Ami Vitale isn’t just a photographer; she’s a force of nature with a camera. She’s been to over 100 countries, braved war zones, lived in mud huts, and even dressed up as a panda (yes, really!) to get the perfect shot. But it was a life-changing moment in 2009—documenting the transport of one of the last white rhinos—that turned her lens toward wildlife and conservation.
Now, with five World Press Photo awards under her belt and recognition as one of InStyle’s "Badass Women," Ami’s work goes beyond pretty pictures. Her photos tell powerful stories that spark real change, showing us why our planet is worth fighting for.
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#1
A black rhino rests beneath a rainbow at @OlPejeta Conservancy in Kenya. In 1993, Ol Pejeta was home to just 20 black rhinos. Through dedicated breeding programs and rigorous anti-poaching efforts, their numbers have surged to over 165 today. Kenya’s black rhinos, once on the brink of extinction, have made a remarkable recovery over the past three decades. From a population of 240 in 1984, numbers have soared to over 1,000 thanks to the collaborative efforts of communities, government agencies, and conservation organizations. This success, however, has introduced a new challenge: overcrowding in existing sanctuaries. To address this, @KenyaWildlifeService (KWS) translocated 21 eastern black rhinos to @loisaba_conservancy in Laikipia County. Loisaba, which has not had rhinos for 50 years due to past poaching, now boasts top-notch security and has dedicated nearly half of its 58,000 acres to provide a new home for these majestic creatures. This operation not only highlights Kenya’s conservation achievements but also represents a vital step toward creating stable habitats essential for the species’ continued survival.
Image credits: amivitale
#2
hang Hemin—“Papa Panda” to his staff—poses with cubs born in 2015 at Bifengxia Panda Base, managed by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan Province, China. “Some local people say giant pandas have magic powers,” says Zhang, who directed many of China’s panda conservation efforts. “To me, they simply represent beauty and peace.” The Giant panda might prove to be a testament to the perseverance and efforts of scientists and conservationists. By breeding and releasing pandas, augmenting existing populations and protecting habitat, they are on their way to successfully saving their most famous ambassador and in the process putting the wild back into an icon.
Image credits: amivitale
#3
A baby giant panda tests out its newly acquired walking skills at Bifengxia Panda Base, managed by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. It takes baby pandas about three months to grow strong enough to take a few steps. By breeding and releasing pandas, augmenting existing populations and protecting habitat, they are on their way to successfully saving their most famous ambassador and in the process putting the wild back into an icon.
Image credits: amivitale
#4
One of the earliest theories put forward as to why giraffe have such long necks is that it gives them an advantage in securing nutrients. They can reach leaves that no other animals can. The theory dates back to the time of Darwin. Others posit that the long necks are a result of sexual selection since male giraffes battle with their necks to win mates. Most recently, scientists have hypothesized that the long necks are to help fight the African heat. The greater surface area allows more heat can escape.
Image credits: amivitale
#5
Coming together in peace and gratitude is always worth embracing. Wishing everyone around the world a moment of reflection and connection. Here, a mother giraffe nuzzles her baby outside of the village of Doulouwal Peulh in Niger. The giraffes here are all descents of a population of the last remaining 49 “white giraffes” who, driven by drought and war, followed the route of the Niger River from neighboring Mali, until finally settled here in the Koure region. They were the last remnants of the “white giraffe” who once ranged throughout West Africa, from Senegal to Nigeria. Today there are over 600 of them because of the efforts of conservationists and government intervention. In 2018, the Nigerian government, with support from @Giraffe_Conservation and @SaharaConservation was able to successfully establish a satellite population in Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve 800km away. While there there is very still far to go, hope for this vulnerable species that was on the bring of extinction grows. Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing a number of giraffes species, including the Western Giraffe, as endangered, a response to dramatic declines caused by poaching, habitat loss, and the increasing threats of climate change. This decision, while devastating, may be what we need to provide vital protections for the species.
Image credits: amivitale
#6
This panda cub was sleeping at the Bifengxia Giant panda base in Sichuan province, China. When giant pandas are born, they are tiny, blind, and pink, with very few hairs. The average weight is 100 grams (0.2 pounds), only 1/900 of their mother's weight. This places them among the smallest newborns compared to their mother of any mammal: Human mothers are only about 20 times heavier than their babies. According to expert Dr Wang Dajun, the tiny birth size is “definitely a result of evolution over millions of years … It is a kind of breeding strategy.” He explained that pandas subsist almost entirely on bamboo, and, “It is easier for the animal to convert bamboo into milk than to convert bamboo into animal tissue.” Hence shorter gestation and longer nursing. They are also one of the fastest growing mammals on the planet. This little one was about a month old and learning to crawl.
