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Scaling coexistence across East Africa
A middle-aged woman stood beside sacks of freshly harvested maize, more than she could ever remember harvesting in recent years.
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Turning uncertainty into purpose
When Yvonne Seline Ekesa received her university admission letter to study Conservation Biology at Kenyatta University, her first reaction… confusion.
Poachers kill a Grand Dame of a Great Elephant Family
12 gun shots tore through the night near Isiolo town in Northern Kenya last week, signaling the death of the elephant ‘Hope’, a sub-group matriarch from a family of elephants know as the ‘Virtues’. Sadly, Hope had been observed just...
Elephant Families Captured on Camera Traps in Westgate Community Conservancy
We’ve been using camera traps in Westgate since February 2010 to capture images of the rare and elusive predators that roam Westgate at night. Over the past year, we have gathered quite a large collection of superb images of lion, leopard, spotted...
Hope’s Death
On the 10th of March 2011, an adult female elephant was killed by poachers at the Nayaa-Korea (Alamach Area). Both of its tusks were missing. Wilson, the STE scout, found her at around half past seven in the evening, the previous day. The female...
Elephant Mortality up, but Population Intact: Tsavo Elephant Count 2011
Every so often in monitoring Africa’s continental elephant population, there is a milestone that sticks out. This happens when key elephant populations with a long term history get counted like in Tsavo in Kenya, Selous in Tanzania, the Kruger in...
Samburu Elephant Conservation News
Conducting research on elephant conservation is a process that entails a lot of activities that are carried out with the help of, and in-conjunction with our donors, researchers, KWS team and STE staff members. This is the case for the month of...
Elephant Vocalization Experiments
I’m about a month into my internship with STE now, and this is the first time in my life I’ve ever enjoyed a routine. Waking up when the vervet monkeys decide it’s time to play outside my tent is much preferable to the sounds of my mobile...
Elephant Death at Isiolo River, Samburu
On the 27th of February 2011, a young sub-adult female elephant, about 10-12 years was found dead near the Isiolo River, being eaten by lions. Tour drivers, who initially had found the carcass, notified the KWS and the STE teams. The carcass was...
Chasing Cattle
The other day we had a bit of a change of pace from wildlife monitoring. Our mission was to retrieve the five cattle collars that have been giving STE data for the last year and a half.The objective of this project was to better understand...
Elephant Death at Buffalo Springs, Samburu
On The 25th of February 2011, poachers who shot an adult male elephant, made away with both of her tusks, leaving the elephant wounded. Unfortunately, the elephant succumbed to the gun shot wounds. The locals living in that area had heard the...
Stuck in the Mud
Smatterings of rain and one impressive dawn thunderstorm have proven a successful (if inconvenient) elephant deterrent thus halting sound experiments for the last three days. The one family that didn’t appear to mind was the First Ladies. Two days...