AWF Blog

• Guest Blogger: Director of the Congo Heartland

  Posted: March 31, 2009, 4:39 pm by Paul

  Today we have a guest blogger: Jef Dupain, AWF director of the Congo Heartland. He writes about the latest from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):

  Today, we are sitting here in Basankusu, with representatives of the local communities and with ICCN. A two days workshop on the management of the Lomako Yokokala Faunal Reserve… we call them CoCoSi-meetings. Notability, authorities, representatives of different ethnic groups, including the pygmies, specific representatives of women’s groups — we are sitting together to discuss on how much bonobo visitors will have to pay, and how this money will be distributed amongst ICCN for the management of the Reserve and the local communities for support of local development initiatives.

  Our consultant on financial management did a study and defends Reserve entrance fees of 80USD/day for tourists and 10USD/day for long term researchers. 40% of the income will go to the local communities who are organizing themselves, with support of AWF, in a mixed management committee. Transparent accountability is discussed. To set an example, the Conservateur of the Reserve gave an overview of the income thanks to some recent visits.

  Unique. The interactive participative approach we are defending, and which is adopted by ICCN is truly unique. ICCN declared that this is the first of its kind in the DRC. In case of success, this approach will be applied elsewhere. What does success mean? Local communities take part in decision making on how the protected area will be managed, on how revenue will be shared, and as a result, local communities take up the defence of their protected area. In time, densities of bonobo, bongo, forest elephant, Congo peacock, leopard, Allen’s swamp monkey, black and white colobus, and many others will increase, more tourists and researchers will come and will be willing to pay for this environmental service, local communities will have increased access to education, medical treatment, electricity, clean water…. the list goes on.

  Mange Bofaso put it best: “In Katanga they have diamonds. Here in Lomako, we have bonobos.”

• The Opening of Lomako Conservation Science Centre

  Posted: March 30, 2009, 5:02 pm by Valentin

  Le mercredi 18 mars dernier nous étions dans la grande joie de voir le site de recherche de Ndele que nous avons commencé les études sur la socio-écologie des bonobos et les travaux de construction du site sous tente depuis 2004 dans la Réserve de Faune de Lomako-Yokokala (RFLY), une aire protégée dont nous sommes l’acteur principal de sa création devenir le Centre Scientifique pour la Conservation-Lomako (CSCL) inauguré en cette date.

  Ce centre doté de l’électricité et de l’eau 24 heures sur 24 est constitué dans un premier temps de 3 chambrettes meublées ; une grande salle à manger; une messe; un laboratoire; un bureau et un dépôt.

  Centre Scientifique pour la Conservation-Lomako

  L’inauguration de centre a eu la bénédiction d’une forte délégation des autorités nationales ; provinciales de l’Equateur et des organisations non gouvernementales internationales constituée de:

  1)    Ministère de l’Environnement, Conservation de la Nature, Tourisme, eaux et Forêts :
  -    Directeur Makenga, représentant du secrétaire général à l’Environnement et conservation de la Nature ;
  -    Directeur Kingombe, représentant du secrétaire Général aux Tourismes.

  2)    Ministère de la recherche scientifique et technologique:
  -    Directeur Aluka, représentant du secrétaire général à la recherche scientifique et technologique.

  3)    Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) :
  -    Benoît Kisuki Mate, Administrateur Directeur Technique de l’ICCN et représentant de monsieur l’Administrateur Délégué Général de cette institution;
  -    Madame Nina Landu, Directeur chargé de la conservation communautaire participative et Directeur ad intérim en charge de la recherche ;
  -    Benjamin Balongwela, Assistant à la coopération internationale

  4)    Office national du Tourisme (ONT) :
  -    Directeur Mbo Nangeli, représentant de Madame l’Administrateur Délégué Général de l’ONT.

  5)    Ministère Provinciale de l’Environnement/ Mbandaka
  -    Joachim Kombo, représentant du Ministre.

  6)    African Wildlife Founadation (AWF) :
  -    Jef Dupain, Directeur de Programme AWF/RDC ;
  -    James Mithamo, IT,
  -    Paul Thomson, Manager de Communication et Marketing,
  -    Valentin Omasombo, Chercheur en chef du Centre Scientifique pour la Conservation-Lomako.

  7)    Consultants :
  -    Joseph Oriol, Plan financier du Centre Scientifique pour la Conservation-Lomako ;
  -    Christian BAUDOUX, Centre Agrovétérinaire de Kinshasa.

  8)    Maison Mpenzo construction:
  - Ingénieur Mpembe, Directeur Gérant;

  9)    Journalistes :
  -    Yves Boussen, Reuters;
  -    Jolie Okako, journaliste indépendante.

  L’ouverture de ce centre est un appel aux chercheurs ; aux touristes et aux autres personnes intéressées aux études et aux visites des bonobos en particulier et de la biodiversité de la Réserve de Faune de Lomako-Yokokala en général.

• New Bonobo Research Center Complete

  Posted: March 27, 2009, 5:29 pm by Paul

  Construction of the Lomako Conservation Science Center – AWF’s new bonobo research and conservation station in the Congo Heartland – is complete!

  The Lomako Conservation Science Center.

  We’ve come so far for this day: 2 long years of working with local people and the Congolese wildlife authorities (ICCN) to gazette the Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve – the 3,600 sq km protected forest in which LCSC is located. 60 tons of construction material carried 350 km by boat to the site (watch video). 25 hours by wooden pirogue upriver to get there.

  The mess building for dining and meeting. Solar panels on the roof supply green electricity.

  The Lomako Conservation Science Center (LCSC) is a superb place for scientists and conservationists to examine a rich, undisturbed rainforest in one of the least accessible parts of central Africa. Lomako is also habitat for bonobos – the least known of the great apes. And perhaps – with the proper systems in place – adventurous tourists could come to see Lomako and the bonobos, brining some much needed revenue to local people.

  “The centre will welcome researchers and tourists from all over,” said Valentin Omasombo, who oversees bonobo research at LCSC. The research, he says, “will be used not only to support the ongoing management of the reserve but also to support development for the human populations around this protected area.”

  One of the cabins in which researchers and visitors can stay while at LCSC.

  The research station lies in a small clearing 2 km from the Lomako River. There are three wood cabins visitors, and showers and flush toilets. The mess building has a screened-in dining area and an open-walled sitting area.

  The laboratory and satellite for internet.

  A laboratory houses computers, scientific equipment, and other sensitive gear.

  Solar panels provide electricity throughout camp and, incredibly, there is satellite internet, enabling researchers to stay connected to the world from this remote section of the DRC.

  Local guides have been trained and outfitted to track bonobos and monitor other aspects of tropical forest ecology.

  People from the nearby village of Ndele are employed at the camp. Papa Mawa and Joseph keep everyone fed, Depot and Papa National are camp guards, and several workers keep camp maintained and running. Two teams of bonobo trackers, led by Papa Bosco and Papa Mange, go into the forest every day to find bonobos, recording their movements, nest sites, habituating them to human presence, and monitoring other forest species.

  If there are any readers out there who work in or have visited tropical research stations – we’d love to hear from you!

• Gorilla Teeth on a Perfect Morning

  Posted: March 19, 2009, 11:52 am by IGCP

  Benjamin, Augustin and James let out a hearty laugh. “Did you see that? It happened so fast! She definitely doesn’t like us today!” This could have been a scene from a café, where we were sitting having some coffee and all boasting, revisiting our various clumsy attempts to garner some attention. But today I was amazed that their laughs came so easily, and how their good nature and positive attitude always seems to shine. It was a bit more difficult for me because I was still quivering.

