Nature conservation

Where your trip makes a difference

Kenya's wildlife and wild spaces survive because of conservancy leases, community rangers and visitor revenues. Here is what your booking supports and how you can help.

Active programmes

Conservation projects you can support

From mangrove restoration to big-cat protection — projects spanning Kenya's major ecosystems.

Reticulated giraffes in dry acacia scrub at Samburu National Reserve

Community conservation

Samburu, Isiolo, Marsabit

Northern Rangelands Community Conservancies

By Northern Rangelands Trust

Rangeland degradation and livestock raiding drove wildlife decline across northern Kenya.

Impact

✓43 member conservancies
✓Grevy's zebra numbers stabilised
✓Thousands of local ranger and monitor jobs

How you can help

→Stay in conservancy camps
→Pay the bed-night levy
→Buy from beadwork cooperatives

Conservancy ranger walking beside a rhino at sunrise

Orphan rescue

Namunyak, Samburu

Reteti Elephant Sanctuary

By Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy

Orphaned calves from wells and human-wildlife conflict had no local place of care.

Impact

✓Africa's first community-owned elephant sanctuary
✓Majority-local keeper team including women keepers
✓Successful rewilding releases

How you can help

→Book a sanctuary visit
→Adopt a calf
→Support the milk fund

Palm trees over white sand and turquoise water at Diani Beach

Primate protection

Diani, Kwale

Colobus Conservation Diani

By Colobus Conservation

Road deaths and electrocution devastated the Angolan colobus population along the Diani strip.

Impact

✓Colobridges over the main road
✓Line insulation programme
✓Rescue and rehabilitation centre

How you can help

→Take the guided tour
→Drive slowly on Diani road
→Donate to the bridge fund

Wildebeest herd grazing across golden Maasai Mara grassland at dusk

Big cats

Maasai Mara, Narok

Mara Predator Conservation Programme

By Kenya Wildlife Trust

Retaliatory killing after livestock loss remains the leading cause of lion mortality in the ecosystem.

Impact

✓Individual lion ID database
✓Predator-proof boma programme
✓Rapid-response conflict team

How you can help

→Report sightings with photos
→Choose camps funding the programme
→Respect vehicle distance rules

Wooden dhow beside coral-stone buildings in Lamu Old Town

Coastal ecosystems

Lamu archipelago

Lamu Mangrove Restoration

By Lamu Marine Conservation Trust

Mangrove cutting for construction reduced fish nurseries and coastal protection.

Impact

✓Hundreds of hectares replanted
✓Community carbon revenue
✓Improved artisanal catch

How you can help

→Join a planting session
→Choose operators using motorless dhows
→Avoid mangrove-cut souvenirs

Wildlife

Species to look for across destinations

Six of Kenya's most watched animals — where to find them and the conservation pressures they face.

African Lion

Panthera leo

Vulnerable

Kenya holds roughly 2,500 lions, with the Mara ecosystem the stronghold.

Best seen: Maasai Mara, Tsavo, Laikipia

Early morning and last light, July to October

Viewing etiquette

· Never surround a pride
· Keep engines low
· Do not block hunting lines

Elephant herd crossing dusty plains below snow-capped Kilimanjaro at Amboseli

African Savanna Elephant

Loxodonta africana

Endangered

Amboseli's population is the most studied on earth and still produces big tuskers.

Best seen: Amboseli, Tsavo, Samburu

Dry season mornings at swamps and rivers

Viewing etiquette

· Give calves wide space
· Never park in a crossing corridor
· Retreat if ears flare

Eastern Black Rhino

Diceros bicornis michaeli

Critically endangered

Around 1,000 remain in Kenya, concentrated in fenced sanctuaries and conservancies.

Best seen: Ol Pejeta, Lake Nakuru, Nairobi National Park

Dawn and dusk year-round

Viewing etiquette

· Stay quiet and downwind
· No flash photography
· Follow ranger instructions exactly

Grevy's Zebra

Equus grevyi

Endangered

The world's rarest zebra, with over 90% of the global population in northern Kenya.

Best seen: Samburu, Buffalo Springs, Laikipia

Dry season near permanent water

Viewing etiquette

· Do not disturb at waterholes
· Keep 50 m distance
· Report sightings to conservancy monitors

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Vulnerable

Open Mara grassland offers Kenya's best chance of watching a daylight hunt.

Best seen: Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Athi-Kapiti plains

Mid-morning, dry season

Viewing etiquette

· Never crowd a hunting cheetah
· Do not let vehicles form a ring
· Keep at least 30 m back

Reticulated Giraffe

Giraffa reticulata

Endangered

The sharply patterned northern giraffe, largely restricted to Kenya's arid north.

Best seen: Samburu, Meru, Laikipia

Year-round, best in early light

Viewing etiquette

· Approach slowly
· Avoid engine revving
· Give browsing animals space

Community experiences

Conservation-linked visits

Community-owned experiences where your spend directly funds conservation and local livelihoods.

Woven baskets, beadwork and textiles on display at a Kenyan craft market

Maasai

Olderkesi Maasai Homestay

Two nights living alongside a Maasai family: herding, cooking, beadwork and conservancy patrol.

Ksh 12,000

Fees fund the community school bursary and water point maintenance.

Community trust, 100% locally owned

Vanga Swahili

Wasini Women's Coral Boardwalk

Guided walk across a coral garden boardwalk built and run by the island women's group.

Ksh 1,500

Entirely funds the group's mangrove and school projects.

Women's group cooperative

Samburu

Samburu Beadwork Collective Workshop

Half a day learning bead patterning and their meanings with collective members.

Ksh 4,000

Direct income to over 200 women across four conservancies.

Women's beading collective

Digo Mijikenda

Kaya Kinondo Sacred Forest Walk

An elder-guided walk through a UNESCO-listed sacred forest with medicinal plant interpretation.

Ksh 2,000

Supports forest guardianship and elder stipends.

Kaya elders committee