What the hell am I doing here?

The ACK team of students! Erica and I on the car and Mandela and Nelson standing below.

 

WARNING: Sciencey, too long and probably boring. Only read if you are THAT bored. Or if you want to learn more about cheetah poops.

Recently I’ve realized that here I am going on and on about running amok in the Kenyan bush without ever really explaining what the hell I’m doing here. Most of you have come to the conclusion that I am chasing cheetahs around with a plastic bag just waiting for them to take a dump (if only it were that easy…). This conclusion is partially accurate. I am chasing any hint of cheetah signs or sightings that are reported and I do have plastic bags in tow. That being said here is WHY I’m doing this and what exactly is making this a little more difficult than expected (le poos).

As most of you know I am about to start graduate school at North Carolina State University in pursuit of a Master’s degree in Animal Science with a focus in Physiology (that’s a mouthful, apologies). My plan is to work with Action for Cheetahs in Kenya (here in Kenya, obvi) looking for poops and then to take said poops back to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute to do all my lab work. Sounds pretty good right? Right. But I still haven’t said WHY. Why the hell am I picking up all the poops with a stick and dissecting and sniffing them to help determine whether they belong to the elusive “duma” (cheetah in Kiswahili)? As I said before the area I am studying is comprised of large ranches with moving livestock (domestic… goats, sheep, cattle) herds. The land is also host to a variety of wildlife species taking advantage of the undeveloped land. However, a few of these large ranches have decided to become subdivided. What does this mean? They are being divided up into plots for individual families (subsistence farming instead of commercial ranching) to create households and gardens/crop fields. My study is looking at whether the cheetahs inhabiting these newly developed landscapes are becoming more stressed. Why is stress a concern? Chronic stress has been shown in many species to cause infertility and immuno-suppression making them more susceptible to diseases. The cheetahs in this area face local extinction with the rate the land is being developed. There are plans to establish a new city in these gorgeous plains by 2030. The idea behind this project is that while we are probably too late to help these cheetahs from being extirpated from their current habitat, we can use the information to help educate and influence other urban development plans so they may be more suitable for continued cheetah existence.

Why the poop? Stress hormones, also called glucocorticoids (if you want to get sciencey) are steroids that can be measured in blood, urine, and feces. Because fecal material is the least invasive method (besides urine, but in the wild that’s virtually impossible to find) I am collecting cheetah scats from across these study sites to extract and measure the stress hormones. Then I will compare the various stress levels with the location and proximity of the sample to high human settlement density.

The PROBLEM: Because steroids breakdown in UV light (aka THE SUN) I need FRESH poops. They don’t have to be steaming but they need to be moist and plentiful (about a golf ball size) and not too hairy (makes the extraction of the hormones difficult). Kind of demanding right? So far we’ve found about 30 cheetah poops but they have all been dry and hairy. This is perfect for the other half of Team Duma Poops, Nelson Owange. He’s a Master’s student at the University of Nairobi and is looking at prey base. He wants to know what the cheetahs are eating so he is analyzing the hairs found in cheetah scats. Yeah we’re weird. We know.

Nelson and I collecting some dry cheetah poops we found on a rock!

Hopefully with all the GPS points we have from the dry scats, if we keep checking those places we’ll start finding fresh ones (cheetahs, especially males, often poop and mark in the same places to mark territories).

Wow… that was boring and probably totally inaccurate. : ) Just for your patience here is a picture of two male ostriches we came across yesterday who were having what seemed to be a dance off in front of the lady ostriches.

Another giraffe photo for my mother...

A nice sunset from the tree house at camp to finish off a long day of searching for poops.

Training Day

The collection has finally begun! Staff training has commenced and cheetah poop here we come, full force!


Nelson (student from University of Nairobi) and I had a staff training day where we taught the cheetah scouts what we were looking for and how to collect different types of samples. 


It started off slow, it's hard to train people on how to collect cheetah fecals when you can't find any... But then FINALLY... POOP! And man did we hit the dried, hairy cheetah poop jackpot. FIVE POOPS on ONE ROCK! Unfortunately, for my project I can only use fresh scats but for Nelson's project, these were PERFECTION. And with that, scouts... prepare to be trained! 

Training the cheetah scouts (Thanks to Reinier for the photo)!

Cheetah scouts collecting their first samples... YAY!

Jimmy (left) and Nelson (right) going over the fecal forms.

