Save The Elephants

Early this year, one of our international interns, Tempe Adams from Australia, together with STE researchers, were lucky enough to witness one of the rarest things – an elephant birth! This was indeed a very warm ‘welcome to Samburu’ for Tempe! Here’s their story:

Witnessing a birth-29/01/10 approx 17:30 Report by David Daballen and Tempe Adams
Photos by Tempe Adams

David, Tempe and Josephine of STE went out on a routine patrol on Samburu side checking all the families in that area of the reserve. On the way we encountered several families including The Winds family. After checking Winds we encountered another very small herd however as they were a substantial distance away we thought we would check them on the way back. We then ventured on Nakadeli hills approx one km’s to Archer’s gate and found another small family off to the east of the track. We decided to go over and identify the family.

Initially we thought there were only one cow and three babies, which we identified as the Poetics. As David looked through his files to do specific identification a breeding cow appeared lagging behind the family group, we identified her as Annie from the Poetics. It was clear in her behaviour that she was uneasy and distressed by vocalising many deep rumbled calls and sitting on her rump followed by defecating quite frequently.

Every time she defecated she would turn to it and show a great deal of interest. She also seemed very concerned about the vehicle and at one point approached and touched the front part of the car, not in any aggressive way. It was at this point that we concluded that something was bothering her either she was having severe stomach issues or she was about give birth. Although it was getting dark we decided to monitor her behaviour and to see what the outcome would be.  It that point she stretched herself forward putting a lot of  her weight on the front legs and leaned back, defecating once again. She then quite quickly began backing up and began to rumble to alert the rest of the family. The rest of the family rushed to her side and showed a great deal of interest. She then sat on her rump and lent on her side. With all this happening we did not want to seem pushy but we did want to know what was going on.

She got up quickly, and we noticed a lump travel down between her back legs she was then backing up and then stopped abruptly and her water broke, which immediately signalled to the family that the baby was on the way. They all smelt the fluid and all of them at the same time started rumbling young and old. We then approached her as quickly as we could with minimal amount of disturbance. Unfortunately there was a lot of bush around. When the vehicle had stopped she had just dropped the baby and she turned to the baby and looked shocked. It was still in the sack at that time. She then gently with her foot broke the birth sac so as to let the baby breath.

At that time all the family came around really excited all rumbling and streaming. Her sister Edith starting holding back the youngest calf from stepping on the baby.  The mother was trying her hardest to protect her baby from the young ones and the bushes. She did this by clearing the bushes around where the baby lay. She also was trying to get the baby to stand with her trunk and front feet, however the baby had great difficulty as he was lying in his after birth and was very disorientated. This whole process took at least 40 mins to an hour stand confidently on its feet. In this time Annie allowed her nine year old daughter to assist her in this process.

We observed her to be very helpful to her mum in getting the calf to its feet.  At this point the family was excited but relaxed this was indicated by Annie’s sister Edith backing off from where the calf was and began feeding again. The other two calves one was Edith’s and the other to Annie started playing with each other, mounting each other.  When Annie realised what the other two calves were doing she looked up from her calf and was not happy with what they were doing, she indicated this by being very vigilant towards the calves. After that point the group had relaxed all Annie was concerned with was clearing anything around calf, so as to not inhibit his progress in standing up.

The whole process felt so very quick we rather begrudgingly and sadly left the scene as we had lost all natural light and we wanted the mother and calf to bond and have some peace. We meet the Poetics initially as a five member group but we were very happy to witness the arrival of the sixth member of the group.

It is now almost a month since Save the Elephants’ research camp was hit by massive floods.  Our rebuilding process is ongoing and slowly by slowly, with your continued support, we are finding our feet. During the flash-flood one of our local Kenyan intern, Zeituna, was at the camp. Three others (two Dutch interns who had just arrived in the country to start their research with us and Benjamin, another of our local Kenyan intern) joined her soon after.  We asked them to give share their experiences with our readers and supporters and this is what they had to say:

Helping at the STE camp after the flood
Benjamin Loloju – STE Intern

The waters came unexpectedly and brought loss that everyone felt. I particularly felt affected as the property of my dear sponsors both Save The Elephants and Elephant Watch were destroyed. The pain is in my heart. I did not believe my eyes and what I was seeing, I thought they were cheating me. I was not present when the hungry waters came but the loss I saw was beyond measure! Millions of money went with the floods that to this minute have left me mouth agape. Every day I go to river to see the water but now the waters are very innocent, perhaps unbelievable. Coming to the camp and lending a hand is what I love most. I have a passion to help and to what Save The Elephants and Elephant Watch have done to me I deserve to help. There is still work of cleaning up the camp and I am jubilant to be among the work force. For now great care must be taken because due to change in climate and global warming nature can defie itself again.

