Cookson Adventures facilitates one of Kenya’s largest rhino translocations & releases new documentary
Philanthropy in action through private travel
- Cookson Adventures releases Keystone: How To Move A Rhino, a short documentary film currently being submitted to film festivals. It takes viewers behind the scenes on a complex translocation of 14 endangered rhino in central Kenya.
- This large-scale conservation project was made possible by a Cookson client, who funded and contributed to this vital operation as part of a thought-leadership adventure.
All media taken on Cookson Adventures trips
One of Kenya’s largest rhino translocations to date has been made possible by a client of luxury travel company Cookson Adventures. To showcase this conservation success story, Cookson Adventures, has launched a thought-provoking short film called Keystone: How To Move A Rhino. Co-produced by Coldhouse Collective, this inspirational documentary takes viewers to the heart of this complex operation. It’s a window into witnessing the high stakes involved when trying to translocate 14 of the world’s largest and most critically endangered mammals. The film is currently being submitted to several film festivals around the world.
The purpose of this translocation was to move rhinos to a safer location within the private 58,000-acre Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy in central Kenya, where lethal in-species infighting can be avoided and they can be better protected. As such, was a strong need to diversify breeding opportunities and establish another viable population, as well as ensure that the rhinos and the surrounding ecosystem can continue to grow and thrive for future generations.
Taking place in late 2022, Ol Jogi had been trying to secure funding for over two years to move the rhino and the situation had become critical. Through the conservancy’s successful conservation efforts, the rhino population has grown to over 100 individuals and is an important stronghold for the safety of the species. Reduced space to roam had led to some of the adults becoming territorial and aggressive, leading to the loss of individuals from infighting. On average, a rhino is still poached every 16 hours in Africa, so the threat of extinction remains omnipresent.
This translocation was made possible with funding by a private group on a thought-leadership adventure, put together by Cookson Adventures. It’s a powerful example of how – through private travel – guests can leave a positive and long-lasting legacy on the local wildlife, ecosystem and communities they visit by helping to protect a keystone species.
Over several weeks, Ol Jogi worked in close partnership with The Kenya Wildlife Service, mobilising a large team – from vets and logistics workers to environmentalists and helicopter pilots to track and locate the rhinos. A mix of healthy female and male rhinos were selected in advance, giving them the best chance for future success in their new location. Cookson’s clients closely supported the on-the-ground team, monitoring the rhinos’ vitals and witnessing the rhinos’ release back into the wild. The rhinos have since settled well into their new home and continue to be monitored daily by the Ol Jogi rangers to ensure they are protected from the ever-present threat of poachers.
Cookson Adventures’ hyper-personalised approach to travel planning and access to a global network of experts ensure clients often gain unique access to locations and experts, which would otherwise be inaccessible. Past adventures have resulted in the discovery of a new sub species of orca off Cape Horn, the rehoming of hundreds of tortoises by heli in the Galápagos and the uncovering of an ancient Roman shipwreck by submersible off the Italian coastline.
HOW: Cookson Adventures design bespoke travel adventures around the globe, creating unique new experiences tailored to each client’s passions and interests. Upcoming private conservation projects clients can impact include elephant collaring in northern Kenya, the reintroduction of new species into the Congo Basin and polar bear tracking in Greenland.
For all media enquiries or for more information, interviews or images, please contact Tamsin Graham
[email protected]About Ol Jogi
Ol Jogi’s habitat is renowned for having the highest diversity of large mammals on the planet. For several of the most seriously endangered species like Eastern Black Rhino, Ol Jogi serves as a crucial breeding habitat. Ol Jogi’s goal is to stop additional extinctions by safeguarding wild animals and their environments. It aims to be a leading model for private conservation, with relentless efforts to pioneer new methods and techniques enabling them to protect wildlife and assist local communities.
About Cookson Adventures
Founded in 2009, Cookson Adventures has pioneered the concept of world firsts in luxury adventure travel. From organising the first manned submersible dive in Antarctica to carrying out crucial conservation work in the Galápagos Islands, the company is putting luxury at the heart of extraordinary journeys.
Cookson Adventures meticulously crafts travel experiences that mix adventure and luxury for its global client base. Through its worldwide network of dedicated experts including scientist, marine biologists, conservations, and award-winning photographers, adventures are designed for people with a curiosity and thirst for exploring without sacrificing the highest levels of comfort and safety.
Cookson Adventures has committed to carbon neutrality across its expeditions. The team sources audited and measurable carbon offset and reduction projects that are geographically relevant to each trip.
Henry Cookson, the company’s founder, is a dedicated adventurer and a Guinness World Record holder for the first expedition to the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility (the exact centre of the Antarctic continent).
