LNLS emerge top at the 2023 Wildlife Ranger Challenge

The event which was sponsored by Tusk Trust and the Game Ranger Association of Africa (GRAA) brought together more than 1,500 ranger runners and 65 teams from 16 African countries who participated in mental and physical challenges in the half marathon challenge in order to raise money to add to the USD16 million the initiative has raised in its first three years.

Teams present included Mountain Bongo Surveillance, Mugie Conservancy, Loisaba Conservancy, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Northern Rangeland Trust, Ol Maisor Ranch, Mount Kenya Trust, Karisia Walking Safaris, Borana Conservancy, Ol Jogi Conservancy and Ngare Ndare Forest Trust.

Speaking after the marathon, Franco Kasana, one of the Loisaba conservancy team mates who won the challenge said, “It’s a nice feeling having won the race. It wasn’t easy due to the tough course and having to carry a 22 kilos ranger bag.  We have been training for two months now and as a ranger I’m now challenged that as a ranger I must stay strong when carrying on my duties and it has also boosted my mental strength.”

Daniel Yiankere, a Loisaba Conservancy security manager, hailed the sponsors for making the challenge happen.

“I’m so very proud of my team for emerging the winner in this hard challenge. Despite the tough conditions, they emerged the best. It’s well done from the organizers and I believe the challenge has added more value into the lives of the rangers.”

Tusk Trust programme director Sarah Watson hailed all the participants noting that the challenge has assisted them in raising money to conserve forests across the world.

“We set up the challenge in the beginning of Covid to asses rangers from across Africa because many of them had lost their jobs because of lack of tourism and funding that was coming in to Africa, so we set up the challenge in order raise money and also awareness about the wellness of rangers because they are in the front line of Africa conservation and without them we couldn’t have the natural wild.”

Since the start in 2020, we have now raised over USD16 million and it goes to rangers across Africa and to raise awareness that’s why we decided to organize the event.”