Soysambu Conservancy

Category: Conservation, Rothschild Giraffe, Wildlife, endangered species | Date: Nov 21 2009 | By: Kate Jennings

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!

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!

Soysambu 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 voluneers 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.

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.

Thanks to Zoe Muller for the photos.

Tags: Julian Fennessy, Kenyan Land Conservation Trust, research, Rothschild's giraffe, Soysambu Conservancy, volunteer

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Category: 1, Community, Conservation, Education | Date: Nov 14 2009 | By: victoria knyvett

” Clothes swap evening”clothes-swap-nov-11-09-004.jpg
Wednesday November the 11th, London - I hosted a “clothes swap evening” here at home to raise funds for the kids I taught at Mbogo Primary back in May. By the time I reached Soysambu I had already given away the pens, pencils, paper etc that I had brought out from England and therefore had nothing to donate to the children of Mbogo Primary School. I left them with a heavy heart but a determination to try and raise some money for them to buy the basics to keep on learning. I came up with the idea of a clothes swap evening in the summer for my girlfriends, something that was fun, a little bit different and would hopefully generate some money!

Everyone had to bring 3 pieces of clothing and hang them up on arrival. It was £15 a head and the idea was to have a fun girlie evening with wine and canapes, followed by a trying on session! The evening was great fun and a huge success, with everyone going home with at least one “new” item of clothing. I’m now well on track to raising £300 to wire over to Kat and the team at Soysambu by the end of November!

Tags: clothes swap evening

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Category: Community, Conservation, Habitat Preservation, Wildlife | Date: Nov 13 2009 | By: Kate Jennings

Here on Soysambu Conservancy we are not only working to protect and preserve the wildlife and habitat in our immediate vicinity, but the Conservancy land is a crucial part of a bigger wildlife and habitat protection project- The Lake Nakuru National Park to Lake Naivasha Project.

The aim of the project is to secure critical habitat for the free movement of wildlife between Nakuru Park and Lake Naivasha by connecting key community, private and public lands. Moving north to south, the long-term vision seeks to connect three nationally and internationally important water sources in the Rift Valley – Lake Nakuru, Lake Elmenteita and Lake Naivasha as part of a greater conservation area. The Project is involving land holders of small and large scale farms, businesses, properties already designated as wildlife sanctuaries, Kenya Land Conservation Trust; Kenya Wildlife Service; The Lakes Nakuru, Naivasha and Elmenteita Conservation Area (LaNNECA); and other conservation bodies.

As we look around us it can be disheartening to see forests and natural habitat being cleared to make way for more farms. However, a lion that recently roamed from Nakuru Park, through Soysambu all the way down to Lake Naivasha area was a symbol of hope that there still is hope in protecting this corridor. There is no doubt though, the window of opportunity is closing, which is why we are working right now to conserve this strip of precious habitat. So far the response and enthusiasm to the project has been very encouraging.

By supporting The Conservancy, you are not only helping to protect the wildlife, habitat and communities within and around Soysambu, but you are helping to preserve one of the last remaining wildlife corridors through the Kenyan Rift Valley. Please consider making a donation to Soysambu Conservancy, no matter how big or small, your money will go directly to protecting and conserving this land.

Tags: Rift Valley Conservation, The Lake Nakuru National Park to Lake Naivasha Project

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Category: Community, Conservation, Wildlife | Date: Nov 08 2009 | By: Kate Jennings

The day after I wrote the below article on the , our security team came across 30+ snares in one small area of Soysambu, proving that this really is a daily battle and something needs to happen now to stop it.

Pictured below is Soysambu Conservancy Community and Wildlife manager Charles Muthui with Mohammed, one of the security rangers unloading the snares yesterday (Saturday 7th Nov).  

Tags: Kenya bush meat trade, snares, Soysambu Conservancy

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Category: Community, Conservation, Education, Rothschild Giraffe, Wildlife | Date: Nov 06 2009 | By: Kate Jennings

Warning: The blog below contains links to some graphic images…

Poaching for the bush meat trade has long been a problem on Soysambu.

Trespassers break onto The Conservancy and set snares - nooses made from lengths of wire, attached to a tree, bush or fence and hung over animal trails (see image below).

The unwitting animal, be it an Impala, Gazelle, Zebra, Buffalo, Eland etc, walks into the snare and becomes trapped. The more it pulls or struggles the tighter the snare becomes, eventually leading to a cruel death by suffocation. The animal is then collected and either eaten, or the meat sold.

Continue Reading »

Tags: Bush meat trade, Kenya, poaching, Soysambu Conservancy

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Category: Wildlife | Date: Nov 05 2009 | By: Kate Jennings

Over the last two weeks the Conservancy has finally been getting some much needed respite from the drought. Below are some pics I snapped this afternoon on a drive through the Conservancy.

1. For the first time in 5 months there is finally some water in the Mereroni River, while it is not quite flowing into Lake Elmenteita yet, we are hopeful that with a few more showers the stream will reach to the lake shore.

2. Two young male Water Bucks enjoying the fresh juicy grass.

3. This Jackal and his mate stop mid Dikdik hunt to watch with curiosity as we drive by.

4. A Rothschild’s Giraffe enjoys the freshly budding leaves of a mathuthi bush.

5. Finally, the glorious site of The Nose and flamingos reflected in the lake water.

It is amazing that the colours in the landscape have changed so dramatically over the last two weeks. Incredible what a bit of rain can do!