P.S. We are very happy to announce that Benjamin, one of the local students supported by kind donors through our Save the Elephants/Elephant Watch Programme, sat his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination last year and had just received the good news that he passed with flying colors! He had a mean grade of A (English A, Kiswahili A-, Maths A, Biology A-, Physics A-, Chemistry B+, Business Studies A, CRE A) and was our best achiever last year. Congratulations Benjamin, you have done us real proud! For more information on our scholarship programme please visit our website.

Zeituna Mustafa

The day our camp was washed away by floods
by Zeituna Mustafa – STE intern

I am Zeituna Mustafa and I am a Kenyan intern at STE camp and I also experienced the floods. The floods happened on the 4th of march. We were alerted before the floods reached our camp by our sister camp which is called Elephant Watch Safaris. Everyone in the camp woke up early and we started removing our belongings from our tents and put them outside.The river started flowing towards our tents. The water started coming in high speed and we had to run to the office and rescue the important documents and equipments like the satellite collars and some files. All in all we had to leave the area because the water was getting higher, that is up to the knee. The force of the water was very high, we had to hold hands when crossing to the other side where there was a hill. We sat on the hill for four hours as we were waiting for the water to reduce you could hear tents roofs collapsing and also huge trees falling down. When the water reduced in volume we went back to the camp .It was a trauma seeing all buildings demolished and the mud was knee high you could not move. Our well which is the source of water was demolished and all the food in the kitchen had been washed away.  The bridge which is the link to the other part of the reserve and also to airstrip was also demolished and we didn’t have another route to use. Our only hope was our director Iain who did his best and flew his plane to another small airstrip and rescue us with food and water. Through teamwork we did alot in the camp like removing the mud from the building and rescuing important documents and electronics and drying them. We also had to sleep in small tents for the time being. We also rescued a person from the local community around the reserve who drowned in the river and supported himself with the roots he was unconscious when we rescued him we gave him hot tea and also covered him with a blanket until the following day. He got well the next day and we took him home.

We are also happy to announce that Zeituna, another of the local students supported by kind donors through our Save the Elephants/Elephant Watch Programme, sat her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination last year and she too had just received the good news that she had passed very well indeed! She got a mean grade of B (English B+, Kiswahili A-, Maths B, Biology C+, Physics C+, History B+, Agriculture B). Congratulations Zeituna, you have done us proud! For more information on our scholarship programme please visit our website.

David, Edwin & Jos in camp

Flood Update by STE interns
Edwin Pos & Jos Sleegers
Students from the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands

Today it is the twelfth of March, little over a week after the massive flooding occurred here at the Research Camp in the Samburu National Reserve. The entire camp was virtually destroyed, equipment was either washed away or covered in mud and there were only a few things left standing. What started out to be the beginning of an interesting internship studying the vegetation of the reserve in relationship to the elephants, turned into the rebuilding of the research camp and trying to salvage what was left of the camp. In cooperation with the staff of the STE we decided to help out as much as we can to clean up and rebuild the camp and the past few days everybody has been working incredibly hard to get the camp back at an operational level. Basic sanitary in the form a pit in the ground as a toilet and two small cabins made of tarp to wash yourself with a bucket have been set up, borehole and rainwater for drinking has been boiled and filtered and a huge amount of mud has been cleared out from practically everywhere. The power has been restored and, as the satellite dish was on top of the hill, we still have access to the world wide web. Thanks to recent supplies such as clean water and food brought to us by several trustees and others we are managing it and try to make the best of it. Among all the work, the reality of the flood suddenly came very close when a man washed up to the banks of the river right next to the research camp justa few day ago, completely exhausted and looking more dead than alive. With a couple of guys we got him out and due to some quick thinking of the staff of the STE, he survived and has left the camp again. As always, things like this all come at the same time and a lot has been done but there is still a long way to go. Soon we will be able to start our research as the elephants are moving back in the reserve, we will try to keep you posted!

