Visit rhinos and chimps at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Don’t miss the chance to see the world’s last two northern white rhinos, as well as black rhinos and rescued chimps at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Located in Laikipia, the 90,000-acre conservancy was once a working cattle ranch in colonial times and is now a sanctuary for wildlife, including the Big Five. In fact, it has one of the highest densities of predators in Kenya and offers some of the country’s most exciting game drives.

The main draw at Ol Pejeta is definitely the rhinos. As the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa, it offers guaranteed sightings of these critically endangered animals. When the programme started in 1993, there were just 20 black rhinos in the park and now there are over 140. When you visit, there’s a chance to feed Baraka, a blind black rhino who lost one eye defending his territory and the other to a crystallised cataract. He couldn’t survive in the wild and now lives in a special enclosure at the conservancy.

Ol Pejeta is also home to around 30 southern white rhinos, who, as a species have been brought back from the brink of extinction. In addition, there’s a unique opportunity to see the world’s two remaining northern white rhinos, who live in a 700-acre enclosure that’s guarded around the clock. Sadly, the last male, Sudan, died a year and a half ago but cutting-edge technology preserved his sperm, so there’s a chance for a subspecies to be created through in vitro fertilisation. It’s never been attempted before in rhinos.

I’d recommend visiting the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary in the conservancy too. When the Burundi rescue centre had to close in 1993 because of civil war, Ol Pejeta stepped in to save the animals. Chimps aren’t native to Kenya and this is the only place in the country where you’ll see them. Partly established by the Jane Goodall Institute, Sweetwaters is home to 35 rescue chimps who roam around a 300-acre area by the river, returning to enclosures to feed and sleep.