Working in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service, we operate 29 Anti-Poaching Teams and a Canine Unit. These teams have an enormous impact: Over the past quarter century, they have logged more than 3.7 million kilometres on patrol — which means that on foot and by car, teams have collectively circumnavigated the globe more than 93 times.

We launched our anti-poaching operations in 1999. What started as a single Tsavo-based team has evolved into an extensive presence with a footprint across Kenya's key ecosystems including the greater Tsavo Conservation Area, Shimba Hills, Arabuko Sokoke Forest, Nakuru-Naivasha, Meru National Park, and Mau Forest. We also fund teams operated by our partners in Tsavo, Mount Kenya, the Mara, Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary, Nasaru Olosho Conservancy, and Amu Ranch.

Being a ranger is a difficult, dangerous job. It entails long days, night operations, challenging conditions, and threatening encounters with both man and beast. Responding to intelligence and identifying telltale signs of illegal activity, they are the advance charge of field-level conservation.

Rangers are the best of boots on the ground: SWT/KWS Anti-Poaching Teams conduct most of their work on foot, while our Aerial Unit is on standby to support operations and deploy teams to remote destinations. Last year alone, they patrolled 58,727 kilometres on foot — the equivalent of walking around the entire African continent 1.9 times in a single year.

Working in the field is unpredictable by nature. With their local knowledge and specialized skill sets, rangers can rise to the challenge. They are often called upon to provide additional field support, tackling everything from veterinary treatments to orphan rescues to emergency evacuations to firefighting efforts. They approach these missions with the same dedication that they apply to tracking down poachers.

Anti-Poaching Teams are vital to the success of our Mobile Veterinary Units, tracking wild patients for hours until the veterinarian arrives and monitoring them afterwards in case follow-up treatment is needed. They are equally pivotal to rescue operations, keeping eyes on the young orphan until the transport team arrives.

With human-wildlife conflict on the rise, rangers are the first port of call to push back animals who have wandered onto community lands. By mitigating these encounters, they save countless wild lives each year — and of equal importance, protect local communities and their livelihoods. They have developed a strong rapport with local communities, which has long-term conservation benefits.

A combination of intensive training and innate ability gives rangers unparalleled bush prowess. Each new recruit undergoes a three-month intensive training course at the KWS Manyani Training Academy before being deployed to the field. Where most would only see vegetation, they are able to discern subtle disturbances in the ground, broken branches, and cleverly disguised snares.

Rangers work like a well-oiled machine to apprehend perpetrators. Ground teams move in to cut off escape routes and confiscate any weapons or paraphernalia left behind, while armed KWS rangers make the arrest. Rangers also recover ivory from deceased or killed elephants. Tusks are securely stored by KWS, ensuring they don't fall into the wrong hands and enter the illegal ivory trade.

In 2024, SWT/KWS Anti-Poaching Teams confiscated 14,326 snares and assisted the KWS in the arrest of 642 individuals involved in wildlife crimes, including 123 poachers.

In 2016, we launched our Canine Unit in partnership with the KWS. In its nearly ten years of operations, this specialized team has emerged as a force for conservation and a highly effective complement to our wider anti-poaching efforts. The mere presence of the dogs is a deterrent, because their reputation precedes them: On several occasions, the team has tracked a poacher to their very front door. Would-be perpetrators know how effective the dogs are and give any area within their patch a wide berth.

Countless incidents over the years showcase the skills of this specialized team. There was the time Naiko tracked a perpetrator an astonishing 15 kilometres through thick bush – for comparison, a typical police dog's track is just 1 kilometre. Or the raid on a poacher's camp, when Zora sniffed out a pangolin destined for the black market, stuffed in a sack. Miraculously, the pangolin was still alive and was safely rehabilitated and rewilded.

We proudly introduced a new power player to our team this year: The lovely and extraordinarily talented Bela, who joins Aya and Zora in the field. We more recently debuted another newcomer, who will be properly introduced in due course.

Our Anti-Poaching Teams are ever-evolving, adapting to face the challenges of today and plan for those on the horizon. For 26 years and counting, these brave, dedicated teams have proven the value of having boots on the ground in Kenya's key ecosystems. As new threats come to the forefront, our rangers will be ready to face them head-on.