An aerial photo of STE's camp submerged in water

Tanzania: Reasons Why Nation Failed to Sell Stockpiles of Ivory
Tanzania Daily News
24 March 2010

Dar es Salaam — The government’s failure to consult stakeholders and other experts on the sale of ivory has been outlined as one of key reasons which made Tanzania fail to sell the stockpiles of ivory.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam today after the news that a United Nations conservation meeting in Doha has rejected the proposal, a tourism stakeholder identified as Mr Juma Kasano from Arusha said the government did not involve them fully.

“No consultation with any stakeholder has been carried out, even though there was clear opposition to this proposal and we only manage to get a hard hit on the country with very bad publicity as a country that even though is not capable of protecting its wildlife resources where funds are highly available from tourism industry is instead presenting itself as a greedy country”, he said.

Mr Kasamo also said Kenya has beaten Tanzania once again, they got all the good publicity of being the good boys against us as bad boys.

He said that if the government had consulted experts in the private sector it could have helped the government to come up with solid reasons as to why they would want to sell the ivory.

This should be an example and a lesson to the government to make sure that they involve the private sector experts and stakeholders whenever they make such crucial decisions, said Mr Kasamo.

Ms Memory Laizer told the Daily News that the move had tarnished the reputation of the country and that would also affect the tourism sector in the country which was recovering from the world economic crisis.

“We did urge the government that the sale would damage the image of the country but they did not want to listen to us,” she said.

Conservationists from United States, European Union and several African countries including Kenya claimed that Tanzania did not do enough to fight poaching.

Tanzania requested that it would be able to lift the ban on the sale of ivory from its elephants and dispose of some 200,000 pounds (90,000 kilograms) of ivory.

It noted in its proposal that its elephant population has risen from about 55,000 in 1989 to almost 137,000, according to a 2007 study.

Countries around the world met in Doha, Qatar, this week to discuss a one-time sale of ivory.

Tanzania and Zambia want to sell the stockpiles of ivory they have built up over the past few decades.

They have as much as 90,000 kilograms of elephant tusks. Neighbouring Kenya is against any relaxing of the ban on the ivory trade.

It says such action could increase the illegal trade, which would be a serious threat to elephant numbers.

The Kenyan Wildlife Service’s Patrick Omondi said: “We totally believe that any experiments to allow partial lifting of (the) international ban in ivory trade stimulates elephant poaching .Indeed there has been an increase in poaching across the entire continent, with some countries losing their entire population.”

Article at the following link:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201003250838.html
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Disclaimer:
Please note that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any news story. In addition, we do not endorse any of the views expressed therein. We simply try to represent fairly what is in the media on elephants. If a reader finds inaccuracies in an article, we are happy to circulate corrections, if these can be verified.
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NEWS IN FROM DOHA: BOTH TANZANIA AND ZAMBIA HAVE FAILED, YET AGAIN, TO GARNER ENOUGH VOTES TO PASS THEIR PROPOSALS TO DOWNLIST THEIR ELEPHANTS TO APPENDIX II!!! IT IS INDEED VICTORY FOR THE ELEPHANTS! THIS IS HOW THE VOTES WENT:

Tanzania final vote:
For Down listing elephants to Appendix II: 55
Against: 55
Abstain: 34

Zambia Final vote:
For Down listing elephants to Appendix II: 59
Against: 47
Abstain: 38

More update to follow!!!

Group Rejects Tanzanian Bid for One-Off Ivory Sale
ALAN COWELL, New York Times
March 22, 2010

PARIS — With elephant poaching  on the rise, a United Nations-sponsored conservation group on Monday rejected a bid by Tanzania to ease a ban on international ivory sales to permit a one-off sale of some 90 tons of its stocks. A separate effort by Zambia to secure a future relaxation of the prohibition was also turned down.

Conservationists in the United States, Europe and other parts of Africa had argued that Tanzania had not combated poaching of elephants and the illegal ivory trade, but Tanzanian officials said the elephant population in their country had more than doubled in recent years to 137,000 in 2006 from 55,000 in 1989.

The sale would have been worth some $20 million.

