Kenyan environmentalist sets world record with 72-hour tree hug to save native forests

In a remarkable display of environmental activism, Kenyan conservationist Truphena Muthoni hugged a palm tree for 72 consecutive hours without eating or sleeping, breaking her own previous world record by more than 24 hours. The extraordinary feat, which took place in Nyeri County from December 8-11, has been submitted to Guinness World Records for official recognition.

Muthoni’s marathon embrace of a royal palm tree drew massive crowds, including Nyeri County Governor Mutahi Kahiga, and hundreds of thousands of online supporters. Her goal was far from publicity—she wanted to spotlight Kenya’s alarming rate of forest loss and the extinction threat facing many native tree species. “I want to inspire people to fall in love with nature and treat it with care,” Muthoni told the Daily Nation. “Conservation begins with love.”

The activist specifically criticized common tree-planting initiatives that replace indigenous forests with non-native saplings, arguing this approach misses the point. “We must first protect what we already have,” she emphasized. Her message carries urgent relevance: according to the latest State of the World’s Trees assessment, Kenya hosts 1,131 tree species, but over 13% face extinction due to deforestation, climate change, and urban development.

Ironically, the royal palm Muthoni hugged isn’t native to Kenya—it originates from the American tropics. Of Kenya’s 49 documented endemic tree species, most face some level of threat, with 19 classified as endangered. Muthoni’s unconventional protest highlights a critical conservation challenge: protecting irreplaceable native ecosystems before they disappear forever.