Day 15 in Africa: Tracking the Future

by Jenyva Turner

Feburary 1, 2011
Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Limpopo province, South Africa

One of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation projects for the second year now is Cape Vulture Conservation in Africa. So far this year (since May 2010), we have raised enough funds to purchase a GPS tracking device to fit to a Cape vulture to monitor its movements across South Africa. We decided to fit our device on an adult female Cape vulture at Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. She was found by a farmer in the Limpopo province on 28 December 2010. She had been poisoned. The staff at Moholoholo nursed her back to health and was ready to release her, but Brian Jones and Kerri Wolter wanted to fit her with a tracking device since more data on Cape vulture movements near Kruger National Park is needed.



“Our” vulture can be tracked online on Google Earth using a password. I will be posting maps of her travels on Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s blog regularly, so stay tuned!
The tracking device will help provide researchers with vital information regarding the vultures’ foraging habits from the colony near Kruger. Once they know where the birds roam during the day, they can work to protect them. There may be a need for more vulture restaurants in the region, or greater education within the local farming communities, or certain power lines that need mitigation methods applied. We learn from the birds what still needs to be done.

It’s very fulfilling and exciting to know that Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is helping contribute to science and it is all because of YOU! Your votes for vultures are helping provide valuable information and saving a species! Keep the votes coming! Thank you!

February 11, 2011
The tracking device is working and we have our first update. She is now located 250 miles W of the release site- nearly in Botswana!! Too cool!

She was released on February 2, 2011 and the "X" marks where she is as of today.

Day 12 in Africa: Flying Free

It's been over a week since we've heard from Jenyva. Internet access went down and she was unable to send anything, until now!

by Jenyva Turner

29 January 2011
Mageliesberg Mountains, North West province, South Africa

One of the best things about wildlife rehab is being able to release the animal you nursed back to heath. It’s a very emotional experience for many rehabbers- met with mixed emotions as they can quite easily become attached to the animals in their care.
Today we released 4 Cape vultures that came into Vulpro. These vultures came in with a variety of conditions ranging from starvation and dehydration to being grounded due to the recent rains. We drove up a rocky road to a beautiful overlook in the Mageliesberg Mountains. I was one of the lucky people who was able to open up a crate door and let the birds fly free once again.



I have to say that it was a bit anticlimactic… I was expecting a flurry of feathers bursting at high speed out of the crates, but it was quite the opposite. The vultures were all fledglings (hatched several months ago) and were still pretty naïve. They stumbled out of the crate, blinking in the bright sunlight and were not a bit concerned with the 11 people staring at them. After a few minutes, Kerri had to run towards them to encourage them to fly free. It was beautiful and moving to watch them soar over the cliff edge- so much power. These are the lucky ones- the success stories. Sadly, not all of the birds Kerri receives are strong enough to fly again.



Thabazimbi/Marakele National Park, Limpopo province, South Africa

Ever since I saw Vulpro’s DVD, “Path into the Future”, I have wanted to experience flying with the vultures of Thabazimbi, the largest colony of Cape vultures in the world. I wanted to hear the air moving through their feathers as they soared and danced on the wind just meters above my head. We enjoyed a short hike thru the Waterberg Mountains through grasses and proteas.



I knew exactly what the breeding cliffs looked like as I have watched the DVD over a dozen times. As I climbed over the final ridge I saw the dark, sheer cliffs rising straight from the veldt floor. The mountains of South Africa are considered to be the oldest mountains in the world and look so different from our Rocky Mountains.



But before I ever reached that point, the vultures were already all over- zipping around, playing on the wind. It was awesome and exciting to watch them master the skies. The winds were a bit strong, yet the birds hardly had to flap their wings. Just slight adjustments of the flight feathers and they could easily change course. Vultures are known in certain cultures to be symbols of efficiency (among many other things like renewal, patience and perseverance). Watching them fly with ease and virtually zero energy expenditure, showed how true those ancient legends still are.



Sadly, the winds (while no problem for the vultures) turned out to be too strong for us to paraglide safely. So there would be no flying with the vultures for me today. But somehow I still felt alive watching them soar and dive around me. They were having fun- flying just to fly. (There is a short video below of the vultures soaring.) Pairs were flying in tandem- something that is thought to strengthen pair bonds. I could hear the wind passing through their feathers. I found their feathers on the ground amongst the rocks. I felt like I was on sacred ground. Like I was witnessing something spiritual. And considering that these birds are still thought to be messengers of the gods, maybe I was.