  Ten seconds earlier, on a perfect warm and sunny morning I had seen teeth. Huge teeth that looked the size of kitchen butcher knives.

  Bwindi Park Warden James Busiku surveying the Kanyamahene sector of the park where the Nshongi group is often found.

  Our café this morning is actually a dense thicket of vines, mud and miniscule black biting insects in the Kanyamahene area of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park here in Southwestern Uganda. We are here near the smattering of houses known locally as Rushaga Village to visit the Nshongi gorillas – a large family of at least 32 (at last count) which wanders this valley and the steep ridge just ahead of us devouring whatever the fertile soil here can produce.

  A few minutes ago we clung to spindly trees on a ridge that seemed to be at 90 degree angle to watch a huge blackback, pregnant female and several juveniles tear apart a wild banana tree and share the tasty pulp inside.

  Blackback from Nshongi group takes a break from his wild banana tree feast.

  The Nshongi group is named after the river Nshongi, which rushes through the valley here like it is late for an appointment to deposit its silty brown waters into nearby Lake Bunyonyi. The swampy area around the Nsongi, with its huge diversity of plant life, is an ideal spot for gorillas to plant themselves and eat plants: leaves, shoots, bark, stems and fruit, including the tasty wild banana. This group, which includes three huge silverbacks, a cadre of blackbacks, at least eight females, six juveniles and eight infants, is being habituated – sensitized to human presence – and soon visitors will marvel in the presence of these fascinating forest icons.

  But not yet. Kaca (“Bird of Prey”), a female with a baby, today has decided to let us know we are still just visitors. While we are hacking through a wall of vines to get a glimpse of the silverback Kakono, who is mighty impressive despite the local meaning of his name – “Lame Arm” – Kaca sneak attacks us, springing like a grasshopper from the brush behind. Augustin gets a playful slap and in an instant is rolling on his back with his legs up in the air like a comedic scene from an old Charlie Chaplin movie. As Kaca whirs by, Kakono decides to join in, charging from the left, gums and teeth ablaze trampling everything in sight. James calmly orders us to bunch up and hold our ground – never run from a gorilla as they are way faster than you and WILL catch you.

  But Kakona stops about eight feet (three meters) from us. He’s just testing the skinny apes. In the confusion we fail to notice Nshongi, the dominant male silverback, cocooned in another dense thicket to our right. He apparently decides it is necessary to prove he is still boss, and hurdles our way a split second after Kakona backs off.  But he is just testing us as well, stopping in the mud a few meters from our right flank and turning around to casually saunter off into the swamp. Three gorillas weighing more than the six of us combined up close and personal in under 15 seconds!

  Benjamin, Augustin, James and the rangers continue to laugh. It’s addictive, and I am finally able to muster a chuckle too, even though I am still bent over, cowering behind James. This is a normal occurrence with gorilla habituation, and the rangers here are all professionals who know what to do. Close encounters are part of the job. With patience, understanding and respect, the Nshongi gorillas will be ready for visitors soon. Those visitors will provide much needed income to the local area so IGCP can continue to work with the park service and our other partners to build a bright future for the gorillas and their human neighbors. The resulting community projects will, in the end, benefit everyone.

  A sample of the unique and beatiful plant life found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (I never did get the name of this plant... does anyone know?).

  I am honored to participate in this process, teeth bearing and all. A charge from 400 pounds of muscle is a small price to pay for the opportunity to serve and contribute to  sustainable livelihoods. We leave Nshongi and his brood to their banana stalks and emerge from the forest as the sun begins to bake the adjacent potato and cabbage fields from which the people of Rushaga will feed their families.

  A mama with her tiny baby is on guard on top of the adjacent hill to chase away raiding baboons, elephants and other hungry forest inhabitants bold enough to venture outside their verdant home. A long necked heron elegantly soars above us. I still feel a little weak at the knees. But it is a good weakness: equal parts exhilaration and satisfaction.

  Rushaga’s inhabitants are looking forward to the dividends tourism will bring, and my impression is that both forest and village communities here are currently at peace. The future does indeed seem as bright as this late morning Bwindi sun.

• Mysterious Gorilla Death in Bwindi Under Investigation

  Posted: March 18, 2009, 8:27 pm by IGCP

  11/3/2009

  An adult female gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda has died under mysterious circumstances. The female, named Kasongo, was from the Mubare gorilla family, which is habituated and visited by tourists.

  On the evening of March 6th, Kasongo was found dead on public land near the Bwindi Park headquarters in Buhoma. Dr. Ssebide of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project performed a post-mortem examination, results from which showed that Kasongo had a cracked skull, which could have resulted from a deliberate blow to the head. An investigation into her death has been launched by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

  Little else is known about the circumstances surrounding Kasongo’s death at this time. IGCP Uganda Programme Officer James Byamukama is following the investigation, and will report any new findings when they are available. IGCP will continue to follow this story, and will report updates when we know more.

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• Bringing Green Energy to Lomako

  Posted: March 17, 2009, 1:28 pm by Paul

  I received this photo from Jef Dupain in the Congo Heartland. He says, “We are incorporating green practices into Lomako Center as much as possible. Because the Center is in the middle of the forest, it’s important that we have low impact. Plus it saves cost too. Bringing fuel and batteries and things all the way out here is too expensive. So we’re trying to be creative to find better solutions.”

  Bogo Lights, solar torches.

  These solar torches called BoGo Lights are part of that solution. These were donated to AWF through Mark Bent’s SunLight Solar program.

  “Their marketing approach is novel,” said Kurt Redenbo, AWF’s Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations. “When a customer purchases one torch they have the chance to designate AWF to receive a free torch. Buy one, give one.”

  “Wherever I go, I see people reacting very positively to these solar lights,” said Jef.

  The team shows off the donated solar BoGo Lights.

  The picture includes part of the team heading to the Lomako Conservation Science Center for the opening. From left to right:
  Alfred Zola (AWF officer based in Basankusu), Nady Mpiana (consultant for AWF who is helping to prepare for the release of bonobos here in Basankusu), Ghislain Belembo (ICCN-AWF, monitoring large mammals in Lomako Reserve), Guyguy (Guard…very proud on his solar now), Jolie Okako (videojournalist making documentaries on AWF), Cecilia Julve (consultant helping develop “hunting management plan” in south of Lomako Reserve), Gisèle Kabolle (AWF intern working with Cecilia), Theo Way (AWF officer working on civil society strengthening, based in Basankusu).

• Getting Ready for the Expedition

  Posted: March 16, 2009, 11:41 am by Paul

  The Congo Heartland is buzzing in anticipation of the big opening of the Lomako Conservation Science Center (LCSC).

  Solar panels and other equipment arrives in Basankusu.

  A plane arrived in Basankusu with 2 tons of equipment, mainly solar panels. The panels will travel by motorized canoe to the forest for installation over next few days. The canoe will travel non-stop for an estimated 40hrs, going all the way up to LCSC, then back to Basankusu to pick up travelers.

  Alfred, in the picture, miraculously got the equipment to Basankusu in time… despite irregular flights, changes in flights due to weather conditions, lack of fuel, and DRC having an unexpected public holiday because they won a big soccer (football) match!

  The inspector of Environment gives the dinner a thumbs up.

  We invited the local authorities (Comité de Sécurité) for a presentation on AWF’s work in the Heartland and dinner in the garden of the AWF office in Basankusu.

  Touching up the office sign.

  Getting the AWF office lookin’ good for our VIPs. Guests include government ministers and other officials, ICCN senior staff, a Reuters journalist, consultants, and partners.

