The Frontlines of Conservation with Taru and Roan Carr-Hartley

What’s the most unexpected adventure you’ve had on the job?

Roan Carr-Hartley: Once we were driving from Kenya to Tanzania to stay in the middle of a remote National Park called Selous Game Reserve. It's a four-hour drive where we were going and it's pouring with rain, eight inches an hour, which is sort of record rain for Tanzania. The road was dark, the car lights weren’t very good and the road was also washed away. We ended up flipping the car in the middle of the park. It was me and a couple of friends and we had to spend the night there trying to get the car out. There was no signal and it was pouring. Luckily there’d been a seasonal burn in the park to promote new vegetation growth. Thankfully there was a tiny little log that was still glowing with embers so we had a fire there. We just sat by the fire warming up waiting for another car to drive past and eventually, around five hours later a car drove past and flipped us on our roof again and off we went.

Left: Roan Carr-Hartley wearing LOVE BRAND & Co. Men's Olive Green Andros Shirt and Men's Stone Burrow Linen Shorts.

Taru Carr-Hartley: I was with the helicopter and out doing something with the anti-poaching teams. I got back in to start it up again and I look to my left. Through the perspex of the windscreen is a massive bull elephant standing right next to me. My heart stopped - I was like holy smokes this thing's about to go through the helicopter.

But within a few seconds, I recognised straight away who it was - one of the ex-orphans Kilaguni who's got all these tatty ears because he was chewed by hyenas when he was much younger. 

So I hopped out and walked up to him. He initially didn't come straight away. He waited at a distance for a bit and just heard me calling his name. He picked up his trunk and started smelling, seeing if I was friendly and who I was. Then once he recognised me or felt comfortable he came right up to me to where I could touch him. I almost backed up a little bit and I was like oh my goodness. It was very hectic because he was a hundred kilometres from the integration centre. With the elephants, you always need to be a little bit careful. You don't know how they're going to react away from their safe space. You don't know what their interactions with people have been. Of course, if he's had a bad experience with poachers or people he might be a little more hesitant, but he definitely smelled and figured out who I was. He walked right up to me looking for that social interaction of his family, essentially the people who saved his life. And then he proceeded to walk right up to the helicopter and roll around in the dust right in front of it, this massive bull elephant, like he’d met an old friend. 

Image: Taru Carr-Hartley wearing LOVE BRAND & Co. Men's White Andros Shirt & Men's Bee Propelled Staniel Swim Shorts.

Made any animal besties on the job? Got a favourite?

Taru: Yeah, I'd say definitely. There are elephants, like Lempaute, that have particularly stood out along the way, as well as lots of other little critters. From as small as bush babies and squirrels to serval cats and all hosts of different antelopes and rhinos, each one holds this unique place and story in our childhood and that part of our lives.

Roan: There's a little duiker at the moment who's a lot of fun to spend time with. He’s called Harvey and he's very confident. He's not skittish at all. He comes up and licks your whole body and allows you to do anything with him really - pick him up and hold him. He's an orphan here at the trust.

What does the future look like for the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust?

Taru: I think poaching is the thing that hits the headlines and that's what everyone feels is the biggest threat to wildlife, whereas that’s completely changed from when I started. It probably was poaching when I was 18, but now it's completely swung the other way and it's loss of habitat and human-wildlife conflict by far that is the biggest threat to wildlife. 

Rob (Executive Director, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust): Animals particularly elephants need vast areas to grow. And they'll follow these kind of routes that have been there for Millennia. So if a railway station gets built there or a train line or a road. They don't care they'll walk over it. And if a new community appears, it doesn't mean anything to them.

Taru: It’s all about securing these big tracks of land that can be used as perfect wildlife habitats but are instead heading for land for human activity. Trying to secure that land for wildlife is one of the biggest things going forward for the trust.

It’s exactly what Rob says animals don't see boundaries. They've done this for millions of years and it's ingrained in their natural beings. This is what our ancestors used to do, this is where our ancestors used to go in the dry season. So trying to keep as much of that land for wildlife as possible, which isn’t actually that much, is a big focus.

Roan: I think in terms of what's next as well is implementing new software and new technology. We've had a big shift in the way we operate and manage our field operations through a system called Earth Ranger. I think we'll see more and more of that as the trust grows and as this software and technology develops.

Taru: It’s been a massive game changer for us to help us become more efficient and effective. With all kinds of things from invasive species management to managing protected areas. Taking on board this new technology as we go forward is definitely a big thing in conservation. Not just for the trust but many conservation organisations throughout Africa are taking it on board.