Big Life Foundation -Conservation through community in the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem

In the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, across the rolling savannahs of the Amboseli–Tsavo ecosystem, an unusual conservation success story is unfolding.

Big Life Foundation, a non-profit organisation, has redefined how wildlife protection can work in one of Africa’s most critical habitats.

The organisation was founded in 2010 by three unlikely partners who came together to change the story; Renowned English photographer Nick Brandt, whose lens had captured the beauty and tragedy of Africa’s wildlife; veteran Kenyan conservationist Richard Bonham, with decades of field experience in the region; and American entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Hill, bringing strategic vision and resources.

Together, they co-founded Big Life Foundation, building a model that ties the protection of wildlife directly to the well-being of the local Maasai community.

Its premise is simple but powerful: if conservation benefits local people, they will protect it.

That belief has turned what was once a poaching hotspot into one of the most secure wildlife areas in East Africa.

From Conflict to Coexistence

The Maasai people, long-time custodians of this land, have historically depended on livestock for their livelihoods.

But sharing space with lions, hyenas, and elephants came at a cost: livestock losses to predators, and crop damage from elephants.

For decades, these conflicts often ended with retaliation, either through hunting predators or killing elephants that strayed too close.

Big Life’s approach replaced confrontation with cooperation.

Working hand-in-hand with community leaders, the foundation linked wildlife protection directly to benefits like jobs, education, and healthcare.

The transformation is visible. In the core protection zone of Big Life’s area of operation, no elephants have been poached for ivory since 2019, and no rhinos since 2016.

The Ranger Network

At the heart of this shift is Big Life’s community ranger program—now one of the largest in East Africa. Hundreds of local Maasai men and women patrol 1.6 million acres across the Kenya–Tanzania border.

Operating from more than 40 permanent outposts and mobile units, these rangers:

• Use tracking dogs, aerial surveillance, and GPS mapping to detect illegal activity.
• Remove thousands of wire snares each year to disrupt the bushmeat trade.
• Intercept illegal logging and charcoal production.
• Confiscate weapons and prevent crop raids.

This blend of local knowledge and modern enforcement has been key to protecting elephants, rhinos, and a range of other species.

The Predator Compensation Fund

One of Big Life’s most influential programs, the Predator Compensation Fund (PCF), directly tackles human–wildlife conflict.

Established in 2003 under an earlier initiative, the PCF reimburses livestock owners for part of the value of animals lost to predators on the condition that no retaliatory killing occurs.

Losses are verified in the field by trained personnel.

If a predator is killed in retaliation, the entire community loses access to the fund for some time.

This shared accountability has helped rebuild predator populations in the region, particularly those of lions.

Today, the Amboseli ecosystem supports over 250 lions—a rare case of a stable or growing lion population in Africa.

Big Life has also created the Maasai Olympics, a cultural and sporting event that replaces the traditional rite of hunting lions with track-and-field-style competition.

Beyond Wildlife Protection

While wildlife conservation is its primary mission, the Big Life Foundation has incorporated social and economic programs to address the root causes of environmental decline.

These include:

• Education: Scholarships for hundreds of Maasai students, covering costs from primary school through university.
• Healthcare: Mobile clinics, in partnership with CHASE Africa, provide immunizations, family planning, and other basic health services.
• Habitat Preservation: Conservation leases that pay landowners to keep migration corridors open for wildlife.
•  Conflict Mitigation: Over 100 km of electrified fencing to prevent elephant crop raids and reduce animal deaths.

Each of these initiatives strengthens the link between a healthy ecosystem and a thriving community.

A Measurable Impact

In just over a decade, Big Life’s model has delivered tangible results:

• Zero elephants poached in the core zone since 2019.
• Zero rhinos poached since 2016.
• More than 250 lions now live in the ecosystem, compared to near local extinction two decades ago.
• Thousands of snares are removed annually.
• Dozens of illegal activities, from logging to bushmeat hunting stopped each year.

These numbers represent more than wildlife gains; they are the outcome of a trust-based partnership between rangers and the communities they serve.

A Shift in Conservation Philosophy

Where many conservation efforts in Africa have relied on a “fortress” approach, fencing off wildlife areas and excluding human presence, Big Life has demonstrated that protection and participation can go hand in hand.

By embedding conservation into daily life and livelihoods, it has removed the old divide between “people’s land” and “wildlife land.” In Amboseli–Tsavo, they are the same.