Vulture Video from Africa

Jenyva sent this amazing video of wild vultures flying above her in Africa. It is truly amazing and beautiful!



Read all the blog posts from Jenyva and her vulture adventure.

Day 7 & 8 in Africa: Too Much Rain, Not Enough Vultures

by Jenyva Turner

24 January 2011
Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve, Gauteng province, South Africa



Catching vultures is not as easy as it might seem… and certainly not as easy as it was my very first day in Africa! We still need to capture 21 more vultures to reach our target sample size for our research project. The weather has not been cooperating with us. The rain grounds the vultures that need to be somewhat dry and require thermals to help them fly. The area has been receiving record rainfall in the last couple months. Not so good for catching vultures!

For almost a week, we have been trying to catch vultures in Mankwe Wildlife Reserve, but it has been too rainy. There was a break in the weather yesterday afternoon, so we threw our gear in the bakkie and rushed off to Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve (the site of the first capture), which is a little closer to Vulpro premises than Mankwe. We baited the capture pen with more carcasses and then left, hoping the birds would investigate. After about 3 hours the clouds started to roll in and it started to drizzle. The vultures seemed to have known the rain was coming and did not leave their pylon roosts. So we will try again tomorrow.

25 January 2011

We were on the road by 4 a.m. It’s raining again. Hopefully it will pass. As it became light we could see dozens (actually around 175) vultures roosting on the nearby pylons, but it was too wet and cold for them to leave just yet. We parked at a good vantage point on a ridge to watch and wait. After about 8 hours with periodic rainstorms, we started to see the vultures move, first one, than another. Once they started to move, we knew it would be quick so we jumped in the bakkie and raced our way to the bottom of the hide/pen area. Kerri and Walter snuck up the road behind the hide, hoping the vultures wouldn’t hear their approach. All would have been perfect had the sliding curtain that traps the birds in the pen hadn’t have come off its track when being quickly pulled shut.

Hugely disappointing… But on a positive note, I got to watch the vultures fly above me and thermal up in the sky. It was amazing to watch so many huge birds fly so effortlessly. I took lots of photos and video to be able to relive it all once I’m back home. I couldn’t help but think about our vultures at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and how they once soared free, high above the veldt of Africa.

Day 6 in Africa: Engineering and Innovation for the Vultures

Dangers to Cape Vultures in Africa
By Jenyva Turner

23 January 2011
Hartbeespoort, North West Province, South Africa

Sadly, vultures in the wild are facing many different threats. Vulpro is working to find ways to protect the vultures from these various threats through research and education.

The number one threat to vultures in the Mageliesberg region is electrocution and collisions with power lines. Oftentimes these birds do not survive, and if they do survive they are brought to Vulpro for rehabilitation. Sometimes they can be released, and sometimes they cannot. Non-releasable vultures can be used for education or display in reputable zoos. The zoos in South Africa are filled to capacity with non-releasable vultures. Therefore, zoos like Cheyenne Mountain Zoo have imported Cape vultures to provide professional care for them and to allow them to be ambassadors for their species. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s 3 Cape griffon vultures were imported from South Africa in 2004. They too were injured in collisions with power lines and could not be released. They are now helping people realize how incredible vultures are, how important they are to our environment, and how we need them. Our pair has just recently laid an egg, so they may also be contributing to the success of the captive population in North America.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Cape Vulture, on display daily in African Rift Valley.

Vulpro is working with South Africa’s main power supplier, Eskom, to develop bird-friendly power lines to lessen the dangers of electrocution and collision.


Eskom test enclosure.

Vultures often use pylons as roosts and as a result, become injured.


Vultures resting on pylons.

Eskom engineers are developing various pylon designs to prevent injury (see photos below). They are testing these designs out on Kerri’s captive birds in a specially-designed test enclosure. The observations made watching birds interact with the pylons helps engineers become more effective.

Test pylons:

Day 4 in Africa: Helping One Vulture at a Time

By Jenyva Turner

21 January 2011
Hartbeespoort, North West Province, South Africa


Today was Vulture Capture #2, this time with rehabbed, non-releasable and releasable, Cape vultures at the Vulpro center. The vultures came to Vulpro for a variety of reasons. Some were injured in power line collisions and had broken wings that didn’t heal well enough to be released; some came in severely malnourished and needed proper nutrition; others had been caught in fences or were victims of the Muti trade (traditional cultural medicine).

