A ranger’s role is wide and varied; aside from anti-poaching operations, they also support veterinary treatments, orphan rescues, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, and all manner of field emergencies.

Building an anti-poaching presence across Kenya:

In 1999, we launched our first Tsavo-based SWT/KWS Anti-Poaching Team. Since then, we have expanded the initiative across the country, protecting the most vulnerable habitats in Kenya. Today, we operate 29 Anti-Poaching Teams with the Kenya Wildlife Service. 23 of these teams are based within the greater Tsavo Conservation Area, collectively securing Kenya’s largest national park and the surrounding wilderness. In 2014, we expanded our presence to Meru National Park, which provides sanctuary to critically endangered black and white rhinos. Under the direction of Mara Elephant Project, we also fund two teams based in the Mau Forest, an important water catchment area in the Rift Valley.

Protecting Kenya’s coastal elephant populations and beyond:

In 2023, we expanded our anti-poaching presence to Arabuko Sokoke Forest and the Shimba Hills, which are two of the last remaining coastal strongholds for elephants. We also deployed three new teams in the Tsavo Conservation Area, ensuring more comprehensive support in this vast ecosystem. Meanwhile, one team relocated to the lake region of Naivasha, Soysambu, and Nakuru.

While each team works within a designated region, many also work on a rotating, mobile basis, providing continuous coverage when other teams are on leave. This helps to ensure a constant level of vigilance in Kenya’s most vulnerable ecosystems.

In honour of World Ranger Day, we are revisiting a favourite topic: What does it mean to be a SWT ranger?

Being a ranger is a difficult, dangerous job. It entails long days, night operations, challenging conditions, and threatening encounters with both man and beast. Responding to intelligence and identifying telltale signs of illegal activity, they are the advance charge of field-level conservation.

Rangers are the best of boots on the ground: SWT/KWS Anti-Poaching Teams conduct most of their work on foot, while our Aerial Unit is on stand-by to support operations and deploy teams to remote destinations. Last year alone, they patrolled 69,187 kilometres on foot — roughly the equivalent of walking the entire continent of Africa’s coastline 2.2 times in a single year.

Working in the field is unpredictable by nature. With their local knowledge and specialised skill sets, rangers can rise to the challenge. They are often called upon to provide additional field support, tackling everything from veterinary treatments to orphan rescues to emergency evacuations to firefighting efforts. They approach these missions with the same dedication that they apply to tracking down poachers.

Above, a monumental operation to save a bull elephant in which SWT rangers played a pivotal role. [Discover the full story]

Anti-Poaching Teams are vital to the success of our Mobile Veterinary Units, tracking wild patients for hours until the veterinarian arrives and monitoring them afterwards in case follow-up treatment is needed. They are equally pivotal to rescue operations, keeping eyes on the young orphan until the transport team arrives.

With human-wildlife conflict on the rise, rangers are the first port of call to push back animals who have wandered onto community lands. By mitigating these encounters, they save countless wild lives each year — and of equal importance, protect local communities and their livelihoods. They have developed a strong rapport with local communities, which has long-term conservation benefits.

A combination of intensive training and innate ability, rangers have unparalleled bush prowess. Each new recruit undergoes a three-month intensive training course at the KWS Manyani Training Academy before being deployed to the field. Where most would only see vegetation, they are able to discern subtle disturbances in the ground, broken branches, and cleverly disguised snares.

Rangers work like a well-oiled machine to apprehend perpetrators. Ground teams move in to cut off escape routes and confiscate any weapons or paraphernalia left behind, while armed KWS rangers make the arrest.Rangers also recover ivory from deceased or killed elephants. Tusks are securely stored by KWS, ensuring they don't fall into the wrong hands and enter the illegal ivory trade.

In 2023, SWT/KWS Anti-Poaching Teams confiscated 15,967 snares and assisted the KWS in the arrest of 1,056 perpetrators for a variety of wildlife crimes. To date, they have seized 3,653 weapons, destroying what could have otherwise claimed untold lives.

In 2016, we launched our Canine Unit in partnership with the KWS. This specialised team has emerged as an incredible complement to our other anti-poaching efforts. Their mere presence is a deterrent; would-be poachers know that nothing gets past the dogs. They can follow a perpetrator for more than 15 kilometres, through extremely rugged wilderness. (For reference, a typical police dog tracks for about 1 kilometre.) On several occasions, the Canine Unit has tracked down a perpetrator to their very front door!

Our Anti-Poaching Teams are ever-evolving, adapting to face the challenges of today and plan for those on the horizon. For 24 years and counting, these brave, dedicated teams have proven the value of having boots on the ground in Kenya’s key ecosystems. As new threats come to the forefront, our rangers will be ready to face them head-on.

When did you start working for the Trust?

2011. I started working in the Kibwezi Forest as a gatekeeper.

How did you become interested in a career in conservation?

Since I was young, I have had a passion for wildlife. After finishing my education, I wanted to be a ranger — a soldier for wildlife. When I began working in the Kibwezi Forest as gatekeeper, there was an issue of people taking firewood. So, I had to do a thorough inspection of what people were bringing out of the forest with them. This was before the Umani Springs Reintegration Unit existed, and the Kibwezi Forest was a very different place. I saw the problems firsthand.

Tell us more about that. What changes have you seen in the Kibwezi Forest in the decade you have been working here?

I have seen many promising things happen. The Kibwezi Forest has changed on a great level, even in terms of weather. When we began working here, there was great encroachment in the forest so we were not experiencing normal rains. Trees were being cut down and it was unusual to sight any wildlife, especially elephants, because the forest was so congested with people. We managed to turn it all around. Now, everywhere you move, you see an animal. The trees are growing bigger and things have changed a lot, for the better.

What stands out as one of your most memorable anti-poaching patrols?

One of my great achievements was helping to arrest four bushmeat poachers in a single day. It was a normal patrol around the Chyulu Hills when we spotted them. They hadn’t seen us, so we set a strategy to surround them. We successfully caught them with bushmeat and snares. That was a very good day for us.

What impact have regular anti-poaching patrols had on the Kibwezi Forest?

We have managed to reduce poaching to a very low point, because we are patrolling every part of the forest. We have also arrested some of the notorious poachers. We have informers from the community, so the moment a person tries to enter the park, we are alerted. This allows us to get him before he can kill any animals.

What is your favourite part of your job?

My favourite part of the job is rescuing the animals, saving them from the bad guys. Just last week, we managed to free a hartebeest from a snare. We got to it in time, and off it went.

In one word, describe the work of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Perfect. The work is perfect, because everything is done accordingly, with one heart, passion, and strength.