Category Archives: Endangered Species

Support erect electric fence

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By supporting Soysambu Conservancy to erect 85 km (53 miles) fence, the benefits will be: protection to wildlife and the habitats; acts as a gene bank, for posterity and minimize Human wildlife Conflict among the neighboring Communities which will improve their living standards. 

Gene Rurka Of S.C.I.F during his visit

Gene Rurka Of S.C.I.F during his visit

So far Soysambu Conservancy through donors has provided clean water to Game Njeru Community, donated Acaricide to Kiungururia Community, provision of desks, chairs stationeries, playing balls and microscopes to Schools, energy saving stoves and completion of the Elmenteita Dispensary.

Pelican breeding Site

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pelican breeding

Help us secure the fragile ecosystem for Flamingo, breeding grounds for the Great White, Pink backed Pelicans and other aquatic life. This will ensure the ecosystem is protected from destructive human activities such as diversion of river water at the catchment area, cultivating up to riverbeds, destruction of trees around the Riparian area etc.

Support us to put up a Research Centre where students can carry out research activities, have veterinary services to cater for sick and injured wildlife, monitor zoonotic diseases e.t.c.

Your help is appreciated

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Dear Valerie, Susan, Jenny, Jackie, Marion and Marvin,  Thank you for your donations. They are very much appreciated and we will utilize these funds to our best ability. We are very busy helping with the construction of the dispensary in Elmenteita and the school food programme is just getting going. We only have 63 guards to patrol the Conservancy protecting the people, wildlife and livestock on 48,000 acres. They work very hard long hours and still can’t cover this vast area. We can only operate one vehicle with our limited funds.  Every penny you donate is going to help the Conservancy fulfill its mission and we thank you for your contributions. Kathryn Combes – Director

Soysambu’s newest arrivals!

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Spring has definitely sprung on Soysambu, and with it has come the next generation of wildlife. Baby Gazelles, Impala, Baboons and Zebra can be seen running and dancing around on the fresh (albeit short) but never the less, green grass! Three new arrivals in particular have everyone talking excitedly, three brand new Rothschild’s Giraffe! Three giraffe calves playing We are not sure exactly when they were born, but signs all point to sometime in the last week. The three calves are in a group of about 12 other adults and sub-adults living in the sanctuary around the lake sure. There is also another heavily pregnant female who looks ready to have her calf any day now! Mother giraffe stands over her calfSoysambu Conservancy currently has a group of volunteers monitoring the giraffe and their habitat daily. The group from Africa Venture Volunteers is working on an ongoing identification project for the giraffe on Soysambu, taking pictures and monitoring movements and social groupings of the giraffe. The volunteers are also studying the habitat destruction that seems to occurring in areas of the Conservancy that the giraffe graze heavily. Acacia xanthophloea, or Yellow Fever Tree, is the primary food source of the giraffe, and in addition browsing the foliage, the giraffe are also stripping bark from the trunks and branches. This practice in some areas is leading to ring-barking and death of a number of the trees. Two calves sharing a secret… Giraffe expert, Julian Fennessy of Kenyan Land Conservation Trust visited with a prospective PhD student Zoe Muller to see the giraffe population as well as to meet with the volunteers and offer them guidance in their researching. There has been surprisingly few studies done on the Rothschild’s giraffe, so with the help of Julian, Zoe and the volunteers we hope to gain a better understanding of the giraffe on Soysambu as well as add to the information bank of the Rothschild’s giraffe. A happy familyGiraffe calf stares with curiosityThanks to Zoe Muller for the photos.

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