Resson Kantai, a 30-year-old holder of a Master’s degree in Conservation from Oxford University, is always at ease mingling with pastoral communities in Kenya’s remote outposts. Her passion is to conserve elephants that roam Kenya’s vast plains.
“I divide my time between Nairobi and Samburu where I run education programs on wildlife conservation. My family is very supportive of my current work to promote conservation of elephants,” she said.
Kantai is the head of awareness with Save the Elephants, a Kenya-based charity that has been spearheading global campaigns to promote the conservation of the big mammal.
Being the daughter of a father from the nomadic Maasai community gave Kantai an upper hand when it came to knowledge of the wildlife species.
“The culture of my father’s Maasai community is very linked to wildlife and I feel obliged to be part of noble efforts to protect them,” she said.
Katai’s Bachelor’s degree in Biology that was followed by a Master’s in Conservation at the Oxford enriched her knowledge of flora and fauna.
Her stint at Save the Elephants has broadened her worldview, and she is at ease mingling with people from different cultures to discuss new strategies to boost conservation of iconic mammals.
The charity has initiated projects in northern Kenyan county of Samburu to help integrate local communities in efforts to protect the iconic mammal from poachers.
“Currently, I am spending more time in Nairobi doing administrative work while developing a curriculum for teaching conservation in schools,” noted Kantai
Kantai has been at the frontline mobilizing opinion leaders and local communities to put more efforts in conservation of elephants. Like other young conservationists, she is concerned about wildlife crimes that have escalated in Kenya and other parts of Africa.
“In January 2013, I saw a dead elephant for the first time and the gruesome experience always lingers in my mind. The young male elephant in his early 20s was killed because of his tusk,” said Kantai.
She blames ignorance among citizens in the source and consumer markets for the slaughter of elephants, but noted that awareness campaigns have made a difference.
“It is sad that ignorance propel people to kill elephants for their tusks while consumers are unaware how loss of the jumbos cause havoc to the ecosystem and the economy,” Kantai remarked.
Kantai and her young colleagues have pledged to revitalize grassroots campaigns to strengthen protection of elephants in their natural habitat.
Source: Xinhua
