Mara Elephant Project

Last week, the MEP rangers deployed their drone to guide a herd of elephants moving toward a settlement area back to safety. The Maji Moto area is known for high levels of human-elephant conflict as it forms part of a key elephant corridor connecting Mosiro and the Maasai Mara.

Just a quick visit from Mara Elephant Project's friend Fred, since it’s #FridaysWithFred. He stopped by, said ‘hi’, and then went on his way.

A young mother elephant regularly monitored by the MEP research team was recently collared and treated by KWS, WRTI and MEP. She and her herd have been observed moving between wildlife designated areas through communities and crop raiding along the way. Tracking her movements will inform mitigation.

Over the weekend, MEP rangers removed more than a dozen wire snares from the Mau Forest pushing the total number of snares removed in 2025 to a 1,000. Since 2022, the number of snares removed by MEP rangers has almost doubled year-to-year. MEP rangers remove these deadly traps to protect wildlife.

Last week, MEP and KFS rangers conducted a joint patrol and intercepted 1 culprit found cutting down trees for charcoal production, destroyed three kilns and confiscated 22 sacks of charcoal. By working together with partners we continue to protect forest ecosystems.

This October, become a monthly donor and join a global herd of passionate people who refuse to imagine a world without elephants.

Join the Mara Elephant Project monthly donor club today.

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At the MEP, every person plays a part in protecting Kenya’s wildlife and wild spaces. This #MashujaaDay, we celebrate all our heroes; the dedicated men and women who make our mission possible. Every patrol, every repair, every data point collected, together, they form the heartbeat of conservation.

MEP rangers assisted the KWS/@sheldricktrust.bsky.social to respond to an elephant with multiple arrow wounds. Located from the air in the Mau Forest, the elephant was successfully treated for injuries on both front legs and one hind leg. After the treatment, MEP rangers stayed close to monitor him.

MEP rangers responded to move elephants out of a tea tree farm. After responding with their drone, they were relieved to see the herd was just passing through, and while it caused some crop damage, they didn’t stick around to eat and most likely wouldn’t come back. A positive sign for coexistence.

MEP staff took part in a Mental Health Awareness Workshop which provided a safe and interactive space to explore mental wellness, emotional resilience and stress management because protecting wildlife begins with protecting the wellbeing of the people behind the mission!💚🐘

#WorldMentalHealthDay

Celebrating 14 Years in MEP's September Monthly Report - Mara Elephant Project MEP turned 14 on September 13. To honor fourteen years of measurable impact, protecting elephants, supporting communities, and conserving the Mara’s wild spaces, we held an anniversary celebration in…

In September, Mara Elephant Project celebrated fourteen years of measurable impact, protecting elephants, supporting communities and conserving the Mara’s wild spaces. Read about this and more in the September Monthly Report.

Mara Elephant Project’s conservation education team took part in a screening for The Elephant Queen, a moving film that sparks important conversations about the role of elephants and why protecting them matters. We added a fun twist at one of the visits by organizing a football match!

MEP received a report that elephants were inside a sugarcane farm and a large crowd was gathering nearby. We immediately deployed the helicopter; however, as the crowd grew MEP rangers adjusted their response and deployed their drone for a more targeted approach. Luckily, it worked.

MEP, KWS and WRTI recently collared a tuskless bull elephant. Beyond this anomaly or maybe because of it, this individual is a known crop raider. Tracking his movements will inform mitigation response and offer insights into how he’s navigating the changing landscape.

An injured female elephant was reported to MEP acting visibly distressed. Identified as Individual #830, we raced to the scene to help treat her spear wound with the Kenya Wildlife Service / @sheldricktrust.bsky.social vet team. MEP rangers remain on the ground monitoring her recovery.

Continuous training keeps MEP’s rangers and researchers engaged and prepared while operating in the field. In Sept, over a single day, MEP hosted a drone training for all of MEP’s registered pilots and a collaring training to demonstrate best practices for assisting with an elephant collaring ops.

Meet Alice, a collared elephant living inside the Mau Forest. A MEP drone pilot identified her moving with a herd of 12, alongside her 2-year-old calf. Alice spends most of her time inside the dense forest, making her a key individual for understanding elephant family groups in the Mau.

The success of an ongoing MEP elephant habitat preservation project in the Loita Forest.

💪🏾1,600 landowners paid to be the guardians of their land
🌱Preventing the deforestation of 15K+ acres
🐘Supported the restoration of 500+ acres of rangeland

Join us.

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#WHD2025 #WorldHabitatDay

This mother and her calves were trapped within a maze of fences. MEP rangers deployed their drone to start delicately guiding them out. It took an hour of coordinated efforts with the vehicle on the ground, but eventually they got them to safety.

MEP responded to a lost elephant calf. MEP teamed up with MNC rangers to reunite the 2-year-old female with her mother. Spotting the mother from the air, they split into two groups to guide the herd and the calf toward each other, leading to a successful reunion.

#WorldAnimalDay

Check out this sweet moment MEP rangers captured on video while monitoring a herd of elephants with their drone in the Mau Forest. It’s a young elephant calf diligently following mom as she navigates the forest. Nothing motivates the wildlife protectors more than seeing the next generation.

#TOTThursday: Over the past 3 months, we’ve taken training to the next level, running 3 cohorts and training 90+ rangers from more than 15 conservancies. This advanced phase focused on advanced the skills of previous attendees thanks to support from the Basecamp Explorer Foundation – Kenya.

Who needs a big screen TV when you have a monitor this big and clear on a drone? The drone can identify movement from a wide angle, which allows MEP rangers to zoom in on the subject, even in dense brush, and capture a crystal-clear image to look for injuries or, in this case a satellite collar.

Today is the last day to support the Mara Elephant Project rangers participating in the #WildlifeRangerChallenge. We are 80% of the way to our $5,000 goal to provide equipment and training to support these wildlife warriors. Help us reach our goal today!

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#ForWildlifeRangers

To foster communication with local communities MEP works alongside to protect wildlife, we are focused on rolling out Virtual Ranger, an innovative tool designed to make reporting and responding to human-elephant conflict cases easier. In August, MEP conducted trainings for 236 people.

The MEP coexistence team is setting out to discover solutions to address the challenges that communities and wildlife face as they share resources within the Mara landscape. Working with 120 farmers to grow and sell elephant-friendly crops.

Learn more, buff.ly/UPv8bNo.

The MEP/@sheldricktrust.bsky.social rangers deployed their thermal drone to move herd of elephants leaving the forest in the dead of night to cross into bordering community farms. In just 30 minutes they safely guided the herd out of the farms and back into the forest.

We don’t know what it is about elephants drinking, but we could watch it all day. The Mara Elephant Project mobile ranger team recently monitored this herd enjoying a drink.

#TOTThursday - This cohorts Training of Trainers (ToT) course marks a milestone, the highest number of female rangers we’ve ever had in one session. Six women representing 4 conservancies in the Mara and two MEP rangers are undertaking courses supported by the Basecamp Explorer Foundation – Kenya.

In late August, the MEP ‘Foxtrot’ ranger team monitored a bull elephant limping through Mara North Conservancy. After some observation, they determined he needed immediate treatment. The next day, the assisted KWS Vet Dr. Njoroge with the @sheldricktrust.bsky.social vet team during the treatment.