The Soysambu Conservancy

Of all the places we stayed at in Kenya, this one felt the most like home :) that's probably because it actually was a home at one point...but you get my drift. Everyone was very welcoming and hospitable-- especially Kenny and all the dogs on the conservancy!

The landscape of the conservancy was more varied than the savanna grasslands of the Mara; it encompassed a soda lake, as well as Yellow Fever Acacia forests. The Yellow Fever trees were absolutely stunning-- they always appeared to have that beautiful sunset glow!

We learned about Lake Elementeita, and it's importance as a Ramsar site. It is important breeding grounds for the Great White Pelican, home to the Lesser and Greater Flamingos, and hundreds of other bird and mammal species. Some of the juvenile pelicans are unable to ride thermals during their first flights, and land far from the water's edge. They will typically die due to starvation or predation...unless of course Carlo has a say in the matter!

We visited the nearby Lake Nakuru National Park which hosted a large variety of wildlife. We encountered a variety of antelope, jackals, white rhino and agamas!

 

                                                            Marabou Storks

                                                            Eland-- largest species of antelope

We continued our paper discussions during our stay, and even enjoyed a movie night on several occasions (90% of which I missed due to my embarrassingly early bedtime).  We were visited by Elema Hapitcha who lectured us on the human-wildlife conflict in the area and ways the Kenya Wildlife Service are combating this issue.

Benson, the cattle manager on the conservancy, spoke with us about their management strategies and a little about the biology of the Boran cattle. They have around 7,000 head of cattle at all times on the conservancy grounds! A large amount of time and energy is devoted to keeping the livestock safe from disease, predation, and theft.

We also had an unexpected encounter in an abandoned diatomite mine that some bats now call home!

We visited some villages on the conservancy to distribute school supplies to the children-- I think they really enjoyed them! Here's a picture of one group of students with us and Duncan:

Setting up camera traps was a regular task while we were here-- we managed to catch some nice pictures during the night, but the most entertaining might have been this troop of baboons!

We were able to experience some awesome sundowners (with lots of junk food included) and also had plenty of downtime to relax and take in the scenery.