Why we started the Conservancy

Category: Conservation, Great White Pelican, Habitat Preservation, Ramsar, Rothschild Giraffe, Wildlife | Date: Sep 23 2008 | By: soysambuconservancy

Soysambu is the only area of open land left in this part of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley where the wildlife have come to take refuge from expanding human development. The soil is fragile and can only sustain grasses which provide food for the wild animals and cattle. Once an area successfully utilized only for livestock and hay cultivation it now has around 12,000 wildlife competing for the same resources. Lake Elmenteita which Soysambu borders on 3 sides was named a Wetland of International importance by the Ramsar Convention in 2005. This lake now hosts the only breeding colony of Great White Pelican in East Africa. Many populations of lesser and greater flamingo also occupy the lake. It is a birders paradise. You can’t imagine how important this is to the whole string of Rift Valley Lakes! Semi endangered Rothschild giraffe are happily reproducing here along with the Colobus monkeys, cape buffalo, eland, gazelles, impala and just about everything else. The Acacia woodlands, the Euporbia groves, the leleshwa bush all add up to areas in need of forestry preservation when everything around us is getting flattened. I could go on forever… How can we preserve this amazing array of flora and fauna and operate in a sustainable way utilizing all the resources available and to help the surrounding communities benefit from their wildlife heritage by developing programmes for poverty reduction and education? These were the questions facing us then and now as we are building the Conservancy. I am not an expert on these things, but learning fast, and looking for every way possible to protect the land, the wildlife and the culture. Any suggestions and comments are greatly welcomed and appreciated.

15 Responses to “Why we started the Conservancy”

Christine C., on 23 Sep 2008

Welcome aboard…I look forward to reading more about your
conservancy!

soysambuconservancy, on 23 Sep 2008

3 days to go until the Artists for Conservation show at the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum in New Jersey, USA where Kat will be giving a presentation on the Conservancy to groups of artists, collectors and conservation organisations. We look forward to seeing how progress being made on Soysambu will be recieved by these and other groups we will be visiting while Kat is here on her whirlwind tour around the East Coast, and will report on the blog over the next few days..

Christine C., on 24 Sep 2008

Are you going to be in New York Thursday, Friday, or Saturday by any chance?

sara, on 29 Sep 2008

Hiya Kat,

Really good to see that work is still happening down there. Keep up the good work, and hope to catch up soon.

Sara Wallington

Bernadette, on 07 Oct 2008

Hello
It is wonderful to hear that you are working to preserve Soysambu.
I think that if you can keep people updated on what is going on
there in this blog, intrest will rise, and people will be able to
support by letting other people know about what situations there are, and what fundings you need.

Looking forward to reading your news.

soysambuconservancy, on 15 Oct 2008

Sorry to be so long in getting back to you, I have been traveling in the US to raise awareness for the new Conservancy and work on getting the funds needed to secure the area.
Since we are adjacent to Lake Nakuru National Park it has been suggested that we open the fence up to Soysambu and double the habitat for the critically endangered black rhino. We can’t do this until we raise the funds for the fence. Let me know what you think and help with getting the funding. I am putting the proposal on the Soysambu Conservancy website with the funding needs as soon as I get a chance. Many thanks for all your support! Kat

Ann Delamere, on 18 Oct 2008

The necessity for a game fence is getting more and more urgent - we had another buffalo run into and killed on the Transafrican Highway two nights ago - we don’t know how badly the vehicle was damaged or whether any humans suffered. This makes five buffalo incidents on the road in six weeks (they are aiming to eat the ripe maize on our neighbours’ farms above the railway line. Our neighbours are furious at the invasion) and the only way to stop buffalo is a very solid fence that they can’t barge their way through. We are hoping Kat will come home from America with lots of lovely donations so that we can make a start on the fencing and our unfortunate neighbours won’t starve come the dry weather.

Ann Delamere, on 25 Oct 2008

We have just been visited by Circle C Borans Ltd of South Africa, who are in search of the best Boran cattle on the African Continent from which to extract embryos for importation to up-grade South Africa’s herds. Boran cattle (Bos indicus) are indigenous to Kenya, and they tell us Delamere Estate’s pedigree herd in Soysambu Conservancy (which we have been breeding selectively here for 100 years) are the best they have seen anywhere - another species of local animal happily sharing this habitat.

