GVI Kenya

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!