Biodiversity 15-8-2015

Hallo all  Friends, and Friends  of the environment,

ANNOUNCEMENT, BIODIVERSITY SURVEY 

OL ARI NYIRO, LAIKIPIA NATURE CONSERVANCY

Laikipia West

KENYA

8TH   ANNUAL BIODIVERSITY SURVEY 

( wet season )

3rd to 11th  August 2015 

Endless  natural  marvels  still unravel  in Ol ari Nyiro, The Place of Springs.

Despite the harrowing  unprecedented pressure of wide spread illegal grazing throughout the Laikipia region,  and the  fires  of February and March, eight researchers of the National Museums of Kenya with Victor Wasonga and Kennedy Mateka, Reuben Mwakodi, and Philista Malaki,  undaunted by challenges,  camped at Enghelesha and went exploring  forest valleys and ravines with our team, Enock Ochieng , resident ecologist and Thomas Ole Kaichu,  resident Forester: and  managed to discover yet new species  unrecorded as yet in our very extensive biodiversity list.

This is a quick preliminary analysis, that I could not resist  sharing with you.

More plants and  all the invertebrates are at this time  still been examined- so expect more from me.

The next -Dry Season- biodiversity Survey for 2015 will be in November.

 

HERPETOLOGY

New Species  of snake found

East African Shovel Snout (Prosymna stuhlmanni)

East African Shovel Snout (Prosymna stuhlmanni)

  1. East African Shovel Snout (Prosymna stuhlmanni)

Previously unrecorded in the  Laikipia region

by VICTOR WASONGA

NATIONAL MUSEUMS OF KENYA

on   11 August 2015

Location : Lugga Tunkuri

East African Shovel Snout (Prosymna stuhlmanni)

This species has  only so far been recorded along the  Kenya Coast and South Eastern Kenya, never yet  north of Tsavo.

  1.  One specimen of  Rhombic Egg Eater( Dasypeltis scabra) was recorded by Victor Wasonga at Lugga Tunkuri for the second time in Ol ari Nyiro   in  approximately 36 years.

It was formerly only reported by the late Emanuele Pirri-Gallmann (my son, a young  herpetologist who died at 17 of a snake Byte on 12th April 1983)

 

BOTANY

New Plants to our list:

by KENNEDY WAMBUA MATEKA

NATIONAL MUSEUMS OF KENYA

on   11 August 2015

LUGGA YA SAMBARA

Bowiea volubilis

Bowiea volubilis

above : Fig 1 Bowiea volubilis

LOCATION: Sambara Area, Ol ari Nyiro, Laikipia Nature Conservancy

GPS Coordinate: 37N 0198445.7 UTM 0060834.6

Altitude 1916m

Aristea sp

Aristea sp

Above Figure 2: Aristea sp

LOCATION: Sambara Area,  Ol ari Nyiro, Laikipia Nature Conservancy

GPS Coordinate: 37N 0198435.5 UTM 0060546.9

Altitude 1944m

As this news is going out Two /Three more species  of possibly new aquatic  plants are to be confirmed – and MANY invertebrates, so watch out for more news !!!

….and- to crown  it all, Centre Patrol with Duncan Ndegwa, on a regular patrol survey,  came across a female WILD DOG with FIVE pups past Lugga ya Logwagippi!

Humbled by nature resilience, and in praise of the” small five” I  thank you, and  our friends of the National Museums and of the Kenya Wildlife Services  who are instrumental in helping us protect this amazing corner of Kenya- of the planet, and send you

SMILES!!

Kuki  with  team.

Ol ari Nyiro, Laikipia Nature Conservancy

on the Great Rift Valley

August  15th 2015

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