Today we said goodbye our wonderful family at ilkeliani. They made us feel right at home on the banks of the Talek river.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Fisi camp
This morning the students worked on collecting the last of their data. Because it's the end of the projects, that meant the groups with visual "threats" were finished with them and could have some fun. So here is morani (Maasai for warrior) walking Charlie the hyena.
The students also took advantage of this lovely staircase for a shuka (Maasai blanket) prom photo.
After lunch, we went to fisi (Swahili for hyena) camp where the students learned a bit about the camp and research there, had a Maasai led nature walk, and played volleyball with everyone from fisi camp and our intrepid drivers.
We ended or last day here relaxing a bit and watch the sun set in true Kenyan fashion.
The staff even made us a going away cake!
Next, we're off to the other side of the park and Serena lodge!
Friday, May 27, 2016
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Visit to Talek Primary School
Today we visited Talek Primary Boarding and Day School in Talek, the town closest to the entrance to the park.
Here are some cool photos from our trip!
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Smammal trapping
Today was a busy day. We collected data on our way to meet with Dr. Kay Holekamp to learn about small mammal (affectionately called smammals) trapping. Here, students laid out live animal traps then weighed, determined the sex, and ear tagged the Nile grass rats that we trapped before releasing them.
After trapping and lunch, we went to market day in the local town where the students got to practice their haggling skills. So many blankets! All of you back home will enjoy all your presents.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Becoming Maasai
Today after a morning of working on experiments, we went to a local Maasai home where the students saw and learned men's and women's dances, saw the inside of a home, learned to make fire, and explored a market.
They then had the afternoon to relax and work. Afterwards, we went out to conduct experiments, and every car was very lucky and saw a successful hunt!
For dinner, we even had Kenyan cuisine!
Another amazing day in the Mara.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Daily discussions
Almost every night we discuss a scientific paper on a specific species and a topic on Kenyan culture. This is where we do those discussions.
The students presented their comparative projects today and we were very impressed! The students found:
- giraffes don't switch feeding on bushes more often in the Mara than soysambu
- buffalo are more vigilant but not more aggressive in the Soysambu than the Mara
- Impalas males with larger harems spend more of their time and energy hearding females
- 0-1 sampling wasn't as cool as everyone thought it was
- harem sizes do not vary between soysambu and the Mara.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Friday, May 20, 2016
First few hours in the Mara
We have We have had some crazy luck in the Mara so far.
And two leopards! One moving through the grass and one that is trying out for Africa's next top model.
We had an amazing dinner last night.
This morning we collected data on buffalo with a beautiful sunrise in the background.
Then we ran into some friendly hyenas
Then we ran into some playful cheetahs playing tag.
Made it to the Mara
We had to leave our new friends at Soysambu,
and after a long drive, we made it to the Mara.
Now everyone is relaxing in this gorgeous new setting before we head out to collect more data for their projects bright and early in the morning.
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