Maureen\nSome, 19, grew up in Laikipia\u2019s sprawling farmlands watching communities stick\nsix-inch nails in wooden blocks around farms to deter elephants from straying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hapless\nand with a heavy heart, she watched several beasts walk right into their traps,\nthe protruding nails tearing through the padded flesh. The beasts would linger,\nturn around and trumpet in pain, she recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\nused to call it \u201ckuvalisha ndovu kiatu (making elephants put on shoes).\u201d There\nused to be a lot of human-wildlife conflict,\u201d Maureen said in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Young as she was, and surrounded by flora and fauna, she vowed to do something. That\u2019s how the seeds for nature conservation took root in her. Today at the tender age of 19, she is the founder of WildNow Foundation<\/a> \u2013 in charge of promoting wildlife conservation among communities, the youth and children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today\nmarks the World Wildlife Day, observed every March 3 and this year\u2019s theme is Sustaining all life on Earth<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe theme says it all. We should not only focus on the big five and forget other species like insects. Currently, we have a bee crisis, their population shrinking fast,\u201d said Maureen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Growing\nup, Maureen says that she so desired to adopt an elephant, which turned out to\nbe her favourite animal. Laikipia is known for several wildlife conservancies\nlike Ol Pejeta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLater\non we moved to Nairobi, a very different environment. Here, I started rescuing\nstreet dogs, cats and birds,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although\nshe never really got to adopt an elephant, she managed to adopt a cheetah\ninstead when she was 16, at the Nairobi National Park \u2013 the only wildlife\nreserve located in a city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThrough the foundation, we promote conservation by educating and engaging the community in matters of our environment and endangered species,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n