Image credits: amivitale
#7
Lekupania cradles an orphaned gerenuk at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary (@r.e.s.c.u.e) in northern Kenya. Gerenuks are long necked members of the antelope family. Their numbers are falling due largely to habitat loss and fragmentation and there are fewer than 100,000 in the wild. While @r.e.s.c.u.e is most well known for its elephants, it also takes in other species, including giraffes, rhinos and gerenuks, nurses them back to health and returns them to the wild.
Image credits: amivitale
#8
Peek-a-boo! Twelve year old mother giant panda, Si Xue tries to hide behind a tree at the Wolong China Conservation & Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan Province, China. Because of their low-energy diet, pandas avoid stressful situations and exertion. They are elusive and solitary creatures in the wild. It’s hard to imagine, but these animals were once as mythical and elusive as Bigfoot. They have been around for millions of years, but were only made known to the western world within the last century. The first panda was captured alive only in 1936. By breeding and releasing pandas, augmenting existing populations and protecting habitat, they are on their way to successfully saving their most famous ambassador and in the process putting the wild back into an icon. My book, Panda Love, is sold out but one of my images, Pandas Gone Wild, is currently available in the @vital.impacts Winter Collection. The profits will help support the next generation of environmental storytellers too. Learn about our grants and mentoring programs at vitalimpacts.org (link in profile) All my panda images are available as prints.
Image credits: amivitale
#9
Friends in NYC! It is with profound honor I share that I am being awarded the IPC International Achievement Award at the United Nations by the International Photographic Council, an organization that strives to foster intercultural understanding and collaboration through visual storytelling. I am so grateful to all those who allow me to share their stories and it is my hope that awards like this will help me shine a light on so many of the world's most pressing issues. Huge thanks and love to @nikonusa for being so supportive all these years. Link in profile.
Image credits: amivitale
#10
Dunes in Tinfou, announce the approach to the Great Sahara Desert in Morocco. This fine-art photograph is part of the @vital.impacts World Rhino Day Flash Print Sale that will benefit @olpejeta conservancy in northern Kenya. @olpejeta is home to the last two northern white rhinos as well as the largest black rhino population in East Africa.
Image credits: amivitale
#11
In my final moments in China, as I whispered my goodbyes, a poignant moment unfolded. The elusive panda, who had sheltered her precious cub throughout my stay, suddenly ascended a nearby hill, cradling her cub in her mouth. With deliberate steps, she positioned herself so I could witness the tender scene as she held her cub in her front paws. It felt like a perfect farewell to my three-year odyssey documenting these captivating creatures.
Image credits: amivitale
#12
Who’s ready for a wild weekend and why is this man wearing a panda costume and standing with a stuffed leopard? At the Wolong China Conservation & Research Center for the Giant Panda, panda keepers use a stuffed leopard scented with real leopard scents to test captive-born pandas. If a panda naturally senses danger and flees from the predator, she passes the test. The keepers themselves wear panda costumes covered in panda urine to prevent the pandas from becoming accustomed to humans before being released into the wild.
Image credits: amivitale
#13
Najma studies by candlelight in the single room she shares with her ten siblings in Kenya's Loita Hills. She passed her secondary school exams with marks high enough to obtain entrance to a county high school. In 2003, Kenya enacted a law that made primary education free. As a result of this legislation, enrollment rates increased to 84 percent. However, only one in five girls make it to their eighth year. This high rate of dropouts is a result of early marriage, female genital cutting, poverty and other factors. Investing in girls' education has profound impacts. According to the The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, (@UNESCO), when all females in developing countries complete primary education, child mortality drops by a sixth, saving nearly a million lives every year.
Image credits: amivitale
#14
@olpejeta conservancy, home to the last two northern white rhinos on the planet, Najin and Fatu. It is also home to 42 southern white rhinos, and the largest population of black rhinos in East Africa. The region is in the midst of a brutal, record-breaking drought, and your support is critically needed. We hope these images will inspire you to believe that we have the capacity to reimagine and to believe that we can fundamentally change the course we are currently on.