  Videojournalist Jolie Okako delicately packs for the expedition to Lomako.

  Heading to the forest.

  The first canoe leaves town with the first load of guests, on their way to Lomako. Bon voyage! Don’t let the tsetse flies eat you!

• Journey to Lomako

  Posted: March 15, 2009, 10:39 am by Valentin

  We are getting ready for the opening of the Lomako Conservation Science Centre, which is in the heart of the DRC. Many people wonder how one actually gets there. It’s quite an adventure. So let me tell you…

  You leave Kinshasa by plane, from either Ndolo airport or Ndjili international airport, destination : Basankusu in the Province of Equateur.

  After a three-hour flight you land in Basankusu, from here it is a short 1.2 km to find the hotels: ‘Chez Papa Cézar’, ‘Chez Jamar’ and ‘L’Avenir’. You can spend the night in either of these hotels which are all of a good standard. In Basankusu you can find the African Wildlife Foundation’s (AWF) office on the edge of the Lolonga River, not far from the District’s administration office. In the office we will be able to help with any formalities and the logistics of getting to the Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve (LYFR).

  The AWF office in Basankusu.

  The LYFR was created in 2006, it is in the heart of the equatorial rainforest and lies between the rivers Lomako and Yokokala, tributaries of the Maringa and the Lopori rivers in the hydrographical basin of the Lolonga. To reach the LYFR there are two routes, by road or by river.

  1. Travelling by road is not really advised because the roads between Basankusu, Befale, Lomako and Lingunda (home to the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, or ICCN, base) are in bad condition.

  2. Travelling by river by either of the two entries is what is advised:

  • From Basankusu, navigate first up the Lopori River by motorised dug-out canoe, followed by the Yokokala River to the north edge of the Reserve where you can view the beautiful scenery and may be lucky enough to see the herds of bongos. Due to the youth of our Reserve, this northern part is not yet developed as we can only focus on one part at a time as opposed to the whole reserve.
  • From Basankusu, navigate first up the Maringa River by motorised dug-out canoe, this route takes you past the old prison of Ekafera which was reserved for the politicians in the day of President Mobutu’s rule. From the Maringa you join the Lomako and after the 17 hour non-stop journey you will find yourself at the Tuende river-mouth which marks the beginning of the Reserve. After yet another hour you will reach Lingunda, the ICCN Base for the LYFR.

  The 25 hour trip up the rivers to Lomako onboard the wooden boat.

  In Lingunda you can meet the ‘Conservateur’, Chief of the site of the LYFR with his management team as well as a team of guards who keep watch over the reserve. It is here that you will pay the entrance fees as you watch the monkeys animating the trees around the camp. You can spend a night in Lingunda before reaching the LCSC if you wish to do so.

  We work closely with the ICCN Conservateur stationed at Lingunda to oversee Lomako.

  When you leave Lingunda you will travel a further 6 hours up the Lomako river, bordered by swampy rainforest. You’ll observe birds, monkeys and the fishermen’s camps just before docking at the Ndele harbour, the site of the LCSC.

  After disembarking, you walk 800 meters on a wooden hand-crafted walkway till you reach solid ground. A further 1.2 Km, through the camp, home to the trackers and you finally reach the LCSC where we are sure you will be surprised to see the facilities built in the heart of the equatorial rainforest to aid in the protection and studying not only of bonobos, species endemic to the equatorial rainforest of the DRC, but also the rest of the forest’s biodiversity.

  Egrets perched on the bank of the Lomako river, inside the reserve.

  Upcoming topics I’ll blog about:
  1. What can you expect to find here at Ndele, LSCC?
  2. What biodiversity can you observe or study in the LYFR in general and more particularly at Ndele?

  Continued…

  -

  En francais:

  A partir de Kinshasa vous prenez l’avion soit à l’aérodrome de Ndolo soit à l’aéroport international de Ndjili pour destination Basankusu dans la Province de l’Equateur.

  Après 3 heures de vol vous atterrissez à l’aérodrome de Basankusu à partir duquel vous faite 1,2 Kilomètre pour retrouver les hôtels : Chez Papa Cézar ; Chez Jamar et l’Avenir ou vous pouvez loger et passer nuit dans des bonnes conditions. Sur place à Basankusu, vous trouverez au aussi au bord de la Lolonga et en diagonal du bureau administratif du district de l’Equateur à Basankusu le bureau de African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) qui vous facilitera toutes les formalités administratives et logistiques  pour atteindre la Réserve de Faune de Lomako-Yokokala (RFLY).

  La RFLY créée en 2006 dans le cœur de la forêt équatoriale entre les rivières Lomako et Yokokala, affluents de la Maringa et de la Lopori dans le bassin hydrographique de la Lolonga est accessible par deux voies la voie routière et la voie fluviale.

  1. La voie routière qui n’est pas à conseiller car l’état des routes Basankusu-Befale-Lomako- Lingunda, base de l’Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature(ICCN) n’est plus bonne.

  2. La voie fluviale avec ses deux entrées est la voie la mieux indiquée:]

  • De Basankusu, naviguer par pirogue motorisée la rivière Lopori puis la rivière Yokokala, la limite nord de la RFLY où vous avez la chance de visiter les beaux paysages de la Yokokala et les troupeaux de Bongos. Cette partie nord n’est pas encore bien développée vu l’état jeune de notre réserve qui demande de commencer quelque part et non partout au même moment.
  • De Basankusu, naviguer par pirogue motorisée la rivière Maringa passant par le port de l’ancien prison de Ekafera réserve aux politiciens à l’époque du Président Mobutu puis laisser la maringa pour prendre la Lomako où après 17 heures de navigation sans arrêt, vous vous retrouverez à l’embouchure de la rivière Tuende sur la Lomako qui est le début de la RFLY puis une heure de plus de navigation, vous arrivez à Lingunda , Base l’ICCN( autorité légale gestionnaire des aires protées en République Démocratique du Congo) pour la gestion de la RFLY.

  Sur place à Lingunda vous trouverez le Conservateur chef de site de la RFLY avec son équipe de gestion et une équipe des gardes qui font la surveillance de la Réserve. Là, en observant les singes qui patrouillent la station, vous payerez vos droits d’entrée à la Réserve et vous pouvez même y passer une nuit si vous voulez bien avant de chercher à rejoindre le LCSC.

  Quittant Lingunda, vous faites un voyage de 6 heures sans arrêt le long de la Lomako entrain d’observer le paysage de la forêt marécageuse de la Lomako ; la faune aviaire ; les singes et le campement des pêcheurs pour accoster au port de Ndele, site de LCSC.

  Débarquant au port, vous marchez 800 mètres sur un pont artisanal fait à bois d’arbustes puis vous foulez le sol de Ndele pour marcher 1,2 Kilomètres traversant la résidence des pisteurs avant d’atteindre la le LCSC où inimaginablement vous serez étonnés de voir les infrastructures bâtis en plein cœur de la forêt équatoriale pour protéger et étudier non seulement les bonobos, espèce endémique de la forêt équatoriale de la RDC mais aussi le reste de la biodiversité forestière.

  Questions :

  1. Que trouverez-vous à Ndele, site de LCSC ?
  2. Quelle biodiversité observerez ou étudierez vous dans la RFLY en général et à Ndele en particulier ?

  La suite….

• Tracking the Twins - Part 2

  Posted: March 14, 2009, 12:29 pm by IGCP

  Here’s more on my experience tracking the Nkuringo gorilla group in Uganda, which I blogged about earlier.

