Saruni Samburu, though, sits in the middle of the 384sqkm community-owned and -managed Kalama Community Wildlife Conservancy, one of a growing number of privately-owned wildlife reserves in Kenya.

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Mr Leakey's last act as head of the Kenya Wildlife Service in 1998 was to prevent the government clearing swathes of Mount Kenya's forests.

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The Tsavo park, a protected area, is home to an estimated 13, 000 elephants, based on a census in 2011, Kenya Wildlife Service said.

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However, it wasn't until October, 2010 that William asked for Catherine's hand in marriage in a remote hut in a wildlife reserve on the slopes of Mount Kenya, Africa's second highest peak.

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He is a "Daktari on safari" and in the 11 years he has worked for the Kenya Wildlife Service, Dr Kariuki has loved almost every minute.

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The sanctuary, which is on the site of a former cement factory, plans eventually to get the help of the Kenya Wildlife Service to place Owen with Cleo, a lonely female hippo in a separate enclosure.

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In July he pleased donors by appointing Richard Leakey, a former palaeontologist and head of Kenya's wildlife service, as head of the civil service, with promises of an anti-corruption shake-up in the ministries.

ECONOMIST: Britain and East Africa