What a day! On our first full day in Kenya, we woke up after just a few hours of sleep and got on the road. Our seven-hour drive included a couple pit stops; one to hit up a gift shop filled with crafts created by local artisans and the second to snap a picture at the equator, which divides Kenya nearly in half. We’re here to work this week, but the temptation to take a photo at a tourist spot got us out of the car!
By mid-afternoon, we made it to what will be our home base for about the next week: the Samburu National Reserve in the northern part of the country. We were immediately in awe of our destination.
Within ten minutes of entering the reserve, we came across wildlife that were simply amazing to witness in their natural habitat.
We saw a huge bull elephant, multiple giraffes, ostriches, a number of impala and antelope, & several species of birds. It was a fantastic way to start our time inside Samburu!
At lunch on our lodge’s open-air patio, a black-faced vervet monkey, like the one pictured below, swung down from the rafters and snatched a roll from a breadbasket on a nearby table. We would soon see several more of these sneaky guys -- and we were strongly encouraged to keep our tents zipped up if we didn’t want a monkey as a bunkmate.
We also used the afternoon to meet & get a briefing from Dr. Shivani Bhalla, a conservation biologist and the founder & executive director of Ewaso Lions. Her organization is focused on lion conservation and promoting coexistence between lions and communities in Northern Kenya, but this week there have already been some worrisome conflicts with lions killing farmers’ precious livestock.
Dr. Shivani is one of the foremost experts in her field. She and her team have planned a very busy schedule for us. Starting tomorrow, we will be meeting young Samburu warriors who are being trained to track lions to encourage distance between those lions and the livestock that families depend on for their livelihoods.
That is just one of four stops on our list tomorrow. We’re up and at it bright and early again, but we can’t wait to share even more about the work the Houston Zoo supports here in Kenya! Stay tuned!
