Ol Pejeta’s Hidden Saints
By: Rahul Shah
Tags: Wildlife, Wildlife Photography, Nature, Awareness, Wildlife Conservation

Ol Pejeta is a a non-for-profit wildlife conservancy in Kenya’s Laikipia County.

At the gates of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy a tall, slender figure stands, basking in the winter sun. Enter Yusuf, a guide who began his foray into showing eager tourists the beauty of Kenyan wildlife as one of the herdsmen who protect the park’s rhinos every night. His passion for conservation, coupled with his knowledge of wildlife and his warm personality, makes him one of many under appreciated forces in saving our animals.

Yusuf and my grandfather

Ol Pejeta, a name which describes an ancient beef barbecue ritual in the Maasai tongue, is famed for having the densest population of black and white rhinos in the country — even harbouring two of last surviving northern-white rhinos. It is something of a success story during a dire time for these ivorious African unicorns, yet nestling beside these gentle giants are two lesser known species that thrive in this park: the Grevy’s zebra and Jackson’s hartebeest.

A white rhino stares at a flock of grey crowned cranes

The Grevy’s zebra has been subject to the largest habitat loss of any African animal with around 2,000 members grazing the plains of the Rift Valley. It is a stunningly beautiful creature, emanating an angelic glow from its denser stripe pattern. It stands taller than the Berchell’s or plains zebra, almost as a guardian sentinel over its smaller brethren. Ol Pejeta houses around thirty Grevy’s zebra, but due to overhunting by lions and a low birth success rate caused by a skewed sex ratio, the conservancy’s population have been moved to an Endangered Species Enclosure, which is both predator and tourist-free. Despite this, Yusuf remained proud of these zebras and sensing our interest in them, agreed to take us into the enclosure where we could see them grazing away from the lion-hungry game vehicles.

The critically endangered Grevy’s Zebra

The Jackson’s hartebeest, also known as the Mt. Kenya hartebeest, is at a higher level of risk yet. With fewer than 1,000 specimens remaining due to loss of habitat, the conservancy is a safe haven for these elegant horned sprinters who can break speeds of 70kph. They appear similar in build to the more common red hartebeest found in Southern Africa, but their lighter, tawny beige coat distinguishes them to the tuned eye. While a small population is kept in the enclosure for breeding purposes, they make challenging prey for lions and hyena, who find plain’s zebras much easier to hunt.

The sturdy Jackson’s Hartebeest

A case could be made for these zebras and hartebeest to receive the same celebrity status as the rhinos in Ol Pejeta. However, they are burdened with being resigned to a ‘common animal’ status. That said, the conservancy’s websites and park information boards supply a wealth of information and awareness. Despite these efforts, the average holiday-maker visiting Africa’s parks remains fixated on the hopes of seeing the Big Five, leaving little room for appreciation of the lesser known creatures. It is the passion and enthusiasm of people such as Yusuf and his fellow rangers, who seize any opportunity and eagerness they see in their guests, that is helping these animals. It is my hope that when we come to these pre-lapsarian gardens, everyone will look beside the lions, elephants and rhinos that we hold close to heart and extend an outstretched arm to the lesser known creatures who also desperately need our help.

The endangered reticulated giraffe