Dead Baby Genet Found In Shimoni Forest
Category: Shimoni Forest, genets | Date: Nov 05 2009 | By: gvikenya
Yesterday our forest team went out in the late afternoon to see if we could get some colobus behaviour done, as we are lacking data for that time of the day. We didn’t manage to get a sighting good enough, but on our way back we got a sighting we certainly did not expect – a dead baby genet!
It was lying directly on our north/south spine, so there was no way we could have missed it. Having only ever seen one genet in the forest before (during a night walk), I was truly excited, albeit rather sad. I immediately guessed it was a young one purely based on its size, and it had a relatively large hole in its upper body.
This photo shows the broad-based, rounded ears
It was getting late and the light was fading, so we covered it in a temporary tomb of coral blocks, to protect it from scavengers until the next day when we could come back and inspect it in more detail. So this morning we went back to the same spot, armed with a camera, a measuring tape and a spring balance.
The genet being weighed using a spring balance
Its measurements were as follows:
• Head-body (from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail): 24 cm
• Foreleg: 6 cm
• Hind leg: 10 cm
• Tail: 20 cm
• Weight: 175 g
From the photographs we got, it is clear that it is either a common genet (Genetta genetta) or a blotched genet (Genetta tigrina). Personally I’m leaning towards the blotched genet, for the following reasons;
Common genets have rather coarse fur whereas bloched genets have much softer fur. I touched the fur, and it was definitely soft!
Common genets have a short crest of longer fur along the spine, and the blotched genet does not. We did not see a spine of longer fur on our genet.
The common genet has small, numerous and linear spots on a sandy background. Although our genet did have small numerous spots, they do not appear as tidy or linear as the picture in the book suggests (Kingdon, 1997).
The blotched genet has broad-based, slightly rounded ears in comparison with the more pointed ears of the common genet.
The common genet has a small patch of pale or white fur at the tip of the tail, when the blotched genet does not. Ours appeared to have a black tip of the tail.
Furthermore, the coat of the blotched genet can be extremely variable with regards to colour and pattern, and different coloured morphs exist in the same area. This had led to the naming of many subspecies.
This shows the extent of the wound
All of this said, I think it is very difficult to say for sure, purely because of the age of the animal. It is obviously very young, as its body and tail length are approximately half the minimum length of an adult of both the common and blotched genets, and its weight is approximately one seventh of the minimum weight of an adult of either species. So many of the key features for successful identification may have not have developed yet.
Anyway, it was incredibly interesting to see one of these shy, nocturnal animals so close. They are truly beautiful little creatures, that are found in the Viverridae family that includes all genets and civets.
If there are any genet experts out there who have any thoughts, please do let us know!
Tags: , , blotched genet, camera, civets, colobus behaviour, common genet, dead genet, foreleg, Genetta genetta, Genetta tigrina, head-body, hind leg, measuring tape, nocturnal animals, shy, spring balance, subspecies, successful identification, tails, Viverridae, weight
The Beauty Of Butterflies
Category: Butterflies, Shimoni Forest | Date: Oct 23 2009 | By: gvikenya
When I first came out here to GVI Kenya in July 2008, I never thought I would become an avid fan of butterflies. To be honest, I would have laughed at the thought (as would many of my friends back home in England!), but I now proud to say otherwise.
As part of our biodiversity research in Shimoni east forest, we monitor butterfly diversity and abundance. We are trying to put together a comprehensive species list, as well as record any changes in species presence, distribution, or changes in abundance. We do this for several reasons.
Charaxes brutus. Here you can see its proboscis very well (the curly red thing) which is used for feeding.
Firstly, butterflies are a very well studied taxon. They are also easily identifiable (they are 90% identifiable by external characteristics), and we can do it ourselves relatively accurately using a book (Larsen 2006). They are also excellent ecological indicators due to their very specific plant and habitat associations. So by monitoring them, we can indirectly monitor the health of the forest.