Zambia had also been seeking permission to hold a  sale of more than 21 tons of  its ivory stocks, arguing that its elephant population of 27,000 was “steadily increasing.” But after the Tanzanian bid was rejected, Zambia withdrew its proposal, The Associated Press reported, in hopes of winning approval for eventual sales in the future.

Despite support from the United States and some European countries, the Zambian plan was opposed by most African nations, The A.P. said.

The illegal ivory trade is a fraught issue among conservationists. Since 1989, the international trade has been outlawed by the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known  by its acronym, Cites, which is meeting in Doha, Qatar, to debate an array of animal conservation issues related to endangered species.

The rejection of the Tanzanian and Zambian proposals represented a rare victory for conservationists at the Doha meeting. Last week, delegates soundly defeated American-supported plans to ban international trade in bluefin tuna and to protect polar bears. Since 1989, Cites, based in Geneva, has permitted occasional one-off sales of stocks of tusks captured from poachers or taken from animals that died of natural causes.

Some African countries, including Kenya and Mali, have maintained that any legalization of the ivory trade leads to renewed poaching by organized gangs who sell illicit ivory goods principally in China. International conservation groups have also opposed an easing of the ban.

“To permit any step towards further trade in ivory makes no sense whatsoever,” said Jason Bell-Leask of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, in a statement before the Doha meeting. “It flies in the face of every basic conservation principle.”

Southern Tanzania, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said, “has been a poaching hot spot for the past few years.”

Carlos Drew, a spokesman for the World Wildlife Fund, said after Monday’s decision: “Governments made the right decision by rejecting Tanzania’s proposals. It is not the right time to be approving ivory sales due to increased elephant poaching in central and western Africa,” The A.P. reported.

But other groups maintain there is no evidence of a link between one-off sales and poaching.

In its proposal for an easing of the ban, Tanzania said its plan “aims at promoting sustainable conservation of the elephant population” by reinvestment of profits from a one-off sale in wildlife conservation and in support for “development activities of communities living within the elephant ecosystems.”

“Rural people do not tolerate the presence of elephants unless the costs of living with elephants can be offset by economic benefits derived from elephants,” the proposal said.

The Zambian proposal echoed the Tanzanian argument, saying “the primary risk to the long-term survival of the elephant in Zambia is not international trade but increasing conflicts with legitimate human interests such as agriculture as shown by the rising number of human-elephant conflicts.”

“The Zambian government by law owes it to the rural communities to conserve and to benefit from wildlife resources in a serious partnership,” the proposal said. “Situations where human beings rise against the elephant due to rising incidences of crop damage, injury and worse still loss of human life cannot be tolerated in an era where various sustainable use options for intervention exist” in other southern African countries.

Article at the following link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/world/africa/23ivory.html
————————————
Disclaimer:
Please note that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any news story. In addition, we do not endorse any of the views expressed therein. We simply try to represent fairly what is in the media on elephants. If a reader finds inaccuracies in an article, we are happy to circulate corrections, if these can be verified.
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We have received the following email from Lucy King who is on the team representing STE and Kenya at the ongoing CoP15 CITES Conference in Doha, Qatar. We cannot express enough our joy at hearing that Tanzania and Zambia’s proposal have been defeated….!!

HUGE SUCCESS AT CITES!!!  We are delighted to email you from the conference center in Doha to spread the news that both the Zambian and Tanzania elephant proposals to downlist their elephants from Appendix I to Appendix II and to sell their ivory have been DEFEATED at CITES CoP15 with important support from many countries from around the world. The tension in the room was incredible and there was some seriously upset delegates who were not allowed to talk etc etc but in the end the vote has gone our way and we are all elated. I was literally shaking from head to foot after the Tanzania vote, the high significance of the vote was not lost on anyone and I almost felt physically sick that we were about to see the opening of the ivory trade once and for all. The Kenya delegation has worked so hard and for many, many months to get this result and they should all be applauded for their efforts.  The Kenya amended proposition to try to change the CoP14 wording of the agreement to stop any more proposals being submitted to down list was, however, rejected. This is a small disappointment as it means we could well be back here in 3 years with another down-listing proposal to battle but for now, it is a something that we are able to live with knowing that the ivory trade has not been opened again. We hope that the African Range States will follow the spirit of the agreement and remain with the 9 year proposed moratorium but I’m afraid that may be too much to hope for.  Special credit must go to Iain, Joyce Poole and Sam Wasser who gave a very well attended presentation yesterday lunchtime to 350 delegates explaining the data problems behind the proposals, the consequence of poaching on elephant society and the DNA proof that Zambia and Tanzania were heavily implicated in multiple ivory seizures from around the world. This talk from such well respected scientists was an eye opener to many delegates who had not yet made up their mind on the vote. This should be seen as a major achievement by Save the Elephants to contribute science and years of data to the discussion within the largest international forum that there is for the trade and conservation of the African Elephant. Well done to all members of STE who have contributed to the data that Iain was able to present so clearly to the world.  Best wishes from Qatar,  Lucy

