Discovering that the elephant subjects of his photographs were being killed by rampant poaching, Brandt established a locally-based conservation effort focused on preserving the wildlife of the ecosystem.
[1] This undertaking led to the formation of the Big Life Foundation, co-founded in September 2010 by Brandt, conservationist Richard Bonham,[2] and entrepreneur Tom Hill.
Bonham and Hill had been engaged in conservation work in the region with the Maasailand Preservation Trust for the last two decades; this effort was expanded and became the Big Life Foundation.
[3] Big Life's conservation approach focuses on three key areas: wildlife protection (including elephants, rhinos, and predators), human-wildlife conflict abatement, and community enrichment through employment, education, and health initiatives.
This wildlife protection effort currently employs local Maasai rangers— who utilize permanent outposts and tent-based field units, Land Cruiser patrol vehicles, tracker dogs, and planes for aerial surveillance.