Charaxes brutus
And finally, they have a trait that plays straight into our hands. They can only take off upwards. This means they are very easy to trap! We use things called canopy traps, which comprise of a board with a pot of bait in the middle. A couple of inches above the board is a cylindrical tube of mosquito netting. So the butterflies fly onto the board to feed on the bait, then when they attempt to fly away, they fly straight into the net!
The face of Charaxes brutus
Once caught, we remove them from the net, and take photographs of the upperside and the underside for later identification. Getting them out of the trap is fairly easy. You grab them by the sides of the thorax, which is the middle section that houses all of the muscles for the legs and wings. You can then use your other hand to slide your finger between the wings and get a grip of the thorax from the top and bottom. The butterflies we catch in the traps tend to be the larger species, and they are very strong! It still surprises me how solid their thorax is, and the strength of their wings. By using this method, we can be sure not to touch their wings or harm the butterfly. Once photographed, we let them fly on their way. An example of the grip we get is shown below.
Papilio demodocus demodocus
I decided to write this blog because Andy (a new edition to GVI) has a camera with an amazing macro setting, allowing us to get some really cool photos of the butterflies. Enjoy the close ups!
Tags: , abundance, bait, biodiversity research, Butterflies, butterfly diversity, canopy traps, cylindical tube, distribution, ecological indicators, habitat association, health of the forest, identification, mosquito netting, papilio demodocus demodocus, plant association, Shimoni east forest, species list, species presence, taxon, thoraxcharaxes brutus, underside, upperside
Cutting Our Way To Shimoni West
Category: Coastal Forest, Colobus, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest | Date: Oct 22 2009 | By: gvikenya
Well my arms are aching and my hands are blistered, yet I feel the need to let everyone know about why…
We have been doing primate and biodiversity research on Shimoni east forest for almost 4 years now, and are getting some robust data. Yet just across the road on the other side of Shimoni village lies the uncharted, and mysterious realm of Shimoni west, ever beckoning us to it. We have been planning to expand our research into Shimoni west for a while now, and have finally begun the adventure.
The girls ready for the day
The western forest is almost twice the size of its counterpart, and teaming with flora and fauna that are crying out for recognition. There is definitely a viable population of our beloved colobus monkey, as highlighted by the censuses conducted in 2001 by Julie Anderson and in 2007 by GVI. That is the only time GVI have officially done research in West, and Anderson’s census is the only other event.
We have on occasion, ventured into Shimoni west on fact finding missions and with the intention of making preliminary assessments into the possibility of starting research in there, and one thing we have noticed is the high level of disturbance ranging from charcoal pits, pit saws and snares. This only increased our sense of urgency.
Katie getting stuck in
So as of last week, we have officially begun our preparations. By preparations, we mean donning work gloves, sharpening our pangas (machetes) and practicing our angry faces and heading into West to begin the long and tiresome process of cutting transects. Transects are an essential part of research (specifically for distance sampling – the method of survey we use for the primates), which involves cutting paths in a grid system that allow us to pass relatively easily through the research area. We do try and minimize the damage we cause, so there is always plenty of crawling and climbing!
Matt’s panga face
We’ve started cutting our north / south spine, which will run approximately 1 – 1.2 km through the centre of the forest, off which our research transects (that run east-west) can cross. We have done two days so far, and have gone approximately 600 metres! That may not sound like much, but trust me on this – it’s not bad! This endeavor will take many months to complete (as we still have to carry on our surveys in East), but we’ll keep you updated on our progress.
Once more into the breach dear friends!
