I find the discussions on facebook Kenyans for Wildlife (K4W) to be counterproductive. I am glad that for a while I have been able to deflect from the KWS attacks, but I do not understand why a forum that was set up to make a change has become a forum for outsiders to bash organizations and people for which they have no knowledge. KWS does not listen to you because you seldom have strong points. You have asked me to defend myself for something that I did not do wrong. You have labeled me guilty based on hearsay. You have judged the actions of people and organizations from afar.

http://sagemagazine.org/?p=3348

Please visit this Yale Sage Magazine for an article I wrote about cheetah conservation work in Kenya.

Mary

Renier van Esch joined ACK as a student intern to assist in conservation efforts. He attends Helicon Universtity in Ecology and Wildlife Management. In his first two weeks he has assisted with Konza Animal Rescue efforts working with local volunteers to hang reflective bottles, he has entered data and is drafting updates to the web site and he is learning about wildlife monitoring efforts to assist in setting game count transects. Thank you Reinier - you are a plesure to have on our team!

Since 2007 we have collected details on predator conflict in the Salama area. After running analysis on the data we have now formulated a new questionaire. Our staff role play and practice interviewing to maintian consistancy in the way we ask and record questions.

I would like to say a big thanks to Utah's Hogle Zoo for their continuous support for the past 10 years. Grants and in-kind donations have come reglarly from the Zoological Society and from the Utah Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers. The Utah AAZK also hosts an annual Bowling for Rhinos event raising funds for rhino conservation in Kenya, Sumatra and Java. A portion of the funds raised through that event are also given to ACK.
Recently a group of keepers and friends travelled to Kenya on safari and carried camera traps and vehicle stickers donated from the zoo.
THANK YOU!

It has been more than six weeks since the fence construction at Konza stopped. The two openings remain on the southern and eastern corners. For several weeks while KWS, ACK, the Athi-Kapiti Cheetah project and neighboring ranches evaluated the situation, water was provided through donations to the Friends of the Nairobi National Park (FoNNaP). Michael Mbithi headed the watering efforts until the government paperwork could be filed to allocate the necessary funding.

Two new field staff have been added to the ACK efforts in cheetah conservation in the Meibae Conservancy. Soulh and Kinosi will be working part time through May while they work with the Conservancy rangers on data collection. Chris Lentaam remains the primary field officer in the area. Chris leads the training and will be the point person in our work in the Conservancy. Chris has also been given training on data entry and will attend a Human-Wildlife conflict seminar in Laikipia in March.

Yes:

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Two weeks ago I was alerted about an issue at the Konza ICT Technical Park. The 5000 acre Park fence has been underway since early this year. I have watched with dismay as the posts were placed and as chain linke has surrounded the entire Park... leaving only about 1KM opening and creating a fullel trype trap for resident wildlife.

ACK welcomes Elena Chelysheva, a Russian zoologist, into the Kenya cheetah team. Elena received affiliation with KWS and her three year research permit from the Ministry of Education to conduct evaluations in the Mara National Reserve and in the Meru National Park and surrounding ecosystems. Elena will work with other carnivore programmes in the two regions to identify cheetahs and conduct survey of social structure.