Begun in 1998, the 80,000-acre Rukinga Wildlife Sanctuary, at the heart of the Kasigau ecosystem, is reliable elephant country – Kasigau lies along a migration corridor between Tsavos East and West, and the permanent population of just under 500 elephants swells to over 2000 around October and March. With more than 50 large mammal species (including Grevy's zebra and, sometimes, African wild dogs) and over 300 recorded bird species, there are some real surprises here.
But there's so much more happening here – the sanctuary, by employing local people and selling carbon credits, aims to prevent deforestation by making wildlife work for the local community.