Tags: , adventure, angolan black and white colobus, biodiversity research, census, Charcoal Pit, climbing, colobus monkey, crawling, distance sampling, disturbance, fauna, flora, grid system, Julie Anderson, machete, panga, pitsaws, preparations, Primate Research, research area, Shimoni east forest, Shimoni village, Shimoni west forest, snare, snese of urgency, transects, western forest, work gloves
Mysteries Of Death Remain Unsolved
Category: Kenya Wildlife Service, Shimoni Forest, yellow baboon | Date: Oct 20 2009 | By: gvikenya
Yesterday saw an interesting discovery for us GVI folk here in Shimoni forest. We were at the end of the negative sections of transect 5, innocently conducting a butterfly sweep net survey, when we were stuck with a very intense smell of decay. We spent a good few minutes trying to establish the source, but soon discovered where it was coming from. Tucked away right at the foot of an impressively sized baobab tree, lay the semi-decayed corpse of a yellow baboon!
Baboons are a very widespread and successful group, who can be found in most places across sub-Saharan Africa. They are certainly abundant in Kenya, and there is a lively population here in Shimoni. In many places in Africa, they are a bothersome crop pest, and are even listed as vermin in some countries. Here in Shimoni however, the yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus) are found in the actual forest itself, and are still wild and shy, avoiding humans at all costs and surviving on the fruits of the forest alone. This makes them a fantastic animal to see when in the forest, and a relatively rare one.
This photo shows the whole body in the foetal position, with the left arm out behind its back
So you can imagine our surprise when we stumbled across this poor fellow! Its very difficult to say exactly what happened to it, especially as none of us here are experts in dead bodies or establishing causes of death! There were no obvious injuries or wounds that gave it away (we did look quite closely), although there was a lot of dry blood around the body. It was at the foot of a big baobab, so perhaps it fell out of the tree? It was also right on the edge of a shamba (farm), so the idea of it being killed by a vengeful farmer is not impossible either.
This shot is from the other side, again of most of the body
What did strike us as strange was the apparent lack of scavenging of the body. Almost all the skin was in tact, with none of it appearing to have been eaten. Perhaps it was the location of the body – in the shadow of a big tree – that has allowed it to remain invisible and untouched by the many scavengers in the area.
A closer look at the head
It was a very interesting find; never before have we been allowed such a detailed look at the anatomy of a baboon, yet I fear the mystery of its death will remain unsolved. We will be informing the Kenya Wildlife Service of our find. I am however, going to ask their permission to bury it, and then to keep the skeleton (once it has fully decomposed), as it would be really interesting to have a full baboon skeleton to use as an educational tool. I’m not sure what protocols they have regarding dead animals, so this may not be allowed, but there’s no harm in asking!
If we come to any conclusions about the cause of death, we’ll let you all know!
Tags: abundant, anatomy, baboons, baobab tree, butterfly sweep net survey, cause of death, crop pest, decomposed, dry blood, educational tool, farm, farmer, foetal position, injuries, Kenya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Papio cynocephalus, protocols, scavenging, shamba, shimoni, shy, skeleton, skin, sub_Saharan Africa, vermin, wild, wounds, yellow baboon
A Room With A View
Category: Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Mangroves, Shimoni Forest | Date: Oct 19 2009 | By: gvikenya
If you cast your eyes back over a few of our blogs recently you’ll read about the tourist trail that Friends of Shimoni Forest are creating. This trail is going to run through Shimoni forest to show tourists some of the amazing flora and fauna to be seen, it will take them on a visit to a couple of the sacred Kaya’s or traditional religious sites, and it will take them past some of the amazing mangrove forests that run along the whole eastern coastline.
An example of some of the mangroves
Mangroves are some of the most amazing trees in the world. They tend to inhabit coastlines, estuaries or river mouths, and form some of the most critical habitats on the planet. They act as nurseries and hunting grounds for countless aquatic species, as well as a home to many terrestrial species such as baboons and genets. They also act as a buffer zone between fresh water bodies and the sea for runoff, silts and pollution. They are also the only tree species that can exist in salt water!
Mangroves happily exist on beaches
Because of their importance, coupled with the fact they are exceptionally cool, means they are a site not to be missed on the tourist trail. There is one particular spot where the tourists are going to be taken where at least five different species of mangrove can be seen, and where they extend unbroken for kilometers.