We did much of the same testing as in the previous capture, but this time a focus was on whether or not the birds had been exposed to poisons or heavy metals. It was interesting to learn that the vultures that routinely come in from Thabazimbi (NW of Magaliesberg region) are usually underweight and weak- it’s not from power line collisions or obvious poisoning like in other regions. Today’s blood tests will hopefully help us determine whether or not there is a calcium deficiency or some other deficiency affecting the vultures’ diet in that region or if the vultures had been poisoned in some way. DDT is sprayed in that region and the vultures could have been affected by that. Of the 10 birds we caught up to test, 7 are strong enough to be released. I hope the weather clears up a bit so that I can be a part of such an amazing experience!


Vulture catch-up in the morning.

After the capture this morning, we set off to Pretoria to meet veterinarians and vet students at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Pretoria. They did a check up on a vulture that was found on Christmas Day, caught in a fence with a couple severe holes in its right wing. The injuries were healing nicely, but needed a few stitches. The veterinary department at the University of Pretoria provides a lot of medical care for Vulpro and is a great partner in Vulpro’s conservation work.


Check up on the vulture's healing wing.

While we were there, they gave us a black-shouldered kite that was found caught in a glue trap. Its wings were covered in the nasty glue. Treatment involves the completely simple and brilliant act of powdering the feathers with baby powder to cut the stickiness of the glue. The bird will then preen the glue out on its own. It’s much better than having to cut the feathers and wait for months for them to grow back. So we brought him back to Vulpro and let him out in one of the raptor enclosures until he is ready to be released.


Black-shouldered Kite.

Right when I was releasing the kite into its new enclosure, a wild Cape vulture flew into the field with the vulture enclosures. He caused quite a stir amongst the captive vultures as they all ran over to the side where he landed and to check him out. He was likely drawn in because of their food.


Vulture visitor.

Walter Neser of Vulpro is testing out a camera that mounts on the back of a vulture and takes video of the vulture’s activities. The perfect candidate for this is a 4 year old, hand-raised, female Cape who they are training to fly. She looks at Walter as a mate and she lets him touch her and pick her up and she follows him everywhere. It’s so fun to watch! We fitted her with the camera to see how the harness fit and we will start working with her in a couple of days as well as some of the other vultures and raptors who are good training candidates. I’m very excited to explore the possibilities!



It was a great variety of things to do today and helpful insight into the lives of Kerri and Walter and all they are doing to help save vultures and other raptors in Africa. It’s truly an inspiration to be here working with them!

Jenyva Made it to South Africa! Day 1 and 2 in Africa

We are excited to finally receive word from Jenyva! She made it to South Africa safely and has already started the process of SAVING THE VULTURES! Over the next few weeks we will help share her journey on the blog. Please send Jenyva well-wishes on this amazing expedition. We can't wait to share all of her adventures along the way.

My South African Journey
By Jenyva Turner

18 January 2011

Rhino & Lion Wildlife Conservation Reserve, Gauteng province, South Africa


Eight hours after landing in South Africa, our bakkie jostled its way down the rough dirt road rutted from the recent rains in the Rhino & Lion Wildlife Conservation Reserve. We rounded a corner and the jet lag fatigue that I was succumbing to quickly disappeared as I saw the birds I had travelled thousands of miles to help save. A Cape vulture flew above the ridge, then another, then another, then dozens were riding the wind currents low above the vegetation! It was truly awe-inspiring and moving to see the species I have been able to care for and help protect fly free around me with their 9-foot wingspans!

We were there to set up the capture site for the next day’s capture for our research project. The capture pen is a 25ft x 15ft mesh pen with shade cloth and 1 side that opens up/closes by pulling a shade cloth curtain across. It is right next to a “vulture restaurant” (special feeding sites for vultures in Africa to help supplement their decreasing natural diet).

Preparing the capture site entails adding “fresh” carcasses to the pen to draw the birds in.


Because of the recent rainy weather, Kerri Wolter, of Vulpro (the organization CMZ is supporting thru Quarters for Conservation) decided that we needed to capture the vultures that night while it was dry just in case it started raining in the morning (vultures do not fly around when it’s raining).

