Conservation News

Lewa Combines Modern and Traditional Practices to Enhance Maternal Care

Lewa Conservancy's healthcare program is committed to enhancing maternal health outcomes in the marginalized regions of northern Kenya. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 287,000 women lost their lives in 2020 due to preventable childbirth-related causes. Alarmingly, 95% of these deaths occurred in lower-middle-income countries like Kenya.

At the Lewa-supported Leparua Clinic, modern medical care has been seamlessly integrated with the work of traditional birth attendants (TBAs), who are essential in rural Kenyan communities. Women receive care from both traditional midwives and healthcare practitioners from Leparua Dispensary, all within the comforting setting of a manyatta (traditional house), offering a familiar environment for childbirth.

Through this collaboration, hospital deliveries have increased by 90%, with a notable reduction in child and maternal mortality rates. Additionally, the spread of HIV and hepatitis has been significantly reduced. This innovative approach underscores the success of blending modern healthcare with traditional knowledge, building community trust and fostering sustainable improvements in maternal care.

Support this project, and many others, with a safari to the Lewa Conservancy, where you can stay at Kifaru House or Lewa Wilderness Camp.

Rwandan Student Update

The awarding of 200 six-year Children in the Wilderness (CITW) school scholarships has made the start of Rwanda's new secondary school year extra festive! The funding for these 200 scholarships has been made possible by generous donations from Bisate Lodge, Sabyinyo Lodge, and Magashi Lodge guests and trade partners, including Classic Africa.

The 200 students are sponsored at Bisate Secondary Schools near Bisate Lodge, and at Rushubi Secondary School situated close to Sabyinyo – both in the Volcanoes National Park area; other schools the children attend are Rwabiharamba Secondary School in the area just outside Akagera National Park (where Magashi is located) and Kinihira Secondary School close to Gishwati Forest.

To ensure that all 200 students were ready to start their first school day of the year the CITW team visited in the first week of September to provide them with the school materials they need for this year, such as backpacks, notebooks, calculators, rulers, pens, pencils and mathematical sets – all received with big smiles!

The Calving Season: A time of birth and growth at Usawa Camp

During calving season, an estimated 500,000 wildebeest are born over a span of just a few weeks; more than 9,000 could be born in a single day. This synchrony in birthing is a strategic survival mechanism; by overwhelming predators with sheer numbers, the chances of any one calf being caught are reduced. This period is crucial for the survival of the species, as it ensures the replenishment of the herd.

Witnessing the birth of a wildebeest calf is a safari experience unlike any other. Wildebeest give birth standing up, and within minutes of being born the calves are on their feet, wobbling but determined. This rapid development is vital, as they need to be ready to move with the herd almost immediately to avoid predation.

The calving season is not only essential for the survival of the wildebeest but also for maintaining the balance of the Serengeti ecosystem. The influx of young herbivores provides food for predators, such as lions, hyenas, cheetahs, and leopards which, in turn, keeps the herbivore population in check, preventing overgrazing and ensuring the health of the grasslands.

Maximize the probability that you will experience a birth during migration by staying at a moveable camp, such as Usawa – named after the Swahili word for 'balance' – strategically positioned to offer exceptional wildlife encounters with minimal impact on the environment.

Campsites move with the migration: based in the south during calving season, they transition to the east and west during the mid-migration months, and relocate to the north for the Mara River crossings. By positioning camp away from the main tourist hotspots, a more secluded and intimate safari experience can be ensured.

Webcam at Mara Bushtops, Kenya

You are invited ... to take your place at the Mara Bushtops salt lick. Experience the almost constant flow of animal life at the private conservancy's busiest location by watching the live camera stream on YouTube here.

Elephant Tears and Mourning on World Elephant Day

The planet has lost 20,000 elephants so far this year. The most dramatic loss was five "super tuskers" that were killed by trophy hunters in Amboseli National Park as they crossed from Kenya to Tanzania this past July. There is no fence to prevent their migration, but Kenya does not allow trophy hunting and Tanzania does. Conservationists described a "gentleman's agreement" whereby hunters in Tanzania spared Amboseli elephants when they crossed over into Tanzania. Sadly, the agreement did not hold for these massive creatures. They were five of the largest elephant tuskers in the world, with tusks weighing more than 100 pounds each!

In a letter published recently in the journal Science, two dozen signatories called for a moratorium on the hunting of elephants from Amboseli National Park that enter Tanzania, saying elephants from this "unique" population must not be hunted "to feed egos or the financial interests of short-term gain."

These elephants were subjects in the Amboseli Elephant Research Project - the "longest study of elephants in the world," making them some of the closely tracked and intimately known pachyderms.

Vital insights into elephant behavior and their social lives have emerged from the project, including a recent finding that they appear to call each other by specific names, per our article above. Elephant populations have suffered precipitous declines in Africa due to poaching, habitat loss and human conflict. Removing large bulls could have an outsized impact on the larger group, backers of the ban say.

Interested groups like hunting bodies and conservation organizations sometimes focus on the positive impact hunting has on elephant populations. This overlooks the importance of individuals in herds. Bulls older than 35 years are "keystones" for male society – the leadership – and removing them is detrimental to the population at large.

The iconic "big tuskers" can be admired from Ol Donyo and Tortilis Camps.

Honoring Women's Month at Delaire Graff

To mark Women's Month - which was celebrated throughout August in South Africa – we honor the ethos and inspiration of two prominent female South African artists, whose captivating sculptures and paintings are displayed within Delaire Graff Estate in the Cape Winelands.

A transcendent sculptor, painter, and printmaker, Deborah Bell is considered to be one of South Africa's finest contemporary artists. Renowned for creating highly mystical and personal pieces, the Estate is home to more than 20 of her works.

Bell is fascinated by the philosophies of ancient civilizations. Her work incorporates powerful totemic images and layered visual, symbolic references to past and present worlds.  In her iconography, she draws from the Greco-Roman, Asian, Egyptian and African ethnographies and philosophies. For example, through her "Sentinel" series, which is located at the Delaire Graff Estate Spa, her preoccupation with stillness and the shedding of attachment and the ego is evident.

A striking bronze sculpture by Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi, entitled "She is Greeting," welcomes all those who step foot inside the Owner's Villa at Delaire Graff Estate, one of the most exclusive private residences in southern Africa.

Sebidi's work continually refers to African spiritualism, which has formed the core of her practice and, through her work, she communicates the concepts of being African and how the removal of spiritual considerations will impact the values of those living in the modern world. 

Growing up, Sebidi's mother worked away in the city for much of her childhood, and so she lived with her grandmother, who taught her the values that would guide and sustain her life. These include channeling spirit back into the world through hard work, the commitment of the self to the community, and most of all, through acts of creativity - whether this be cooking, making mud walls, creating murals, making pots and calabashes, weaving, beading, dress-making, drawing, or painting.