Wells for Wildlife

This year, we decided to celebrate World Elephant Day differently.

In the light of the ongoing drought and number of elephant rescues, we wanted to take action.

The wells have played a critically important role in the lives of the Samburu and wildlife for hundreds of years. It's become a testimony to the unique and wonderful coexistence of the Samburu and wildlife. For a great portion of Northern Kenya, people and wildlife live side by side, sharing grasslands, forests, and water on community-owned land.

During the dry season the elephants smell water under ground and dig with their tusks to reach it, followed by Samburu pastoralists who dig further into the dry riverbed to find water for themselves and their cattle.

When the elephants come to drink they sometimes lose their footing, resulting in small calves toppling in and not being able to get out. The herd will try to get the calf out throughout the night. Sometimes they are successful, other times not; where we then step in to help.

Although we provide other, more accessible water sources, the elephants still prefer to drink from the wells. To learn why, read our blog post below.

So, for the 2021 World Elephant Day, the teams of The Sarara Foundation, Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, Sarara Camp and the community and rangers of Namunyak Conservancy all came together to create safer wells for wildlife.

The teams spent the day digging a well dedicated to wildlife so that baby elephants, warthog, hyenas, impala can reach the water safely during the drought.

Traditional wells tend to be deep and sometimes narrow. But what the teams did, was to to dig open one of the wells and build a ramp in order for baby elephants, warthog, hyenas, impala etc to be able to reach the water safely during the drought.

The #WellsforWildlife project is a testimony to the incredibly community conservation efforts in Namunyak Conservancy, and the passion of the Samburu to protect and celebrate the wildlife with whom they share this land.

At the time of writing, we are working together with neighbouring conservancies to make wildlife safe wells across the Norhtern Kenya.

Watch the #WellsforWildlife video

If you'd like to support the community conservation efforts, please click on the button below. Every donation makes an impact here on the ground, supporting the elephants and keepers to continue their work.