AWF Blog

  • Counting Zebras, Dodging Elephants

    Posted: May 19, 2008, 10:16 pm by Paul

    Juma was telling me about the movements of Grevy’s during different seasons when we heard the loud crack of wood somewhere in the thick bush ahead. He stopped and was silent. We heard another branch snap and he turned around and mouthed the word “elephant!” We spun on our heels, retreated back a bit, and chose a new path around the unseen elephant. The last thing we wanted was to stumble upon an unsuspecting elephant in the thick thorn bushes.

    I was with Juma, a game scout from West Gate Conservancy, and Jessica, a volunteer from South Africa, walking a 4 km transect to get a sample count of Grevy’s zebras. Six other small transect teams were scattered throughout the Conservancy as part of Dr. Paul Muroria’s research to monitor the population of this endangered zebra in Kenya, its last stronghold.

    Avoiding the elephant provided some excitement and turned out to be opportune: once we were back on our transect, we spotted a large group of Grevy’s, heads held high watching us alertly. We took the coordinates, the bearing, and counted the group: 38 in total, with several foals.

    With an unknown total population (Dr. Muoria estimates there are between only 2,000-2,500 left), each Grevy’s foal seems like a bit of hope. Some believe the population remains low because the foals have a high mortality rate. Could the population be declining because foals are dying off? Dr. Muoria is testing whether the presence of livestock and people affect feeding/nursing rates of the foals.

    Next month, if all goes according to plan, Dr. Muoria will participate in a national Grevy’s zebra census – a large-scale effort by several Grevy’s stakeholders to figure out how many zebras remain in Kenya. Also next month, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) will launch the Nation Conservation Strategy for the Grevy’s Zebra.

    These mark substantial steps for Grevy’s conservation in Kenya. Dr. Muoria’s research is providing valuable data but more can be done, he thinks. He says he needs additional equipment for his community scouts who are the eyes and ears on the ground. They lack range finders, binoculars, and more GPS units. If you’d like to help, and support Grevy’s conservation in Kenya, click here.

  • Welcome to the Project Site

    Posted: May 19, 2008, 1:11 pm by Nakedi

    The Leopard Project is in the Limpopo Heartland situated in southern Africa. The Heartland is spread over three countries: Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The work area chosen for the project is in the Kruger National Park and surrounding areas/communities in South Africa and Mozambique. For starts, the project is running at the N’wanetsi Concession (Popularly known as Singita Kruger National Park). The concession covers 15 000 hectares and is situated on the south central part on the eastern border with Mozambique.

    The Lebombo Mountains run from north to south through the concession. The two main rivers, N’wanetsi and Sweni, also run through the concession with their confluence situated approximately 2.5 kilometres from the Mozambican border. The nearest community on the Mozambican side is in Mapulanguene, which is just 10 kilometres east of the border.

    In order to measure the effectiveness of the project, Program Impact and Assessment (PIMA) was designed. To successfully implement PIMA in this project, I had to gather baseline data such as:

    1. Identifying suitable habitats;
    2. Surveying availability of suitable prey species;
    3. Quantifying leopard numbers; and
    4. Establishing contact with neighbouring communities.

    So far I have managed to:
    1. Identify suitable habitats with the help of the Singita’s well trained guiding and tracking teams;
    2. Identify the availability of suitable prey species; and
    3. Establish contact with Mapulanguene community.

    I would like to thank Singita Kruger National Park for all the support in terms of the logistics, accommodation and giving us the opportunity to conduct this work.

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Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes

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