2025 Impact Report: A Year of Growth, Resilience, and Shared Stewardship at Loisaba

For Loisaba Conservancy, 2025 was a year defined by consolidation, growth, and long-term vision. From welcoming southern white rhinos to expanding women-led enterprises, strengthening veterinary capacity, and maintaining zero poaching incidents, this year reaffirmed a simple truth: conservation works best when wildlife, people, and livelihoods thrive together.

A Landscape of National Importance

Spanning 58,000 acres in the Laikipia–Samburu ecosystem, Loisaba sits at the heart of one of northern Kenya’s most important wildlife movement corridors. As a Kenya Wildlife Service-designated rhino sanctuary, we play a national role in safeguarding both eastern black and southern white rhinos, while maintaining open movement for elephants, lions, leopards, giraffes, cheetahs, and countless other species.

In 2025, our work focused not only on protecting species, but on strengthening the systems that make long-term conservation possible.

Conservation in Action

A Milestone Year for Rhinos

Rhino conservation remained a defining highlight of 2025.

38 rhinos protected

• 27 eastern black rhinos

• 11 southern white rhinos

• 6 calves born

• Zero poaching incidents

In August, Loisaba introduced ten southern white rhinos as part of Kenya’s national metapopulation strategy, strengthening long-term genetic resilience. These rhinos adapted successfully, forming stable home ranges and integrating seamlessly into the sanctuary.

Meanwhile, five eastern black rhino calves were born, powerful confirmation that habitat, security, and monitoring systems are working.

Daily patrols, aerial surveillance, real-time EarthRanger tracking, and trusted community intelligence networks ensured another year without a single poaching incident, maintaining an unbroken record since 2017.

Science That Drives Decisions

Conservation at Loisaba is grounded in research partnerships with organisations including:

• San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

• The Nature Conservancy

• Smithsonian Institution

• Kenya Wildlife Service

In 2025:

• 280 individual elephants were identified through renewed monitoring.

• Over 30 leopards were documented through camera-trap networks and collaring programmes.

• Lions, cheetahs, and reticulated giraffes were tracked to support coexistence planning.

• A new on-site veterinary programme was fully embedded into daily operations.

From collaring leopards to treating an injured white rhino post-translocation, veterinary science and ecological monitoring are now fully integrated into landscape management.

Restoring the Rangelands

Healthy rangelands sustain both wildlife and pastoral livelihoods.

In 2025, we removed 250,157 invasive Opuntia plants across 875 acres, the highest annual total to date. Restoration efforts focused on wildlife corridors and key grazing areas, ensuring improved habitat quality and safer movement routes for wildlife and livestock alike.

This work extends beyond our boundaries, with technical training shared with neighbouring communities to reduce reinvasion and build local restoration capacity.

Communities at the Centre

Conservation succeeds when neighbouring communities are active partners and direct beneficiaries.

Education: Investing in the Next Generation

In 2025:

• 4,707 students received daily school meals across 10 schools.

• 80 scholarship students were supported in secondary and tertiary education.

• 6 scholars graduated in fields including nursing, animal health, and business administration.

For many children in remote pastoralist landscapes, school feeding is the difference between attendance and absence. At just USD 60 per child per year, the programme delivers measurable improvements in retention and concentration, especially during drought periods.

Health Outreach

Access to healthcare remains limited in remote areas. Through 27 mobile health clinics in 2025:

• 2,619 patients were treated.

• Services included maternal health, chronic disease screening, and primary care.

Healthy communities are foundational to long-term conservation success.

Women-Led Enterprise: The Chui Mama Centre

One of 2025’s most powerful milestones was the formal constitutional adoption of governance at the Chui Mama Centre, a women-led, community-owned enterprise supported through mentorship by Loisaba and partners.

Today:

• 1,000 women are active members.

• An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 household members benefit indirectly.

• Livelihoods include beadwork, tailoring, organic farming, soap-making, and reusable sanitary products.

The new Apiary Project, launched in partnership with the Pankaj Foundation and PARC, introduces modern beekeeping as a climate-resilient income stream, linking pollination, regenerative land management, and women’s economic independence.

Livestock and Coexistence

Pastoralism remains central to this landscape.

Rather than excluding livestock, Loisaba integrates controlled grazing systems, including:

• 3,024 cattle supported through drought relief grazing.

• A community livestock fattening programme generating KES 6.2 million for participating households.

These programmes improve market returns while protecting rangeland health.

Coexistence efforts also expanded in 2025:

• 13 Community Conservation Ambassadors trained.

• 43 solar predator deterrent lights distributed.

• 11 Conservation Education Days hosted.

• Over 600 students engaged through Wildlife Clubs.

Security and Stability

Loisaba maintained its record of zero poaching incidents throughout 2025.

Security is layered and intelligence-led, combining:

• Professional ranger teams.

• Drone and aerial surveillance.

• EarthRanger real-time monitoring.

• Community intelligence networks.

• A fully operational K9 Unit.

Three additional dogs were inducted into the K9 Unit this year, expanding tracking and detection capacity. Plans are underway for a future mobile K9 unit to strengthen deterrence across the wider landscape.

Beyond wildlife protection, security teams also support livestock recovery and conflict mitigation, reinforcing trust with neighbouring communities.

Tourism That Powers Conservation

Tourism at Loisaba is structured around purpose, not profit.

Through a long-standing partnership with Elewana Collection:

• Elewana delivers exceptional safari experiences.

• Loisaba leads conservation and community stewardship.

• 100 percent of Loisaba’s tourism revenue is reinvested into conservation and community programmes.

Across conservation, security, hospitality, and operations, more than 500 jobs are supported.

Our camps, including Loisaba Tented Camp, Loisaba Lodo Springs, and Loisaba Star Beds, operate on a low-impact, high-value model. By limiting visitor numbers and protecting wilderness integrity, tourism becomes a long-term conservation financing mechanism.

Every stay directly contributes to wildlife protection, ranger salaries, education, healthcare, and women-led enterprise.

Looking Ahead: Vision 2050

As our current strategic plan concludes, Loisaba is developing Vision 2050, a long-term framework built around:

• Landscape connectivity

• Climate resilience

• Community opportunity

• Institutional strength

Our ambition is clear: a fully connected, ecologically functional landscape where wildlife moves freely, communities thrive, and conservation systems are strong enough to endure for generations.

Land Connected. Life Protected.

Full Report

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