Tony Fitzjohn
A conservationist driven by a lifelong passion for the wild, Tony Fitzjohn actively leads wildlife preservation efforts in East Africa.
Tony Fitzjohn is an intriguing and unique blend of knowledge and skills. He’s more at home in the bush than the city, yet he is the capable administrator of a complex, multifaceted organization that is the steward of worldwide support for the conservation effort to which he has been committed his entire adult life.
At the age of 22, Fitzjohn left a dead-end job and hitchhiked to Kenya. His only ambition was to work with animals. As luck would have it, he wound up one day at George Adamson’s Kora camp. So began a working partnership that lasted nearly 18 years and led to the pioneering of conservation techniques Tony employs today at Mkomazi National Park.
Though most at home in Mkomazi, Tony travels in order to raise funds and generate publicity for the project. He lectures about and seeks support worldwide for African conservation. He has testified on wildlife issues before a congressional subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C. and met with public officials, influential individuals, and key organizations in countries throughout the world
Track Record
- Over 45 years of successful rehabilitation of animals into the wild
- Established and stocked the first successful rhino sanctuary in Tanzania
- Established a successful captive breeding program for endangered African wild dog including groundbreaking veterinary research into the immunity of the African wild dog
- Worked with wildlife authorities to gain national park status for two game reserves
- 20 years of close partnership with the governing wildlife authorities providing backup to management of national parks
- Construction of a new secondary school for 350 children, upgraded classrooms in 13 other local primary and 22 secondary schools
- Constructed and equipped a new vocational training center (VTC) that trains young adults in welding/metal work, carpentry, masonry, electricity, car repairs and mechanics, farming and agriculture, and computer lessons; employment skills that also benefit villages.
- Provided local communities with clean water supply, dispensary and medical services
