As I arrive in camp there is already great sense of co-operation among the members of different conservancies within the Samburu National Reserve updating each other on the whereabouts of different elephants. Within a few minutes I was learning about the launch of Google-Street View here the first of its kind in Kenya. Not just Kenya but in Samburu! Users will have the exciting opportunity of navigating Samburu using the Peg man and get a view of some of the wildlife in the area such as elephants even seeing some of the local people as if they were actually physical there. Fiddled around with the Google Earth Pro to get an idea of how it works. I managed to see an animation of the elephants in motion from geospatial data collected from elephants being monitoring with collars. What a way to start an internship!
Coming to Samburu I already had an idea that elephants and humans are quite alike in so many different ways. Not only do they have strong social units but they have also been given different family group names according to characteristic features on their tusks and ears just like how in some Kenyan tribes babies are given names based on various behavioural characteristics during birth. Individual elephant names are exciting ranging from historians to presidents, royalty and even the weather. So far this week we have come across the Storms 2, Artists 1, Artists 2, Hardwoods, Spices and Royals. The complete list of names consists of about 22 families which is as follows: Spice girls, Poetics 1, Poetics 2, Royals, Winds, First ladies, American Indians, Storms, Clouds, Artists 1, Artists 2, Swahilis, Hardwoods, Biblical families, Flowers, Sisters, Mountain Ranges, Turks, butterflies, Virtues, EZE, Mama lost. Apart from these families there have also been some bulls around that are in dispersal. It is normal for bulls to disperse from their original families and wander around alone or regroup with other bulls that have also dispersed.
I have currently been delegated work with the Long Term Monitoring Team going out daily to count and ensure the elephants are in good health based on observing their body condition and behaviour. I am also assisting a fellow intern in collecting elephant faecal bolus samples for research on stress in elephants. Besides being a part of something meaningful and getting that much closer to improving the quality of life in elephants I was not prepared for the excitement of seeing an elephant relieve itself. Hearing the elephant stories are also amazing. A couple of elephants stood out but Monsoon, Frieda and Rothko were the ones for me. Monsoon is a survivor of a couple of poaching attempts. The poachers wanted her for her long beautiful tusks. Fortunately, or unfortunately for Monsoon, her tusks broke, with the left tusk being shorter than the right one. Perhaps this could be a blessing in disguise and help extend her life. Elephants and Samburu have a great history of co-existing therefore the elephants are more trusting of vehicles compared to other parts of Kenya such as Tsavo. However, since Monsoon’s encounters she is a little apprehensive on approach so it’s an honour when she stays calm according to the local people and interns who have been working with her. Frieda and Rothko have broken ears therefore when they flap their ears one of the ears remains stationary in a flopped over position. The cause of this condition is yet to be confirmed.