RALLY RAID KENYA AND ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2

Rally Raid Kenya is a multi-round “Dakar style” national championship open to cars, buggies, quads & bikes & run to a two day format. Rally Raid Kenya is a multi-round “Dakar style” national championship open to cars, buggies, quads & bikes & run to a two day format. It is the fastest growing form of motorsport in the country with upwards of 45 competitors at each event. Based on the world famous “Dakar” event our cross country rally raids run to a two day format over a variety of terrain with the emphasis on navigation!
This event was hosted in Soysambu Conservancy on both Saturday May19th and Sunday 20th; it was fantastic despite the challenges due to wet season.
The sponsors of the event were;
Colortunes – competition numbers
ALS – medical helicopter
Feast with the Beast – accommodation and catering
Kick Energy & Mayes Media – DVD and TV coverage
All of the motor clubs and competitors (and their families)
Winners for the day were;
Cars
Simon & Whiz – Hybrid Plaz – 3:34:37
Bikes
Ross Field – 4:25:11
Quads
Joe Boulanger – 4:31:56
Many thank s to Mike Borrisow and his team for the good work that made the event successful.
Shared from;
Community Education and Awareness Desk.

AWARENESS AND DE-SNARING WEEK

Bush meat is a term used to describe meat taken from the wild. Historically, hunter-gatherer communities used bush meat as a source of protein in a sustainable way. Today however, bush meat poaching has evolved from a low subsistence activity to a huge commercial trade supplying urban and even international markets. Illegal poaching for bush meat has contributed significantly to wildlife loss and poses a great threat to species conservation.
Snares are indiscriminate, strategically positioned across animal tracks to capture, maim and kill wildlife, for this reason Soysambu Conservancy in collaboration with BORNFREE FOUNDATION team and Greensteds International School set aside a week to carry out De-snaring, Education and awareness activities as from 2nd may and ended on 6th, the work was well done as a total of seventeen snares was collected over the period.
Thanks team for you ensured the safety of our animals in the wild, keep it up.
Shared from;
Community Education and Awareness Desk.

Briefing before De-Snaring.

Soysambu and BORNFREE Team.

Soysambu and BORNFREE Team.

De-snaring Team
De-snaring Team

SPECIES.

By Duncan Odour

Species consists of individual organisms which are very similar in appearance, anatomy, physiology and genetics having relatively recent common ancestors. Many species survive in specialized habitats. When these habitats are destroyed or fragmented the threat of extinction looms.

Cape Buffalo Herd Soysambu Conservancy

Herd of Cape Buffalo in Soysambu Conservancy

Keystone species is defined as one that has a critical role in determining and maintaining the overall relationship of plants and animals within an ecosystem. If a keystone species is removed or declines, the nature of the ecosystem will change dramatically. Keystone species of plants or animals appear to exhibit a particularly large influence on the ecosystem they inhabit. Keystone Species are essential to ecosystems and biodiversity.


zbras

Zebras are keystone species in Soysambu conservancy.

Elephants as a keystone species.

As keystone species, elephants stop the progression of grassland to forest or thicket by weeding out the trees and shrubs.   Elephants browse on these woody plants, yanking young trees out by their roots or stunting their growth by eating the growth points on their branches or kill it slowly by prying away its bark. Without elephants the grasslands overgrow with woody plants and convert to forests or to shrub-lands. This conversion begins when woody plants, particularly various species of acacias e.g (Acacia nilotica, xanthophloea) sprout among the grasses. Left unchecked, these sprouts can grow and reproduce, eventually forming a closed stand of trees or shrubs. Once in place, the stand’s interlocking branches and leaves shade out the grasses. Without enough sunlight to survive, the grasses dwindle, the grassland disappears. When grasses disappear, so do grazing antelopes and without antelopes, the packs and clans of carnivores also disappear. The newly growing forest supports a new web of life that is more impoverished and less productive feeding fewer species than the grassland.

An elephant grazing does not harm the grasses as grasses are adapted to live in harmony with their grazers sacrificing a few leaves in exchange for keeping their roots and growth points intact.
Grasses ensure this compromise by forming leaves that connect to their roots through weak and narrow bases which snap when a grazer eats the leaves leaving the roots safely below the ground. When a keystone species disappears from its habitat, that habitat changes dramatically. The keystone’s disappearance triggers the loss of other resident species, and the intricate connections among the remaining residents begin to unravel.
As resident species vanish, other species move in or become more abundant. The altered mix of species changes the habitat’s appearance and character.The “new” habitat looks different from the original one, housing a new mix of plants and animals. Often, the new habitat supports fewer species and works less efficiently than the original one as nutrients and energy turn over more slowly and less efficiently, biological diversity dwindles and the landscape begins to change.


More habitat for the critically endangered black rhino

To extend the habitat for the black rhino to Soysambu we have to secure the area so this means the a game fence so I am in the US spreading the word and hoping to gain support as quickly as possible…. big  task with all that is going on at the moment. Any help and advice is very welcome.