| NORTHERN & CENTRAL KENYA | THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST
WAS FORMED David Sheldrick stands out, even today, as one of Africa's most famous and proficient Pioneer National Park Wardens of all time. With just one lorry, and a handful of labourers, he was given the task of transforming a huge chunk of inhospitable arid land, previously uncharted and known only as the Taru desert, into what today is Kenya's largest and most famous National Park - Tsavo. The Park was established by Act of Parliament in 1948 and David Sheldrick was the first Warden of the Eastern Sector, an area of just over 5,000 square miles, equal in size to Michigan State, Israel or Wales, a post he held until he was transferred to head the Planning Unit for all Kenya's Wildlife Areas at the end of 1976. David died 6 months later, but the legacy he left endures. His character is summed up by Tim Corfield, in the Author's Note to the Field Manual David's Notes and Records inspired - "The Wilderness Guardian" which is now a Text Book throughout Africa in most Wildlife Institutions and Training Schools, and an integral part of every Field Warden's library. "How can I adequately portray this remarkable man and his achievements? The strong, handsome, weather-beaten face, the hard blue eyes, the powerful frame and large competent hands; the courteous manners, keen sense of humour and clear perceptive mind; his quietness, willpower and endurance, his deep underlying compassion and above all his integrity. To say that he is the finest man I have ever met is inadequate, for what is my experience as a yardstick. ........ ( Read More ) |
