Category: Kenya

Located in Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy in Samburu County, northern Kenya, Reteti is the first indigenous owned and run elephant sanctuary.

Reteti was established in 2016 to help these young orphaned elephants – a representation of the local Samburu communities standing up united for wildlife, in recognition of their cultural and economic value.

The Reteti Elephant Sanctuary is a unique project bringing communities together through a shared respect and concern for wildlife. It lies within a 975,000-acre swath of thorny scrubland in Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust – part of the ancestral homeland of the Samburu people. Namunyak is supported and advised by the Northern Rangelands Trust, a local organization that works with 33 community conservancies to boost security, sustainable development, and wildlife conservation.

The Naumunyak wildlife conservation includes the Turkana, Rendille, Borana, and Somali, as well as the Samburu – ethnic groups that have fought to the death over the land and its resources. Now they’re working together to strengthen their communities and protect the elephant population.

In spite of the fact that elephant poaching, has fallen significantly in the conservancies around Reteti, elephant calves are still sometimes orphaned or abandoned due to poaching, falling into wells, drought (potentially causing mothers to stop lactating), human-wildlife conflict and natural mortality. Around five to ten calves are saved in northern Kenya every year, from a populace of more than 8,000. Within the sanctuary, young animals are treated and cared for by the dedicated keeper team, recruited from the local communities. A mobile elephant rescue unit, with exceptionally trained staff, returns lost calves directly to their family whenever it can, and also works with surrounding communities to raise awareness and mitigate human/wildlife conflict.

This oasis where orphans grow up, learning to be wild so that one day they can rejoin their herds, is as much about the people as it is about elephants. Reteti is also empowering Samburu women to be the first-ever women elephant keepers in all of Africa. At first, the community didn’t think there was a place for women in the workplace. Now, the success of these women elephant keepers is unlocking new possibilities and setting a powerful example for girls hoping to pursue their dreams. It’s also changing how the community relates to elephants. Schoolchildren who have never seen an elephant before or who were afraid of elephants visit Reteti and experience these elephants up close. They then realize they can grow up to be a veterinarian or an elephant keeper.

Visiting hours are between 8.30 a.m. and10 a.m. and between 11.30 a.m. and 1p.m. It is important that you arrive promptly at 8.30 a.m. or 11.30 a.m. for the full experience. Visiting the Sanctuary is not only an incredible addition to your safari but one of the best ways to safeguard the wildlife in the area, as well as supporting the local community dedicated to protecting them. Guests get an exclusive opportunity to witness feeding and playtime at the Sanctuary, as well as an in-depth look behind the scenes.

This are omnivorous animals that live in troops. They have arms that are longer than legs. In trees they climb with their long, powerful arms and on the ground they knuckle-walk (walk on all fours) clenching their fists and supporting themselves on knuckle. Their feet have broader soles and shorter toes suited for walking. They can stand and walk upright. Chimpanzees are tailless and its body is covered with black hair. The face, fingers, palms of hands, ears and sole of feet are hairless. Exposed skin of face, ears, hands and feet varies from pink to very dark although its lighter in younger individuals and darkens with maturity. They can move in trees by swinging from one tree to another. Chimpanzees are arboreal and terrestrial. They mostly search for food during the day.the males are aggressive and highly terrestrial to an extent of killing each other. They communicate non verbally using hand gestures and facial expression.
They construct new nests daily by lacing together branches from one or more trees ensuring the nest is comfortable and safe to sleep on. They use tools such as trees to dig into termite mound, stones as hammers to break nuts and insert leaves into termite mound where termite crawl into the leaf and the chimpanzee lick them off. They also use chewed leaves as sponge to soak up water and then drink water from the soaked leaf.
Females have estrus cycle of 34-35 days and while on heat, bare skin on her bottom becomes pink and swollen. The females give their young ones great attention and help each other with babysitting chores. The young ones learn survival techniques by watching their mother. Adult chimpanzee have special companion with which it spends most of its time with. They hold hands and groom each other.

These are mammals mostly known to be grazers feeding on grasses, berries, barks of trees and also roots. They occasionally feed on dead flesh whenever there’s no food to eat. They have bumps on the head which is a thick patch of skin used for protection during fights. They have a thick mane on their back. They often look for already abandoned dens to make homes. Mostly they live in dens made by aardvarks. Warthogs can go for months without drinking water.
Female warthogs are social animals and they live in groups of about 40 members. They group each other and crowd together at night for warmth. On the other hand, adult males are not social and can be territorial. They search for food during the day. When threatened, the warthog can be quite fast at a speed of about 30 miles per hour. They ran with their tail up in the air heading direct into their dens sticking their tusks at the entrance for security. At times they face the attacker with their tusks and bite them with their sharp teeth.
The ox peckers and other birds ride on warthog’s body to eat insects off their bodies. Warthogs wallow in mud to get rid of insects and cool down on a hot day since they don’t have sweat glands to cool themselves. They kneel on front knees to feed since they have short neck and long legs.

It is located in the south eastern part of Kenya. It was established to protect lower tana river forest and the two endangered species of monkey which are crested mangbey and the red colobus monkey. The river forest cuts through the dry woodland and the open savannah. This national reserve has rare species of birds such as white wingled apalis, open bill stork, martial eagle, bat hawk, pygmy falcon, and barred owlet. Mammals, amphibians and reptiles are also within the reserve.