Category Archives: Education

TERRESTRIAL ANIMALS AT RISK

Posted on by

BY  DUNCAN ODUOR

The 2008 Red List of Threatened Species by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) portrayed 5,966 species as threatened out of the nearly 60,000 described vertebrates’ species species on Earth. An additional 2,496 species of invertebrates and 8,457 species of plants were also listed. Only 43%of all known vertebrates’ species, 4% of all plants, and less than 0.5%of invertebrates were evaluated and others may be in danger.

IUCN has estimated that 1/3 of all amphibians’ species, 1/4 of all mammals and more than one in ten birds are sliding towards extinction .Long before species are technically extinct, they become so rare as to be gone from nature. Many people, organizations and governments are now dedicated to stop the trend and protecting what remains. Beyond species-specific strategies, efforts include laws limiting hunting and trading of endangered animals, preservation of habitats such as parks, reserves, private conservancies, and even international treaties.

Locally, environmental groups have organized projects that give communities incentives to protect wildlife and habitats. Most species particularly predators and large animals require large intact areas to sustain healthy populations.

blog

The now endangered male Rothschilds’ Giraffe browsing on acasia in Soysambu Conservancy.

blg

The young pelicans on breeding islands in Lake Elementeita.

PIVOTAL ROLES OF RIVERS IN ECOSYSTEMS.

Posted on by

BY DUNCAN ODUOR

oukoduncan@yahoo.com

Rivers have always been potent symbols of time and change, shifting shape as they travel from the mountains to the lakes. Fast- flowing streams dominate their upper parts, growing larger and slower as they descend toward wetlands and the coasts. It is amazing that no two rivers are exactly alike. Climate, geology chemistry of the rivers and the contours of the land all determine a river’s characteristics and the varieties of life that it supports. As a rule, large fish can be found in deep, slow-moving waters of main river channels. Smaller species inhabit the shallower headwater streams. Other species native to arid regions have adapted to periods when rivers run dry or are reduced to a few standing polls until the next rainy season. Floodplains and wetlands harbor the greatest number of species .Renewed each year with river-borne nutrients, they plants, insects, worms, and other invertebrates which in turn attract large numbers of fish, mammals and birds to feed and breed. Throughout the world, rivers and wetlands play similarly vital roles in people’s lives providing shipping routes, hydropower, recreation, jobs, and food and provide drinking water. Rivers and other wetland fisheries often provide the only source of animal protein for people in most parts of Africa and developing world, particularly the rural poor who turns to fishing when they cannot find jobs. In some parts, farmers are also involved at least part time in fishing activities to augment their family food supplies and incomes.

Over time, humans have heavily altered waterways to fit their needs by building dams, levee and canals. Other harmful practices which today are unfortunately widespread, include draining wetlands, over-abstracting water for agriculture, polluting rivers with fertilizer, dumping wastes, over harvesting of fish and introducing non-native species. These threats pose major challenges to conservationists who nonetheless are making progress.

World leaders officially recognized the value and vulnerability of wetlands in 1971, when 158 nations signed a conservation treaty specifically aimed at protecting the wetlands. Over 1828 wetland sites covering over 169million hectares of both coastal and fresh water wetlands have been designated as under the Ramsar Convention. Conserving a river is a more daunting task because they cannot be fenced. Protecting rivers requires a range of coordinated efforts influencing activities on adjacent land such as zoning rules limiting land users, regulating pesticides on nearby farms, planting and maintenance of trees and other vegetation along the riverbanks.

IMG_1036

DOMESTIC ANIMALS DEGRADES THE RIVER BANKS.

RIVER MERORONI'S ENCROACHED BANKS.

 RIVER MERORONI’S ENCROACHED BANKS

FIM AFRICA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP HELD IN SOYSAMBU

Posted on by

This year’s event was held in Soysambu Conservancywith participants drawn from Kenya,Uganda,Tanzania,Zambia and South Africa.The event was flaggeg off by Lord Delamere and Lady Ann Delamere on Saturday 16th October 20011.The spectators turned up in large numbers.The Vice President of the FIM graced the occassion where the quads and the bikes competed on a 48km long course,crossing the two rivers ,main Narobo-Nakuru highway and back to the Conservancy.

