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Wildlife corridor use amongst reticulated giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya

The African continent is home to many large and unique wildlife species and is, as is commonly known, considered to be the birthplace of the human race. The numbers and strength of this wide array of species is however diminishing rapidly before our eyes (Campbell et al., 2003; Ogutu et al., 2016). In merely the last three decades, the population of reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) in Africa has seen a rapid decline of 56% with a steady downward trend

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Effects of land use changes on herbivores of Masai Mara ecosystem

The Narok District has undergone rapid changes in land use patterns from nomadic pastoralism to a sedentary and farming lifestyle. In this study we describe wildlife and livestock numbers and past and present land-use patterns in three group ranches from 1975 to 1997. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of land-use changes on herbivore populations. Research methods included observation and interpretation of satellite imageries and aerial photographs, field checks, participant observation and secondary data. Results indicate

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Skin Papillomas in an Impala (Aepyceros melampus) and a Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

Viral particles, typical of the papovavirus family, were demonstrated by electronmicroscopy in small papillomas found on the feet of an impala (Aepyceros melampus) and on the face of a giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) in Kenya. Histologically the tissues proved to be typical papillomas. The viral particles measured 38 nm and 40 nm in diameter in all tissue sections from the impala and giraffe respectively.

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Usage of specialized fence-gaps in a black rhinoceros conservancy in Kenya

Fencing is increasingly used in wildlife conservation. Keeping wildlife segregated from local communities, while permitting wildlife access to the greater landscape matrix is a complex task. We investigated the effectiveness of specially designed fence-gaps on animal movement at a Kenyan rhinoceros conservancy, using camera-traps over a four-year period. The fence-gap design restricted the movement of black (Diceris bicornis) and white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum simum) but permitted the movement of other species. We documented over 6000 crossing events of over 50

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A ghost fence-gap: surprising wildlife usage of an obsolete fence crossing

Wildlife fencing has become more prevalent throughout Africa, although it has come with a price of increased habitat fragmentation and loss of habitat connectivity. In an effort to increase connectivity, managers of fenced conservancies can place strategic gaps along the fences to allow wildlife access to outside habitat, permitting exploration, dispersal and seasonal migration. Wildlife can become accustomed to certain movement pathways and can show fidelity to these routes over many years, even at the path level. Our study site

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A New Species of Rhipicephalus (Acari: Ixodidae), a Parasite of Giraffes in Kenya

A new tick species belonging to the genus Rhipicephalus Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae), namely, Rhipicephalus walkerae n. sp., is described. The male and female of this species are similar to those of several species in the Rhipicephalus appendiculatus group but can be distinguished from them by the very dense pattern of medium-sized punctations covering the conscutum and scutum, long and narrow dorsal prolongation of the spiracular plate, and relatively short dorsal cornua; in addition, the male has long and narrow

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Giraffe Translocation From Aberdare Country Club To Sera Wildlife Conservancy

The giraffe population among other species in Aberdare Country Club (ACC) sanctuary has been viewed by the management to exert unhealthy pressure to the habitat. Kenya Wildlife Service was informed of this situation and sent a team of scientists to carry out a rapid assessment and come up with recommendations. The team concluded that, since 1988 when the giraffes were introduced into the sanctuary there has been a steady increase in their population and subsequently this impacted negatively on the

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Community Attitudes and Knowledge on Conservation of Rothschild’s Giraffes in Ruma National Park and Mwea National Reserve in Kenya

The attitude and conservation knowledge of Rothschild’s giraffe ecosystems by host communities is critical in sustainability of parks and reserves in Kenya. This study was conducted in two different giraffe habitats, namely Ruma National Park and Mwea National Reserve in Kenya. The objective of the study was to assess the attitudes and wildlife conservation knowledge of the local community towards the adjacent protected area. A descriptive research design that involved administering of closed ended questionnaires in the survey was used

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Seismic savanna: machine learning for classifying wildlife and behaviours using ground-based vibration field recordings

We develop a machine learning approach to detect and discriminate elephants from other species, and to recognise important behaviours such as running and rumbling, based only on seismic data generated by the animals. We demonstrate our approach using data acquired in the Kenyan savanna, consisting of 8000 h seismic recordings and 250 k camera trap pictures. Our classifiers, different convolutional neural networks trained on seismograms and spectrograms, achieved 80%–90% balanced accuracy in detecting elephants up to 100 m away, and

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Blood Parameters In Wild Ruminants In Kenya

Blood specimens from shot or drug-immobilized impala (Aepyceros melampus), Thomson’s gazelle (Gazella thomsonii), Grant’s gazelle (Gazella granti), mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorupula), blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), Coke’s hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus cokii), topi (Damaliscus korrigum), eland (Taurotragus oryx), buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) have been studied for the following parameters: erythrocyte and leukocyte counts, haematocrit and haemoglobin estimations, and serum calcium, inorganic phosphorus, magnesium and copper values. Both shot and drug-immobilized impala and shot wildebeest and topi had relatively high

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