Kenya Field Course blog

‘I have seen two lions” Mara reported as she struggled to catch her breath. “Where? ” Prof asked. As soon as the answer came we all ran to the direction of where she had seen them. Silently we observed, patiently waiting to see the big cats. Waterbuck ran as the baboons climbed higher on the tree…obviously … Keep reading »

With yesterdays visit to Ol Pejeta,  today was a bit relaxed  and this was signaled by some late breakfast meaning there was ample sleeping allowance given. According to the schedule, we took breakfast from 7.30 Am to 8.30 Am.(Kenyan time). The morning was a bit chilly compared to the other days with short moments of … Keep reading »

Mara’s blog – We saw elephants. One of my highlights was to see mountains, animals, and monkeys.  The vervet monkeys were so funny.  We saw twiga (giraffe) and we saw tembo (elephant).  There are also lots of mitis (trees) in Kenya.   We ate packed lunches before seeing the blind black rhino, named Baraka.  He became … Keep reading »

On Saturday we experienced another beautiful, crisp morning here at the River Camp in Laikipia.  It had rained during the night, which added to the freshness of the morning.  Dawn always brings a stillness and peace here, but with it a lively energy as countless birds chirp and the river gurgles close by. We enjoyed … Keep reading »

Although it started out as another day in the field, Friday was a day full of many exciting events. In the morning we returned to the KLEE plots to take more data on acacia tree-ant dynamics. Our drive back to the Research Centre for lunch turned into an unplanned game drive. We left the main … Keep reading »

It is a good day as usual, the morning birds woke us up and they are singing as we have our breakfast. The morning feels fresh as I look through the landscape of Laikipia, the acacia trees standing there and the long different grass species wagging around gracefully. All the way to the field we … Keep reading »

Waking up to the whistling sound of the river flowing and the singing of the birds, is a good way to start the day.  “Every time an antelope wakes up, it knows that it has to be faster than the lion so that it wont be eaten, and when the lion wakes up it has to … Keep reading »

For the last two days students have been quantifying whether elephants forage on trees more in burned sites than in unburned sites.  Two students’ blogs are included here from Monday and Tuesday. Monday – Hi, the Goshen College fraternity, my name is Erick Omollo, one of the Kenyan university students who got the opportunity to be … Keep reading »

As I sit writing this, the light breeze blows the canvas tent where we eat all of our meals and cools the air, in spite of the equatorial sun. We are all sitting in the shade, enjoying our “calm before the storm,” or rather a few hours of free time before the week begins. Saturday … Keep reading »

Our group woke up to another beautiful morning at the Mpala River Camp where birdcalls are numerous and constant. Sleeping in a tent and hearing these birds in the morning made it surprisingly easy for me to wake up by 6:30 this morning. We started our morning routine with a reflection from Hannah (one of … Keep reading »