We spent the day out in the bush, continuing to search for poops, only found one more but at least it was a good start! It was great to meet all the cheetah scouts. Each one is assigned to a certain ranch area. They look for poop and field calls from herders on recent cheetah sightings or fecal findings. They collect the poop and then eventually it gets back to Nelson and I. This way we have a little more man power than just the two of us covering thousands of acres!

Poops! and some bone shards... mmm.

We saw a ton of wildlife on our poop search (even a jackal and hyena, tho they were too quick to get a photo of sorry). Lots of zebra, ostrich, and various ungulates. My favorite had to be the herd of giraffes we scared. They took off running up the hillside. SO MANY GIRAFFES. insanity. And for those wanting to see animal pics, I was planning on doing a blog entry specifically about wildlife AND BUGS I've seen, so BE PATIENT DAMMIT. But in the mean time... here's a giraffe from that day :)

Oh yeah, and then Cosmas took home a puppy :) 

Jet and I :) He's so freaking adorable.

Bottling

We spent an afternoon bottling this past week. What's bottling, you ask? Well let me tell you all aboot it. Many of the ranches, government, what have yous, put up giant fences to keep squatters (herders and their animals) out or prevent poachers from getting all the game. However, a lot of the animals are fairly dense and tend to run directly into the fence thus ending in serious injury or even death (not good for conservation). To help the animals see the fence we tie plastic bottles to the fence. They move and rattle in the wind informing the animals to abort their kamikaze mission. Also it gives all those used plastic bottles a purpose here, other than filling landfills (aka random ditches and pits). Many of the farmers have also noticed and started tying up bottles or even cloth on their smaller fences as well (AWESOME).

While we were tying bottles we found a place where a zebra had tried to get through. There was a giant dent in the fence. How did we know it was a zebra? It had left some hair behind...

After we ran out of bottles we did a fence line drive checking the area. On our drive we found a snare. Poachers had rigged some wire in a loop trying to snag some wild game running along the fence. We took down the snare and stole the wire :) Win for conservation. Unfortunately, there are probably many more out there... but it's a start!

But to end with a positive here's Ginger enjoying the ride home :)

Looking for Cheetah Signs

Yesterday we went out on some ranchlands that are a part of our study area with a cheetah scout to search for any signs of cheetahs. Erica is another Master's student from the U.S. and she is doing a project with camera traps. We are trying to figure out the best place to place her camera traps to ensure some cheetah action!

Looking for tracks in the mud.

Erica is using different types of lures to get cheetahs to come to the camera traps. The most interesting being a cologne that previous zoo studies have shown to be a favorite of cheetahs (they have expensive taste). She's testing a variety of different lures to attract cheetahs. I'm hoping they ALL work so we have a lot of pooping cheetahs around. Finding scat is going to be very difficult, especially for those who are searching without a dog!

We searched a bunch of different places yesterday without any sign of cheetahs. I was beginning to get discouraged. How the hell am I supposed to find cheetah shit in this HUGE area!?!?! Not to mention we got the run down on what to do when you come across a charging water buffalo. Awesome. In case you are wondering the best solution is to climb a sturdy tree, fast. If there are no trees lay as flat as possible on the ground (they have shitty eyesight) and hope like hell that they don't trample you to death. A few broken ribs > death by being gored. Yay. So we were walking around and I was going between being paranoid of baboons, to looking for cheetah poop, thinking I hear buffalo in the bushes, and searching for the best climbing tree. It was exhausting.

While searching I also came across this huge chunk of millipede. Kind of awesome, but terrifying to think of what it looked like when it was alive.

Finally at the last place we stopped on one of the ranches we found a plethora of different species tracks.

Serval print in the upper right (sorry I had nothing to scale it with).

Genet cat. So tiny and adorable!

After numerous small felid species, dog, and many many cow tracks we found...

A cheetah track!

All hope was not lost! Hooray! I have to get better at identifying tracks... it's really hard in such thick mud. It was great to end on a positive note. After that we went back to camp and massive thunderstorms rolled in as I attempted to do laundry in the rain. I gave up and retired inside the kitchen to a cup of Cosmas' kick ass chai. All in all, not a bad day :)

Camp Salama

Welcome to Camp Salama! This is where I will be staying the majority of my time in Kenya (though as I write this I am currently at the house in Nairobi... Muahahaha!). Camp is pretty sweet though, I actually enjoy it more than being in the city.