After baiting the pen, we all went into the hide and, well, hid, until the vultures appeared. It didn’t take long for the 1st bird to appear. Vultures have excellent eyesight and do not miss when another vulture seems to have found food, so within 5 minutes there were well over 100 vultures near the “restaurant.” After about 30 vultures (and 3 jackals) went inside the pen, the curtain was drawn and we raced down to the pen to secure it thru a sea of vultures who were madly trying to get out of our way. What an experience to be literally leaping over giant birds! We then had to hand grab/herd the jackals to remove them from the pen so they wouldn’t hurt the vultures. Since it was getting dark, we then left for the night with plans to return at sunrise to “process” them and gather our research data.

19 January 2011

Our research team of 8 people hit the road at 4 a.m. to get to the site as soon as possible to avoid stressing the vultures out further by keeping them in the pen too long. We set up our field lab and went to work catching/processing all 29 Cape vultures.



The testing we were doing will provide a better snapshot of the overall health of the wild Cape vulture population in the Magaliesberg Mountains. We drew blood to run uric acid and glucose tests, complete CBC, and DNA and sexing. We took some feather samples to test for presence of heavy metals. The bird was weighed and a complete physical exam was made. A cloacal swab was then taken as well as measurements of the head and foot pads to determine if one can determine if a vulture is male or female based on head/foot size. Every bird was ringed and tagged with patagial tags. Then the bird was released. We worked together smoothly and everything was done within 6 minutes!



The biggest threat to vultures in the wild is poisoning. Sometimes this poisoning is intentional, sometimes it’s accidental. When a vulture is poisoned, it goes into kidney failure, which causes their uric acid levels to go way up. Our original research grant proposal suggested that we might be able to detect early-onset kidney failure by using a human uric acid reader since it only requires a drop of blood and can be read within minutes. This way, if a vulture during a routine tagging capture has high uric acid levels, then they could be taken in and given supportive care before it’s too late. We will compare our field test levels with uric acid levels from the CBC. Let’s hope the levels are consistent because if this proves true, this could have a great impact on vulture conservation around the world!

We are scheduled for another vulture capture on Friday, provided the rains do not return, but tomorrow we are off to Mabula Game Reserve 2 hours north of here to meet with researchers from The Ground Hornbill Project, where I volunteered in 2007. I’m excited to see the birds I got to know years ago and see their chicks!

Stay tuned for more news from Africa!

Join Us On A Journey To South Africa (And help us save a species in the process!)

by Jenyva Turner, our own Zoo keeper and vulture enthusiast

Wide-open grasslands, large herds of animals roaming freely, unique animals found nowhere else on earth… these are all reasons people travel to Africa; but what about traveling to help vultures? That is just what I am looking forward to doing January 2011!

I will be participating in a research project I helped conceptualize and organize in conjunction with VulPro (Vulture Programme) in South Africa and BioDiversity Research Institute of the US. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZ) has been supporting the research and rehabilitation work of VulPro for a year and a half now through the Quarters for Conservation program.


Cape Vulture

This journey in January will be focusing on the overall health assessment of the Cape vulture and African white-backed vulture populations in the Magaliesburg region of South Africa.


We will be capturing approximately 30 vultures, ringing them (similar to bird banding in the US), tagging them (placing bold wing tags with large numbers on both wings), and taking various non-invasive samples from them vultures: feather, fecal, blood and vomit samples. (And believe me, I do suspect that I will be getting vomited on… a lot!) From those samples we will be able to determine the sex and genetics of the bird as well as test for lead or mercury exposure or exposure to deadly poisons or NSAIDs.


African White-backed Vulture

Poisoning is the #1 threat to vultures in South Africa and is the focus of our study. We hope to determine if it’s possible to detect early-onset kidney failure on vultures due to exposure to poisons or NSAIDs with the use of a hand-held human uric acid meter. If the bird’s uric acid levels are elevated, this could indicate kidney failure and the bird could be taken in for treatment and supportive care before it’s too late. (By the time a vulture shows signs of being sick, it’s usually too late.) This is the first time such a study has been performed on vultures, so this project is very exciting!

Why Save the Vultures?

Vultures are essential to the health of ecosystems around the world. As obligate scavengers, vultures clean up dead animal remains and prevent the spread of disease. Vultures can eat carcasses of animals that died of deadly diseases, such as rabies or anthrax, without getting sick themselves¬– they don’t even spread the disease as their stomach acids kill any pathogens. We need vultures in our world! Unfortunately, vulture populations are declining rapidly around the world due to a number of different factors including poisoning, electrocution, starvation and hunting for the African folk medicine trade. 40 million vultures have died in Asia in recent years.

