Tsavo named The New York Times’ ’52 Best Places to Visit in 2024′
The New York Times has spotlighted Tsavo National Park as a premier destination in its prestigious ’52 Best Places to Visit in 2024′.
This coveted annual list, meticulously curated by leading travel experts, has catapulted the national park into the global spotlight, making it the only Kenyan location to grace the list.
Kenya is one of the few African countries, alongside Morocco, Madagascar and Egypt to secure a spot on this prestigious list, joining the ranks of destinations such as France, Japan, Hawaii and Singapore among others.
From celebrating Africa’s most successful elephant rehabilitation program at the Tsavo National Park, Kenya, to supporting local recovery in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Morocco and to exploring textiles and contemporary art in Madagascar and Hurghada’s abundant marine ecosystem, The Times says, adding there are travel ideas for every type of traveller.
According to the publication, in 2021, African savanna elephants went from vulnerable to endangered, putting them on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list for possible extinction. But in Kenya, the elephant population has grown by 21 per cent since 2014, to 36,280. Almost half live in Tsavo, home to Africa’s most successful elephant rehabilitation program, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
“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,” says NYT.
It adds that the organization has rehabilitated and released 200 elephant orphans (120 are still in their care) 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.
“In 2024, the trust will open the first lodge next to the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary, dedicated to saving the critically endangered black rhino,” it says.
The Trust, a pioneering conservation organisations for wildlife and habitat protection in East Africa, was founded in 1977 by Dr Dame Daphne Sheldrick D.B.E, in honour of the memory of her late husband, famous naturalist and founding Warden of Tsavo East National Park, David Leslie William Sheldrick MBE.
It embraces all measures that complement the conservation, preservation and protection of wildlife, including anti-poaching, safeguarding the natural environment and enhancing community awareness.
It’s also involved in addressing animal welfare issues, providing veterinary assistance to animals in need, and rescuing and hand-rearing elephant and rhino orphans, along with other species that can ultimately enjoy a quality of life in wild terms when grown.
Conservationists have predicted that at the current rate of elephant poaching, with an estimated one elephant killed every 15 minutes for its ivory, a lack of action could see extinction of the species in Africa by 2025.