About the Great Grevy Rally
Over the course of a weekend in January, a massive national census of the endangered Grevy’s Zebra took place in Laikipia, Samburu and Isiolo counties in Kenya. The purpose was to establish current population numbers, along with other critical information, such as age and sex structure. Using and advance stripe-recognition software, researchers can analyze photographs to determine specific individuals and their characteristics.
In order to complete such a massive undertaking, the Grevy’s Zebra Trust partnered with various private and community ranches, along with national parks and reserves across the region, and invited “Citizen Scientists” to participate and help to locate and photograph zebras in specific areas. That’s where we came in – and our target area for the weekend was the Ol Doinyo Lemboro Ranch in Laikipia.
DAY I - JANUARY 29TH, 2016
We left Nairobi at 6:00am, and arrived at the Cape Chestnut Café, near Nanyuki airstrip just in time for a breakfast of freshly baked croissants. We then proceeded on to Nanyuki Sports Club, where we registered for the rally, and were given our brief, training and instructions, along with a GPS-enabled Camera for the photographs. With GPS, the zebra locations could also be pinpointed to get an idea of their rangelands. With the rest of the day free, we explored Nanyuki a little, and went to check on the progress of the golf course at Mount Kenya Holiday Homes, which is designed and constructed by my father, Paresh Jai. That evening, we checked into Soames Hotel. Jack’s Bar at the hotel was alive and buzzing, and it seems to be a very popular place, frequented by the British Army folk and visitors in the evenings.
ABOUT THE GREVY’S ZEBRA
“In the late 1970’s there were 15,000 Grevy’s Zebra. Today less than 2,500 remain in the wild. The Grevy’s Zebra has suffered one of the most drastic population declines of any African mammal, due to climate change, habitat loss and competition with livestock. The Great Grevy’s Rally is a census of the population, which will aid the Trust and their conservation partners in safeguarding the future of the Grevy’s Zebra.”
The Grevy’s Zebra is a highly endangered species that is endemic to Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia, with over 90% of the population found in Northern Kenya. “The Grevy’s zebra is the largest wild equine – weighing between 350-450 kgs – and was the first of the zebra species to evolve after asses. It is taller than the plains zebra, with narrower stripes, a white belly, a black dorsal stripe, large rounded ears and a brown muzzle. It is highly adapted to semi-arid and arid habitats, while the plains zebra is more suited to lusher habitat with abundant water.”
Each Grevy’s Zebra has a unique stripe pattern similar to fingerprints, and this enables researchers to identify specific individuals.
30th January 2016
We set off from Soames in the early morning, with a crisp view of Mount Kenya behind us, and we headed a couple of hours west towards Laikipia Wilderness Camp in Ol Doinyo Lemboro Ranch, where we would stay for the next 2 nights. Driving out of Nanyuki town, the tarmac ends and you quickly enter into the various conservancy lands that form a vital wildlife corridor to the north. Passing Ol Jogi & Mpala Ranches, wildlife seems to be abundant, even on the main road. This is truly an amazing wilderness area. By the river near Mpala Research Center we saw our first three Grevy’s – however they were not within the region we were collecting data. A short two hours later we arrived at the camp, quickly set our bags down, got changed and rushed out as we had to search for the Grevy’s for six hours each day. We spent a good two hours searching around the conservancy and failed to see even a common Zebra. As we headed out towards the Ewaso Nyiro River for lunch, a glimpse of black and white – hope! We found our first group of Grevy’s. The Grevy’s Zebra is a very shy animal, which is why we were advised to take pictures from a distance. As you move closer, they tend to run off. For best results and consistency, the researchers require a photograph of the full right side – something that proved to be a bit of challenge in the field! We had to maneuver the car in all different directions in order to get a clear view of them. Lunch was well deserved at this point. The afternoon continued on and we were more successful. Along the way we also came across Kudu – one male and two females – something I haven’t seen for years. Just before we got to camp, we saw Floppy, the resident Grevy’s in the area, named due to his one floppy ear.
First Day Tally: 12 Unique Grevy’s Zebra.
31st January 2016
After we completed our Grevy’s Zebra search successfully, we decided to go in search of wild dogs, something Laikipia Wilderness is particularly well known for. The wild dogs were denning, and we were trying to find them as they go for their evening hunt. With one of the dogs collared, we had to track down the radio signal. Without the collar, I doubt we’d have found them, as they were deep in the bush. Eventually we saw them, but the hunt had already begun. They dashed quickly past the vehicle and disappeared through the thicket. From the sounds, it seems they had made a kill further down in the riverbed. We tried going to the other side of the river, but had no luck in finding them again. We ended up having our sundowners as darkness fell and watched the beautiful sky turn from light to dark and the stars come out.
Total Tally: 17 Unique Grevy’s Zebra and 8 Re-sights
The 2016 Grevy Rally was the first ever Grevy Zebra Census. We also participated in the second one which took place in 2018.
Source: “Why Grevy’s Zebra?”, The Great Grevy’s Rally. www.greatgrevysrally.com