Kenya’s first female wildlife rangers unit

Team Lioness is Kenya’s first all female unit of community wildlife rangers. Created in 2019, the team is stationed near the traditional community land around Amboseli National Park on the border of Tanzania and Kenya. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) team of 16 female rangers. The unit patrols the community lands of the Olgulului-Ololarashi Group Ranch (OOGR). Through a competitive process, rangers are selected based on high school level, fitness and an interest in wildlife conservation. During the patrols, the women are taught to be silent and use sign language to become invisible in dangerous situations. The rangers defend animals against the poaching and retaliatory killings of elephants, lions, giraffes, cheetahs, and other iconic wildlife. The larger ranger team has witnessed a positive change. Women-only wildlife protection groups have sprung up in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.