  As I emerge from the scrubby undergrowth of the Park-to-farm transitional forest I am startled by Mama Christmas, and older female who has broken from the pack and is sitting stoically on top of a huge boulder overlooking the squawking birds and bubbling streams of Bwindi below.

  She seems to enjoy the wind, glancing around and up, and then casually tearing off a few leaves from a young bush creeping up the rock and stuffing them into her mouth. As I stop for a photo, she turns and jumps down towards me. I step aside as she heads down the hill to join the family, apparently satiated by the cool breeze and excellent view.

  Gorillas feed on a wide variety of vegetation like ferns.

  The wind is breaking small branches off of trees as I start the long trek up the mountain.  My knees are happier though, and the sun is still bursting through the thin grey clouds.

  Nkuringo Village’s residents were peacefully going about their business in the early morning when I left, the gorillas are doing well and even the gathering gale adds a strangely calming element to Bwindi’s countless peaks and valleys. It is the kind of morning that makes one fall in love with this very special place.

  The Nkuringo community sits on the border of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

  Still on my high in the afternoon, I pass the Park Warden, James Busiku, on a walk up to my favorite viewpoint, which affords a breathtaking panorama of all seven of the Virunga Volcanoes, the never ending expanse of the Great Rift Valley, Bwindi’s carpeted green slopes and, on a clear day, Uganda’s glacial Ruwenzoris – the “Mountains of the Moon.”

  He tells me the story of the local alcohol, usually brewed with bananas, called Warangi.  It originated in World War II, when the fight for Africa saw German and Italian troops invade the area. They needed their drink, and the locals concocted a brew which the soldiers dubbed “War Gin.” War Gin eventually morphed into “Warangi” in the local Bakiiga language.

  “I don’t like Warangi, though,” says James. “It is cheap, easy to make and plentiful, and too many men in the villages here use it to stay drunk all day.” My balloon has been popped.

  I am brought down to earth by this reminder that there is still much work to be done in our partnership with local communities, and though the Nkuringo gorillas are relatively safe, the communities with which they share their home still need respectful, sustainable development. Our collaboration must evolve alongside IGCP’s gorilla conservation efforts. As I take in the viewpoint, I know that Nkuringo’s natural beauty will always remain, but our work with both its forest and village inhabitants is only beginning.

  This is a serious, long-term commitment.

• Back to Congo

  Posted: March 14, 2009, 11:53 am by Paul

  In November I went to the Congo Heartland in the DRC to help plan the opening of the new Lomako Conservation Science Center – an amazing research and conservation lab that is one of a kind: situated in the heart of the rainforest, 25 hours by boat from civilization, connected with satellite internet, and surrounded by the unique biodiversity – bonobos! – of the new Lomako-Yakokala Faunal Reserve.

  Now they’re putting the finishing touches on the Center, and I’m going back for the grand opening. I’ll be blogging along the way to tell the story and to bring some much deserved visibility to this new initiative which will have major conservation impact.

  The construction of the Lomako Conservation Science Center in November 2008.

  The Center earlier this month.

• Bonobos Are Changing Their Behaviour: Why?

  Posted: March 13, 2009, 11:44 am by admin

  We are still having difficulties locating the bonobos in our research area, but we are finding their food traces of Haumania and Palisota as well as their nests a bit further afield, approximately 7 kilometers from camp.

  The reason lying behind this lack of sightings in the area remains unknown and we are asking ourselves the following questions which we would like to share with other scientists in the hopes that they might be able to enlighten us:

  1. Has our prolonged presence here at Ndele caused the bonobos to flee to another area? To this we might answer no, other researchers who have spent extended periods here can confirm that these bonobos and others elsewhere have always come into contact with people who don’t harm them without changing their home range.
  2. Is it the lack of food, despite a constant presence of Terrestrial Herbaceous Vegetation (THV) such as Haumania and Palisota that has caused them to move elsewhere, and if so what benefit are they finding where they are as we still share the same ecosystem and climate?

  Either way we can certainly say that a phenomenon never recorded in the area is now occurring: In this part of the Lomako, the dry season runs from January to March each year, unfortunately so far this year it has not rained nearly enough everyday. As a consequence there is a problem of food availability, especially for the frugivores in the area. Since the very fruitful season in 2007, most of the tree species have given no flowers and no fruit and when they do give fruit, these are decimated before they are even ripe whilst the bonobos continue to wait for ripe fruit.

  Me and the guides in the forest looking for bonobos.

  We therefore suppose that the food availability may be a consequence of a change in the phenological cycle of the trees in the area if only the Lomako region is affected, or perhaps on a larger scale due to global climate change. If all or most of the ecosystems are affected it could be the cause for the change in the behaviour of the bonobos. They are known to vocalize a lot when feeding on the fruit of the large trees that they prefer, but they no longer do this, not only because the fruit are no longer present but also because when they are present they are in such small quantities that they are either eaten by the small monkeys first or monopolized by the first individual or individuals that reach them.

  What are your thoughts? We ask for the advice or thoughts of any researchers especially past researchers in Lomako.

  -

  En francais:

  Changement de Comportement Chez les Bonobos de Lomako : Pourquoi?

  Nous avons toujours difficile à trouver les bonobos dans notre zone d’étude mais nous retrouvons leurs restes alimentaires de Haumania et de Palisota et leurs nids un peu plus loin à environ 7 Kilomètres du camp de Ndele.

  Map of Lomako Reserve, highlighting our study area. Click to enlarge.

  Les raisons que nous n’arrivions plus à voir les bonobos dans notre zone d’étude ne sont pas encore connues et nous sommes entrain de nous poser ces quelques questions que nous souhaitons partager avec les scientifiques bien outillés en la matière pour un éclaircissement:

  1. Est-ce notre présence prolongée dans le site a fait fuir les bonobos vers d’autres endroits? Là, nous pouvons dire non à condition que les autres chercheurs qui ont fait plus du temps sur le terrain en étudiant les bonobos nous précisent car ces bonobos et même ceux d’ailleurs ont toujours été en contact avec les personnes qui ne les agressent pas sans changer le domaine vital.
  2. Est- ce le manque de nourriture, malgré la présence permanente d’une végétation terrestière herbicole (THV) à l’exemple de Haumania et Palisota qui a fait déplacer les bonobos vers ailleurs et si tel est le cas, pourquoi ce déplacement car nous sommes dans un même écosystème qui bénéficie du même climat?

  En tout cas, nous pouvons signaler qu’il se passe un phénomène jamais observé dans la région : dans cette région de la Lomako la saison sèche a toujours eu lieu de janvier en mars chaque année mais malheureusement cette année durant cette même période, il continu à pleuvoir chaque jour. Comme conséquence, il se pose un problème de  disponibilité de la nourriture surtout pour les frugivores dans la région du fait que depuis la dernière saison de 2007 qui a donné beaucoup des fruits dans la forêt, jusqu’aujourd’hui, la plupart d’espèces d’arbres ne donnent ni fleur ni fruit et les quelques qui en donnent, leurs fruits sont consommés et exterminés avant qu’ils soient mûrs alors que les bonobos ne consomment que les mûrs.

  Sur ce, nous supposons que la disponibilité de la nourriture qui peut être une conséquence soit du changement de cycle phénologique des arbres de la région au cas où cela ne concerne que la région de la Lomako seule ou soit du changement climatique et réchauffement de la planète. Si cela atteint tous ou la majorité des écosystèmes serait à la base du changement de comportement chez les bonobos surtout qu’ils (bonobos) sont reconnus faire beaucoup des vocalisations lorsqu’ils mangent les fruits des grands arbres préférés et ne les font plus non seulement par manque de ces fruits mais aussi parce que au cas où ces fruits sont là ; soit qu’ils sont consommés par les petits singes ou soit qu’ ils sont en petite quantité qui est monopolisée par l’individu ou les individus qui les découvrent le premier.

