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Ol Pejeta Conservancy: A Kenyan Ranch Where Boran Cattle and Rhinos Share Grass

In Kenya's Laikipia, a former beef ranch now grazes Boran cattle alongside rhinos, using the herd as a tool for managing grassland.

What is Ol Pejeta Conservancy?

Ol Pejeta is a wildlife conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya, about 150 kilometres north of Nairobi, that also operates one of East Africa's best-known beef herds. It covers about 90,000 acres, or 36,450 hectares, of wildlife habitat and ranching land. The conservancy says its land is held in trust for the Kenyan people, and that Ol Pejeta Ranching Ltd is a commercial entity earning income from tourism and agriculture, while Ol Pejeta Conservancy Ltd is a non-profit steered by a voluntary board, as the Ol Pejeta Conservancy's own history page sets out.

It matters in beef history because it reverses the usual story. Rather than fencing wildlife out to protect cattle, it keeps both on the same grass.

How did Ol Pejeta start as a ranch?

The land was a cattle ranch from colonial settlement until 2004. The conservancy's page says it was bought in the 1940s by the British settler Lord Delamere, who ran it as a successful beef ranch, and that it was later owned by several others, including the arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi for a time. In 1988 the owner, Lonrho Africa, established the Sweetwaters Game Reserve next to the ranch, and in 1992 Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary was built for chimpanzees rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.

Sources differ on when the conservancy began. The conservancy's page says Fauna and Flora International and partners acquired the land in 2003, while a Beef Central article from 2018 says Fauna and Flora International bought it in 2004. In 2009 the conservancy received the last four northern white rhinos, and it now holds Kenya's largest population of eastern black rhino.

How does Ol Pejeta run cattle alongside wildlife?

According to a November 2018 Beef Central article, the ranch held about 14,000 Boran cattle in 2004. After the change of ownership the herd was cut to 7,500 head, which the article calls the largest single Boran herd in the world. Fences were removed so wildlife could move across the property. The herd is split into dozens of grazing mobs of 100 to 150 cattle, each managed by two herders.

Cattle graze for only 11 hours a day, because they are penned overnight in portable kraals called bomas to protect them from lions. About 1 per cent of the herd is lost to lion predation each year. The ranch describes its cattle as an ecological tool, saying controlled grazing and trampling improve grass quality quickly and keep it from becoming rank, which would otherwise discourage wildlife.

What is Boran cattle and why use it here?

Boran are a zebu breed native to eastern Africa. The article says their smaller frame suits the 11-hour grazing window, and credits them with hardiness and good temperament. The ranch breeds its own bulls and sells them across East Africa and into South Africa, and one of its bulls was named supreme champion at the Livestock Breeders' Show in Nairobi.

Grass-fed steers are processed at about 30 months at an on-farm abattoir that runs four days a week, and sold to high-end Nairobi butcheries and restaurants. These figures reflect the 2018 article and may have changed since.

What Made It Work

Ol Pejeta shows how a cattle business can pay for conservation, and how much conservation costs. The reported figures are from 2018, and current numbers may differ.

The article puts security alone at about US$1.5 million a year, a reminder that the cattle income carries a large load.

  • A hardy local breed: Boran cattle are adapted to eastern Africa and suit the grazing pattern.
  • Smaller herd, better grass: the herd was cut from about 14,000 to 7,500 after 2004.
  • Predator protection: herding by day and bomas at night hold lion losses to about 1 per cent a year.
  • Own bulls and local butchers: the ranch sells breeding stock and processes steers at about 30 months for Nairobi buyers.
  • Cattle as a grazing tool: the ranch says managed grazing improves grass quality for wildlife.

Visit or learn more about Ol Pejeta

According to the Wikipedia entry on Ol Pejeta and the conservancy's own page, it achieved IUCN Green List status in 2014, one of only five conservancies in Africa to do so, and celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024. A community development programme began in the later 2000s, starting with education scholarships.

For more on beef and conservation, see the ranching section on farm.FM and a farm.FM story about a Kenyan cattle ranch and conservancy.

Timeline

  1. 1940sLord Delamere buys the land and runs it as a beef ranch
  2. 1988Lonrho Africa establishes Sweetwaters Game Reserve
  3. 1992Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary opens
  4. 2003Fauna and Flora International and partners acquire the land, per the conservancy
  5. 2004Herd cut from about 14,000 to 7,500 Boran, per Beef Central
  6. 2009Last four northern white rhinos arrive
  7. 2014Achieves IUCN Green List status
  8. 2024Conservancy marks its 20th anniversary

Frequently asked questions

What is Ol Pejeta Conservancy?

A wildlife conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya, about 150 kilometres north of Nairobi, covering about 90,000 acres. It also runs a commercial Boran cattle herd as part of its land management.

How many cattle does Ol Pejeta have?

A 2018 Beef Central article said the herd was cut from about 14,000 to 7,500 Boran after 2004, calling it the largest single Boran herd in the world. Current numbers may differ.

Why does Ol Pejeta keep cattle with wildlife?

It describes cattle as an ecological tool: controlled grazing and trampling improve grass quality, and keeping grass short is said to help wildlife, while the beef helps pay for conservation.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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