Taming of the Shrew
Category: Coastal Forest, Elephant Shrew, Shimoni Forest, Shrews, Small mammals | Date: Nov 17 2009 | By: gvikenya
For about a year now we’ve been experimenting with a method of trapping the elusive and shy Zanj elephant shrew. This particular shrew is technically a sengi, and is a species that is not only endemic to the east African coast, but is also listed as ‘rare’ and ‘data deficient’ by the IUCN.
Shimoni forest boasts a significant population of this small mammal, and sightings of it by our forest teams are fairly regular (especially at this time of year when visibility is good). So we did some research and decided to procure ourselves a 50m long, very finely threaded fishing net with which to catch them with!
One of the cleared patches that mark the habitual pathway
We set the net up in a large semi circle, and either ‘beat the bush’ towards the net hoping to drive a shrew into it, or we sit nice and quietly and wait for one to wander in. This method works because the Zanj elephant shrew uses habitual pathways, which it will travel along each day clearing them of obstacles. So if one was to encounter the net, it would most likely attempt to get through or over the net, causing it to get entangled. Once caught we would take its measurements, weight, and then clip a small patch of fur on a designated spot on its body for mark-recapture purposes.
Some zanj elephant shrew droppings that are found around the paths
Unfortunately we haven’t caught one yet, but I do not doubt the method itself. Due to the amount of time needed to complete all of our regular surveys, we only get a chance to do this survey perhaps once or twice every three months. This is obviously not even remotely enough to stand a chance of catching a shrew. Especially because until recently we did not know what their trails looked like and therefore could not strategically place our net.
But a couple of weeks ago we saw one of the little chaps running away from us, and so we had a closer look at the exact route it took through the undergrowth. To our surprise, the path was quite obviously marked. Approximately every 30cm, there is a cleared area of dirt. A patch where all the leaf litter and twigs and other debris is cleared, leaving a bare area of dirt approximately 10cm long. And these cleared patches headed off into the undergrowth!
Several of the patches leading off into the undergrowth
Now we know what to look for, we have been spotting the shrew trails all over the forest! This has given us motivation to get back into shrew netting, and allowed us to strategically place our net across these trails, greatly increasing our chance of catching one!
We’ll keep you posted!
Tags: , beat the bush, data deficient, debris, droppings, East African Coast, elusive, endemic, entangled, fishing net, good visibility, habitual pathways, IUCN, leaf litter, mark-recapture, measurments, method of trapping, obstacles, rare, regular surveys, research, sengi, Shimoni Forest, shrew netting, shy, significant population, small mammal, strategically, trails, twigs, undergrowth, weight, zanj elephant shrew
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
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
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
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