It's hot here

I apologize in advance to those of you stuck in a polar vortex or covered in snow... but it is pretty hot here right now during the day. It still gets chilly at night, but once the sun is out, it is definitely hotter than in June and July. I have been working on my tan-- fairly successfully, though unevenly. My arms are much darker than everything else.

I don't know if it is always like this during this time of year, but Mt. Kenya has been clear almost every day for the past couple weeks. So the other day I decided to take some photos. The lighting is not the best because I took them at noon... but here we have some zebras in front of Mt. Kenya, a giraffe in front of Mt. Kenya, and my research equipment (a grazing exclosure cage and camera trap) in front of Mt. Kenya

Feeling Better

Luckily I am starting to feel better and was able to get some work done yesterday.

I checked all of the camera traps and downloaded the photos. We got lots of the usual herbivores I am looking for: zebras, gazelles, warthogs, and cows. Nothing too exciting or unexpected yet, except for this group of dozens of crowned cranes that walked by! Normally you only see two or four together, but they have been hanging out in a mob on Scotts Plain recently.

In lieu of new photos, here are some from the last two years of some lesser-seen nocturnal animals. First an aarvark. Then a zorilla-- kind of like a skunk, but smaller

Unintended break from work

Sorry for my delay in uploading a new post... Unfortunately I have been sick for the last 3 days. I have now gone to the staff clinic and gotten some medecine (antiobiotics and ameobicides... they didn't actually tell me what they thought it was, but hopefully these will kill whatever it is). Hoping they start working soon.

I have been mostly staying in bed which means no new photos to post, and no work getting done! At least I got everything set up and running right before I got sick. The camera traps are up and active, I just haven't been able to check on them yet. But once I do, hopefully I will have some cool pictures to share.
For now, here is a hybrid zebra... the youngest one in fact, H11.001-- born in 2011. No others have been born (that we know of) in the last 2.5 years

Sunset

The Illinois, Stanford, and TNC collaborators left yesterday. But an evening game drive with them the other night provided some fantastic views of the sunset. These are all taken directly off of my camera-- no photoshop or enhancement involved.

Zebras in front of the sunset. And a sleepy jackal yawning after a nap.

I got a lot of work done over the last 2 days and the research has now officially started. Thursday I set up most of the camera traps and distribued my grazing exclosure cages. Yesterday (Friday) I measured grass at all of my cage sites, finished the remaining cameras, and collected GPS units from the cattle bomas. I had a different guard, Issac, who has never come with me to measure grass before. At the end of each site we cut a sample of grass and put it in a paper bag to dry and send off later for nutrient analysis. Issac told me he really liked cutting the grass with my grass-clipping shears (brought from the US). "These are really good scissors. We don't have things like this in Kenya", he told me.

Getting to work

My research has not officially started yet. I am still waiting on some info from cattle GPS collars and then I will get to work setting up camera traps and cages soon.

In the meantime, for the last couple of days, I have had lots of good, long meeting with some new collaborators from Illinios, Stanford, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) who arrived on Sat and Sunday. They are planning to model how cattle and wildlife affect ecosystem services over the whole landscape-- everything from ticks and disease, to human attitudes and economics. I heard about the beginnings of this project over the summer when I was last here and mentioned the research I am already doing. It fits in well with what they are trying to do and so I am excited to be involved now too.  Since photos of us in meetings are not so exciting, here are a few of wildlife instead

My first cheetah sighting since returning. 2 males

 These 2 male giraffe might look light friends in this photo... but they are just pausing in between bouts of hitting each other with their long necks. I got some good videos of it, but not sure if they will upload.

End of December

Before I post more new stuff... I thought I would go back and post some things from December. These are from December 30 driving from Naivasha to Nanyuki (and back to Ol Pejeta). On the way you pass through the town of Nyahururu where Thomson's Falls is located. Near the entrance to the Thomson's Falls viewpoint are these beautiful murals about nature and the local people that I always thought were really cool.

Then in Nanyuki we (me, Sammy, and his 2 cousins) stopped for lunch at Trout Tree. Most of you have heard about it from me already, but it is a restaurant IN a tree (a very big tree).  I have never seen the place so crowded. The whole place was full and we got to sit in the top level, overlooking the ponds where they grow the trout. Since I don't like fish, I got some yummy beef kebabs.
Also, I didn't get a photo... but there is now a hyrax hanging around that will literally climb up your chair and into your lap trying to get food! I pet it!

 

Kenya 2014

It is a new year and a new field season back at Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Some things have changed (there is new staff at the research center, and they have moved the radio room at control), but some things are still the same-- like the amazing views of habitats and wildlife.

The other night I drove to see the hyena den (which is still in the same place near the airstrip, but with a new litter of young pups). This was just before sunset and there was an amazing, clear view of Mount Kenya for the first time since I returned. And the hyena den was situated right in front of it.

I will be here until April 4, collecting more data for (probably) my last field season. Hopefully the cows cooperate and it doesn't rain. I was hoping to come in a dry season... but heavy rains in Nov. and Dec. mean everything is very green and the grass is tall. Oh well. It is good for the animals. We'll see if things start to dry out as the next 3 months wear on.