-Kate

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Category: Community, Conservation, Great White Pelican, Habitat Preservation, Ramsar, Wildlife | Date: Nov 05 2009 | By: Kate Jennings

This article written by Beatrice Obwocha appeared in the Kenyan national newspaper The Standard today (5//11/09)

From the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, the shoreline of Lake Elementaita looks like a desert surrounding a small patch of water.

The western and eastern shores of the lake hold little patches of water from hot springs while the main basin of one of Rift Valley’s smallest lakes is turning into a dust bowl.

One gets the impression that they can walk right across the remaining muddy patch that stretches several kilometres.

When strong winds blow, a whirlwind of grey dust sweeps right across the lake whose water levels have declined to less than half a metre deep.

Not even water from the recent rains pounding Nakuru and its environs seem to have made a difference on the lake.

Thousand of flamingos that used to line its shores, giving them a pink hue, have migrated elsewhere as the lake’s water level has declined to its lowest in 20 years.
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Tags: , Flamingo, Soysambu Conservancy, The Standard

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Category: Community, Habitat Preservation | Date: Nov 03 2009 | By: Kate Jennings

Soysambu Conservancy has just entered in America’s Giving Challenge, which gives us a chance to win $$$! The competition is only running for another 5 days so we may be out of the running for the $50,000 major prize, but there are daily awards of $1,000 and $500 if we can get the most people to donate in any 24-hour period.

The great thing about this Challenge is that it doesn’t matter how much you give, but instead how much you do to encourage friends and family to get involved in our cause.We all need to come together and start promoting Soysambu Conservancy to win some money to help conserve this beautiful patch of land.

Each of us has tonnes of friends on Facebook who we can ask to donate to our cause. But let’s think big too—can you put our cause in your email signature, can you throw a party and get people to donate through the cause when they enter, can you organize other people to go out and fundraise from all of their friends? As you reach out to your friends be sure to tell them why Soysambu Conservancy matters to you. The possibilities are endless so let’s talk about what we can do to win on the Conservancy Cause Wall or by replying to this bulletin.I think we can do it! But it’s going to take all of us.

Check out the Giving Challenge ( www.causes.com ), then visit our cause to see how we’re doing so far and get involved.

You can donate right now by going to http://www.causes.com/donations/

Let’s win some money for Soysambu Conservancy!

Thank you

Kate Jennings

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Category: Community | Date: Oct 22 2009 | By: Soysambu guest blogger

Kendall Smith recently spent several weeks volunteering in one of the medical clinics on the Conservancy.

As I look back, I am continually blown away by the rich culture and amazing people that I encountered On Soysambu. While working in the clinic, I experienced first-hand the health care standards of rural Kenya. Although a major medical facility is located nearby in the town of Nakuru, most Kenyans who live on the ranch visit the clinic for general concerns. With only one nurse in the clinic, we stayed busy giving vaccinations, prenatal check-ups, administering medication and performing minor surgery.

Although we did not have advanced medical equipment, we were able to treat most ailments or, if necessary, refer patients to the larger hospital. Because the clinic and medications are supported by donations, patients typically paid a small fee for service. Residents were so thankful to have access to medical treatment at Soysambu, even if they had to walk quite a distance or wait for care. On several occasions, the nurse and I walked to local village communities to administer vitamins and de-worming medications.

From this experience I learned how thankful people were to know that others cared about their health. I am so grateful for all the amazing people I met at Soysambu and am continually impressed by their commitment to their neighbors, the
animals and the land.

Kendall Smith, 2010 degree candidate, Bachelor of Science in Nutrition, Oregon State University, USA

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Category: Habitat Preservation | Date: Oct 17 2009 | By: Kate Jennings

Slowly, but hopefully surely, we are beginning to get some rain here on Soysambu. Yesterday we got 5ml, the day before that 3ml and from the thunderstorm that rolled through here this afternoon we are hoping to have got around 10ml.This rain is so desperately needed, particularly in the centre of the 48,000 acre property which seems to be in a rain shadow. We often sit here and watch the rain clouds drifting over the northern and southern ends of Soysambu, but all to often the  centre is left dry. Grass coverage here is long gone and when the winds come the dust picks up. Below is a picture I took on 29th September of a dust storm blowing across the plains infront of the main house and Conservancy office.

On a clear day this picture would show the end of the Lake Elmenteita and the nose. Through the dust it is near impossible to make out the trees on the other side of the plain, about 3km away. The dust has come from the eastern side of the lake, the opposite side to the Soysambu boundary, from a town called Kikopey, where thousands and thousands (no exageration) of local pastrolist’s cattle, sheep and goats are decimating the land everyday (pictured below). There is nothing left there. Nothing. I drove past recently and saw the desperate site of a skeletal goat pulling up the grass roots in an attempt to get something to eat. It is a sad state of affairs there.

Luckily the cattle grazing on Soysambu has been much better managed and the damage far less. This can only keep up for so long though and unfortunately if we dont get decent amounts of rain soon cattle and wildlife will start dying of starvation, a situation already occurring over the fence in Lake Nakuru National Park.Below are some pictures I took this afternoon, both from the roughly same place as the dust picture above (see the difference). The first picture I took just as the storm was easing and there was an amazing amount of water lying around, made extra visible by the lack of grass cover. 

This second picture was taken about half an hour later and shows just how thirsty the soil is- most of the water has soaked in already, and a herd of the beautiful Boran cattle are wandering across. 

We are all hoping that this steady rain continues and that in a few days time we will begin to see a green tinge returning to the land.

-Kate

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