By Duncan Oduor

Flags ot the participating countries.

Flags of  the participating countries.

IMG_0221

Lord Delamere is getting ready to flag off  the participants.

PICTORIAL PRESENTATION OF THE HISTORY OF LAKE ELEMENTEITA

Posted on by

Have a look at  these pictures that were taken in 1950s and compare them to what we have on this great Kenya’s Wetland.

By Duncan Oduor.

The lake was a breeding site for the Sacred ibises.

The lake was a breeding site for these Sacred ibises.

Boat

A research Boat in 1957.

Nesting flamingos on nests left after rising water.

Nesting flamingos on nests left after rising water.

Newly hatched flamingo.

Newly hatched flamingo.

The young and the adult flamingos roosting on the islands.

The young and the adult flamingos roosting on the islands.

Nesting flamingo fighting off a threatening Marabou Stork

Nesting flamingo fighting off a threatening Marabou Stork

Great White Pelicans colonised some islands from Greater Flamingos which first occupied them.

Great White Pelicans colonised some islands from Greater Flamingos which first occupied them.Delamere Nose Hill in the middle ground.

AN egg in one of the scanty nests of feathers and straws on the lake made by Greater Flamingo due to inadequate mud.

An egg in one of the scanty nests of feathers and straws made by Greater Flamingo due to inadequate mud.

FUNCTIONS OF WETLANDS AS A HABITAT FOR WILDLIFE.

Posted on by

By Duncan Oduor.

Wildlife has special means to live in wetlands. Many species have developed ability to live under water for food and oxygen. Clams, crustaceans, fish and many more are all restricted to life under water for all or part of their life. Water depths in wetlands are shallow and wetlands often experience periods of severe drought and many species have special mechanisms to survive the periods. Some species have common survival mechanism of drought resistant eggs that respond to quick re-flooding and short life cycles.

Mammals and birds living in wetlands also have adapted special features for living. These features enable them to feed on rich food sources found in there. Swimming, wading and diving are the most common specializations. Special flying abilities like vertical take-off by ducks, and hovering by terns, permit these birds to fly and feed in small wetland areas. Special means of perching on vertical wetland plants like reeds by some birds is common. Some birds build floating nests .Some mammals have developed means to conserve oxygen and stay under water for long periods and with special fur that keeps the skin dry and easy water shed.

Basically, a principle of ecology does not allow same species to use same environment and food source without a form of competition. Wetlands are very rich in species abundance and diversity and without direct conflict because different species have evolved to use very specific portions of wetlands. Some creatures attach their eggs to plant stems; some have nests that scoop out on the bottom, constantly fan to remove sediments, and some lay eggs only in the shallow rapids between stream pools. Others use holes in rotten trees dying on the edge of a wetland and walk their young ones to the water on their first feeding after hatching. Some species reduce conflict by using special feeding behavior .Feeding at different times of the day or night, restricted feeding to different foods or sizes of food items are also reduce conflict. Swans feed on submerged plants, geese graze on grass on the shoreline, ducks feed on the water or mud surface or dive below the surface beyond the reach of swans. Some water birds move from one type of wetland to another during different seasons or at different stages of their lives. Migratory fish, birds and eels make certain dramatic seasonal movements. Salmon and eels use riverine, estuarine and marine systems at different stages of their life cycles. Certain ducks nest on small palustine wetlands, raise their young in lacustrine systems and spend the winter in estuarine and marine ecosystems. If the wetlands in one of these systems are lost ,these animals cannot complete their life cycle even if the wetlands in other systems remain available Some water fowls nest in trees away from wetlands and only fly to wetlands to feed meaning that not only wetlands but also uplands for nesting need to be preserved.

Within the wetlands there are four major features that are critical for fish and other wildlife. Pattern of different kinds water ,vegetation and substrate, Different life forms of plants, Amount of edge between different kinds of water, vegetation and substrate,· Timing of the seasonal rise and fall of water levels.

These four features in different combinations determine how much fish and wildlife will present in a wetland and how many different kinds of species will be there. Some species require only one kind of habitat but most of them need more.The Lake Elementeita is part of these wetlands in Kenya and needs protection because of its important functions in the ecosystem.