Mara Elephant Project added six new high-tech drones to its conservation fleet this second quarter, thanks to Aero Smart UAV and Expert Drones Africa. These new additions include two powerful DJI Matrice 4T and four Mavic 3T drones, fully equipped with thermal imaging and night vision to help our rangers monitor elephants around the clock.
Whether it’s gently guiding elephants away from farms, spotting injuries in thick forest, or responding to human-elephant conflict before it escalates, these drones are game changers. With multi-sensor tech, subject tracking, and precision night ops, MEP is now flying farther, seeing clearer, and acting faster to protect elephants and support local communities.
During World Female Ranger Week, MEP honored its female rangers and all the women supporting their efforts to protect elephants and their habitats. MEP Ranger Purity Masuntu shared her story that since starting her career at MEP in 2020, she’s been deployed to protect the two main forest areas within the Mara, was promoted to corporal, and is one of 18 rangers at MEP to earn a drone pilot’s license. Purity’s dedication to her work inspires her community to follow her example in conservation.
Caroline Payne, the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) lead at the British High Commission and UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Nairobi, visited MEP in April. Caroline was on a partner’s project visit in the Mara landscape, and MEP was one of her stops. She learned firsthand how MEP is using cutting-edge conservation technologies to save elephants and promote coexistence in a landscape with increased conflict levels between humans and wildlife.
MEP also participated in this year’s Twende Porini, an Asilia program that engages children from local communities in conservation. Sixteen children from four primary schools experienced a 4-day camp, which included game drives and educational opportunities to learn more about the conservation activities taking place in the Mara landscape. MEP is proud to partner with Asilia on this amazing initiative to nurture the next generation of conservation heroes.
In early May, MEP hosted a group of five guests from the King Salman Royal Nature Reserve in Saudi Arabia. They visited MEP to learn more about our use of the EarthRanger software, as well as to evaluate various analytical approaches to data visualization. The group had been accompanied by our partner, Henrik Rasmussen from Savannah Tracking Limited.
Finally, the Fran Duthie Scholarship for African Elephant Conservation continues to empower aspiring Kenyan conservationists. So far in 2025, Leshan advanced his studies through self-directed learning, diving into online resources and peer discussions, Mark took part in a global dialogue on climate resilience, biodiversity, and sustainable agriculture at Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) event at the United Nations in Nairobi, Sumaiyah participated in a wildlife census with the Athi Kapiti Wildlife Conservancies Association and contributed to the draft report of their findings. Mary Wangari started her internship at MEP. She jumped right in with the education team and participated in tree planting, attended an elephant monitoring activity, and visited the MEP coexistence farm.
