Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1347386
his is a series of images about the relationships and bonds between humans and endangered species. The people depicted here understand how important our interconnectedness is for a healthy planet, not just with one another, but with the creatures we coexist with. We must begin to see our world as part of the natural world, the natural world as part of our world. Losing one part of nature is a loss for all of nature. Twenty years ago, much of this Kenyan landscape was empty of wildlife. Poachers had decimated the population of elephants and rhinos, species which are the ecosystem's engineers. The loss of these keystone species had a ripple effect on other animals too: grazers like buffalo, endangered Grevy's zebras, eland and oryx, as well as lions, cheetahs, wild dogs and leopards have all disappeared. hen, almost five ears ao, the most remarkable thing happened: The Samburu people in this northern ena communit created the first- ever communit-owned and -operated elephant sanctuary in all of Africa and called it Reteti. What's happening at Reteti is nothing less than the beginnings of a transformation—not only in the way humans relate to wild animals but also how we relate to one another. This oasis where orphans grow up—learning to be wild so that one day they can rejoin their herds—is a story as much about the elephants as it is about all of humanity. These are stories that remind us that nature 182 BAL HARBOUR