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After 40 years of local extinction, the six giraffes (two males and four females) were translocated into the wild at the Conservancy from Lolomarik Ranch.
Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy
The Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, a non-profit trust located in Nanyuki, at the foot of Mount Kenya, a UN World Heritage Site, is home to 28 different animal species, some1,200 different animals. The Conservancy works on the ongoing breeding and rewilding of the critically endangered mountain bongo; providing expert care for orphaned, injured, and abandoned animals at the conservancy’s Animal Orphanage; and instilling a passion for conservation among local youth through community education programs. The Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, an historic Kenyan manor which was once the private club for Hollywood actor William Holden, today, comprises a large manor hotel with the rooms offering peaks of Mount Kenya and cottages facing a golf course or the indigenous forest. It has been designated to push dedication in conservation efforts – in particular, the breeding and rewilding of endangered mountain bongo in their natural habitat, the forests of Mount Kenya. With a strong focus on supporting community conservation, sustainable natural resource management initiatives are being put in place by MKWC and the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club to build a circular economy on the slopes of Mount Kenya.
Reintroducing the giraffe
The reticulated giraffe is one of the four species of giraffe, with Kenya having three out of four species of giraffe in the Masai, Reticulated, and the Northern (Rothschild/Nubian Giraffe). Giraffe numbers have been declining throughout Africa, and the global population has declined by 30%. The giraffe used to inhabit the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy until 1984, and their 'homecoming' is an indication of the conservation strides that MKWC is making in restoring the beauty of the area, and providing an opportunity for conservation education among the visiting students and guests. Giraffes are the tallest land mammal and their height advantage means that they can utilise part of the plant matters beyond the reach of other wildlife. They also act as seed dispersal agents and pollinators as they feed.The Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club
The Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club is the only residence located on the Conservancy and this circular economy project will allow guests to appreciate the beauty of the mountain, its forests, extraordinary glades and wildlife, whilst supporting the Conservancy in its development.
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| Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club |
Planting trees is one such way that guests can show their support for the Conservancy, with a mature tree producing enough oxygen for 10 people tree each year and providing habitat and food for the giraffes.
Guests are encouraged to plant as many trees as will equal their carbon footprint, an activity the hotel will organise in the conservancy, together with the local community and with tree saplings bought from the Community Forest Association.
Through this partnership with local communities, to date MKWC has involved 3,000 community members in planting over 35,000 indigenous trees of a variety of species in Mount Kenya Forest.
Guests who stay at Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club.
The Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, which was started in the 1960s by Hollywood celebrity William Holden. It is today a countryside manor with a park that is home to more than a hundred of species, including elephants, buffalos, endangered bongos, birds, gazelles, and warthogs.
The Animal Orphanage here takes care of orphaned, abandoned and injured wildlife, with the aim of releasing them back into their natural habitat once they are back to optimal health and fully recovered.
* Roberta Tanase at r@bspokeassociates.com
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