Following China’s recent pledge to phase out its ivory trade in 2017, all eyes turned to Hong Kong – still the world’s largest retail market for ivory, despite a 1989 inter­national ban. Ahead of a series of government discussions about a proposal to phase out the local ivory trade by 2021, I went to Kenya for a behind-the-scenes look at the people who work day and night to keep elephants, and other vulner­able wildlife, alive – from the SAS-trained anti-poaching squads to the ecotourism resort owners.