Africa Expedition Day 2-3: In the Dust of Amboseli

Nicole Mantz, Education Curator for CMZ, writes:

July 3 & 4 - Two days in the Dust of Amboseli.



To start off our trip we had the good fortune of having the opportunity to meet with Dr. David Western. He is a scientist and conservationist advocate that grew up in the Amboseli area and returned to help conserve wildlife and Maasai culture through community-based conservation. To learn about the extent of his work, pick up In The Dust of Kilimanjaro. It is a good read that gives a great explanation of the struggles, successes and failures in Amboseli. Having the opportunity to meet him and ask questions about his book and the current situation in Amboseli was a great start to the class.


David Western and his wife, baboon researcher, Shirley Strum.

The trip to Amboseli was long and rough. The driving here if you have not experience it, is much like an obstacle course. While the road is paved, it doesn't mean it's smooth, and while you have "lanes" (opposite what we have in the states) there are no lines and it doesn't always mean that cars are on the correct side of the road. Let's just say I'm glad I'm not driving and trying to navigate at the same time!

We arrived in Amboseli around dusk, but our expectations were certainly met. Right outside our campsite were two beautiful bull elephants standing on either side of the car. It was like the welcoming committee of Amboseli asked them to meet and greet us. With that, we set up our camp just in time to see the waning sun on Kilimanjaro. The beauty of Africa certainly has been everything we expected and more. After a quick warm meal and an introduction to what I'm pretty sure is the world worst toilet situation - a slab of concrete with a hole in the ground - we were in our tents for a nice chilly night.




The next morning we rose early and went on a routine walk with the Game Scouts outside Amboseli. These are a group of men (and one woman) who live in the group ranch outside of Amboseli and are trained by the Kenyan Wildlife Service to watch over the animals that reside outside the park. 60-80% of Amboseli's wildlife resides outside the park for much of the year, so the jobs these 'volunteers' take on is an important one. They spend a month at a time out in the bush walking daily routes, checking in with the Maasai in the area, looking for snares and following tracks to make sure everything in their range is okay. At the end of the month they return to their communities and their families and spend time educating the people in that community about what they are doing. After a short leave, they are back out in the bush for another month.

We also met with Soyla from the Amboseli Elephant Project. She shared with us the management of the elephants they track in and out of the park and how they work with the game scouts and Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) to track animals even across the boarder to Tanzania. The work they do is long, and the importance of community involvement and buy-in to the project is important. Since hunting in any form in Kenya has been banned, everything is considered poaching unless a special permit is issued by KWS. Simply put, the success of elephants in the Amboseli area doesn't just rely on the environment but also the people that live there.



At sunset as we headed back to camp after meeting with Soyla about the Amboseli Elephant project.