Photo by @amivitale. Last year, I photographed Samburu warriors from Sera in northern Kenya who had never seen rhinos before visiting Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (@lewa_wildlife). They were completely mesmerized by Lewa's baby rhinos Nicky, Hope and Kilifi, and couldn't wait to have the rhino reintroduced to their land. Rhinos have not existed on Sera and much of northern Kenya since 1990, when the last one was shot by poachers. As a result, there is a whole generation in the area who likely have never seen a wild rhino. Only their grandfathers have memory of the iconic animals. The dream to have rhinos back on this land where they once roamed in thousands has now come true — @lewa_wildlife, Northern Rangelands Trust (@nrt_kenya) and Kenya Wildlife Service (@kenyawildlifeservice) this week began a groundbreaking move to return the black rhino to Sera. This will be the first time in East Africa a local community will be responsible for the protection and management of the highly threatened species, an important shift in Kenya's conservation efforts. The rhinos have been released into a highly protected sanctuary within the community conservancy. The establishment of this sanctuary will increase tourism opportunities, enhance security as well as promote biodiversity in Sera. It is also a proud and emotional moment for the entire community - rhinos will no longer just be in the stories grandfathers tell. #savetherhinos #natureisspeaking #rhinos #nature #wild #wildlife #conservation #animals #endangered #endangeredspecies #naturelovers #lewa #lewawildlifeconservancy #Kenya #magicalkenya #Africa #conservation #animals #NikonNoFilter #nikon #nikonambassador #amivitale #photojournalism #onassignment @nature_africa @natgeocreative @thephotosociety @nikonusa @natgeo
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