The original idea was to create a boardwalk through the mangroves, which the tourists would be taken along. This idea was scrapped, mainly because there are several mangrove boardwalks already in the area, and we wanted ours to be extra special. So we have come up with the idea of a viewing platform! We want to build a very tall (and very safe of course…) structure of some sort, on which the tourists can sit, drink a cup of chai and look out over the huge expanse of mangroves to the east, and the towering trees of shimoni forest to the south and west. We think this will deliver a unique experience to people who have come to see this stunning area.
One of the magnificent trees of Shimoni forest
Of course there are going to be many issues involved in the creation of this structure. We are not sure yet what materials will be used in the construction, but bamboo has been suggested already. The structure will need to be built on coral rag (fossilised coral), which will not be the simplest base for a tall structure…! Then of course there is the issue of finances, which as ever, will probably be the hardest to overcome. But overcome it shall be! It will be the best view in Kenya (excluding Mount Kenya perhaps…)!
Tags: aquatic species, baboons, bamboo, boardwalk, buffer zone, chai, coastline, coral rag, critical habitat, estuaries, fauna, finance, flora, fossilised coral, fresh water bodies, Friends of Shimoni Forest, genets, hunting grounds, issues, Kenya, mangrove forest, materials, Mount Kenya, nurseries, planet, pollution, river mouth, runoff, sacred Kaya, Shimoni Forest, silts, structure, terrestrial species, tourist trail, traditional religious sites, unique experience, viewing platform
Inside The Mind Of A Colobus
Category: Coastal Forest, Colobus, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest | Date: Oct 16 2009 | By: gvikenya
Have you ever asked yourself what you would do with your day if you were a colobus monkey? Perhaps not, but down here in Shimoni east forest, we are rather curious…
GVI has been conducting primate behaviour surveys on the colobus monkeys for about two and a half years now. It has been a constant effort, but unfortunately we have never dedicated as much time and energy into it as we would have liked. This is due to the fact that our forest research programme has many parts to it, with an array of different surveys that all require our attention.
We have been privileged recently though, by the presence of a masters student from Manchester Metropolitan University who has come out to do his thesis on colobus behaviour in Shimoni forest!
Gareth has been with us for over ten weeks now, and still has approximately five weeks to go. He has been stomping through the forest during every waking hour in search of our beloved colobus, with the hope of quietly observing and recording their behaviours.
The main outputs one wants from behavioural surveys are time budgets. These are simple breakdowns of what the colobus actually spend their time doing (normally as a percentage of total time). So for example you could observe that during the early hours of the morning, an adult male may spend 60% of his time feeding, whereas during mid day, this may be replaced by resting (say for perhaps 85% of the time). Whilst one is recording states (which are longer durations e.g. feeding and resting), one is also recording events, which are of a shorter duration, or “instant” events such as urination, or scratching.
You may be asking yourself why we would be interested in these details of a monkeys life. Well, apart from being amazing to watch (they are scarily human-like!), these observations can tell us much about the wellbeing of the population, the impact of environmental pressures, the effects of human presence / absence, and the impact that human disturbance is having on different populations.
For example if you were to observe a troop that reside deep in the forest well away from human presence, and then compare those results to a troop that is near recent destruction, you may observe some serious differences. The troop deep in the forest may spend more time feeding in the morning and evening, and resting during the middle of the day – what they should be doing. The troop closer to human disturbance may spend more time alert, or travelling. This reduces the time they can spend on activities such as feeding, or socially important behaviours like grooming. You do not need to be a genius to guess that this will be likely to have implications for the health of the individuals and the troop as a whole.
Observing colobus in their natural habitat
So we are very happy to have Gareth here with us, and are extremely excited to see his results. They may well reveal some distressing facts, which I have no doubt we will be able to link to the increasing destruction of the forest. But the first step is collecting this data, and analysing the results. Once we have firm conclusions, the next question will be “why?” and the next step – how do we stop it.
