After traveling to Kenya twice before (see here for my experiences from 2021 and 2022) I found myself with an irresistible urge to return.
You probably know that feeling. Whenever you go somewhere you only begin to scratch the surface and are left returning home with a feeling of wanting to dig deeper, staying longer and learning more.
So when Dutch airline KLM asked me if I wanted to join their initiative about fostering meaningful travel called “Travel Well” I knew where I wanted to go: KENYA – this time on a special exploration of the connection between wildlife conservation and responsible safari tourism.
Meaningful encounters with Kenya’s rarest animals
Particularly I was looking for three very distinct encounters, which you can only have in Kenya. These wildlife encounters are so rare and special, that it’s hard to even fathom. Namely these three animals were on my super special Kenya rare wildlife bucket list:
Craig, one of the last remaining supertuskers (elephants with tusks reaching the ground) in Amboseli
Najin and Fatu, the two last remaining individuals from the functionally extinct Northern White Rhinos on our planet in Ol Pejeta
Giza, one of only six melanistic leopards in Laikipia
And so I flew from Vienna to Amsterdam and then directly to Nairobi with KLM, the same airline I had used before to fly to Rwanda to trek chimps, but that’s another story…
I could hardly believe I was embarking on a trip to see all three of these incredible animals!
Why are they so rare?
Seeing just one of them in the wild is a privilege that just a few get to have, and I was about to encounter all three of them. What an honour, but at the same time their presence is an incredibly important reminder of the necessity for the fierce protection of endangered species and the ecosystems they call home. Each of them is uniquely important and symbolic reminders, that their whole species are under immense pressure.
Endangered species like elephants and leopards are faced with extinction due to loss of habitat, climate change, human wildlife conflict and so on.
Supertuskers like Craig are hunted as trophies in bordering Tanzania. Northern White Rhinos have been hunted to functional extinction, leaving only two individuals alive in a zoo in Europe. Najin and Fatu are a mother daughter duo who have been brought back to Kenya in an attempt to save their whole species.
Unfortunately both are unable to give birth, leaving no other option than trying to create IVF embryos from their eggs (and frozen sperm retrieved from an already deceased male). Scientists are now using a Southern White rhino female as surrogate in the hopes to save the Northern White Rhinos from complete extinction. 2025 shall hopefully see some advancement in these attempts.
Crazy to imagine that that’s the reality of life on planet Earth.
Meaningful travel: What it really means
Getting to spend time with all three of these animals was not just a dream come true, but also served a stark reminder of the fragility of our nature and the impact we leave as human beings.
And that’s exactly what meaningful traveling aims to reflect upon. I’m grateful that I got the opportunity to work with KLM on this project, telling you these stories, that are important in the larger context of tourism. Too often tourism is portrayed as either fun-loving holiday madness or shamed for its negative contribution to our climate.
Yet there’s so much more to it and in-between these polar black-and-white images.
If we travel meaningful, we can start protecting instead of simply exploiting nature. I’m aware this is a fine line to tread and nobody sets out on a holiday to “exploit nature”. Yet, often, traveling can be transactional. We visit a place to withdraw joy and pleasure, but ultimately leave footprints, that are hard to remove. But what if we changed our attitude towards traveling? What if we not only look for our personal benefits, but also ask the harder questions: Is my trip contributing positively to the region as well?
It can be as simple as supporting local businesses, eating in that local restaurant and not at an international chain, or staying in an ethically operated safari camp, that supports conservation and communities in a tangible way.
And then it can go way beyond that.
How can your safari become more meaningful?
When you visit Craig, the supertusker, his presence becomes an asset. Let me explain what that means.
Often wildlife is seen more as a liability than an asset. Communities living in areas with wildlife can loose their livelihoods in an instant. Elephants are known to raid whole harvests in one night, leaving people without income or food. No wonder people will try to protect themselves, retaliating and killing elephants in the process. But if suddenly there’s visitors who pay 100 USD just to see an elephant – and that money directly benefits the local people – things look different.
Elephants become an asset, with a value to them that goes beyond “just” saving their species. Then it will make sense – not just from a moral point of view, but also economically – to fiercely protect elephants. Now livelihoods depend on keeping the wildlife and the ecosystems intact.
And that’s what you call the wildlife economy, a way to unite wildlife conservation and economic development and growth.
The connection between safari tourism and wildlife conservation
In the best case (well managed and practiced) tourism contributes positively towards wildlife conservation. And then it goes well beyond “just” saving these individual animals. Animals like Craig, Najin, Faju and Giza are of course beacons of hope and very special, but their protection extends well beyond them individually.
Where Craig calls home is a large area within and around the Amboseli ecosystem – a National Park with around 2,000 elephants roaming its plains. And it’s not just elephants, it’s lions, hyenas, giraffes and zebras, wildebeest, flamingos and pelicans.
So when Craig and his territory are protected, so is the home to thousands of other animals, plants and microbes – everything that inhabits these ecosystems.
Natural ecosystems like Amboseli also serve as critical carbon sinks, as sources of clean water and air, as habitat for millions of animals and plants – and they are protected because of their tourism potential. Amboseli is also unfenced and part of a vital wildlife corridor, allowing for the migration of species like elephants and other wildlife. These corridors are essential for dispersal, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and maintaining genetic diversity among animal populations.
Without tourism it’s likely Amboseli would be a mix of human settlements, agriculture and industry today – and not a single wild elephant would roam its plains anymore.
Therefore, next time you embark on a journey, ask yourself this question: How can my trip become more meaningful? Because: When you travel, Travel Well.