What Can You Do?

Please help me collect supplies on VulPro’s wish list to take with me to Africa to help further their research and rehabilitation work. Bring your items to the Zoo and drop them off at the front gate, letting an attendant know that the items are for vulture conservation. Last day to donate is January 15th. You can find a list of the needed supplies online.

If you are not able to donate but still want to help, don’t worry! There are so many other ways you can help vultures in Africa, as well as here at home in Colorado. Visit the Quarters for Conservation page for more information on how you can take action.

While I am in South Africa, I will be writing on the Zoo’s blog, In Between the Spots, as to the progress and experiences of our research project. So check back in January and journey with me to Africa!

African Expedition Days 5-8: Communal lands, Communal Conservation Strategies

Nicole Mantz, Education Curator for CMZ, writes:

July 6-9
The next several days we will be learning about different aspects of the Olkiramatian Group Ranch and the South Rift Association of Land Owners. Check out their blog to learn more about them and follow their activities.

As a background, group ranches in Kenya are designated areas of land legalized in the 1970's and have registered members and designated leaders. Each group ranch in Kenya has their own policy, strategy and practice for land use and conservation. Olkiramatian has between 7 and 10,000 members in their group ranch. They are combination ranchers with some pastoral farming, but as with Maasai tradition, they remain mobile. As a group they have decided that they will have a dry grazing area and a wet grazing area, and include in their decision the needs of wildlife. They live and graze on the east side of the river April-October and then live and graze on the west side of the river November-March. As a part of their partnership with researchers, they are learning about ecosystem management and how to include wildlife in the equation. It seems to be working. During the drought of the last two years, Olkiramatian only lost 10-15% of their wildlife, whereas Amboseli lost 70-80% of their wildlife. Despite that success, Olkiramatian has its challenges. They do see poaching and have game scouts that assist KWS in looking out for that; and they are working to diversify their income so they don't only need to survive on ranching.

That's where the Resource Center Project of the last 4 years comes in. A group of women in Olkiramatian wanted to establish an area where the community, researchers, and tourists can come together and learn from each other. They also wanted the opportunity to create new income for their communities and families and improve their children's school experience. This has not been easy because it is a male dominated society, but they are making progress. They are in the midst of building the center and adjoining housing on land that was given to them for this use, and hope to open it in September. The center employs two people throughout the year, not including when visitors are there. There are also researchers that live on-site and pay a fee to research there.

Over the next several days we will have the opportunity to meet with the researchers, community leaders, the women's group, and school kids so we can learn more about their lives and efforts for conservation and livelihood in this area.


Day 5: Today we met with Joel, the baboon researcher in Olkiramatian. We were able to walk from our campsite to an area where one of the troops sometimes spends their time during the day. Today it wasn't far from their night area, but they do often move around based on their food source. Joel showed us his data sheets and the behaviors he looks for as well as the individuals that he has become familiar with over his research. As a part of the habituation process, we all had to wear hats. This is a distinctive way for the troop to know that they can allow us to stand and watch for awhile, and to keep them from getting habituated to the Maasai in the same way, since they do not wear hats.

I loved the fact that we got to get out of the truck and hike today...not only has the truck experience been loads dustier than Amboseli, but we got to see dozens of tracks! I spent so much time studying them, following them doing my best to identify them, asking Joel a million questions about them. It really made the walk come alive! Knowing just hours before that there was a porcupine making his way down the road, and a drama of some sort among hyenas. Even if we didn't see the actual animals who made the prints, it was reassuring to know they are there! Alive and well in the African Rift!


Baboon tracks.


Baboons in the wild.

One of the groups today also found cheetah- two yearlings and their mother. They watched them up until lunch and then the junior high girls (associated with one of our classmates) saw them after lunch and we went out in the afternoon in search of them. During the time that the kids saw them and we found the the two yearlings had ambushed, taken and eaten an impala. We watched them for awhile and once they departed, we got out to survey the scene. Joel called me over and showed me the tracks and drag marks; we were able to follow those marks back to the killsite and see the pursuit leading up to it! What an amazing day!!



Day 6: Today was community day for us. We spent the morning in the Boma of one of the resource assessors, Tom, who welcomed us for a visit. We were able to visit with his brothers and sisters and the mamas of the Boma. Tom is not yet married, so he still lives in his father's boma, but is one of the head's of the household.

