Dear Friend:
Happy New Year! We extend New Year’s greetings from all of us here at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. We begin this year full excitement for what lays ahead, and with your support, ready to continue our mission to conserve wildlife, provide a sanctuary for great apes and to generate income through wildlife tourism and complementary enterprises for re-investment in conservation and community development.

Last year was full of positive achievements for the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Despite a severe drought which claimed many of our wildlife and cattle, and despite continued threats to the security of our wildlife, we managed to make sustained progress toward being self-sustaining as the Largest Black Rhino Sanctuary in East Africa.
 
By far, the biggest success for us last year, was the arrival of four of the world’s last known eight northern white rhinos to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. This translocation is the last attempt to save these animals from total extinction.

The rhinos were moved to the Conservancy on the 20th of December and we are happy to report have settled in very nicely since their arrival.  The first couple of weeks were dedicated to making sure the rhinos were adapting to their new surroundings. Watching them diligently is a team of devoted people who have been with the rhinos since the beginning of their amazing journey. Pete Morkel, a top wildlife veterinarian who specializes in rhinos, and Berry White, a hugely experienced rhino whisperer and carer, have been recording the rhino’s progress on a daily basis.
 
 All four animals have now been fence-trained outside of their holding pen and are spending a minimum of three hours each day outside. On Monday next week, they will all be introduced to the larger 400 x 400 meter fenced area – a milestone in acclimatizing them properly to the wild. This is the last phase before they will be introduced to their breeding area in a few months. 

Most recently, on December 31st, the team agreed that the four animals were healthy enough to sedate them. All four of them needed to be dehorned and be equipped with a radio transmitter. During that exercise, it was also decided that the two females – Najin and Fatu – should have their toe nails trimmed. A pedicure Kenya style! The nails were completely overgrown and starting to affect the animals’ foot – a common problem in zoo animals.
 
Dehorning was a vital procedure for the four rhinos. Not only does it allow the horns to grow back to a natural shape once the animals are out of a captive environment, but it will also stop potential injuries once the animals are re-introduced to each other in the larger fence area.

In addition, all four animals were ear-notched equipped with radio transmitters, which will allow our team to monitor them closely once they are released into their breeding area. Each transmitter, which has a life span of about three years and is about the size of a matchbox, was drilled into the remaining horn and secured with dental acrylic. This was an important step in ensuring the security of those rhinos.

You can expect to receive regular updates this year about the northern white rhinos, the black rhinos, the chimpanzees and all other wildlife on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Thank you again for your support. Here’s to more conservation success in the New Year.