Rhino Ark Charitable Trust is a Kenyan trust (Trustee Act Cap 167) and registered NGO (NGO Coordination Act, 1990) focused on mountain forests, water catchments and the species that depend on them.

Where are Rhino Ark offices located?

Main offices are at the Kenya Wildlife Service Headquarters Complex on Langata Road in Nairobi. There is a field office for the Aberdare / Mount Kenya ecosystems in Nyeri, and branch offices in the UK and USA.

How and why was Rhino Ark founded?

Ken Kuhle formed the trust in 1988 after poaching and crop raids made coexistence around the Aberdares untenable. The first fix was an electric fence with Kenya Wildlife Service on the Eastern Salient; that success scaled into today’s multi-landscape programmes.

What are Rhino Ark’s vision and mission?

Vision and mission statements are published on the About page and in annual reports. In short: restore balance between people, forests and wildlife, and deliver high-impact conservation that neighbours can feel in daily life.

Why build electric fences?

Where farms touch forest, a well-placed electrified fence gives wildlife room inside and farmers predictability outside. Independent placement studies on the Aberdares showed conflict can fall sharply without abandoning core habitat.

How are the fences constructed?

Rhino Ark fences stand seven feet above ground and descend three feet below it. Lower sections use tight-lock mesh to deter burrowing wildlife. Above ground, upright posts are hot-wired to prevent climbing animals. Animal grids are sited where fences traverse roads.

Can an electric fence cause bodily harm?

No. It is a psychological barrier. Energizers send well-controlled strong but short-lived pulses that do not cause bodily harm, but are sufficiently unpleasant to act as an effective deterrent.

How does Rhino Ark support mountain bongo conservation?

Rhino Ark directly supports the community-based Bongo Surveillance Programme (BSP) through funding and logistical support of BSP team activities.

What did it cost to build the Aberdares fence?

The Aberdare fence has cost approximately KSh 800 million (about US$ 8-10 million historically reported) to construct. Maintenance continues through forest-adjacent fence attendants and partner technical committees.

How far has the Mount Kenya fence progressed?

About 450 km will ring more than 2,700 sq km; 316 km are complete. Forest-adjacent community members build under KWS technical supervision.

What has been achieved at Mau Eburu?

Eburu’s 43 km electrified fence (2014) wraps an 8,715 ha block with managed corridor openings toward Lake Naivasha. Work continues on conflict reduction, CFA engagement and bongo monitoring with the Wilder Institute / Calgary Zoo.

Rhino Ark protects Kenya’s mountain forests

A Kenyan conservation trust working with communities and public partners to keep highland forests standing, water flowing, and forest-edge families safer.

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Story map

Results you can follow across Kenya’s water towers

Published results from 1988 to 2025. Full impact page · Reports

652,000

Hectares protected

Mountain forest and catchment land under lasting care

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853 KM

Conservation fencing

Electric fence lines built and kept working with partners

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90,000

Households safeguarded

Families living closer to wildlife with less crop loss

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184

Schools reached

Classrooms learning beside the forests they depend on

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220

Fence attendants

Full-time fence attendants employed

318,000+

Indigenous trees planted

Restoration across Rhino Ark landscapes

Threatened species

Threatened species protected

Forest rehabilitation projects

Ongoing restoration programmes

Wildlife corridors

Wildlife corridors established

What is Rhino Ark?

What guides our work

Humans in harmony with habitat and wildlife

We conserve Kenya’s mountain forest ecosystems through a holistic, partnership-driven approach guided by the principle “Humans in harmony with habitat and wildlife”, grounded in community participation, ecosystem protection, and collaborative action.

Trusted protectors of
Kenya’s vital mountain forests.
Champions of safe, resilient
coexistence between people & wildlife.
Leaders in practical,
evidence-based conservation.
Connectors who unite communities,
ecosystems and partners.
Honest, transparent storytellers
committed to measurable impact.
A globally relevant voice grounded
in Kenya’s ecological heritage.

When highland forests thin, everyone downstream feels it

Aberdares, Mount Kenya, Mau and Kakamega hold and release water for farms, towns and wildlife. Rhino Ark’s answer is concrete: fences that work, patrols that continue, classrooms that teach, and livelihoods that ease pressure on the trees.

Where we work

Five landscapes. One shared task.

Open a place to meet the people, programmes and wildlife behind the numbers.

All landscapes Interactive map

Knowledge, accountability and reports

Reports, accounts and open evidence

If we publish a number, you can follow it here. Impact reports, audited accounts and accountability sit in one place.

Open Knowledge Hub Accountability

Priority areas

Where effort stays focused

Protection of mountain forests and their diverse wildlife
Support to, and engagement of, forest-adjacent communities in conservation
Re-establishment and/or securing of connectivity (wildlife corridors) with and between mountain forests
Sustainable financing for mountain forests and other threatened wildlife habitats
National and international advocacy for mountain forests, their wildlife and their ecological functions
Use of science to assess the impacts of, and review, conservation interventions

Story map

Story map: Kenya’s water towers

Clear stories from Kenya’s mountain forest water towers, from the founding Aberdare fence to Mount Kenya, Kakamega, Mau and Eburu. See the evidence on each landscape, then open the live map to explore further.

Start the story map View map page

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