THAILAND - Bangkok Star - 18th August: A woman mourns over the body of her deceased husband after he had purchased apparently purposely contaminated rhino horn on the open market in Bangkok. The source of the contamination is still to be verified but it is thought to be from a private game farm somewhere in southern Africa. Officials in Thailand are frantic to identify the source, as the powdered horn is sold in miniscule amounts...

It's not all plain sailing on the black rhino program at the moment. First one of our females died after sustaining serious injuries from the "over amorous"(?) attentions of a male, then another youngish male by name "Inspector" was found dead and eaten on our northern boundary.  Both sets of horns were recovered so no foul play suspected. That said we know of at least one gang that is planning an attempt on the Ol Pejeta rhinos sometime soon.

It really is cold here at the moment; my colleagues say it is normal for the time of year but I can't remember myself wearing long trousers for so many days in a row!!  Perhaps age is setting in, it happens to all of us sooner or later! Despite the cold, the wildlife is faring well.  Some of the impala appear to have grown longer coats as a response to the conditions, giving them a slightly ragged look.

I really wish people would not always try to reduce issues of "conservation" to simplistic discussions about money! Allow me to repeat an argument presented to me a few days ago about our chimpanzee sanctuary.  That might it not be better to euthanize the 40 odd chimps that live in the sanctuary...

Now there is a title to get people's hackles up! However it is a debate that has recently emerged, especially since it is now common knowledge that some South African reserves are selling the rights to hunt black rhinos for significant sums (USD 100K+).  Many argue that this should not be permitted given the parlous state of black rhino populations across Africa.

It is amazing to think that 5 years ago, like many livestock farmers, we used to destroy hyenas on sight.  We would locate their dens and then lie in wait to kill them as they emerged in the evenings.  They quickly learned to live secretive lives, vocalizing little and keeping well out of the way of humans. So it is fantastic that we have found a way of ranching cattle with this and other predator species...

I apologize, it has been some time since my last blog.

Things are pretty quiet on Ol Pejeta - the rain continues to fall, we have more grass than we know what to do with etc etc.  We had a Board meeting over the weekend which highlights the difficulties in achieving conservation within the Kenyan context.  

The Samburu Reserve to the north experienced horrific flooding of the Ewaso Nyiro river during the week, resulting in the loss of at least 7 camps and lodges, and Iain Douglas-Hamilton's elephant research camp.  This is approximately the 3rd time this has happened in the last 10-12 years, although this most recent flooding event was by far the worst.

Why is it that the weather almost always conspires to do the opposite of what you want or expect?  Now pouring with rain with lots more expected, all at a time when we have enough grass for the cattle and wildlife, and we are desperately trying to harvest our wheat crop - an essential contributor to our diversified land use system, especially now when cash-flows are traditionally poor!  Testing times again!

Lots of debate in recent days about the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) operation to restock national parks devastated by the drought of 2009.  In a world of increasingly fragmented habitat, I happen to think that the science behind the translocation of up to 2000 zebras from overstocked private lands to Amboseli National Park is actually quite sound.  Some mortality is to be expected, as long as it does not exceed 10% that is acceptable.