Ann Delamere, on 06 Nov 2008

Kat and I went to see Tom yesterday, and we discussed lions on Soysambu - and came to the conclusion that, once we have built a fence to keep poachers OUT, we could reintroduce Cheetah, which we used to have but which were poached to extinction about ten years ago. They are diurnal, don’t eat beef, and there is plenty of plains game to keep them happy and well-fed, so they shouldn’t feel the need of wider areas to roam. They used to breed here quite happily, but were poached for their skins, so the fence is number one priority

Ann Delamere, on 24 Nov 2008

We had to have a very badly-snared buffalo shot to put it out of its misery on Friday, and our next-door neighbours, Sunbird Lodge, are not pleased that the Shamba-raiding buffalo have discovered an old path up a stony hill from the lake which runs through their grounds and makes an easy shortcut to get to the farms across the road and railway line. The sooner we can afford the fence, the better.

Ann Delamerre, on 02 Dec 2008

We had a wonderful breakfast picnic this morning - sitting on a hill and watching a big herd of Eland with their young, thousands of Zebra, Tommies, Impala, Grant’s gazelle, an couple of elderly Buffalo grazing, a herd of Giraffe, a family of Warthog, - and the Flamingo and Pelicans on the lake. Magic!

Wendy Debbas, on 14 Dec 2008

Hi Ann,
Dale and I loved joining you, Hugh and Kat for that lovely breakfast last week. Thank you so much for your hospitality. We have begun working to raise money and other support for the Soysambu Conservancy.
Wendy

Jim Landells, on 02 Jan 2009

Dear all. 50 years ago prior to joining the Kenya Regiment I worked, for a few months, on Soysambu. Jimmy Combs, Simon’s father, was my then direct boss, and I was involved with the Friesian milking herd. David Haseldon, Gerald Romer and Tom Delamere were all alive then and the Delamere racing stable was famous. I was once asked to breakfast with the Delameres and was fascinated with the breakfast knives. Through many years of hard use the blades had become extremely bendy and you couldn’t cut a damn thing with them. Most embarrasing. There was quite a lot of wildlife on Soysambu then. Giraffe, Impala, Waterbuck, Eland, buffalo, baboon, zebra, wild pig and spitting cobras. Once poor old Simon got spat at by one of them, when he was out in the bundu, and because he was almost blinded he had an awful time finding his way home. I seem to remember there were a couple of lions too that made a nuisance of themselves by killing the Boran steers. Can’t remember what happened to them. It’s interesting to hear that the Borans are doing so well. I believe they have imported some to North-East Queensland. If you have time perhaps you could send me a brochure outlining the agendas of both the cattle and the wildlife. Cheers, Jim Landells.
3/63 Park Street, COMO, West Australia 6152.

Ann Delamere, on 29 Aug 2009

We have just had wonderful news - yesterday’s newspaper said that the rains are expected to come early, in the middle of September, and go on till January. Please God they will come in time to stop Lake Elmenteita drying up completely - it is already half dry and the soda dust is blowing about, but the flamingo and pelicans are making a brave effort to keep going - and the poachers are walking across from the other side to poach in our Sanctuary! The Rothshild’s Giraffe are good at deserts, and are wandering around all over the conservancy nibbling at any Acacia trees they can find, and sharing the water in the cattle troughs with the cattle, zebra, buffalo, waterbuck and plains game. The rivers have dried up and we are praying that the borehole engines won’t break down or all of them will go thirsty, and so will we and ourneighbours!

John Hurst, on 11 Sep 2009

Dear Ann greetings from Eton / Windsor U.K.

There is technology that can help the water situation - The water pumping windmill - it hardly ever breaks down and has a proven track record in South Africa - where there are some 400,000 installed .
In your area you will have high levels of Flourine and other trace metal elements - you can install a new type of windmill Osmosis filter developed by Delft University - the pumping power of the windmill pushes the contaminated water through a filter - this works with sea water as well imagine that .
I personally found finance and installed over 800 Water pumping Windmills ( Not Bob Harries - Australian ) in Lesotho .
If you are interested in this technology please let me know .

I am not a sales man or briefcase agent / Kikuyu Conman .

John Hurst .

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