A safari ranger at the 2,800-hectare Olderkesi Conservancy — which is home to Cottar’s 1920s safari camp — Hellen Mako is breaking down cultural barriers and challenging gender stereotypes
Despite tourism, vast national parks like the Masai Mara and Serengeti are constantly under threat from poachers. Rangers like Hellen Mako strive to make a difference, protecting wildlife and working with local communities to bring peace to the vast grasslands of east Africa.
What’s your role?
I’m head of station at the Airstrip Ranger Station, where I’m responsible for a team of four female rangers. We patrol the sector around the airstrip, ensuring it’s secure and clear of illegal activities. We also ensure the airstrip is kept safe for aircraft, and we monitor all airstrip use.
I’m also involved in community outreach activities including conservation education and menstrual health education.
How did you become a safari ranger – was it a difficult process?
I heard there was a rangers training taking place at the Olderkesi Conservancy, and I applied. It wasn’t easy, as the fitness training was very challenging, and we had to undergo a lot of drills.
What inspired you to become a ranger?
I’ve wanted to be a ranger since I was young. I was born and grew up in a place where we lived together with the wildlife.
How does your work impact the community?
It’s an encouragement to other local women that what a man can do, a woman can do better. I like engaging with the local community and educating them about conservation. I feel that by doing my job well, I’m securing wildlife for myself and future generations. By educating the community about conservation, they can lease more land to create more habitat for wildlife.
What are the most challenging aspects of your role?
The lack of cooperation from the local community who don’t always understand female empowerment. It can sometimes be difficult for us women to work in a male-dominated environment. Also, as conservancy rangers, we aren’t armed, and sometimes we face unfriendly wildlife or even poachers who are armed, and it can be difficult to deal with them.
Have there been any scary moments?
Yes, during our patrol, we met with herders looking after cattle in the conservation area, which is illegal. When I tried to stop them, they became aggressive and wanted to fight. We had to arrest them.
Are there more women becoming safari rangers? How are they supported?
Yes, there are many women who have the passion to become rangers. They are given opportunities to work in conservancies and training to support their passion. Like me, they can also attain leadership positions in conservation.
What have been some of the highlight moments in your career so far and why?
Being selected to join a three-month training program at the Kenya Wildlife Service Law Enforcement Academy. I want to gain more knowledge on how to handle poachers and monitor wildlife. I also like to prove that I can do more than men. We can better connect with the Maasai women from our local communities, and when we explain to them why they shouldn’t cut trees down, they listen. Lots of the village girls want to be like us!
What is the biggest threat to the Serengeti and Maasai Mara right now?
Climate change and lack of habitat.
Why should people visit the Olderkesi Conservancy?
It’s a very special place with a wide range of wildlife and plant species, and it’s in an excellent location as it borders the Serengeti National Park and Maasai Mara Game Reserve. The area’s elephants, big cats and giraffes are free to roam the conservancy in peace, and you’ll find them in the grasslands, forests, riverine valleys and woodlands. There’s also a main throughway for the great annual wildebeest migration in Olderkesi.
The original version of this story ran in JETSETTER Magazine