Image credits: amivitale
#15
This panda cub was sleeping at the Bifengxia Giant panda base in Sichuan province, China. When giant pandas are born, they are tiny, blind, and pink, with very few hairs. The average weight is 100 grams (0.2 pounds), only 1/900 of their mother's weight. This places them among the smallest newborns compared to their mother of any mammal: Human mothers are only about 20 times heavier than their babies. According to expert Dr Wang Dajun, the tiny birth size is “definitely a result of evolution over millions of years … It is a kind of breeding strategy.” He explained that pandas subsist almost entirely on bamboo, and, “It is easier for the animal to convert bamboo into milk than to convert bamboo into animal tissue.” Hence shorter gestation and longer nursing. They are also one of the fastest growing mammals on the planet. This little one was about a month old and learning to crawl.
Image credits: amivitale
#16
A herd of elephants waits for one lone bull to cross a highway in northern Kenya before the others cross. Roads can be perilous paths for wildlife. They can fragment elephant populations, making it difficult for herds to access essential resources. Habitat fragmentation is one of the biggest challenges and wildlife corridors are essential to help mitigate the challenges. The Samburu have been living alongside wildlife for thousands of years, sharing land and resources with the elephants in a balance of coexistence and respect. But more recent urbanization endangers this relationship between elephants and people. Reteti Elephant Sanctuary (r.e.s.c.u.e) is turning to the community to help. The sanctuary rescues orphaned elephants and rehabilitates them to be released into the wild to rejoin local herds. From making their food to providing care 24/7, raising young, orphaned elephants takes a village. I am thrilled to share some exciting news! Thirteen elephants will soon be taking their next steps to return to the wild. Many of you who have been following along on this journey from the beginning, when the sanctuary opened in 2016, will recognize the elephants who are graduating. I will be sharing all the details soon! Please follow along with me and at @vital_impacts and @r.e.s.c.u.e as we launch an exciting new campaign to support these elephants and the extraordinary community protecting them. I can’t wait to tell you more as their journey back home starts to unfold!
Image credits: amivitale
#17
Kenya is reclaiming its role as a haven for eastern black rhinos, establishing a vital breeding population of 21 rhinos at @Loisaba_Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya, where they have been absent for the past half-century. @kenyawildlifeservice worked for over two weeks moving the animals. In Ewaso, a nearby community, members even offered to sell their goats to fund the relocation of these majestic creatures. This story epitomizes the collaborative efforts of government, communities, and conservation organizations in safeguarding endangered species, offering a glimpse into a future where wildlife thrives alongside humanity.
Image credits: amivitale
#18
Mpokoti Lenapeer collects fresh goat milk that will be sent to Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, in northern Kenya. Reteti has not only pioneered an innovative rewilding technique but also developed a new feeding method, significantly boosting elephant survival rates and revitalizing the local economy. @r.e.s.c.u.e found that young orphaned elephants respond better to goat milk than to powdered milk formula intended for human babies. The “milk to market” program is also transforming the lives of over 1,200 local women who are earning an income for the first time.
Image credits: amivitale
#19
An elephant’s trunk is one of the most versatile tools on the planet. It is used to breathe, drink, eat, smell, snorkel, communicate, and more. With over 40,000 individual muscles, a trunk alone far surpasses the 600 muscles in the human body. With their trunks, elephants can: - Push down trees and lift up to 700 lbs - Reach branches as high as 20 ft - taller than most giraffes - Hold two gallons of water for drinking and bathing - Smell water from miles away (An elephant’s sense of smell is estimated to be four times that of a bloodhound) These incredible animals were cared for at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, rehabilitated, and recently reintroduced to the wild by the Samburu community (r.e.s.c.u.e). Their work has helped to emphasize the value of coexisting with elephants, marking a profound and hopeful shift in perspectives and paving the way for a sustainable future for both people and elephants.
Image credits: amivitale
#20
I recently had the honor of documenting the inspiring work of @thebomaproject, an organization empowering the people in places most impacted by climate change. As East Africa suffers the worst drought in 40 years, the Samburu of Northern Kenya are among the hardest hit. The Samburu have relied on a livestock-based, pastoralist lifestyle for centuries as the land they occupy is too arid to grow crops. During the dry seasons, Samburu men will travel with their herds of livestock in search of greener pastures. Women are left behind for longer and with less to sustain themselves and their children. They are being forced to deplete the forest for timber, honey, water and grazing for their livestock. BOMA provides critical support to these women in the form of grants, training, and more to ensure that families can build long-lasting livelihoods. When households can rely on their income and save for hard times like drought, they can focus more on the things that matter — like making sure that children are fed. They become more resilient. To date, @thebomaproject has reached more than 450,000 people and have plans to reach millions more.
Image credits: amivitale
