Text by Ursulla Wandili, Kenyan intern Over the years, conservation work has realized a gradual and amazing shift of how communities surrounding protected areas take part in conservation activities. Gone are the days where emphasis was only on wildlife. Currently, all conservation organizations have placed human wellbeing particularly the indigenous communities and more importantly women and youth at the center of their strategy. Through the Mlambeni Ndovu Women’s Eco-Enterprise Centre,…

Photos and Text by Robyn Brown      Sometimes unoccupied beehives contain more than just empty frames ready to be filled with honeycombs. A crucial part of beehive monitoring is checking if the beehive is clean and ready for the bees to make it their home. Whilst the farmers and STE team patiently wait for the bees to occupy the hives, other creatures seem to take the empty space as…

By Meha Kumar *** There is a saying that goes; “for the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack,” which in this context highlights that dogs are loyal and would fiercely defend those whom they love. Almost 98% of the bomas in Lower Sagalla have a dog, mainly for security purposes. During the dead of the night, elephants raid farms when…

By Ursulla Wandili  *** There is no need for an alarm at Elephant and Bees center, Sagalla in Voi. We have our natural alarms-the beautiful birds. Imagine how satisfying it is to be woken up every morning by rhythmical acoustic voices of birds. Birds are often up before dawn singing their hearts out and adding their voices to the dawn chorus. It is so fascinating to listen to different songs,…

By Sarah Weiner  Feeling very fulfilled after my most recent elephant sighting in Tsavo, I’m back for Part II of The Small Mammals of Sagalla. Sadly, I had no luck capturing any critters in my homemade trap. That’s okay, though, because I’ve found new small mammals to obsess over. There’s no time to waste, so let’s start with the only flying mammals: bats. The same four or five bats visit us…

Cover photo: If you want to get to grips with fieldwork, a hands on approach is always best. By Josh Clay *** I don’t know about you, but I love the smell of elephant poo. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of this most satisfactory olfactory sensation, I would describe it as being a thick, musky scent that is utterly wild and unmistakeably elephantine. I am fortunate to have…

Understanding the magnificent, intelligent, and highly endangered forest elephant By Josh Clay Cover photo by Frank af Petersons, 2017 Whenever African elephants are mentioned, it is understandably the savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana) that receives all the headlines. Ask any child in the world and they would probably be able to identify one from a line-up. I doubt many of these children, let alone most adults, are aware that there are…