Cookson Adventures facilitates one of Kenya’s largest rhino translocations
At a glance
- Cookson Adventures releases Keystone: How to move a rhino, a short documentary going behind the scenes of a translocation of 14 rhinos in central Kenya
- This vital conservation project was facilitated by Cookson Adventures and funded as part of their client’s thought-leadership adventure
- The film was premiered at an event at London’s Royal Geographic Society on Tuesday 9th July 2024, with the company’s founder Henry Cookson leading a debate on the impact of tourism in Africa
All media on this page taken on the project
July 2024, London: 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 and is a window into witnessing the high stakes involved when trying to translocate 14 of the world’s largest and most critically endangered mammals.
The purpose of this translocation was to move rhinos to safer locations within the private 58,000-acre Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy in central Kenya where they can be protected. There is an additional need to also diversify breeding opportunities and establish another viable population as well as ensure that they 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 they 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 only made possible with funding by a private group on a thought-leadership adventure. It’s a powerful example of how through private travel, guests can leave a positive and long-lasting legacy on both the local wildlife and communities they visit by protecting a keystone species.
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 or tortoises by heli in the Galápagos and the uncovering of an ancient Roman shipwreck by submersible off the Italian coastline.
Rhino being prepared for translocation
Individual on the move
The release
Team of veterinarians, conservationists and KWS staff monitor
For all media enquiries or for more information, interviews or images, please contact Tamsin Graham
[email protected]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 be involved in include elephant collaring in northern Kenya, the reintroduction of new species in the Congo Basin and polar bear tracking in Greenland.
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).
