat supper, and call family… Read More
May 13, 2024

THREE LIVES SAVED

Snares are a cruel and awful way to kill animals. Poachers set the deadly nooses on well-used trails and unsuspecting animals get caught around the neck or ankle, the wire pulling tighter as they try to escape. Thanks… Read More
March 08, 2024

MEET CONSTABLE SUSAN LEKATOO

Big Life’s rangers are the key to our success at keeping Amboseli’s people and wildlife safe. They are on the ground every day of the year, and collectively cover hundreds of thousands of kilometers. It is a difficult… Read More
September 25, 2023

TRAINING FOR SUCCESS

Ranger training is a critical piece of Big Life’s conservation success. To achieve and maintain our wildlife protection goals, Big Life’s rangers (and rangers across the African continent) must be regularly trained to… Read More
June 29, 2023

BLAZING A TRAIL

This week Big Life is joining fellow conservation organizations in celebrating the brilliant work done by female rangers - past, present, and future - who have been proving to the world that conservation is everyone’s… Read More
March 08, 2023

BIG LIFE’S ELEVEN

Big Life’s 11 female rangers create an ensemble that is a force to be reckoned with. Unlike Danny Ocean’s crew of heisters, our team is enforcing conservation laws and helping to put would-be poachers behind bars. All… Read More
October 28, 2022

RAZOR SHARP RANGER SKILLS

Big Life’s rangers all come from the local Maasai community and bring with them the kind of bush skills that can only be acquired from experience. This head start in their career as a ranger is essential, but these… Read More
July 27, 2022

An Anti-Poacher’s Best Friend

This month, we are highlighting the fantastic work done by our rangers, and today we want to celebrate two of our furriest and friendliest rangers: Bonnie and Clyde. Big Life first began using dogs for anti-poaching… Read More
July 21, 2022

BIG LIFE RANGER WINS INTERNATIONAL AWARD

We are exceptionally proud to announce that Big Life Foundation’s Daniel Popote is one of twelve winners of the IUCN International Ranger Award, presented at a ceremony held in Rwanda yesterday. Popote was selected from… Read More
July 20, 2022

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM

There is a Big Life ranger with an unusual distinction. His name is Sergeant Sinkoi Kanchori, and he has caught the same poacher three different times. The first time, Sinkoi and his team had discovered a snare in the… Read More

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