At camp we have no running water (we collect rainwater and during the dry season there is a pipeline that brings it to us). We have electricity only in the office/kitchen building. This is where we cook/prepare most of the food and also where we do our computer/data entry work.

Office/kitchen building. Ginger standing in the doorway :)

Everyone sleeps in tents, but I have a nice twin bed in my tent (sort of fancy camping?). We also have this great little shower system. If you want hot water you heat it up on the fire and then pour it in a bucket with a spout attached and raise it up on a pulley. They toilets are pit toilets but they are very deep and don't smell at all.

Shower system

Entry way to the pit toilet! :) On the other side of the wall is the shower.

For now Florus is in a kennel in the middle of camp near the fire pit. When we aren't out in the field and he isn't resting from getting back we tie him to a post just outside the kennel so he can relax in the grass and say hi to everyone who passes by!

Florus resting after a training session. My tent is the one off to the right (I share it with another student).

The neighbors keep finding tortoises in their bean plant garden so they bring them down to release by our camp. This is one they brought down my first day at camp. She's super cute. I also pulled a huge tick off of her foot!

It's the end of the rainy season so we still get a few showers with a bit of sunshine. One early evening we were treated to a double rainbow (not all the way) broken up by clouds. Kind of awesome...

It was a double rainbow, but you can't really tell in the photos... :(

There is also the tree house/stand, where we have a snack and watch the sun go down. It's very peaceful and a great way to end the day, just don't have too many beers up there or you'll never make it down those slanty stairs alive. For real. Consider this your warning.

You can barely see the outline of the tree stand in the tree... great views from the top though!

Headed to camp tomorrow for a couple weeks so stay tuned for more updates!

Rhino Charge

  

Really pumped about being stranded on the side of the highway...

This past weekend we went to Rhino Charge (you’re probably thinking what the shit is rhino charge?) I must state that there were no rhinos involved (or injured) in this event. It is an event that began as a fundraiser for building a fence around a rhino sanctuary. For the full story check out: www.rhinocharge.co.ke

Friday morning we woke up at 5 am try to get on the road by 6 (it’s roughly a 6 hour drive north of Nairobi). On the road at 7 am… one hour outside of Nairobi and Mary claims the gas pedal isn’t working… and suddenly the car just quits. Fantastic. Luckily it was literally at a police checkpoint (yay safety!). After spending roughly 3 exciting hours on the side of the road in BFE Kenya a new battery was brought to us and once again we were on our way!

 

I’ll begin by stating that I’m not much of a car junkie or a hick, so I was a little unsure of this event. First off, to find the event, we received a directional map from the check-in booth in the nearest town. This is the map, follow these directions carefully… Watch out for that borehole!

Once at the event we received another map with GPS points of all the checkpoints. The cars have 10 checkpoints, the car that reaches all 10 checkpoints in the shortest amount of distance (not time) wins. They have from 6am to 6pm to complete this task. Trying for the shortest distance means traversing over rocks, winching to trees to go up hills, and forging some rivers (no one lost any oxen, phew). This is what people come to watch. One area in particular is always eventful… THE GAUNTLET. 

Early in the morning at the start!

Team 49 attempting to get up the steep hill...

 

More gauntlet action!

There are 3 checkpoints in this area and it is chocked full of some rough terrain. This is also where most spectators hang out. It’s pretty impressive to watch these teams (one driver and 4 runners) finagle their trucks through these obstacles. One team backed into a beehive and they all sustained multiple bee stings, another team rolled 2 full rotations down a hill, and I watched one car struggle to get out of the river for more than an hour. It’s pure insanity. The other entertaining aspect to this event are the spectators themselves. Most of them are so completely wasted by noon it’s like trying to herd a bunch of UW-Madison students around after a football game. People themselves are drunkenly rolling down the hills, tripping on rocks, and falling in the rivers. Such good people watching.

It was quite an eventful weekend and other than the giant party tent as our neighbors (they played music on loud speakers from about 9 pm to 9 am, it was absolutely obnoxious), it was great. I saw my first secretary bird in the wild (google it, it’s AWESOME!!!). A cheetah with two cubs was spotted moments before we arrived at a checkpoint, but we never saw them : (.