  Aux scientifiques et surtout aux anciens chercheurs des bonobos de Lomako nous demandons conseil.

• Collaring a Lion

  Posted: March 12, 2009, 5:07 pm by Paul

  After two long days of searching without success, we finally found the lion. I had been out in Buffalo Springs looking there, while Shivani was in Samburu Reserve. At 6:36 in the morning, Shivani - the AWF Charlotte Fellow - had found a pair of males basking in the dry riverbed of the Ewaso Nyiro. When she finally reached me on the radio around 10:00 I rushed over, approaching from the other side of the river.

  Then the waiting began. We sat there watching the two boys through binoculars, baking in our cars. As the day grew longer and hotter, the lions made no sign they were about to leave the shade and cool sand. The Kenya Wildlife Service vet, Dr. Stephen Chege, was driving up from Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, about 4 hours away. We had some time to kill.

  The two males dozed in the shade while we waited for the KWS vet to arrive.

  Shivani knew both male lions – Lguret and Loirish – who moved from an adjacent community conservancy into the reserve last September. Lguret was the one to be collared, because, as Shivani explained, “he was maneless – Loirish appeared to be growing a mane and I didn’t want the collar to bother him if he was growing a mane.  But the reason I chose these guys specifically is because of them being community lions and they will move out and wander when it rains and leave the protected confines of reserve. I want to see how, when and where they wander to.”

  After 10 hours of waiting, Chege arrived and the operation began. Shivani developed a plan with him and he prepared the dart and cocktail of anesthesia. From my position on the other side of the dry river, I had a great vantage point as Shivani and Chege drove down into the river and crept up to the lazy lions.

  Driving down into the dry Ewaso Nyiro to dart the lion.

  The lions in the reserve are so accustomed to vehicles that Lguret didn’t even bother to look at the approaching Suzuki. He continued to snooze, with no clue that he was about to have quite a scare.

  Seconds after Dr. Chege fired the dart perfectly into his shoulder, Lguret leaped up and wheeled around to see what stung him. You can see the pink plume from the end of the dart.

  With precision aim, Chege fired the dart directly into Lguret’s left shoulder. Lguret leaped up and wheeled around to see what bit him, sending poor Loirish fleeing, wondering what on earth was going on.

  The two lions raced up the riverbank and into the saltbush. We followed them, still keeping a safe distance until Lguret got visibly drowsy and lay down.

  By now, the Samburu rangers and Save The Elephants guys joined us to assist, and they kept a watchful eye on Loirish – who did not want to abandon his fallen comrade – while we slowly approached the unconscious Lguret.

  It was a tense moment as Chege decided the lion was deep asleep, and crept out of the vehicle. How do you make sure the lion is asleep and won’t jump up to eat you? You nudge it with your foot, apparently.

  The team in action, taking measurements of the sleeping lion.

  Everyone snapped into action and for the next one hour worked in unison as if they did this every day. Chege assessed the health of the lion and took blood and tissue samples. Raphael and David affixed the collar around Lguret’s neck, making sure it wasn’t too tight nor too loose. Ranger Mike Lesiil and Jerenimo, an intern, helped wrote down data. Chris made sure the other lion didn’t come back. And at the center of all these men Shivani held court, lifting giant paws and to take measurements, peering at huge canines, and gleaming bits of veterinary skills from Chege.

  Shivani Bhalla, coordinating the lion collaring.

  Dr. Stephen Chege examines the lion's mouth. And all those big teeth.

  The lion’s mouth was a particular point of fascination for everyone. It’s like some basic human instinct compelled us to gaze into the very thing that symbolized the possibility of death. And it was so clean.

  After the collaring was fitted and the necessary data was collected, we quickly posed for the necessary photos to document this incredible event. There was a giddy energy among us. That same energy that comes after some danger avoided.

  The antidote was administered, and Lguret slowly came around. On wobbly legs, he got up and staggered away from us into the bushes, perhaps wondering what was the new thing around his neck and how he got such a mean hangover.

  The lion, after waking up, showed off his new research collar, then promptly headed to the bushes to take a nap.

  We stayed with him to make sure he was in good condition and not aversely affected by the collar or operation.

  The radio-collaring operation was a great success. This is the first time that movement data from a lion in Samburu is being gathered and this information is crucial for lion conservation and the management of the ecosystem. Hopefully, Lguret will move from the reserve into community areas, and we will be able to use this key data to develop solutions to reduce human-lion conflict.

  Me and the anesthetized lion.

• Tracking Twins in the Wind

  Posted: March 12, 2009, 11:52 am by IGCP

  Jaime here. It’s an uncharacteristically warm day high in the mountains on the Southern edge of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park here in Southern Uganda. At over 7,000 feet (2,300 meters), the chill during cloudless nights can have a bite, and foggy mornings demand the toasty warmth of a fleece top and thick socks. This morning, as the sun peaks over the horizon, I am in t-shirt sleeves and a groggy smile (mornings have never been my forte), anxious for tracking the twins.

  The forest of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda.

  I’ve come back to Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, IGCP’s innovative partnership project with the local community, to update myself on our work with the villages bordering the park, and hopefully get a glimpse of a very rare occurrence: twin baby gorillas, which were born to mother Kwitonda in November 2008 in the Nkuringo gorilla family, which lives just over the ridge from Clouds on the forest’s edge.

  Even rarer than a mountain gorilla mother having twins is the survival of both into juvenile status and adulthood. It’s still early, but the rangers at the local Park office say that the twins are holding their own so far. I am excited for a peek of even a few seconds of the tiny furry phenoms.

  First though, we have to get down the mountain. Clouds and the Park office are high on the ridge, with the Park boundary deep down in the next valley. My bad knees (three surgeries) are always happier climbing than descending.

  A member of the Nkuringo gorilla group.

  As my guide Silver and I slip down the loose dirt slope, he updates me: the twins are ok, and the family is doing fine, although the second ranking silverback Kisoro, who was my first introduction to the group last time, has left. It seems he was squabbling with some up and coming young male blackbacks, and he eventually decided the constant taunting wasn’t worth it anymore and took off, wandering Bwindi’s thickets for another family to join, or perhaps as a confirmed bachelor.

  Silver is the expert: he habituated (sensitized to human presence) this group over ten years ago, and has been with them ever since. Though Kisoro has not been spotted for about two months, he is confident he’ll be fine.

  After a quick stop at the ranger tracking camp on the forest’s rambling green lip, we plunge into the bamboo, vines and mud in search of dominant silverback Safari and his extended brood. But it turns out to be a dip rather than a plunge: they are only about 600 feet (200 meters) from the camp and moving out of the forest towards the community land on its margins. Apparently, the food pickings are good: a ranger tells me they’ve been hanging around here a few days.

  Rafiki (Friend), a huge blackback male, is the first family member we meet. Or, is it Bahati (Chance)? I am not well acquainted with the Nkuringo family yet, and am too nervous and thrilled to ask the rangers. It doesn’t matter how many times I see mountain gorillas: the anticipation and simple joy of approaching these huge gentle creatures in their thousand-shades-of-green forest home always has my heart beating almost out of my chest.

