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The Documentary: Warrior elephant guardians

Baby elephant and keeper

22/12/2020 GMT

Warrior elephant guardians

BBC World Service - The Documentary, Warrior elephant guardians

Former Samburu warriors turn their skills to caring for baby elephants in Kenya

Former Samburu warriors turn their skills to caring for baby elephants in Kenya in what’s thought to be Africa’s first community owned and run elephant sanctuary.

In a remote part of Northern Kenya, former Samburu warriors are elephant keepers, rescuing and raising baby elephants in what’s thought to be Africa’s first community owned and run elephant sanctuary. 

At Reteti Elephant Sanctuary they rescue baby elephants that have been injured, orphaned or abandoned. They look after them, rehabilitate them and release them back to the wild. It is transforming the way local communities relate to elephants, in a way that benefits both humans and animals. The sanctuary has brought employment, revenue and a sense of pride. Reteti is on community owned land and it is managed by community members. The local people are now protecting the animals they live alongside. 

Now the sanctuary is starting to employ women from the community as keepers too, who bring their own set of skills to the work. 

The elephants are also proving an unexpected catalyst for peace, bringing tribes together from all over Northern Kenya, that normally fight over land and resources. Now they are finding ways to work together in peace, to protect the elephants.

(Photo: A baby elephant saying hello to one of the keepers. Credit: Michael Kaloki)

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