I thought I was really tan from this weekend but after showering I realized I was just covered in about an inch of dust… I still can’t get it out of my nose. All in all, it was a last fun weekend before the real work begins! The student from the University of Nairobi that I am collaborating with on this project will be joining us tomorrow and hopefully we will be taking Florus back out to the bush on Tuesday (I’ll post about camp next time around, I promise)!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Sorry for the Silence!/First Night at Camp Salama

Hey everyone!

I apologize for all the radio silence! We got to camp on Thursday, and on Friday as I prepared to load all sorts of amazing photos of camp the internet bundle we purchased expired. To top it off a stomach flu has appeared to sneak up on many of us and I was out of commission for about 3 days. I am beginning to feel better now but a few other camp fellows are still under the weather. Hopefully I can find a decent connection and upload some photos soon!

Here's a little something I scribbled about our first night here, I haven't edited it so I'm sure it's full of lovely ramblings :)

 

We arrived at Salama camp just before dark. It’s great to be out of the city. There are rolling hills and open sky. It’s beautiful. On the drive out we saw 20+ giraffe, a few herds of gazelle, plenty of zebra, and even one ostrich. A

Salama and the surrounding area is made up of ranches. This means stretches of undeveloped land for livestock to roam. Wildlife also takes advantage of these open areas, competing with the livestock for resources. This is also where I will be looking for cheetah scat. But more on the details of this later J

After unpacking, we decided to get Florus (found out we had been spelling it wrong the whole time once we finally received his passport. Yeah that’s right, this dog has a passport - a Dutch one no less!) acclimated to his new surroundings. It began when three neighbor dogs, with the fearless intact male, Beast, leading the way, came to check us out. The dogs usually hang out around camp. We were worried what Beast would do with Florus around. We were concerned there might be some battle for male lead. Beast came rounding the corner, the defining moment was about to occur… we all held our breaths, I tightened my hold on Florus’ leash, prepared to break up some terrible dog fight… And THEN: Beast took one look at big Florus and high tailed it home with his tail between his legs... hilarious. The three returned a few times and barked fiercely from behind the safety of the fence but no serious altercations occurred. 

After the excitement we went for a walk with Ginger and Florus. It was nice, down a path through some tall grass, appreciating the scenery. When we returned I noticed a few small black dots on one of the intern’s pants. I looked down at my own leg and saw one on myself. Ticks. So. Many. Ticks. It was chaotic paranoia. Four people all dancing around asking… “OMG is this a tick?” while pointing to an obscure area of their bodies. 

There is a partition in the tents so that they can be divided into two separate rooms, but for now I am alone in my tent. After dinner talk of snakes, spiders, beetles, roaches, and various parasites I found myself checking every nook and cranny of my tent at least 5 times. After convincing myself all was clear (except for that weird bug on the ceiling that I couldn’t reach enough to smush but didn’t want to knock down because I didn’t know if it could fly or where it would land and I might only have so much flashlight battery while I’m here so I just stared into it’s eyes, possibly many, and said I won’t kill you if you don’t lay eggs in my eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc. and then sealed the deal with an un affirmed nod) I jumped into my sleeping bag. Well that wasn’t so bad (with a shine and a glance still now and then at the bug on the ceiling to make sure he kept up his end of the treaty). Ginger (who also sleeps in my tent) got up and started manically sniffing about the tent. It led her to under my bed then behind my sleeping bag… WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOOKING FOR!?!?!?!? She stops, stares into the corner, tilts her head then moves to a new spot and starts all over again. Not to mention she’s probably still littered with ticks. Awesome. Eventually she calms down and with one last concerning glimpse at ceiling bug I turn out the light for good and try to sleep. I was warned of hyena cries and hyrax screams but I don’t remember hearing any of those. What I woke up to was a chorus of 4 dogs barking their brains out at 5 am in the pitch black. Florus NEVER barks. Rarely have I heard him bark. He was barking a lot. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!? I hear clanking of metal. He’s flipping over his dishes. I starting imagining the horrors occurring outside my tent. It’s probably a baboon, no… it’s DEFINITELY a baboon. OMG. I’m not going to look out the window. I’m not. That way there is only the POSSIBLITY, if I look out and it IS then I’m screwed and won’t sleep for the duration of my time in the bush. After about half an hour everybody calmed down (I am told there was no baboon, but I'm not sure I'm convinced). Then at 7 it started all up again only this time the trio were lined up against our fence barking at Florus and he wasn’t responding. Needless to say I slept very little last night. Hopefully tonight I will be so tired from the adventures and chores of today that I will just pass right out. To a good night’s sleep…!