Standing in their way despite the threat of illness is a group of eight women drawn from the Maasai community, known as Team Lioness.Last year, Kenya reported a 90% decrease in wildlife poaching, but the advent of COVID-19 has stirred concerns the country’s national parks may draw new illegal hunters left jobless by the pandemic.

Team Lioness members were given the option to remain employed full-time and on patrol at Amboseli National Park, a 392-square kilometre reserve that lies at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, with the understanding that they would have little or no contact with their families during the pandemic.

“In [tourism’s] absence, wildlife security is threatened as conservancies are likely to collapse, leading to loss of space for wildlife,” said a recent report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The Kenya Wildlife Service and community conservancies depended heavily on tourism revenue to pay the salaries of rangers, said James Isiche, East Africa regional director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The fund has therefore kept its team of rangers patrolling national parks like the Amboseli, which is is home to elephants, rhinoceroses, buffalos, giraffes, gazelles and numerous other species whose hides and horns are highly prized by the illegal wildlife trade.