The wild heart of Africa: Mount Kenya

There is no other country in Africa where more wild animals live than in Kenya. Over 10% of the landscape is under protection by the government. Thereby, the number of private initiatives for the protection of nature is not being counted.
On the slopes of the mighty Mount Kenya, the land is fertile. Here, Ian Craig, the white settler, transformed his former cattle ranch into an animal reserve.

His neighbor Simon Kinyaga is head of the Messiah community. He knows that his people need to change their thinking, if they want to survive. It used to be a Messia tradition to hunt wild animals. In order to prove that they are men, the young warriors had to kill a lion. But in order for the Messiah in Kenya to have a future in the modern world, they need other skills. Simon Kinyaga trained his men to work as rangers on the farm of Ian Craig. As of now, the wild animals are not their victims, but their friends.

On an adventure ous excursion, we join Christel Fomm and her team along with Ian and Simon as the journey through the bush. In the middle of the wilderness, the team experiences the everyday life between man and animal. An elephant is hunted down to give him a tracking device. This way, they can track his movement and warn people against him. Lepalea Nanyuki, a young Messiah-ranger checks a herd of lions. They have cubs and are very dangerous.

The mysterious Mount Kenya is the holy mountain of the Messiah and the seat of the gods. There, Simon Kinyaga goes to pray to the gods. He asks for their guidance to help preserve one of the last paradises on earth.

45 '
ZDF, ARTE