Save the Elephants
Nairobi, 22 March 2010
Flood relief effort update

Dear STE friends and Supporters

We would like to thank you for your generous donations to the STE flood relief effort. We are very heartened by your support during these difficult days. As you know, our research facility was severely damaged in the flooding, and valuable research data spanning decades was lost. Your donation is therefore essential to begin the rebuilding process and to restart our research, in our mission to secure the future of the world’s elephant population.

We want to update you on the current status of the relief effort and illustrate the difference your donation has made to us. Due to the almost total state of destruction, the rebuilding process will amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. STE founder Iain Douglas Hamilton  spent several days personally flying over supplies, to keep our homeless staff going before he had to fly to Doha, Qatar for the Cop15 CITES conference.

All we can be thankful for is that there was no loss of life.  Though two people were washed away they were both rescued before they drowned.  Once our lives were no longer in danger, drinking water became the most precious commodity, followed by food and then shelter as the rains continue.

A thick carpet of mud covers the site, and we are currently salvaging what we can, sometimes swept kilometers downstream by the water. Our tents were completely washed away. As we scratch around with our Samburu helpers precious things appear and are dug up and set out to dry.

Our camp is a refugee abode, with tents generously supplied by helicopter by the British army when the bridges were totally swept away. Boxes of Red Cross emergency kits and plastic flagons of clean water lie around. After the first day the batteries on our cell phones gave out and we had no electricity to recharge them and no communications.

Thankfully, a large portion of our research data has been saved, and not all computers were lost. Personal losses of all their possessions amongst our staff were heavy, and we are doing what we can to compensate them.

Despite this massive set back, we continue our essential efforts to save the world’s elephants from extinction. As CITES parties vote on the proposal to down list the status of African elephants and renew the legal ivory trade, STE researchers are actively steering the debate on the ground to ensure the proposal is rejected. The decisions taken at CITES will determine the future of the world’s species, including elephants, and our efforts at the event will go a long way towards ensuring their
survival.

As we continue to raise funds essential to the STE rebuilding effort and continue our work, we thank you for again for thinking of us, and ask that you share our story with concerned friends and associates who may want to help.

Yours sincerely,
Save the Elephants team

To donate to STE’s rebuilding effort, please go to http://www.justgiving.com/ste-research-camp-floods
For more updates and information please visit the STE website,  http://www.savetheelephants.org.

For all media inquiries please contact:
Natalia Mroz: +254 (0)718 200952

Save the Elephants
Nairobi, 9 March 2010
Flood relief effort update

Following the devastating flood on 4th March which destroyed both Save the Elephants (STE) research facility and Elephant Watch Safari Camp located in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, the relief, funding and reconstruction effort is firmly under way.

STE research camp flooded

Incredibly, no staff were hurt or injured, and the majority of wildlife, including the elephant population, was also not harmed by the deluge.

Staff today salvaged what remained of computers, key research data and facilities, trawling through the mud which engulfed their tents after waters subsided yesterday afternoon.

However, most of the facility, equipment and data has been lost, and a major funding effort is now under way.

“We would like to extend our gratitude to our donors and partners who have already pledged funds for the rebuilding of the facility. They recognise that the elephant research projects we are conducting are too important to halt due to this calamity,” says Operations Manager Lucy King.

More funds and supplies are being sought as the latest long-term damage assessment runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars, and storm clouds loom on the horizon, threatening further flooding.

