A brief summary of recordings in Samburu on the Long Term Monitoring for the month of Nov 2008.
Total monthly rainfall: 374
Number of Days Spent Monitoring: 18 days
Total Number of Individuals Recorded: 522
Total Number Bulls: 14
Total Number Cows/Calves: 508
Proportion (%) Recorded Last Month: 85%
Number of Mature Bulls: 12
Number of New Calves: 16
Number of Estrus Females: Nil
Number of Deaths: Nil 2
Recorded Births: 7
Estrus/Matings: None Recorded
Deaths: None within our patrol
Musth: Nil
Other relevant information:
STE/NRT Kipsing scout training:
This is training was conducted by Onesmas kahindi, who is currently under a contract basis as consultant. The training was well planned way head of the time by stakeholders, STE/NRT Juliet king.
The training was on behavioral on elephants, how the scouts can age and sex the elephants out in the field. How there can determine the cause of death, and many other fine details.
The scouts spent two days with Ones before they come to camp to joined other STE members and learnt different things, like how one can age and sex dead elephant using its lower jaw. How its possible to track elephants using our machines here in camp and others.
Finally I took the scouts out to see elephants and that was interesting reaction, there were shocked on how one could come that close to wild Elephant. And we give them whole a lot of reasons. That was very successful train.
Samburu Laikipa elephants count:
The traditional of counting elephants started back in seventies in Tsavo’s one of the biggest National Parks in Kenya and African. This began as result of mass slaughter of elephants by poachers due to demand in Ivory in many quarters.
This practice later years spread to other National Park and Reserves under the supervision of KWS in much smaller scales. Although not all the parks got this services due to limited resources the need for this exercise was seen in Samburu /Laikipia and its because this region host the highest number of elephant outside any protected and the endangered gravy Zebras.
The first elephants count in Samburu/Laikipai, that I participated was in 2002, where big number of STE personnel both ground and Air team were dispatched to help in the on-going count. Other resources like car and planes as well. This is our operational area, and therefore we know very well. Iain is among other like-minded individuals who started the idea of elephant’s counts those days.
After six years, another count was over-due especially in the face of sky rocketing human population, high demand of ivory from industrialized countries like China and Far East.
Nov 24 most of the participant arrived accept few, who joined the operation later and took their position as planed. A total number of nine planes participated in the count in four days. As usual the region was separated in blocks and on 26 it was block ten and that was the both Reserves. 5y STE IDH was north bank, and Richard Molar and Juliet of Lewa was south bank. Count. Since this is my area of operation, and were had many migrants groups on the park we arranged that I would, try as much as I can to count on the group while the plane will be up counting too.
I knew I would not keep up with plane, and also cover as much area as it will, but I was going to my best. I started from STE camp to Buffalo N.R and finished on Samburu N.R in the evening. These were my tracks. Within that period 18 elephant families we encountered and several bulls. Other species beside elephants were also noted whenever seen.