Category Archives: Conservation

“The land of the graceful Giraffe…”

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My name is Jenny and I recently had the privilege of spending two weeks at Soysambu Conservancy in Kenya. Soysambu, geographically nestled in the Great Rift Valley, is home to a teeming abundance of beautiful wildlife. While I was there I came to realize just how special this place was. It’s not often that people get to experience these animals in their natural habitat. Most of these animals are only viewed in Zoo’s or National Parks.

Cape Buffalo on Soysambu

In Soysambu, animals are free to come and go as they please. It is a credit to the Conservancy that even with their freedom these animals choose to make their homes on Conservancy land. While I was there I saw Cape Buffalo, Impala, Thomson’s Gazelles, Grant’s Gazelles, Rothschild’s Giraffe, Waterbuck, Dik Dik, Burchell’s Zebra, Eland, Flamingos, Pelicans, and numerous African birds. I also was fortunate to be able to participate in a bi-annual Wildlife Census for the Conservancy. After gathering the data is it clear that wildlife is prospering there. Great things are in store for Soysambu in the future. Kat Combes, of Soysambu Conservancy told me her dreams of bringing the once present Black Rhino back onto Conservancy land. To see this dream come to fruition will be a wondrous site. It might take many years of fundraising and planning but I have no doubt that she will reach her dream. She certainly gives her whole heart to this Conservancy. After observing her over the two weeks it is clear that Soysambu is her heaven on earth.

Kirk’s Dikdik on Soysambu

I feel fortunate to have been able to experience everything that Soysambu has to offer. I have come home feeling well rested and knowing that these majestic animals are being well cared for. I know that in the future if I am having a bad day I will be able to close my eyes and be transported back to a land where the graceful Giraffe are “dining” with their family, and the Gazelles are swishing their tails while frolicking with their friends. All the while the beautiful sound of the African Dove can be heard boasting of what a special place in the world this is.

Eland on Soysambu

Soysambu Wildlife Census, September 27th.

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Twice a year a Game Count is conducted on the entire of the Soysambu Conservancy, to give an idea of animal numbers. It is impossible to get an exact count on most animals, however using particular techniques a general idea can be established!

Rangers, staff, volunteers and residents assembled at the head office at 6am to collect counting sheets, binoculars and vehicles. The property was divided into 11 sections and groups of 3-6 people designated to each section, plus an aerial count of larger animals, like Giraffe and Buffalo, over the entire property.

The count took most groups about 3 hours, but the last group didn’t finish until 11am after scrambling through the dense scrub of the Lake Sanctuary!

Rangers counting animals near the Lake

Some of the notable sightings included a Leopard, 4 Hyena, 4 Bat-Eared Foxes wrestling across the plains, and 3 Ground Horn Bills. 63 Rothschild’s giraffe were counted, including quite a few newborns! There were only 7 Colobus Monkeys seen, which adds to suspicions that the population size has dropped.

Over 200 Eland were seen, and 67 warthog were counted, both numbers having increased since last count in MayThese figures are very encouraging as both these species are targeted heavily by poachers. And last night I saw my first Aardvark on a night drive! Very exciting stuff!

Rangers on a lookout hill counting wildlife

Marauding Lion on Soysambu!

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Last week the Conservancy was home to a traveling lion! Foot prints (pictured below), growls in the night, spooked horses, whispers of 2 Masai cattle being taken in the bordering Ututu forest…

Lion foot print

With the help of some Kenya Wildlife Service trackers we followed the footprints from near the main office right across the property to the foot of the Sleeping Warrior, where we lost them. Several days later he was seen near Lake Naivasha passing through several properties (photo below). We can only guess where he is off to, The Mara perhaps- Wildebeest for dinner?

The lion near Naivasha

Flash back: Guereza Colobus Monkey introduction to Soysambu

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Paula Kahumbu helped with the relocation of Colobus monkeys to Soysambu back in 1999. Today she recounts the event

The guereza colobus at Soysambu came from the Malewa river – with the original troop size somewhere between 9 and 15. There was one adult male, several females and Juveniles. The monkeys were being killed by farmers as they were raiding the maize – the farmers had chopped every tree except eucalyptus so the colobus were living in the eucalyptus and feeding on maize.

This is not their natural habitat and the conservancy unfortunately only have a rough estimate of the number of monkeys originally introduced to the area. The current total is belived to be around 12. The monkeys are primarily leaf eaters with ruminant like stomachs. This allows them to digest the mature foliage, however, they also consume fruits, flowers and seeds. The colobinae species is generally found in Asia, but the colobus monkey is only found in Africa, and is therefore a rarity. Due to this fact, there is a large problem with poaching of the monkey’s for their skins and fur, which is traditionally used as tribal headgear or alternatively sold abroad or to tourists. It is therefore paramount that projects such as this one take place to help maintain this endangered animal.

Colobus in the Soysambu riverine forrest

We moved them in 1999 with WSPA and they escaped from the holding cage the same night. We feared they’d scatter but they didn’t. Dr Nick D’souza helped with the translocation – we didn’t need to do any darting or anything – just caught them in cages after about 3 months of habituation, then moved the cages to the news site and released the monkeys into a big cage.

When we came back the next morning they were in the acacia watching us as we searched like idiots amongst the bushes for them. It was the first ever translocation of colobus guereza in Kenya and went perfectly!

A volunteer’s experience

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Volunteer Shalynn Pack tells of her 4 weeks at Soysambu

Habari!

Hello all, my name is Shalynn Pack and I just returned home to the USA after volunteering in Soysambu. I’ve got one year of university left, studying Zoology and Wildlife Conservation. I came to Kenya this summer to do a 2 month internship with Kenya Wildlife Services at Lake Nakuru National Park. Long story short, that didn’t work out but luckily, I found Soysambu! I moved out here with 4 weeks to spare before my flight home, and I couldn’t have been happier.

The main project I worked on is the monitoring and identification of the Rothschilds giraffe. It’s estimated that there are around 50 giraffe on the Conservancy, but no one knows for sure. To find the total number of giraffe residing on Soysambu, we have to start with identifying individuals and compiling a manual. Honestly, I couldn’t have thought of a better job: watching giraffe all day, getting to know them individually, and thinking up fun names for them. We were able to identify several new giraffe, including 5 adorable new juveniles. With the help of Dr. Julian Fennessy of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, this research will provide the baseline data for the first long-term study of Rothschilds Giraffe, a species with only 750 individuals remaining worldwide.

Giraffe and baby

We also developed a giraffe habitat assessment for Soysambu Conservancy. Since the drought began, the giraffe have been stripping the bark of the yellow fever acacia trees, a habit that has severely damaged the health of the acacia forests. This project is designed to measure and monitor the extent of the damage over time. The assessment entailed creating GPS plots around the lakeshore and collecting data on the height, circumference, browse height, and level of bark stripping within these plots. In conjunction with the giraffe monitoring data, the assessment could ultimately provide insight on the need to reduce the giraffe population via translocation.

Beyond the field research projects, Soysambu gave me so many unique and exciting experiences. I have so many good memories at the Conservancy! We patrolled for snares on camelback, saw the sun rise over Lake Elmenteita in a hot air balloon, watched a leopard kill and drag off an impala, came too close to a fat African Rock Python, and dodged stinging nettles as we watched colobus monkeys leap from tree to tree. Soysambu is truly a unique place, and I feel so lucky to have been a part of it.

Volunteers on camel patrol