So far, immediate food and shelter have been delivered to staff by STE Chairman Prof. Fritz Vollrath, the British Army, as well as STE Founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton. Nairobi-based staff who traveled to Samburu for the relief effort remain at the reserve.

Please note that news updates on the flooding will be posted on the STE website, http://www.savetheelephants.org.

To donate to STE’s rebuilding effort, please go to http://www.justgiving.com/ste-research-camp-floods

For all media inquiries please contact:

Lucy King: +254 (0)720 275561

Save the Elephants – Media Release
Nairobi, 4 March 2010

Early this morning Save the Elephants (STE) research facility and Elephant Watch Safari Camp located in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, were completely destroyed by unexpected flooding of the Ewaso Ng’iro River, along with seven other neighbouring lodges.

At approximately 5am this morning, a wall of water akin to a Tsunami surged through Elephant Watch Camp, catching tourists and staff unawares and sweeping away tents and facilities. It has been confirmed that camp owner Oria Douglas-Hamilton and guests managed to escape to safety by climbing to higher ground. Several members of staff were trapped in trees until the water subsided later today.

At approximately 7am the flood hit and decimated Save the Elephants’ research facility down river. Researchers and staff managed to drive to safety within seconds of the flood waters surging through the facility.

News just in confirm scenes of devastations at both facilities, with beds, tents, computers and vital research documentation submerged in mud and strung up in the treetops. Over 200 people watched from a hill above the camps as the waters wrecked havoc.

Staff and researchers hastily salvaged computers and camera equipment, but reports confirm that key research data, computers, equipment, kitchen facilities and food, lodging and personal effects have been washed away.

Although it is too early to asses the cost of the damage, Operations Manager Lucy King expects it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to rebuild the facility, and Save the Elephants is now calling on the generosity of donors and interested parties to kick start the effort.

The immediate relief process has already begun, with blankets and water flown in by STE founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton this morning, as well as the assistance of the British army which is attempting to airlift people to safety and bring additional supplies.

The waters have currently receded to the point where staff are able to wade through the remnants of the facilities and retrieve what is left of their belongings.

Ominously, heavy rain clouds hang over Samburu and more heavy rains are expected as early as this evening at what is only the start of Kenya’s rainy season.

News updates on the flooding will be posted on the STE website, http://www.savetheelephants.org.

To donate to STE’s rebuilding effort, please go to http://www.justgiving.com/ste-research-camp-floods

For all media enquiries please contact:
Natalia Mroz: +254 (0)718 200952

Dear STE Friends, Colleagues and Supporters

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a belated Happy New Year and to apologise for having not updated our blog for several months now. We promise to have constant blogs and updates.

2009 was not a very good year for the elephants in general. We experienced the worst drought of our times in two of our project areas, Samburu, and Mali. Kenya’s elephants were suffering twofold. The country was being ravaged by drought, and at the same time poaching for ivory was (and still is) increasing. A terrible combination!  Young, old and weak elephants died from lack of food, and the big strong bulls for their tusks. Sadly, we lost a few of our collared elephants to the drought and to poaching. In Mali, the drought was so severe we had to build a concrete tank with donations received from our kind donors. Of course this would not have been possible without the support from, you our donors and friends. We continue to work harder than ever to monitor the situation but this was expensive. Food and fuel costs have soared, at a time when funds are harder to come by.

On a happier tone, our interns’ programme is going on very well and we have had some really great interns visit our research camp in Samburu. We will be posting their blogs here for you to see what they are doing up there. We hope you will enjoy reading them. Please visit our website for further information -  www.savetheelephants.org

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all our donors, friends, and supporters without whom our work would not be possible. We would especially like to thank the following donors who have responded to our appeals through our Wildlife Direct page: Linda M, Charles A, Diane K, Joyce N, Eric B, S V, Betsy K.

Please click on the following link to read a full report on the Mali Drought of 2009. http://bit.ly/aU13zk

It is our endeavor to post constant blogs and we are sorry that our first blog will be to report the devastating floods that hit Samburu on 4th March, 2010. Our Save the Elephants research camp was totally damaged and we are still trying to assess how much invaluable research data has been lost. Equipment, structures, etc were not spared. Luckily, there was no loss of human life reported.  Please read the next blogs for more information. We shall be posting new updates and pictures as we continue to receive them from the field.