Elvis Kisimir

Elvis Kisimir is Tanzania People & Wildlife’s Human-Wildlife Conflict Program Officer and the leader of the organization's innovative Living Walls project. He is a Maasai moran (warrior) and respected community member of the Maasai Steppe. Having grown up hearing the roar of lions, Elvis is deeply concerned about the loss of big cats from community lands. Since 2010, he has worked to significantly reduce livestock depredation by lions and other carnivores while promoting community tolerance of big cats.

By working with the community, he has seen that directly engaging local people in conservation can change perspectives and significantly increase local support for environmental protection. Elvis currently oversees our growing team of local Warriors for Wildlife and program assistants. Elvis is also responsible for the installation, monitoring, and management of Living Walls across Tanzania.

His work has been recognized internationally at different stages of his career. He was named a Disney Conservation Hero in 2013, and in 2025 received the Diane Skinner Award for the Unsung Hero in Conservation in recognition of his sustained leadership in community-based conservation.