Some of the warriors stopped by - in this community they spend two years outside of their home Boma, unable to come home even for a meal, and must practice their social and survival skills until they are able to come home. Their hair is dyed red to signify this stage in their life, so the community members are aware.



They sang a little bit for us, and demonstrated their spear throwing skills. This turned into a contest between our class and the warriors...and we all know who won that! But then out came the elders no doubt intrigued by our laughter and cheers... And though they may have seemed a bit fragile, their skills were still the sharpest in the Boma!



After lunch we met with community members and learned more about the community as a whole, the culture and daily practices. They were quite intrigued by our American lifestyle as well, including our education choices, marriage practices and family values. I truly felt that while they are excited to learn from us, they are not interested in becoming like us. Yes, the cellular age has made it to the Boma and beyond (though they rarely use the vibrate mode!), and they don't always where their traditional dress, they aren't going to drop what they're doing and start on a quest to become a westerner... At least not most.

Day 7: this morning we were up before the sun to meet Paul and Christine who took us lion tracking. Paul is a researcher out of the Montana State university and Christine, his fiance, helps collect data and samples, and started and maintains the blog. They have a top-down/bottom-up approach the research here, meeting the other researchers at the ungulate studies. He is studying the whole gamet of predators in the area with camera traps and scent posts. This morning we saw bat-eared fox, and lots of other eye shine as we got closer to the collared lion. Then suddenly, through the bushes we saw eye shine, a set of rounded ears perk up. There they are! Four in total that we could see. After a few minutes they moved under the safety of bushes to another location. As the lead truck approached, one of the females lunged and growled...Paul said that she must have her cubs with her. We sat quietly and watched. Two of the other females were laying together rolling a little, and another had something on her chin. We speculated as to what it was, but as they left the area and we approached, the answer was clear... The lions had been rolling in elephant dung! Paul said he hadn't witnessed that yet. I told him it is our lion's favorite enrichment at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!


Eric, a classmate, Paul, the lion researcher (right), and myself as we watched the lions Friday morning.

In addition to observing the lions, we did a game count of ungulates in the area and took samples of feces we found. When the field work is done, Paul will take the fecal samples back to Montana State for analysis, looking at grasses and stress levels.


Ungulate count as a part of the plots.


Tracks, again as part of the plot work.

In the afternoon we visited the Olkiramatian day and boarding school. This where the junior high girls who have been camping with us have spent most of their time. Today they unveiled the cooperative music they created with they music group from the school. The moment brought tears to our eyes!


Kids singing at the School, both Ohio students and Olkiramatian students. Part of the Maasai Music Project.

After the musical exchange and a short looking the classroom, we walked with the students over to the football (soccer) field. We became adversaries, but only momentarily, because their team schooled us in the finer points of African football. Even when they took pity on us and put in the primary school girls team, they still won...5-2.



After playing with and meeting the students for a few hours, we headed back to the camp for our traditional meal...goat, ugali, and stewed veggies.


Day 8: This morning we went out with Samantha to see the other half of the research taking place on the group ranch. We took data on grasses in various areas of the transect with a pin plot and also scanned for ungulates, paced off and recorded tracks associated with the transect and again took fecal samples. During our study we found elephant tracks from the night before and very fresh lion tracks. So fresh that when a couple of us started to stray beyond the transect to follow them, Sam quickly called us back.



After that we went on one final game drive. We saw eland, zebra, impala, giraffe, grant's gazlle, and a hord of baboons heading to their sleeping trees. We went through a swamp where we were sure we would have a leopard pounce on our truck, but alas, no such luck.

Tomorrow we have to say goodbye to some of the friendliest, most genuine people on the planet and head back to Nairobi. I feel as sad to leave them as I do my family. They have been so welcoming, as if we were family, and I truly feel as if my life will be forever changed by this experience. It is with a sad but enlightened heart that we prepare to leave Olkiramatian.

African Expedition Day 4: Up and Away

Nicole Mantz, Education Curator for CMZ, writes:

July 5 - Up and Away
Today we got up early to catch a charter flight to Lake Mgadi in the South Rift area of Kenya. On our way, we had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with a bull elephant in Musth. Just behind him was a seasonal waterhole full of flamingoes. There must have been at least 300 of them! With Kilimanjaro in the background, we couldn't have asked for a better way to say goodbye to the park.