Tags: , adult male, alert, angolan black and white colobus, behavioural survey, distressing facts, energy, events, feeding, firm conclusions, human disturbance, human presence, instant event, Manchester Metropolitan University, observations, percentage total time, population, primate behaviour, resting, results, scratching, Shimoni east forest, social activity, states, surveys, time, time budgets, urination
Disturbance Report Submitted
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest | Date: Oct 15 2009 | By: gvikenya
East African coastal forests are some of the most critical habitats for wildlife conservation in the world. Once upon a time they were a continuous belt that stretched from Somalia down to Mozambique, and were home to some of Africa’s most diverse and unique wildlife. Unfortunately today, what remains are small, isolated and fragmented patches, in which the wildlife is becoming more and more vulnerable.
One of the many new roads scarring the forest
GVI has been conducting disturbance surveys in Shimoni forest for over three years now, and have a solid and robust set of data, which highlight the plight of this beautiful area. The main aim for our research in the forest, is to be able to hand it over to Friends of Shimoni Forest (a community-based organisation), which will empower them to lobby, apply or petition for things like land allocation or protective status for the forest.
The work of illegal loggers
We have been very encouraged recently however, as government organisations and the local administration have actively approached us for our data and results, as they too are very concerned with the level of destruction. Off the back of this, we have spent a lot of time putting together a disturbance report, which summarises our results over the years. This report has been written on behalf of Friends of Shimoni Forest, and has been submitted to Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, the Chairman of the County Council, the District Commissioner, the East African Wildlife Society and the IUCN.
A charcoal pit in action
It is massively encouraging to know that our results are being looked at by so many people, and that the number and range of people concerned with this destruction is ever increasing. We cannot wait to work with everyone in the future, so that together we can put a stop to it.
Tags: , administration, Chairman of the County Council, Charcoal Pit, critical habitat, data, destruction, District Commissioner, disturbance, diverse, East African coastal forest, East African Wildlife Society, fragmanted patches, Friends of Shimoni Forest, government organisations, illegal loggers, isolated, IUCN, Kenya Forest Service, Mozambique, results, robust, Somalia, surveys, unique wildlife, vulnerable, wildlife conservation
Critically Endangered Bird Sighting!
Category: Birds, Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest, Spotted Ground Thrush | Date: Oct 13 2009 | By: gvikenya
So on Friday we told you about our southern-banded snake eagle sighting, and on Saturday you heard about our humpback whale. Well I’m afraid we’re going to keep boasting about our sightings, because they don’t end there!
It was at the end of the week, and a forest team was wearily trudging back to base from a long, hot day of forest research. We were no more than 30 metres away from the gates, when we heard a rustling in the leaf litter to our left. We all peered in, and to the utter shock of us all we were staring straight at a spotted ground thrush! This was one of the most exciting sightings we’ve had in months and months. And to our utter disbelief and joy – we saw it again today! We think it was the same one as it was in almost exactly the same spot.
This may not sound that exciting, until we tell you that it is a critically endangered species with very restricted distributions. It is under serious threat from habitat loss, and Shimoni forest is one of the few places left in the world that it can still be seen.
It is a medium sized (about 8 inches) terrestrial forest thrush that is difficult to observe. This is mainly due to it being well camouflaged, silent and shy. It tends to freeze motionless when disturbed or surprised. It lives mainly in deeply shaded areas with deep leaf litter, where it feeds on seeds, fruits and invertebrates.
(zimmerman et al, 1999)
This is only the third and fourth sighting we’ve had of this species in almost a year, which when you imagine we are in the forest almost every single day, highlights the rarity of this sighting. There is action being taken however, consisting mainly of a partnership between Birdlife International and Nature Kenya, plus other organisations in several countries, who are working together to gather data and information about this species. They are then using this information to produce conservation management strategies to safeguard the future of this wonderful bird.