  After a few minutes we get a glimpse of Safari, and I think Kashotora, who has her nine month old baby clinging to her back while the family chews their way up a steep ridge.  “The advance team hasn’t spotted the twins yet,” Silver informs me.

  As I snap a few shots of Safari sitting in a huge thicket tearing up some young vines for a snack, a ranger whispers, “There are the twins…..over there, hidden.”

  Kwitonda and the healthy gorilla twins. Photo by Caleb Kahima.

  The twins are jealously guarded by Kwitonda and Safari, and sometimes are completely out of sight. Kwitonda, however, has decided to take a rest underneath some bushes on the steepest part of the ridge. Wiping away some branches, I get an obstructed view of two tiny furry lumps, clinging tightly to Kwitonda’s side and breast. They are scrawny, but look healthy, with thick spiked rock star hair and big bright eyes. Kwitonda doesn’t run, but seems determined to keep them out of sight of our prying eyes, inching further under the shady brush. A sturdy wind picks up and screams down the mountainside, prompting everyone to get up and head to calmer corners.

  I am angling for a clear photograph, but I don’t push it. I quickly realize Kwitonda wants – needs – her privacy and the twins don’t need woken up by some hairless ape causing a ruckus tumbling over because he isn’t nearly as good at climbing the forest’s almost vertical slopes as their mother.

  The wind picks up and howls as I scramble up the hill and catch Safari hiding behind a huge tree, poking his massive oblong head out from behind every once in awhile to check on the others. Gorillas love to snack on dead wood, and apparently Safari has found a treasure trove.

  The silverback, Safari, displaying his saddle of silver hair.

  After fifteen minutes I leave him, still munching away, and head back up the mountain, the steady wind now threatening to knock me over backwards.

• New Cameras

  Posted: March 11, 2009, 5:02 pm by Nakedi

  Receiving the 20 brand new cameras is a blessing for us. I am extremely grateful for this. We are finally able to experiment further on the most efficient way to get reliable results from the use of cameras.

  In the first part of the survey we relied heavily on what the guides knew about leopard activity in the concession. We then placed cameras in those areas, and later in similar areas. As a result there was a lot of bias in our sampling design. Furthermore, somehow the results from the first survey suggested that there were more males than females in the area. This is highly unlikely as it is well known that a male leopard’s territory should overlap territories belonging to two or three female leopards.

  The following may help explain what we have:
  1.    We left out a lot of gaps in our first trial;
  2.    By moving the cameras around we created a few discrepancies; and
  3.    We are dealing with a whole new leopard feature altogether.

  The second step in this series of experiments is to place cameras in the form of a grid in a given random area on the concession.

  I managed to place the cameras in the form of 5 x 5 grid, which will allow us to see the random movements of the leopards. I placed the cameras at 1 kilometre apart.

  The red dots are where I placed the new cameras. Click to enlarge.

  It requires a lot of walking. It takes two full days to get it all done, but it is enjoyable. We get to see a lot of game along the way mostly giraffe, white rhino, wildebeest, to name a few. We have yet to walk in to a pride of lions and when that happens, I hope to be able to tell you all about it. Who wants to walk with me? In reality though, it is a challenge to get people to join on a daily basis. It can get strenuous and tiring.

  Below is the list of people who helped or attempted to help:

  Day 1: 9 hours/12 cameras set
  Shadrak Nyathi (Kruger Park Field Ranger): Survived the onslaught, mentioned the hours in passing with a smile.
  Kim Laxton (Visitor): Brought the wrong shoes and had to quit along the way.
  Nakedi Maputla: Overslept, had to apologise for what felt like an eternity and ruined a pair of socks from carrot seed grass.

  Day 2: 10 hours/13 cameras set
  Shadrak Nyathi, the field ranger from Kruger National Park: Survived, said something about the hours while smiling.
  Nakedi Maputla: Ruined a pair of socks from carrot seed grass.

  Day 3: Checking cameras; 7 hours/12 cameras checked
  Ben Delport, Singita guide: Ruined a pair of socks from carrot seed grass, his last pair, but said he enjoyed it.
  Nakedi Maputla: Ruined a pair of socks from…

  Lesson learned: Never oversleep

  This method should theoretically be much easier to analyse than the biased method we used earlier.

  We will leave the cameras in the same area until an apparent asymptote is reached. We will later bait the cameras to see if baiting will have a significant effect on the capture success.

• Training Anti-Poaching Scouts in Amboseli

  Posted: March 11, 2009, 4:00 pm by Muoria

  As I mentioned in my earlier post, working with local communities is crucial in our Grevy’s zebra conservation efforts. We therefore work with local community  scouts  to monitor Grevy’s zebras and other wild animal numbers, human-wildlife conflicts, poaching and other conservation related issues.

  Because of our experience in working with community scouts – in particularly on community areas around Samburu, Buffalo Springs, and Shaba national reserves – I was requested by Fiesta (AWF’s Kilimanjaro Heartland Director) to help recruit and train scouts to monitor wildlife in Osupuko and Kilitome conservancies.

  The Kilitome community scouts we trained near Amboseli.

  These two conservancies lie on an important wildlife corridor connecting Amboseli National Park with Kimana Sanctuary and on to Tsavo West National Park (read more about AWF’s land leasing program with them here).

  Towards the end of last year, I visited the Kilimanjaro Heartland and with Rashid (AWF Field Assistant), we managed to recruit and train 4 scouts who have been monitoring wildlife distribution, poaching, human-wildlife conflicts and other wildlife issues in Osupuko Conservancy.

  Rashid goes over mapping with the scout trainees.

  Last week, I visited the Kilimanjaro Heartland again to help Rashid recruit and train scouts for Kilitome conservancy, located just next to Amboseli National Park. Rashid had already dealt with all the logistical issues, and on 3rd March 2009, 13 members of Kilitome conservancy were eagerly waiting to be interviewed to become Kilitome Conservancy scouts.

  Conducting interviews and selecting the best was very challenging; all the interviewees were prepared to become “community  scouts.” However, only 6 were to be selected and Rashid and myself had to decide on the best 6.

  Rashid trains the scouts how to walk transects using GPS.

  The training day was on 4th March. The 6 new scouts who were selected the previous day were trained on the importance of wildlife, the importance of monitoring and data collection protocols. They learnt to use GPS units and to record wildlife sightings, human-wildlife conflict incidents, poaching and other illegal wildlife killing incidents, and vegetation destruction.

  Here I am in "the Dusty Heartland" working with a GPS unit.

• Welcome to the IGCP Gorilla Blog

  Posted: March 10, 2009, 2:17 pm by IGCP

  Greetings everyone!  Jamie Kemsey here, and welcome to the new IGCP mountain gorilla blog. I am the Communications Officer at IGCP, and I am excited to share information with you on the dynamic world of the mountain gorilla and our efforts for conservation of this strong, noble and mysterious species.

  As I don’t get out to the field nearly enough, I will often turn the story of the mountain gorilla and our work over to our expert field staff in the mountain gorillas’ range states of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda.

  A young gorilla feeding on bamboo in Rwanda.

  IGCP has active programs and a multitude of projects in and surrounding the gorilla national parks of these three countries, and reports will come your way from the verdant cool misty slopes of the extinct volcanoes and rugged mountains the gorillas call home, as well as the crowded community markets and packed meeting rooms where conservation initiatives are hatched and policy is made (gorilla conservation is not all glamour!).

  Along the way, we will introduce you some of our partners and collaborators who work with the gorillas and work with the families and individuals that live near the National Parks where the gorillas are found. Local communities are the heart of mountain gorilla conservation, and we look forward to introducing you to such projects as mushroom farming in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a women’s basket weaving cooperative in Rwanda and a beekeeping and honey production business in Uganda.

