The Tsavo National Park is one of the 52 travel destinations highlighted by the New York Times among the best destinations to visit in 2024.
Highlighting its elephant population, the magazine said the “Tsavo, {was} home to Africa’s most successful elephant rehabilitation program, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.”
In 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, listed the African savanna elephant endangered on its red list.
Kenya’s first wildlife census conducted in 2021, recorded a 12 per cent surge in the elephant population and the home of 36,280 endangered elephants making the country and the Tsavo a shining example of how beneficial wildlife rehabilitation could be.
At the time, the then President, Uhuru Kenyatta, lauded the Kenya Wildlife Services efforts by saying, “Kenya is leading the way by implementing bold and decisive actions to conserve and promote our ecological wealth.”
Pointing out its appeal as a travel destination for the animal and safari lover, the NYT contributor Danielle Pergament praised the trust’s work and its eco-lodges.
“At its heart are several core conservation projects, including an elephant orphanage, rehabilitation units and mobile veterinary clinics that have treated more than 11,000 animals, including some 3,500 elephants, since 1977.
The organization has rehabilitated and released 200 elephant orphans (120 are still in their care) and runs anti-poaching teams, builds water sources and secures vulnerable boundaries.
The wildlife trust also manages six small eco-lodges, which provide local jobs and help its conservation work.”
The Ithumba Camp, which is one of the lodges run by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, is located in the Tsavo East National Park and offers an opportunity for guests to see their conservation efforts up close by visiting the Ithumba Reintegration Unit established in 2004.
It is one of their most successful Reintegration Units, where dozens of orphaned elephants have found their way back to the wild.
The Tsavo appears at number 31 on the list alongside destinations in Morrocco, Singapore, India, Iceland and more.
