Erica’s First Update from Kenya!

As you may recall, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Loft educator Erica Garroutte traveled to Kimana, Kenya to work at the School for Field Studies station to study wildlife of the Rift Valley and involve local communities in local conservation projects.

Here is her latest update all the way from Kenya:

Hujambo rafiki yangu CMZ, (Hi my friends from CMZ)

So I finally made it to Kenya and I am now aware of what it means to be in the wild! I just officially started the research position at a station near Kilimanjaro and already I have interacted with my fair share of wildlife. The camp is in the middle of a small watershed full of farms and pretty much the only vegetation for miles. This side of Kenya is experiencing one of the worst droughts in history, so this one oasis of water from Kilimanjaro is where all of the animals and people are crowding. It creates a very interesting dynamic because local maasai people, the research station and the animals have to coexist and share. There are several elephants walking through the area at night knocking down trees, several giraffe, baboons, vervet monkeys, snakes, zebra, tons of different birds, and of course countless inverts. All of these animals have to compete with the goats, sheep and cows that the Massai herd in for water. The elephants are the greatest problem because they come through the farms and destroy a years worth of food in a couple of hours. This is an extreme problem because of the drought. Many farmers burn bonfires all night to keep them out of the farms and chase them away with pots and pans. Needless to say, I really pray that we will get water soon.

To Be Continued… Check back next week for another update from Erica!