Maasai women against poachers: Kenya’s first female rangers | DW Documentary

Maasai women Leah and Purity are rangers in the Kenyan bushveld. Every day, they travel around Amboseli National Park. They never know which animal they will come across next: It could be a buffalo attacking them or a herd of elephants approaching dangerously close to the villages. The two young rangers work at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Amboseli National Park. Every day, they walk 25 kilometers through the savannah to track down wild animals and document their populations. The more they know about the animals, the better they can protect the people in the surrounding villages. It is often Maasai herdsmen who experience conflicts with wild animals while searching for food with their herds. That’s when Leah and Purity are called in. They might need to mediate because a herder has lost a cow and wants to retaliate against the wild animal. They might need to reassure a traumatized village woman after a hyena attack on herself and her herd of goats. Leah and Purity don’t have it easy in life themselves - as Maasai women, they have to fight against discrimination and rigid traditions. However, the female rangers have gained respect and the number of wild animal killings has decreased since they started patrolling the bushveld on a daily basis. This is a story about two women who are committed to the peaceful coexistence of humans and wild animals — and who achieve their own personal independence in the process.