Endangered Species Conservation
The main focus of Lewa's current research programme centres on two endangered species that thrive in the Conservancy: black rhino and Grevy's zebra.

The Black Rhino
The numbers and range of the black rhino in Africa have declined drastically in the last several decades. In Kenya, black rhino numbers declined from an esti`mated 20,000 in 1970 to around 450 in 2002 with an all time low of 280 animals in the early 1980's. This decline was largely due to illegal killing for the rhino horn trade.

In order to arrest the situation, various rhino conservation strategies were developed. One such endeavour was to intensively manage the remaining black rhinos within small rhino sanctuaries, in conjunction with the Kenya Wildlife Service, which has the overall mandate of black rhino conservation in Kenya.

Monitoring the population dynamics of black rhino within closed sanctuaries is vital to ensuring that no inbreeding occurs and to be able to predict the population trend over time.

Lewa's Research Department therefore works together with the security teams to ensure that information on each of the 32 black rhino on Lewa is collected and processed on a daily basis.

A black rhino database implemented by KWS in all rhino sanctuaries across Kenya links all the monitoring information to produce both local and national statistics on black rhino population performance in Kenya.

Ear notching black rhino
When rhinos do not have any distinguishing features, they are known as 'clean' animals and identifying them is very difficult, especially in thick bush.

Ear notching was therefore developed and is commonly used in southern Africa as a way of permanently marking clean animals so that identification in the field is possible. Rhinos are notched according to their ID code, so that no two rhino can ever have the same ear notching pattern.

Although it is an expensive operation, being able to recognise individual rhinos is critical to their protection and gathering of biological data. From the research perspective, being confident about the breeding performance of individual rhinos is important for predicting overall population trends.

Grevy's zebra
These magnificent animals have suffered one of the most substantial reductions in range of any African mammal. Historically found in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, their range is now restricted to northern Kenya with a few hundred remaining in Ethiopia.

In a 1978 census, 13,000 Grevy's zebra were counted in northern Kenya; today, only 2,500 remain, representing an 81% reduction. Of these remaining individuals, Lewa has some 500, making it a critical stronghold for Grevy's zebra.

Lewa's vision is to use its Grevy's zebra as a source population for re-stocking parts of the species former range, particularly in areas that are under community management and are sensitive to the conservation of wildlife.

Research into Grevy's zebra
In order to fulfil this vision, we must understand the ecology and population dynamics of Grevy's zebra, not only of those on Lewa, but also those in the areas north of Lewa which represent potential translocation areas. Lewa therefore has several studies underway to achieve this goal.

Global Environment Facility (GEF)
The World Bank has funded an exciting radio-collaring project to compare the movements and population dynamics of the Lewa Grevy's zebra with the sub-populations in the north. These results will be important in understanding why Grevy's zebra thrive on Lewa and what factors are limiting population growth elsewhere.

St Louis Zoo - Education
An education project that links in with the GEF study started in March 2003. The importance of community involvement in Grevy's zebra conservation cannot be underestimated: with only 0.4% of the Grevy's zebra range falling within official protected areas, their survival within community areas will depend upon the attitudes of the people living there.

An education programme that builds upon the existing values placed on Grevy's zebra will be combined with outreach education, which we hope will shape the proactive involvement of communities in the future conservation of this species. Two women and one man from each community have been employed to monitor the Grevy's zebra in their area.

Photo-identification database
A Grevy's zebra database was started in 1999. Identification of each individual is made using the unique stripe pattern on the right-hand side of its rump. This type of identification technique is known as 'mark-recapture'. For example, researchers are able to identify females with foals on a regular basis. Knowing how many females have foals in a year and keeping track of which foals survive is crucial to understanding the level of recruitment in a population.

Collaring Wild Animals
Many people do not like the sight of a collared animal, often because it can spoil a photo. Collaring does not hurt the animal, and is a research technique that has been used for many years and which has proven to provide some of the most valuable information on wildlife that we know very little about.

Understanding how different species use their environment and how they interact with other species is the only way to ensure informed management of a protected area.

Each year the technology gets smaller and more sophisticated so that soon you won't even know that an animal is electronically tagged.

Partners

Saint Louis Zoo