Conservation
Black Rhino · Lewa, Kenya
What we keepwild.
The Guided Safaris® research lab in San Francisco is dedicated to shaping a more sustainable and responsible vision of luxury safaris.
The programsI – V · Kenya · Rwanda · Botswana · South Africa · Indian Ocean
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Black Rhino
Kenya & BotswanaKenya counted 1,147 black rhino at the end of 2025, up from a few hundred in the 1980s. The work now is room: new sanctuaries like Segera, and the safe passage of founders into them from Ol Pejeta and the Lewa–Borana landscape. In the Okavango, Duba Plains was a release site for Rhinos Without Borders.
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Elephant
KenyaThe Sheldrick Wildlife Trust runs the orphan rescue we have supported longest, and Big Life Foundation keeps rangers on Maasai land around Amboseli, where the Amboseli Trust for Elephants knew 2,065 living elephants by name at the end of 2025.
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Big Cat
Kenya, Botswana & South AfricaThe Big Cats Initiative began with Dereck and Beverly Joubert and National Geographic, and has lived inside the Great Plains Foundation since 2022. We also follow the leopards of the Sabi Sand, where guides’ sightings have become life histories of more than 800 leopards since 1979.
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Gorilla
RwandaThe Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has watched the gorillas of the Virungas since 1967 and works today from the Ellen DeGeneres Campus. Gorilla Doctors has treated wild gorillas since 1986. The Virunga population rose from about 274 in the early 1970s to at least 604 in 2016.
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Marine Life
Indian OceanIn the Bazaruto seascape, East Africa’s main remaining dugongs share the water with humpback whales, reef mantas and bull sharks. The Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies has run an ocean observatory there since 2017, and African Parks has managed the national park since December 2017.
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Field notesResearch library
Field notes · 6 places
BotswanaThe OkavangoWorld Heritage since 2014
KenyaMara conservanciesSince 2006
South AfricaSabi SandOpen to Kruger since 1993
RwandaNyungweMontane forest
MozambiqueBazarutoProtected since 1971
Plate to comeThe Shoebill
of Akagera RwandaAkageraRestocked since 2010
of Akagera RwandaAkageraRestocked since 2010
Lions back since 2015 and black rhino since 2017, with Shoebills in the papyrus.
BotswanaThe OkavangoWorld Heritage since 2014One river, 3 countries, and a peak flood of about 3,900 square miles in 2011.
KenyaMara conservanciesSince 200625 conservancies and more than 17,000 Maasai landowners.
South AfricaSabi SandOpen to Kruger since 1993Panthera’s archive of more than 800 leopards since 1979, built from guides’ sightings.
RwandaNyungweMontane forestRwanda’s southwestern rainforest, home to chimpanzees and colobus monkeys.
MozambiqueBazarutoProtected since 1971About 325 dugongs in 2021, and 86 turtle nests in 2024, the most since monitoring began.
The partnersOn the ground
- Kenya Wildlife ServiceKenya
- ZEITZ foundation · SegeraLaikipia
- Ol Pejeta ConservancyLaikipia
- Lewa Wildlife ConservancyLaikipia
- Sheldrick Wildlife TrustKenya
- Big Life FoundationAmboseli
- Amboseli Trust for ElephantsAmboseli
- Great Plains FoundationBotswana · Kenya
- Rhinos Without BordersBotswana
- Big Cats InitiativePan-African
- PantheraSabi Sand
- Dian Fossey Gorilla FundRwanda
- Gorilla Doctors · UC DavisRwanda
- Rwanda Development BoardRwanda
- Jane Goodall InstituteKenya
- African ParksBazaruto
- Bazaruto Center for Scientific StudiesMozambique
- The Cousteau SocietyIndian Ocean
Working with travel partners and conservation projects in the field, the Guided Safaris® research lab teams share new ideas from across Africa that highlight key conservation efforts on ground. Staying in close contact throughout this supplier chain ensures that the whole network shares a responsible and innovative approach.
A Living Thread
Conservation at the heart of every journey
Over 30 years in Private African journeys.
Supporting key conservation initiatives across sub-Saharan Africa, Guided Safaris® journeys feature the continent’s finest private game reserves and award-winning eco-luxury camps and lodges that safeguard endangered wildlife through low-impact, sustainable travel.
We are honored to share our stories, safari craftsmanship and commitment to the African wilderness with you.
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