Yes,this is a place you can’t miss to visit.It’s found within soysambu Conservancy situated along Nairobi Nakuru highway.It is a home to students carrying out Research especially wildlife conservation based,we also provide accommodation to volunteers and attachment students, the resource has self contained rooms with warm water,a lab and a conducive environment for relaxation. Welcome ,see and feel it yourself.
By:Beatrice Limo and Duncan Oduor.
Great White Pelican
Scientific Name: Pelecanus onocrotalus
By Duncan Oduor and Ezekiel Chebii
Soysambu Research Center
World Distribution
Great white pelicans are found in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. The ones in Africa stay here throughout the year, but the others fly from Eastern Europe (migrate) to Africa in the winter because they do not like cold weather.
Habitat
Great white pelicans spend a great deal of their time in the water. They usually choose large, freshwater lakes that have reed beds or small islands that can be used as safe places to nest as in lake Elmenteita.
Feeding
They feed mainly on fish, though they sometimes eat crustaceans (shrimp-like creatures). They usually fish in shallow water. They feed on Tilapia grahami in lake Elmenteita.
They often use teamwork when feeding: a group of 8-12 birds swim into a horseshoe shape to surround the fish, then, all together, they plunge in their beaks and scoop them out.
Predators
Vultures, eagles, jackals, hyenas and lions could eat young pelicans. Adults are sometimes preyed by crocodiles.
Pelicans breeding site in Lake Elementaita
Pelicans often breed in large colonies of 40,000 to 50,000 pairs. Nests are usually just a rough pile of twigs on the ground. Two eggs are laid, which both parents keep warm by taking turns to rest them on their feet. After 29-36 days the eggs hatch into bald, helpless chicks which the parents feed from a special liquid that runs down their beaks. The chicks are able to fly when they are 10 – 12 weeks old, but will not be ready to breed themselves until they are aged 3-4 years.
Other important facts
Pelicans lifespan in the wild is 15 -20 years while in captivity they can stay for 60 years.
Facts and Figures About Great White Pelicans |
|
| Name | Great white pelican |
| Type of animal | Bird |
| Where found | Africa, Europe |
| Habitat | Lakes |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Average length | 170 cm |
| Average weight | 9 kg |
| Average number of young per year | 2 |
| Egg incubation | 32 days |
| Maximum lifespan | 27 years |
By Duncan Oduor
Soysambu Conservancy Research Centre
Giraffes are generally said to have evolved to enable them eat high leaves that their rivals could not reach (enable them to eat hard-to-reach food). The evidence supporting this theory is weak.Studies have shown that giraffes in most part of Africa rarely browse the tips of trees even when lower leaves are scarce.
Another theory does with sexual selection. Giraffes’ necks begin to grow and once they reach certain length, males begin to use them as weapons. The animals compete for female favors(Dominancy). The male ones thwacking(Necking) each other’s ribs and legs with their heads, which are reinforced with horn-like growth called ossiccones. Male Giraffes’ with longest necks deliver hardest blow. This theory does not explain why females also have long necks but not long as males.
Giraffe and bird species in danger
By Nation Reporter
Posted Thursday, August 12 2010 at 21:00
Some species of bird and giraffe are on the brink of extinction unless urgent measures are taken to conserve them.
Scientists working in Kenya said the Sokoke Scops Owl, a small member of the species, faces extinction in East Africa due to illegal logging in indigenous forests in the Coastal and North East Tanzania.
Dr Munir Virani of The Peregrine Fund and the National Museums of Kenya found an estimated 1,025 pairs during his study in the early 1990s, and during this recent study, he and his colleague’s estimated only 800 pairs.
“The Sokoke Scops Owl is considered a flagship of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and is an indicator of the health of the forest” Dr Virani said.
The Rothschild’s giraffe is the latest African mammal to be declared “endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
There are nine recognised giraffe sub-species and the Rothschild’s is the second most endangered, with less than 670 remaining in the wild, says Kenya Wildlife Service.
Situation in Soysambu Conservancy
By Duncan Oduor and Beatrice Limo
Out of the remaining 670 rothschild giraffes the Soysambu conservancy has a population estimate of 70,currently most of the adult females have young ones ranging five months to 2 years old.This is an indication of a healthy population and quick measures should be put in place to help conserve them.We are infact optimistic that one of the females is calving soon,this was reported by one of the researchers :Zoe Muller who is currently taking her studies on the same.We are welcoming more students,consevationists,stakeholders and donors who have interest in helping Soysambu conservancy and the world to improve their population.Enough data has to be collected and analysed for mitigation measures.
Rothschild giraffe in Soysambu Conservancy.
In exercise of the Wildlife Act the Minister for Wildlife and Forestry has declared Soysambu to be a wildlife sanctuary. Our director, Kat Combes, has worked on this for the last five years so that we can get UNESCO nomination for a World Heritage Site.
We would also like to ask ask those residents and stakeholders on and around Lake Elmenteita to support GLECA (Greater Lake Elmenteita Conservation Area). There will be a meeting soon to discuss the management of the Lake with the Kenya Wildlife Service. There is a draft management plan.
The declaration of Lake Elmenteita Wildlife Sanctuary is a step forward in the nomination of the Kenya Rift Valley Lakes World Heritage Site. It will provide national protection to this incredibly fragile lake. Soysambu borders the Lake on the west. We look forward to working with our neighbors in protecting this valuable part of Kenya’s heritage.
