For my internship, I have been working with Grevy’s Zebra Trust and Marwell Wildlife on their collaring project. They deployed 20 collars on Grevy’s Zebra in September 2023 in two different areas of northern Kenya to understand their movements. This project was initiated in response to the proposed LAPSSET corridor that will involve the development of ports, pipelines, roads and railways spanning the entire country, and crucially, through Grevy’s zebra ranges.
The Grevy’s zebra is the largest wild equid in the world and is the most endangered species of zebra. They are easily distinguished from other zebra species by their thin black stripes, white bellies, and large round ears. There are currently less than 3000 individuals in the wild. To put that into perspective, there are fewer Grevy’s zebra in the world than there are black rhinos – highlighting how crucial it is to protect this species!
As part of my internship, I was invited to join the team from Marwell Wildlife as they visited their colleagues and conservation projects in northern Kenya, followed by attendance at the International Wild Equid Conference hosted by the Grevy’s Zebra Trust. The field trip was an incredible opportunity for me to visit the in-country teams who work tirelessly to protect this endangered species and give me first-hand experience on the types of environments that they survive in – and of course, seeing Grevy’s zebra in the wild too!
Our travels found us covering many different areas of Kenya, including a visit to South Horr, where we met with the Marwell scouts. Their role involves daily patrols, where they record Grevy’s zebra and other wildlife sightings, as well as vegetation monitoring. During our visit, we had a large meeting where scouts from the different communities reported back to the UK Marwell team about their experiences and how they could benefit from future support. We also visited key water points for Grevy’s zebra, and visited one community that have installed a water trough that provides water to both livestock and Grevy’s zebra in the area.
One of the other highlights of this part of the trip was our visit to Anderi Primary School. Here, we sat in on a lesson where Stephen from the Marwell team taught the children about the different values of livestock and wildlife, and how to distinguish between Grevy’s zebra and plains zebra using toy models. This was a great way to inspire the children to protect Grevy’s zebra in their own communities and pass on their knowledge on how important it is to conserve this species! We also visited their greenhouse, where they have been learning how to grow their own food. This project is led by the students who are responsible for caring for the plants and then can take home the food they produce to their families!
Later in the trip, we visited the camp for Grevy’s Zebra Trust (GZT) in Westgate Community Conservancy. Our morning began with visiting a herd of Grevy’s zebra that were grazing in the area, where we were met with one of the woman scouts employed by GZT that has a similar role to the Marwell scouts in the north of the country. She told us about the work she does for GZT and showed us how she uses the SMART app for recording the data she observes on her patrols.
We then met with the Grassland Champions that work to restore the grasslands in the area for Grevy’s zebra and other wildlife to graze on. Hearing about the trials, improvements and successes of this project was inspiring, and the difference in the landscape because of their work was incredible!
Our final visit of the day here was to the Nkirreten women who are employed by GZT to make reusable sanitary pads for women and girls in the local communities. This project has solved a problem that many women did not know they had with issues to access to sanitary products, and now girls are able to stay in school during their periods. The pads are adorned with zebra stripes to remind the communities of the importance of Grevy’s Zebra, and to inspire them to feel connected to the species!
Attending the International Wild Equid Conference (IWEC) tied off the field trip well, where I got to network with wild equid specialists. The conference was closed with a Samburu celebration and blessing which was an incredible privilege to experience in person! GZT also gave an extremely entertaining demonstration to everyone about the work they do in the communities to help protect the Grevy’s zebra.
I am truly grateful to QUADRAT and the E W Fenton Endowment for their financial support which allowed this unique opportunity! I’d also like to thank the team from Marwell Zoo: Laura Read, Philip Riordan and Tanya Langenhorst for inviting me along on their trip along with Ulrike Rademacher from Stuttgart Zoo, and to David Kimiti from Grevy’s Zebra Trust who took me on as an intern on the project! As they say in Swahili, asante sana! (thank you very much!)
If you felt inspired by the work that these two organisations do to protect the Grevy’s zebra, please consider donating towards their projects, or spread the word about Grevy’s zebra conservation!
To donate to Marwell click here , and for Grevy’s Zebra Trust click here
