At the same time, he said, unlike in forested areas, fuel reduction in the region’s chaparral shrublands risks harming the ecosystem rather than making it healthier.

Here, ancient people would have encountered a drier, less forested environment—and the sediment core shows charcoal levels rose more modestly than in the more densely forested environment.

Along with olives, Chalice Farm also grows perennial vegetables, fruit and nuts on their sunshine-drenched land surrounded by creeks and forested ridge.

It is estimated the species, found in forested areas of Kenya, could be extinct in the wild within two decades after years of poaching.

Diamond miners who once operated within forested areas, including the buffer zone of the reserve, are prohibited from mining there and risk facing severe penalties if caught.