  We will also keep you up to date on families of the furry variety, with reports on the gorillas’ movement, welfare and struggle for survival in a strikingly beautiful area where the only constant, in addition to the cool rains that nurture the area’s wealth of wildlife and rich biodiversity, is change.

  We hope you will continue to join us on our journey in this incredible landscape to conserve one of the world’s most endangered great apes. Thanks for joining us, and enjoy the gorilla tracking!

  An IGCP-trained ranger monitoring gorillas.

  IGCP – the International Gorilla Conservation Program – is a coalition of the African Wildlife Foundation, Fauna and Flora International and World Wide Fund for Nature. IGCP has been leading mountain gorilla conservation efforts since 1991.

• The Lomako Conservation Science Centre is Almost Complete

  Posted: March 9, 2009, 6:39 pm by Valentin

  In June 2006, with the support of the local population in Lomako and Bongandanga, the Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve (3,625 km2) was created and these two communities (Befale and Bongandanga) where recruited and trained by the Congolese wildlife authority, ICCN, with help from AWF, as guards who where to watch over the reserve; various development projects where set up in these two villages to promote conservation.

  Lomako Guards being trained.

  In 2007, Papa Bosco and Papa Mange won prizes from the Abraham Foundation; both these men have long worked on conservation projects and have even risked their lives for the protection of the bonobos of the Lomako forest.

  Today, AWF is building a centre for research on the forest biodiversity called the Lomako Conservation Science Centre. This centre will promote not only the bonobos of this forest but also all the other species of animals and plants that we find here.

  Construction is nearly complete on the historic Lomako Conservation Science Centre.

  The construction work is coming to an end and in two weeks we will be holding the inauguration. The centre will welcome researchers and tourists from all over and the takings will be used not only to support the ongoing management of the reserve but also to support development for the human populations around this protected area.

  Local people around Lomako (including Papa Bosco end Papa Mange) are hired as trackers at the Centre to habituate the bonobos to human presence and to guide and assist the researchers and tourists in all the activities of the Reserve.

  The crew of Lomako Conservation Science Centre.

  The bonobos of the Lomako forest brought about the creation of the Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve which will now be promoted by the Lomako Conservation Science Center for Conservation which will in turn support socio-economic development projects for the local populations fighting against poverty.

  -

  En francasi:

  Avec l’appui de la population de Lomako et leur sœur de Bongandanga ; en juin 2006, la Réserve de Faune de Lomako-Yokokala (3625km²) a été créée et ces deux peuples (Befale et Bongandanga) sont recrutés et formés par l’ICCN avec l’appui de AWF comme gardes pour assurer la surveillance de la Réserve ; les différents projets de développement sont initiés en faveur de la conservation dans les villages occupés par ces deux peuples.

  En 2007, Papa Bosco et Papa Mange qui ont longtemps travaillés dans les projets de Conservation et ont risqués leurs vies à cause en faveur de la protection des bonobos dans la forêt de Lomako ont gagné le Prix Abraham Foundation.

  Aujourd’hui, AWF est entrain de construire un centre de formation et de recherche en biodiversité forestière dénommé Centre Scientifique pour la Conservation de Lomako pour valoriser non seulement les bonobos de cette forêt mais aussi toutes les autres espèces animales et végétales.

  Les travaux de construction de ce centre sont presque à la fin et l’inauguration intervient dans deux semaines. Ce centre accueillera les chercheurs et touristes venant de tous les horizons et les recettes générées par ce centre seront utilisées non seulement pour appuyer la pérennisation de la gestion de la Réserve mais aussi pour appuyer le développement de la population locale autour de cette aire protégée.

  La population de Lomako (y compris Papa Bosco et Papa Mange) est recrutée comme Pisteur pour travailler dans le Centre Scientifique pour habituer les bonobos à la présence humaine et guider et assister les chercheurs et les touristes dans toutes leurs activités dans la Réserve.

  Bref, les bonobos de Lomako ont permis la création de la Réserve de Faune de Lomako-Yokokala valorisée par le Centre Scientifique pour la Conservation de Lomako qui appuiera le développement socio-économique de la population de Lomako et les environs et de lutter contre la pauvreté.

• Why Do People Kill Lions?

  Posted: March 9, 2009, 4:35 pm by Paul

  In the past two decades, more than half of Africa’s lions have been wiped out. As Bernard Kissui wrote in his lion blog, the remaining populations of the African lion are restricted to small and isolated protected areas, where, despite concerted protection, they are subject to unusually high mortality due to close interactions with an ever increasing human population outside protected areas.

  “One of the main threats to lions is from people killing lions after their livestock has been killed,” Shivani Bhalla, who I’m with in the Samburu Heartland, told me. She was trying to put it in perspective for me.

  “Think about it. To a pastoralist, his cattle is everything. It’s as valuable to him as your home or your job is to you. If something came in the middle of the night and took all of that from you, wouldn’t you be angry? Wouldn’t you do something about it?

  “They are not malicious people. I think if we can reduce the number of livestock killed by lions and prove that living lions can be valuable to them, they’ll stop these revenge-style killings.”

  A Tanzanian lion killed in retaliation for killing a cow.

  The long-term conservation of Africa’s lions will depend on resolving conflicts with humans. People may be part of the problem, but they’re also essential in the solution.

• Spending Time With the Collared Leopard

  Posted: March 8, 2009, 9:18 pm by Nakedi

  The second leopard that we collared has started giving us some valuable data. We already know that there was a considerable amount of space overlap with the previous leopard that died from porcupine inflicted injuries. Unlike the other leopard however, this one seems to spend a considerable amount of time in the open. Up to now I have been lucky to see one of his kills, which was a porcupine.

  He is oozing confidence and this can be seen with his movements in front of the car. Last week I spent about seven hours with him, which was a waste of precious time as I was hoping he would do something, but he just slept, and occasionally rolled on the grass to change sides; Lazy leopard!

  The good thing is that he seems to be gaining his condition, is not limping anymore and enjoys an arboreal life once in a while. Thrice we found him sitting high in the trees.

  Below are a series of photographs of him that I took yesterday.

• The First Collared Lion in Samburu

  Posted: March 7, 2009, 10:09 pm by Paul

  I’m looking for lions. We haven’t found them, or much at all, in this drought that has left Buffalo Springs and Samburu National Reserves parched and dusty. But we need to find them soon.

  I got a call from Shivani Bhalla – the Kenyan PhD candidate studying the declining lion population in this region and working with local Samburu communities to mitigate human-lion conflict – and she told me that she was arranging a small team to assist her put her first radio/GPS collars on lions to better track their movements between the reserves and the surrounding community areas.

  This would be the first officially collared lion in Samburu.  I figured this would be a great opportunity to highlight an AWF Charlotte Fellow in action as well as to bring attention to the serious trouble lions are in, so I drove up to Samburu to document the collaring.

  To fit a research collar on a lion, you need to anesthetize it. To do that, Shivani booked the time of Dr. Stephen Chege, a wildlife vet with the Kenya Wildlife Service. You might remember him from the incident of the zebra killing the cheetah.

  Chege is one of these characters you look at with a tinge of envy. His week, an average one, looked like this: he had to go treat a wounded Grevy’s zebra on Kalama Conservancy one day, then come do the lion collaring, then dash off to inspect an ill white rhino on Ol Pejeta. You know the reality of his job is not as glamorous as it seems, but you can’t help think “when I grow up I want to be like Chege.”