The bull elephant who met us in the morning to say goodbye as we left, flamingos in the background, and in the skyline. Amazing!

The flight to Lake Mgadi was smoother and more scenic than most commercial flights I have experienced. From there we were transported on an extremely bumpy road to the Olkiramatian Group Ranch. We will be staying here for the next five days and learning about their community-based conservation projects. (Check out their blog.) This area has a membership group and a council that oversees the research and conservation of the area. There is a women's group that has been formed and is creating a Resource Center where ranchers, resource managers, conservationists, researchers and tourists can come together and learn from one another. So far, this group is the friendliest we have met. They are truly heart-warming and happy to see us, though we've never met before. There are outdoor showers with water heated by the sun and a 'sand closet' instead of the hole in the ground that was considered a toilet at the last campsite. Already, the experience is exceeding my expectations!



Here are some photos from Nicole:

Here's the plane we took to get into ORC.


New buildings being constructed at the Olkiramatian Resource Center site.


Lions in ORC.

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.

Africa Expedition: Trip Overview and Day 1

Our own, Nicole Mantz, Education Curator for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, has ventured to Africa on an expedition regarding human/wildlife conflict and coexistence. We just heard from her and wanted to get the update out to you.

Nicole writes:

Jambo! Got into Nairobi yesterday afternoon but wasn't able access internet until this morning. We will be heading Tsavo as soon as we are done with our updates here. I hope to send pictures soon!

Trip Overview:
This Earth Expeditions trip through Project Dragonfly and the Wild Research Consortium* is about humans and wildlife coexisting together. Throughout the course we use the inquiry process to look at different issues associated with humans and wildlife in the African landscape. Since the class revolves around inquiry, I'd like to ask you to do some inquiry along with me...

Look at your surroundings each day, pick something to focus on and spend sometime asking questions about it. When you find a question that really intrigues you, then I challenge you to dig deeper, look for the answer, ask your family, friends, etc. to join you in your quest. I think you'll find that as you take a few moments to dig deeper, and learn more, the world around you start to feel more alive, more illuminated. Using simple inquiry and observation can make an ordinary situation incredibly interesting, and as a result, I hope you feel more connected with the world around. - Join me in my journey as I connect with the people and wildlife of Africa through the inquiry process.

*As part of Wild Research, 15 zoos and aquariums throughout the country make up the Wild Research Consortium. Consortium members attend leadership workshops each year at conservation sites in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.


July 1, Day 1 - A long way for a kiss!

Today we had some time before we met up with the rest of our classmates, so a couple new friends from Ohio and I did some exploration. We really wanted to check out the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe sanctuary. So we hired a guide to take us around these areas of Nairobi. The Elephant sanctuary was first and they had 6 elephant calves ranging in age from 5 months to 2 years.



They were red with dirt and really knew they were the center of attention. So many people crowded around them for the opportunity to get up close and personal. As I observed the people in that moment, it made me think about how much people love connecting with wildlife. I know this is something that we already know, but being in another country, and seeing many people from other countries as well, waiting with great anticipation for their moment to connect with the little guys, reminded me that this connection we crave, truly is universal... it doesn't matter what language you speak.

When we reached the Giraffe Sanctuary, where Giraffe Manor is located, I was again amazed at the people that were crowding around, feeding the giraffe. It made me start wondering, of the people here, for how many is this their first time to feed giraffe?

As I observed, in an effort to answer my question... many were frightened and nervous as they approached "Daisy" the giraffe for the first time. Some spoke English and I was able to ask them if this was their first experience, and for most, it was. As they started connecting with Daisy, they started getting more confident and bolder with their feeding strategies. Eventually you saw them starting to put the pellet in their mouth and Daisy would take it from them, in a sloppy, wet, french kiss. :-)


One of my classmates, Katie, gets a smooch from Daisy the giraffe at the Giraffe Sanctuary.

I just giggle at their expressions and thought about how fortunate we are at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, to be able to provide this opportunity for our guests. The joy that surrounded Daisy is something we see often at the Zoo, and for those who have a chance to have their first encounter with a giraffe right in their home town, or after a little traveling, I'm sure you feel fortunate too... Africa is a long way to come for your first kiss (giraffe kiss that is)!


Giraffe photo from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

Tonight we meet up with our class and head off to Amboseli! Can't wait for the adventure!