Tags: Birdlife International, camouflaged, conservation management plan, countries, critically endangered, data, Forest, freeze, fruits, future, habitat loss, humpback whale, information, invertebrates, leaf litter, motionless, Nature Kenya, observe, organisations, partnership, rare, research, restricted distributions, safeguard, seeds, serious threat, shy, sighting, silent, Southern Banded Snake Eagle, species, Spotted Ground Thrush, strategies, terrestrial
A Real Welcome Back
Category: Cetacean research, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Humpback whales, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest, Southern Banded Snake Eagle | Date: Oct 09 2009 | By: gvikenya
Well hello everyone!
First of all, apologies for the lack of blog action over the last few weeks or so. We have had a month long break in research, and all of us here at GVI have had a well deserved holiday! We’re back now, for another 3 month research period that will bring us up to December.
We’ve kicked off with an amazing first week for both the marine and terrestrial research programs, with plenty of exciting sightings. I’ll begin today with a bit about the terrestrial action, and then will fill you all in tomorrow about our humpback whale sighting on marine!
Wednesday saw the first exciting sighting for one of the groups in the forest. We were on transect 6 (our northern most transect) doing a primate community survey. We had stopped to observe two troops of colobus monkeys that were having a verbal disagreement. The two dominant males were producing a barrage of croaking roars, aimed at each other. Male colobus monkeys have an enlarged larynx which allows them to produce this sound – a territorial vocalisation. It is an awesome sound to hear, and we were standing in the middle of these two going all out!
As we were watching the colobus, a huge shadow passed over us as gazing upwards we were presented with a spectacular view of a southern-banded snake eagle! It had obviously been disturbed by the noise, and flew so low over our head we got a perfect look at it, allowing for a 100% identification. We are all trained on the identification of the rare, threatened or endangered bird species in Shimoni forest, specifically for opportunities such as this.
(Stevenson, Fanshawe 2004)
The southern banded-snake eagle is a threatened species, and we have only sighted it a few times over the last year. It is a stunning eagle, and we were all gibbering with excitement for hours afterwards!
(Stevenson, Fanshawe 2004)
We have a bunch more exciting sightings from the rest of the week, but these shall have to wait until we’ve told you about the whale tomorrow! We are very glad to be back, and look forward to getting into our blog again, to keep you all up to date with the progress, sightings and happenings on the beautiful south coast of Kenya.
Until tomorrow!
(Stevenson, Fanshawe 2004)
Tags: angolan black and white colobus, coast, dominant male, endangered, Forest, humpback whale, Kenya, larynx, marine research, primate community, rare, research period, Southern Banded Snake Eagle, terrestrial research, terretorial, threatened, transect, troop, verbal disagreement, vocalisation
A Big Thank You
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Sep 01 2009 | By: gvikenya
Hello all,
This blog today is mainly to say a huge thank you to the responses we’ve had regarding the issue of charcoal. Last week we wrote three blogs focusing on charcoal burning here in Shimoni forest; how it is done, why people do it, and finally a brief introduction into the alternatives available.
We had some great responses, with Kathy informing us that the BBC did a programme related to this subject recently, and that they were offering advice to anyone who would like to know more. And then Sherri pointed out the ‘ending charcoal’ site on our very own Wildlife Direct! The internet here has been playing up recently so I’ve only managed to have a brief look, but at first glance it appears both inspirational and genius!
It never fails to amaze me how lucky we are to be a part of this online network of like-minded people, groups and organisations that are all doing such fantastic work. It makes such sense as well – everyone can ask questions, share ideas, help out and support one another. I’m going to give the ‘ending charcoal’ blogs a good, solid read, and see what ideas I can plagiarise! Once we’ve got a prototype kiln and press up and running we can hopefully do our part by sharing ideas, mistakes and thoughts.
So again, thank you guys for your interest and support, and of course your super ideas. And here’s to us all working together for a brighter future!
Matt
Tags: BBC, charcoal, ideas, kiln, mistakes, network, press, prototype, Shimoni Forest, thoughts
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