  Wildlife vet, Dr. Stephen Chege

  Before Chege arrives in a couple days, Shivani needs to locate her target lions. She’s a bit on edge since she has a very small window in which to find the lions, get the vet to these lions, and coordinate the other park rangers, wardens, and guys from Save The Elephants who have offered to help with the operation. Unfortunately, the lions aren’t aware of their upcoming appointment with the doctor, so they’re not lying around waiting for us.

  We left camp before sunrise in two vehicles to find the lions. We drove deep into the reserves, along with Shivani’s team of Samburu warriors to track the lions.

  Soon we found these little guys. Just as the warm light was coming up, we spotted three little brown forms rushing from the road’s edge into the bushes. We cut the engine and waited and eventually the playful cubs began their antics again, tumbling, chasing and swatting at each other.

  We didn't find our lions, but we found Nabo's cubs enjoying the sunrise.

  These were Nabo’s cubs that we spotted on my last trip here in July. Since these were important cubs – the first to be born in the reserve in nearly three years – it was great to see them now 9 months old, healthy and bigger. Their mother must have been out hunting.

  A single sighting like this cub is why I love my job.

  Eight hours later, the two vehicles were still driving around, without a sign of the adult lions. While Lekuraiyo, the Samburu tracker, studied the dirt for paw prints, I kept an anxious eye and ear on my car.

  Getting here wasn’t easy. AWF has been hit hard by the global financial crisis, so I wanted to keep my trip costs to a minimum and decided to drive myself in “The Tractor,” my old, rickety Land Cruiser. Halfway between Nairobi and Samburu, there was a violent lurch and clang, and I pulled over to find my drive shaft dragging on the ground. I don’t know squat about auto-mechanics, but I knew that couldn’t be good.

  I was on the outskirts of a small town, Isiolo, and I was able to call Philip Lenaiyasa from AWF’s Samburu Heartland team, who quickly put me in touch with a friend of his in Isiolo with a backyard garage.

  I’m always impressed with Africa’s networks. There I was, stranded on the side of the road in the middle of hot Kenya, wondering how much drinking water I have in my car, and soon enough I had about four people sending help – not to mention the people passing by who asked if I needed a hand.

  Four hours later, with a new something called a flench, I was pulling The Tractor into Shivani’s camp.

  One of Nabo's three cubs, posing on a fallen tree.

• Photos from the School Trip to the Wildlife Reserves

  Posted: March 5, 2009, 2:40 pm by Muoria

  Last time, I blogged about our recent excursion with 28 primary school students to Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves. I wanted to share some photos to help illustrate the story. Enjoy!

  We took the kids to the parks on AWF’s newly acquired bus. Help us think of a fun name for the bus.

  Arriving at the Ngare Mara gate of Buffalo Springs National Reserve. Check out that Grevy's paint job!

  Students take a break at Buffalo Springs, the reserve's namesake.

  The Grevy’s zebra project car drives past some Grant’s gazelles. The students and teachers were surprised that wild animals were not running away. Back home, the wild animals would have taken off fast due to harassment and poaching, which our project has been documenting.

  We encountered a group of 55 Grevy’s zebras in Samburu Reserve. The students saw about 80 Grevy’s zebras in total during our game drive.

  Students watching elephants: for most of the students, this was their first encounter with elephants. This surprised me because I know the students come from areas inhabited by elephants.

  The region is so dry right now. The reserve management is having a rough time as they have to pay people to scoop sand along the dry river bend to create wells to sustain wild animals.

  Students listen to talks from reserve management about the value of wildlife conservation. They also learnt about the plight of Grevy’s zebra from the Grevy’s zebra project staff.

  I had not realized the significance of the trip until a ranger who has worked in Buffalo Springs since 1972 informed us that he has never seen students from Isiolo visiting the reserve. The ranger and other reserve staff hoped that members of the local community would visit the reserves more often so that they can appreciate wildlife conservation.

  We might receive very many requests for such trips – We hope we will, we hope we can afford to have more trips, we believe with your support we can. We need to recruit more and more wildlife Guardians particularly among the young generation. If you’d like to help us get more children exposed to wildlife, please click here.

  Next month, we will conduct a series of public awareness meetings discuss the conservation of Grevy’s zebras and other wild animals in Isiolo community areas adjacent to Buffalo Springs, Shaba and Samburu national reserves. We will also be counting Grevy’s zebra on community land and Samburu and Buffalo Springs national reserve so do not miss our updates as we continue guarding Grevy’s zebra.

• Lion Conservation Challenges: Building a Better Boma

  Posted: March 4, 2009, 3:30 pm by Kissui

  Over the years we have learnt that ineffective husbandry - especially poor livestock security at night - contributes significantly to high levels of livestock predation. At night, livestock is kept in enclosures (bomas) usually made of thorn bush walls. Such bomas do not provide adequate security against invading predators.

  We are now working with pastoralists’ communities to implement a program towards livestock security improvement by reinforcing bomas with sturdy materials such as chain-link fences. Under this program, pastoralists’ families contribute 50% of the costs towards the purchase of reinforcement materials for their boma while we support by providing the remaining half.

  We are seeing an increased interest among pastoralists’ families participating in this program, and we are optimistic that more will be joining the program. The success of this program not only will reduce livestock losses experienced by pastoralists but will also promote the coexistence between human and large carnivores in this social-ecological landscape by reducing incidences of retaliatory killing of lions and other large predators.

  A typical boma made of thorn bush walls for livestock keeping. These bomas are not effective in preventing lion attacks on cattle.

  One of our reinforced "predator-proof" bomas.

• Update on Lion Killings in the Maasai Steppe

  Posted: March 2, 2009, 1:28 pm by Kissui

  In my previous blog post, I promised to provide details about the recent human-lion conflict incident in our study area in which a male and a lioness from one of our study prides called Altipiano were speared to death because of predation on livestock.

  The incident took place at the end of December 2008, and summed up a total of twelve lions killed in retaliation for livestock predation for 2008. Since this incident, three other incidents have occurred in Jan/Feb 2009 where at least four lions from other prides have fallen victims to retaliatory killing.

  Retaliatory killing took at least 24 lions in 2007. During 2004-2008, at least 149 lions were killed in retaliation for livestock predation in 12 villages that we have consistently surveyed during this period.

  Livestock predation and retaliatory killing of predators is a huge conservation challenge in the Maasai Steppe because of the unique dynamic interaction between people and wildlife. Although the wildlife migrates over an area 30,000 sq.km., the core protected areas cover less than 10% of the entire landscape over which the wildlife migrate.

  We have regularly surveyed Esilalei, Selela, Loiborsoit, Emboret, Engaruka chini & juu, Oltukai, Minjingu and Makuyuni villages over the past four years to understand the magnitude of human-lion conflicts, its impact and how the conflicts can be mitigated. Other villages being surveyed include Loibo-serit, Lolkisale and Mswakini.

  In the wet seasons (i.e. November through May), migratory herbivores from core protected areas spend up to six months in communal land outside protected areas. Lions move in response to herbivore migration. Livestock predation and retaliatory killing is highest in wet season months.

  Because the human population is fast growing, lions must now navigate through more and more people and livestock when they leave protected areas. Because lions from protected areas utilize communal land for nearly half a year, the future survival for lions in the ecosystem will depend on successful resolution of conflicts and increased tolerance to carnivores by livestock keepers. Livestock attack events by lions strongly correlate the number of lions killed, suggesting that predation problem exposes lions to increased mortality risk due to retaliatory killing.

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

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

The end of the fish cakes