The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (also known as Lewa Downs) is located in northern

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. It was formed in and is a wildlife sanctuary which together with the adjacent Ngare Ndare Forest covers over . The Conservancy is home to a wide variety of wildlife including the rare and endangered

black rhino The black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis''), also called the black rhino or the hooked-lip rhinoceros, is a species of rhinoceros native to East and Southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namib ...

s, Grevy's zebras and

sitatunga The sitatunga (''Tragelaphus spekii'') or marshbuck is a swamp-dwelling medium-sized antelope found throughout central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, parts of South Sudan, Southern ...

s. It also includes the big five (

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

s and

Cape buffalo The African buffalo (''Syncerus caffer)'' is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head, referred to ...

es). Lewa holds over 12% of Kenya's

eastern black rhinoceros The eastern black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis michaeli''), also known as the East African black rhinoceros, is a subspecies of the black rhinoceros. Its numbers are very low due to poaching for its horn, and it is listed as critically endanger ...

population and the largest single population of Grevy's zebras in the world (approximately 350 individuals). Lewa has its own education program that helps develop schools and students. Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is located in

Meru County Meru County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located in the former Eastern Province. It borders Isiolo County to the north, Tharaka-Nithi County to the South, Nyeri County to the southwest and Laikipia County to the west. Meru County has a ...

, south of

Isiolo Isiolo is a town in Isiolo County, of which it is the capital. It is located in the upper eastern region of Kenya and is geographically considered the center of the country Kenya. It lies 285 kilometers north of the capital Nairobi. The town gr ...

town but north of

Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Meru people, Meru: ''Kĩrĩmaara,'' Kikuyu people, Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba language, Kamba: ''Ki nyaa'', Embu language, Embu: ''Kĩ nyaga'') is an extinct volcano in Kenya and the Highest mountain peaks of Africa, second-highe ...

History

The Craig-Douglas family were allocated the land by the British colonial government in 1922 and managed it as a cattle ranch for over 50 years. In 1983, the Craigs and Anna Merz, who funded the program, decided to establish the fenced and guarded Ngare Sergoi Rhino Sanctuary at the western end of Lewa Downs. Ten years later, the sanctuary was expanded to cover the rest of the ranch, and in 1994 the adjoining Ngare Ndare Forest Reserve was included within the fence, creating a wildlife preserve. In 2001, Lewa partnered with Gerald Chamales to change his company's name to Rhinotek Computer Products, when the company began sending part of its annual revenue to support Lewa.

Wildlife

In 2015, Edward Ndiritu, employed at Lewa as head of the Anti-Poaching Unit and the Northern Rangeland Trust, received the Tusk Wildlife Ranger Award from

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

References

External links

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
{{authority control National parks of Kenya Protected areas established in 1995