The first school James attended was Kangaita primary school in Nyeri and then he went on to Kagunmo High School. He received a Bsc degree in Natural resources management in 1998. In 2003 he was married and now has two children. James joined the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in 2000 where he became head of one of our first de-snaring teams; Mtito team. James later began The Chyulu Team and continues to work with the Chyulu Desnaring team today, charged with covering the Chyulu National Park (within the Tsavo Conservation Area) along with the ranch and community lands abutting the Park. He has recently helped the Trust acquire the lease for Umani Springs within the Kibwezi Forest, a vital water catchment area and the only surface water in the Chyulu area. He is actively overseeing a second unit who look after the forest, ensuring no bush meat poaching or illegal logging takes place within the forest reserve. Aside from the de-snaring work James is very involved in the Trust’s community outreach program, concentrating on the communities that border the Chyulu Park. Each month he visits several schools, organizes sporting events and wildlife talks and guides field trips for schools into Tsavo National Park for the day. James’s passion lies with both wildlife and sport. He qualified to participate in the National athletic trials in 1998 and 1999 at Kasarani Nairobi and narrowly missed out on becoming a part of the Kenya Olympic team headed for Sydney in 2000. As one of our longest serving team leaders James stands as an excellent example of a team leader who leads by example. He is a great asset to the Trust.

Patrick was born on the 22nd of July 1973 and is married with children. He started his education at Wee primary school in Makueni, the area he was born and ended at Egerton University with a BSC in Natural resources management. His greatest interest in life is, and always has been wildlife, and he has been involved in numerous wildlife conservation programs throughout Kenya. Being involved with wildlife from an early age he understands the importance of embracing and educating the communities, and as a team leader he enjoys the community outreach programs the Trust offers. Before moving to head the Ithumba team, Patrick began the Ziwani Desnaring team, based in Tsavo West National Park. It is always challenging setting up a new team from infancy, and the Ziwani Team owes much of its success to the solid ground work laid by Patrick. Now based at Ithumba he has to operate in an incredibly remote area, and Tsavo East north of the Galana River is very extensive so Patrick’s task is a mammoth one.