Where Paula’s love affair with jumbos began

You don’t know the sheer magnitude of the poaching crisis in the country until you speak to Paula. Forget the statistics from KWS (she dismisses them) or the government’s lethargy towards tackling the crisis. If the current trends persists, Paula assures, the jumbo will be wiped out in not too long.

The Hands Off Our Elephants campaign underscores this crisis that saw 35,000 elephants killed in 2012 and a record 38.8 tonnes of ivory seized in 2011.

Even though the campaign has achieved massive awareness, elephants continue to be poached, with about 40 per cent of radio-collared elephants being eliminated in the Mt Kenya region alone.

Recently, Her Royal Highness Anne, The Princess Royal, presented Paula with the prestigious 2014 Whitley Award (“Green Oscar”) in London for her campaign to tackle poaching and the trafficking of ivory from Kenya.

Wildlife Direct together with PCI Media recently launched an anti-poaching themed music contest and festival called the Ndovu Music Contest. This is to motivate musicians worldwide to write songs for elephant conservation that aim to touch listeners and motivate them to act.

We meet at the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s pristine Peter Greensmith gardens off Magadi Road.

You are out there everyday, saving the elephants, fighting for it. How are you like this animal?

(Laughs) You know, the elephants are matriarch-driven; they are leaders of the elephant family. They are elders in their communities; they are very knowledgeable but not forceful with their societies. They lead. They know where they need to go and when they need to stop. I see myself as a leader in conservation.

Are you winning, losing or stagnant in this fight?

We started in 2009, trying to raise awareness. The government blocked us, they said we were lying. Since then we have been able to develop a clear strategy on how to achieve what we want to achieve.

The strategy is to win public support, which we now have. I think we enjoy many successes because now all Kenyans are asking questions. Having the First Lady as patron is also a huge boost.

How did you end up here, fighting for the elephant?

I grew up in Karen. The moment I knew I was interested in wildlife was when I met Richard Leakey. I was four- years- old and he thought my brother and I were poaching. My little brother had a catapult and we were marvelling at a hyrax on the tree.

He told us that if we had questions on animals we should go and see him. We used to go to his house – a gang of kids (we are nine kids in our family) – and ask him all these questions about animals and he had all the answers and amazing stories about them. I loved geography in school.

At 15, I went for a 1,000km exhibition in northern Kenya with these accomplished scientists. That’s when this love affair started.

Later, my mom couldn’t afford to send me to university so she sent me to a secretarial college, which was terrible, I detested it so much I escaped from school after three months.

I knocked on Leakey’s door at the museum and told him I wanted to be a ranger – that I wanted to go to Kora. The rest is history.

You come across as passionate, fearless and driven. But when are you most insecure?

That’s a horrible question! (Laughs). I do a lot public-speaking and a lot people think it’s really easy, but it’s not. The other day, we did the launch of Ndovu Music contest and I was scared to speak to this crowd of cheery Kenyan youth who just wanted to have fun. There I was thinking, “will they be interested to hear about elephants?”

Before that, I was to speak to a group of kids under the Equity Bank scholarship programme, but I was nervous especially after they had listened to CEOs from banks and multinationals.

Why would they want to listen to talk about elephants? (Laughs). I think generally, I get insecure speaking in public if I don’t know the audience.

What’s on your Bucket List?

To go to Ecuador, the Amazon, to meet a chief called Moi Enomenga. He’s an Indian leader who successfully protected the rain forest. He and I won an award together. I’d like to spend time in his community.

I also want to go back to China and explore – you know get to the bottom of the ivory trade! Also, I’d love to go to the Antarctic and the Arctic, because there are places on this planet we are going to lose because of climate change and I want to see them before we lose them.

What do you do on your downtime?

(Laughs) There is little downtime in this job. I travel quite a bit, I go to parks. And I read a lot; science books, classic novels because I love the way the English language is used, it’s beautiful.

History books. I read five books a month, sometimes at the same time. I had a Kindle, but it was stolen in Tanzania so I’m really upset. (Laughs).

What’s your family background?

Mom is English, met dad when he went to study in England. They came back together. We are nine kids, I’m the sixth.

Married?

I’m single. I have a son, 21 in the US Navy. I was really upset when he joined the navy; he left Kenya when he was 17. He was a very naughty teenager, when he decided to join the navy, I told him he wouldn’t last.

He now owns a house in the US at age 21. Honestly, I’m very surprised how he has turned out. (Laughs).

One person you want to have dinner with, dead or alive?

Aldo Leopold, an American environmentalist who really secured the protection of the wilderness in the United States.

Do you work out, run, cycle?

I should. Laughs. I have these exercise plans that last for a few days. I do run in the bush with my dogs from time to time.