Welcome to the Nyekweri Forest Ranger Team
From New Recruits to Forest Guardians — and Now, Wildlife Ranger Challenge Contenders
When your mission is to protect one of the last strongholds of Giant Ground Pangolins and preserve biodiversity across a fragmented forest, you don’t just need commitment you need presence.
You need people.
You need patrols.
You need rangers.
That’s why, in 2025, we proudly introduced the Nyekweri Forest Ranger Team - 21 locally selected, newly trained Conservancy Rangers working across the Kimintet, Olorien, and Maasai Moran Conservancies.
These rangers are now the eyes and ears of the Nyekweri Ecosystem, and their presence is already changing everything.
From Community to Conservation: A New Kind of Ranger
This is a team of dedicated rangers trained to monitor pangolins, respond to wildlife injuries, remove deadly electric fencing, and engage local communities in solutions to human-wildlife conflict.
They carry trust, data, and determination.
In the mornings, you’ll often find them walking known elephant corridors — not just for wildlife, but to help guide schoolchildren safely to and from school, where forest paths and elephant herds intersect.
Each ranger began their journey with an intensive training programme, focused on biodiversity monitoring, conservation ethics, and hands-on fieldwork. From installing and managing camera traps to mastering the SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) system, they’ve shown remarkable progress — even supporting each other through literacy barriers and peer-led learning.
Action from the start
Just a few months into their new roles, a community report came through: a tiny elephant calf had been found alone, dehydrated and weak.
The response was immediate.
Rangers coordinated with Kenya Wildlife Service, The Pangolin Project's Wildlife Technician, and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to stabilise the calf and organise her medevac to Nairobi.
Today, she’s thriving at the Sheldrick Nursery, named Kipekee - a Swahili word meaning unique.
Since then, these rangers have walked 13,486 km, removed snares, monitored elephant crossings, responded to multiple wildlife injuries — and brought their work home, sharing sightings and stories with their children, planting seeds of pride and stewardship for the next generation.
A Milestone Moment: 12,500 Acres Now Under Protection
As of last month, we’ve reached a major milestone:
Over 12,500 acres of land are now secured for conservation through leases and forest agreements - and these rangers are the ones protecting it.
Their continued presence is the only thing standing between this land and the fences, charcoal, and pressure that threaten it.
That’s why we’re thrilled to share that all 21 rangers have renewed their contracts, and will continue walking, monitoring, and protecting this landscape every day.
First Steps onto the Global Stage
This year also marks another first:
The Nyekweri Rangers are taking part in the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a global movement celebrating the people on the frontlines of conservation.
From physical training drills to conservation quizzes (which they completed through real-time translation), this team has stepped up with pride and purpose. Their participation isn’t just symbolic- it’s part of their identity now.
They are no longer just forest scouts.
They are conservation professionals.
And they are proudly representing Kenya’s pangolin habitat on a global stage.
💚 Why This Matters — and Why We Need You
Ranger presence changes everything.
It means early detection of snares.
It means safer corridors for elephants and schoolchildren.
It means pangolins, giraffes, and rare birds still have a place to call home.
But presence only continues if we fund it.
💥 Help Us Power the Patrol
This autumn, we’re raising $9,000 to keep this team on the ground through our Power the Patrol campaign.
Your support today powers real action:
💚 $32 – Feeds one ranger for nearly a month
💚 $328 – Supports a ranger’s salary, rations & health insurance
💚 $4,402 – Funds the entire patrol team for one month
👉 Donate and stand with the rangers rewriting the future of conservation in Nyekweri.
One Step Closer to a Safer Forest
From installing camera traps to proudly participating in their first global ranger challenge, the Nyekweri Forest Rangers are proving what’s possible when you invest in people, trust communities, and stay committed for the long haul.
They’re not just protecting pangolins.
They’re protecting possibility.
Let’s keep them walking.
