Kenya: Introduction: What's New: Letter from Iain Douglas-Hamilton

Letter from Iain Douglas-Hamilton

Zoologist and founder of Save the Elephants, Iain Douglas-Hamilton has spent his life in Kenya, where he and his wife, Oria, have made enormous progress in preserving the endangered elephant population. To read about Oria’s Elephant Watch Safaris, click here.

February 2008

There are so many friends who have written to us asking about what is going on in Kenya and how we are affected, and if the elephants and wildlife are surviving.

No one was more surprised than we who live in Kenya when this country erupted into chaos and violence following the rigged elections held late last year. There were so many horrific scenes of ethnic violence we saw, mainly between the Luo and their allies on the one side, and the Kikuyu on the other. How this affected us personally has been written by my daughter Saba to her grandmother, and I would like to share her letter with you as it gives so eloquently the facts and feelings of this time. Saba and Oria have been amazing in dropping all other commitments and devoting themselves to the cause of peace. Oria thought up a scheme where ordinary Kenyans could express their feelings in public through flowers in honour of the dead and suffering without defying the ban on all public gatherings.

So all that you have read in the papers is probably true. What you have not read, because it does not make news, it that peace still prevails in most of the country. An epic elephant count of the Tsavo national park went ahead as planned last week with a gathering of eleven aeroplanes and a harmonious team from all ethnic and tribal groupings of Kenya. The results show that Kenya’s elephants are still on the upward road of recovery from the devastating ivory poaching of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Save The Elephants played a key role in providing an aeroplane and crew, and vital trained ground staff for the advance computer analysis that was carried out on the spot during the count.

In northern Kenya all is peaceful too, and the nomadic tribes normally volatile and armed with firearms are surprisingly calm and stable at this time. There has been no surge in poaching. However in the longer term, lack of tourist revenues will undermine Kenya Wildlife Service law enforcement unless a solution to the politic impasse is found.

At Save The Elephants’ field station in Samburu, it is business as usual. We have continued unimpeded working with the BBC on a three part series on our work. We have also concluded our hosting of the amazingly talented National Geographic team that will come out with a special issue in the fall, which will be a great boost for elephants.

Oria and I fly frequently to the farm in Naivasha to help reinforce local efforts to keep the peace. Most importantly with our neighbours we keep our ears close to the ground to be forewarned of any troublemakers coming to our immediate area. So far this has worked well and people are still living peacefully together in this corner of Kenya.

I have intending to write to you personally, for such a long time, but please be patient as we are swept up in great events that need our full time attention.

With my warm regards

Iain