'Stranded, stressed' giraffes in Kenya relocated as habitats encroached

Naivasha, Kenya: Coaxed and tugged by rangers, a blindfolded giraffe totters into the specialised vehicle that will transport it away from an increasi...

Naivasha, Kenya: Coaxed and tugged by rangers, a blindfolded giraffe totters into the specialised vehicle that will transport it away from an increasingly hostile environment to a new home in Kenya's eastern Rift Valley.

Such relocations are a last resort when human activities or climate change threaten the survival of wildlife or peaceful coexistence with humans, say conservationists.

But the complex operations, overseen by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), are becoming more and more frequent in the east African country.

An adult female Masai Giraffe is safely immobilized on the ground by Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) rangers after it was darted with a tranquilizer dart from a helicopter during an exercise to translocate large herbivores from Kedong ranch in the wake of land subdivisions and corralling on the ranch that has interfered with wildlife migratory routes in Naivasha, Nakuru county on November 16, 2025. Driven by two long ropes held by about twenty rangers, the blindfolded giraffe enters a tall trailer that is to transport it out of its natural habitat in the Rift Valley, which is deteriorating after having been resold. This is the first step in a meticulous relocation operation in the vast Kedong ranch, part of an ancestral corridor between Mount Longonot and Hell's Gate Park, near the iconic Lake Naivasha. Photo by Tony KarumbaA / AFP

In recent weeks, hundreds of giraffes, zebras, and antelopes have been removed from the Kedong Ranch, on the shores of tourist hotspot Lake Naivasha.