Ol Pejeta Conservancy

An African Sustainable Conservation Success Story

Moving eastward away from the town of Nanyuki on the way toward the vast expanse of the Laikipia Plateau, we enter the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

This former cattle ranch was rehabilitated for conservation purposes in 2004, repurposing this land wholly for conservation and community development.

VAST, OPEN SAVANNA PLAINS, WITH HIGH WILDLIFE NUMBERS

The landscapes of Ol Pejeta are characterized mainly by very flat, vast, wide open plains of savannah grassland. This makes Ol Pejeta a year-round destination as wildlife visibility remains good, even during the green season. Wildlife numbers are high overall, and black Rhino are the notable standout with Ol Pejeta being the largest black Rhino sanctuary in Africa. Ol Pejeta is also home to the last two Northern White Rhino on Earth. Lion is the predominant predator in this area, so lion sightings are reliable and the flat open plains are also well suited to Cheetah, which are seen occasionally.

Toward the north and west of the conservancy, a few woodland thickets are also found, which make great habitat for larger antelope species such as Oryx and Eland, as well as for Giraffe.

A CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY

Since its inception Ol Pejeta has proven to be a conservation success story: run by a conservation trust, it not only invests heavily in wildlife protection and research but also has a strong community focus, aiming to improve the lives of communities around the conservancy to ensure that wildlife conservation translates to better healthcare, education, and infrastructure, benefitting tomorrow's generation of conservation guardians.

With this aim, Ol Pejeta hopes to have found a conservation model that is innovative and sustainable in the long term. Ol Pejeta also runs a local K9 anti-poaching unit, which provides protection and tracking services to areas within and around the conservancy.

Seeing this first-hand is well suited to those of our guests that are conservation-minded and want to make an active contribution to conservation by visiting this innovative area on their safari. Wildlife sightings are very reliable and that alone makes a stay here well worthwhile.