The short list for the prestigious Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa has welcome finalist David Daballen , Samburu Operations Director at Save The Elephants , Kenya . Over the last two decades , he has been an ambassador and warrior for elephants , an endeavour that ’s seen him wade into crocodile territory to keep sleepy-eyed trunk out of river water .

Daballen ’s expertness in bionomics and animate being behaviorstem from his Samburu culture and from his regular work alongside top international scientists , and heis describe by those that ferment with him as versed and enthusiastic in everything he does .

“ We have to carry the chimneypiece to the next generation , ” he said in astatement . “ What really give me hope is there are so many vivacious Kenyans interested in preservation come up up behind me . That is my labor force and my strength . ”

We catch up with Daballen to determine out more about his conservation oeuvre and how it feel to be a candidate for theTusk Conservation Awards 2022 .

How does it find to be selected as a finalist ?

I am humiliate to be nominate for this prestigious conservation award .

What is the most authoritative thing you ’ve learned from your work in preservation ?

Among the many things I ’ve learnt is what an amazing bond wild animals share . As an outsider you would never recollect that animals have feeling , love , and pity for each other , but they do ! In my employment , I have learnt so much about creature behaviour . That strong bond between animals is something that still stupefy me every Clarence Day .

What advice would you give to someone with a goal of working in a similar subject area ?

My advice would be to prepare for a wonderful vocation but to be realistic . From the exterior it looks like an loose chore , but it ’s not always the case , and masses commit to the wellbeing of crazy beast have to make a lot of sacrifices . There are many challenges , especially in today ’s world , and one require to be dedicated and passionate .

What change do you hope to see in the conservation and direction of angry beast in the time to come ?

I would like to see a bottom - up approach towards the management of parks so that local community who survive with wildlife feel the wallop of preservation and switch their attitudes . accredit and empower residential district preservation accelerates conservation increment . Local biotic community are , after all , the custodians of their rich inheritance and have lived side by side with wildlife for generations . I ’d like to see a modification in force kinetics so that conservation is residential area - led rather than the current top - down approaching .

Any memorable stories from your time in the area ?

I have direct more than 200 arrest operations across Africa , but there is one in particular that stick in my mind . In 2008 , I had to maintain the trunk of a vast and extremely aggressive bull elephant named Rommel , who had been dart [ shoot with a tranquiliser flit ] so that we could deploy a GPS get across apprehension on him . Rommel is far-famed in northerly Kenya for attacking one of Save the Elephant ’s monitoring vehicles in the field .

After he was darted , he walked quickly out from us , eventually going down in the middle of a crocodile - infested river . I had to wade into the river and view as Rommel ’s twitch and extremely grievous proboscis , otherwise he would have overwhelm . Several times during the collaring , he tried to wake up , so it was passing shuddery , not just because of the elephant but also due to the crocodiles !

Despite this , it was a majestic moment for me to be so close to this brilliant fauna . When Rommel did finally arouse up , I dropped his bole and ran for my dear living ! woefully the collaring operation was not successful due to the sheer size of his neck opening , which was too big to gibe any collars around it . Still , it was an procedure I will never forget !

The victor of the Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa will be announced during a ceremony at Hampton Court Palace on November 1 , along with the recipient role of thePrince William Award for Conservationand theTusk Wildlife Ranger Award .