In the past some forest areas on South Western Mau have been heavily degraded.  Join Rhino Ark’s Tree Planting Initiative and replant these areas with indigenous trees.  As part of the initiative, micro-fences will also be built to protect them from wildlife and livestock and care will be provided during the three years following the planting.

Rhino Ark’s comprehensive game-proof electrified fences comprise of 8 strands and a mesh wire that goes underground to keep wildlife, including burrowing animals, inside the forest.  These fences help secure prime indigenous forests and resolve human/wildlife conflict, keeping forest-adjacent communities engaged in conservation.

Community forest patrols are essential to protect forests from illegal activities.  In the Aberdares, Rhino Ark has established the Aberdare Joint Surveillance Unit (AJSU). It is an elite, 7-man team of community scouts that patrols the forests and targets illegal activities such as logging, charcoal kilns, snaring and wildlife trapping. They also monitor wildlife abundance and distribution, gather intelligence information, and participate in forest fire fighting.

To facilitate regular inspection of the fences and continuously engage forest-adjacent communities, Rhino Ark provides five wardens of the Kenya Wildlife Service with a Suzuki 4×4 vehicle.  Rhino Ark covers all the maintenance and running costs of these vehicles.

To reduce pressure on forest resources, Rhino Ark promotes the use of alternative energy sources to fuelwood, in particular biogas.  Through a partnership with a private company making biogas digesters, Rhino Ark provides farmers access to biogas digesters at an affordable price.  To date, 57 biogas digesters have been installed within forest-adjacent communities supported by Rhino Ark.

The Mountain Bongo is a critically endangered antelope only found in Kenya.  Fewer than 100 individuals are believed to survive in the wild. Their known distribution is restricted to parts of the Aberdare and Mt. Kenya forests, as well as small, especially vulnerable groups in the Mau and Mt. Eburu forests.  To safeguard the Mountain Bongo from extinction, 15 experienced bongo trackers from local communities conduct regular patrols, remove snares and traps, collect evidence of Bongo presence, and report on any illegal activity. Their patrols provide vital scientific data to form an information baseline about Bongo habitat utilisation and threats.

The Black Rhinoceros is a critically endangered species. The Eastern Salient of the Aberdare National, which covers an area of 120 km², is home to the highest population of Black Rhino in the park. Poaching was the main threat to that population in the past. Today, 27 rangers are on duty in the Eastern Salient to secure the remaining Black Rhino population from the threat of poaching. As a consequence, poaching incidents have reduced significantly.  Critically important are intelligence gathering to address threat before they impact on black rhinos as well as desnaring operations which need to be conducted for a one-week period every month.

You can donate any amount to support the organization.