David Yarrow teams up with Land Rover to defend Kenya's lions

World-famous fine art photographer David Yarrow has teamed up with Land Rover in support of Tusk to raise awareness of declining lion numbers in Africa by capturing a set of stunning wildlife images. 

Tusk, an organisation that "advances wildlife conservation across Africa", has designated 2019 as its Year of the Lion to bring the issue of threatened lion populations to the top of the conservation agenda. To support the initiative, Land Rover sent a prototype of the new Defender 4x4, which will make its world premiere later this year, to the Borana Conservancy in Laikipia, in northern Kenya, to help support lion tracking and monitoring operations. The new 4x4 "promises to bring an unparalleled breadth of capability and new levels of comfort and driveability to the Defender family" and was tested by expert wildlife managers performing a series of real-world activities in Borana, according to a statement issued in Doha by Alfardan Premier Motors. Land Rover's link to East Africa stretches back to 1948, when some of the first 48 pre-production series models were tested in the region.Yarrow was on hand to capture a series of images as the new Defender, wearing a specially devised camouflage, was put to work locating a pride of lions. There are currently fewer than 20,000 African lions remaining in the wild, compared with 25,000 rhinos (20,000 white rhinos and 5,000 black rhinos), and three-quarters of African lion populations are in decline.“Wildlife photography is all about access – about getting yourself in the best position – so you need a vehicle that can reach inaccessible places. Defender has been synonymous with adventure and conservation since the first Land Rover debuted in 1948, so it’s fitting that one of the first official tasks for the new Defender has been to shine a light on the dangers faced by lions in Africa,” Yarrow said.The unique programme in Kenya gave Tusk-supported wildlife managers a chance to test the new Defender in real-world scenarios across the 14,000-hectare conservancy in day-to-day operations, including a darting exercise to help replace an old tracking collar fitted to a male lion. The lion was sedated at close range from the security of the specially camouflaged new Defender prototype.Charles Mayhew, chief executive of Tusk, said: “This year marks Tusktarget="_blank"'>