Meet Charles: Custodian of Giants
Charles Kinyua was born in Laikipia County, Kenya, almost half a century ago. Growing up, his home bordered the Rumuruti forests. As the forests disappeared, the trees cut down to be used as charcoal, elephants would abandon the forests in search of food - raiding nearby community farms.
He witnessed first-hand the impact as elephants and people’s lives collided. Elephants damaged farmers' livelihoods and sometimes posed a serious risk to people’s lives. As a result, elephants become deliberate targets - peppered, maimed, and even killed.
“Poisoning, spearing, and weapons were used to prevent elephants from destroying the community's farms,” says Charles.
Today,Charles patrols the Laikipia landscape as one of our dedicated human-elephant conflict scouts. He spends his days tracking collared bull elephants on his motorbike and is the first one to respond to community members who have been devastated by crop raids.
“I visit people’s farms, and I see the damage that an elephant has done. I know that the farmer, who has lost a year’s worth of savings when his crops were destroyed, will not be able to sustain himself for the next planting season,” says Charles.
Over the years, he has seen the destruction that has accompanied this conflict; farmers’ entire livelihoods destroyed in a single night, elephants held hostage after a night of crop-raiding, and deaths caused by desperate methods to keep the elephants away.
However, thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the team, the human-elephant conflict has been reduced by 70% in Laikipia since 2016. By combining technology with pioneering smart electric fences, Charles and the team have been able to help prevent elephant bulls from leaving conservation areas and respond in times of crisis by moving crop-raiding elephants back to their habitat.
“The journey has been tough. We have achieved a lot but we still have much to do,” says Charles.
Show your support for our custodians this World Elephant Day.
Your donation will help us provide immediate support to areas with the greatest need to help ensure people and wildlife can coexist peacefully.
With gratitude,
Space for Giants Team
