Grevy's zebra rally begins with fanfare

Nature lovers in their hundreds thronged areas where Grevy’s zebras call home on Saturday morning.

Their goal was to find better ways to protect the endangered species.

Filled with enthusiasm and energy, the nature lovers dumped their other duties to take part in this year’s Great Zebra Rally.

Grevy’s zebra is one of Africa’s most endangered large mammals and is currently categorised as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

It is also listed in CITES Appendix I, meaning that they are threatened with extinction.

Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.

Grevy’s Zebra has undergone one of the most substantial reductions in range of any land mammal.

It declined from an estimated 15,000 individuals in the 1970s to 3,042 in 2018, an 80 per cent decline in four decades.

Grevy’s zebra populations declined in the late 1970s, driven primarily by rampant and unregulated hunting.

More recently, other threats and challenges have continued to push the already small population downward.

The key ongoing threats to the species include habitat degradation, competition for resources with livestock, reduction of water sources and restricted access to water.

Others are habitat conversion and loss (including large-scale infrastructure development), human conflict, insecurity and migration, small population sizes, hunting, disease and predation.

The key limitation on Grevy’s zebra recovery in northern Kenya is the availability of water and healthy rangelands that provide the quality of habitat that the species needs.

It is for this reason that nature lovers hit the road running on Saturday morning to survey their designated areas and record data on all the Grevy’s zebras observed throughout the day.

Counting Grevy’s zebra has always proved challenging.

Traditional aerial counts are ineffective as detection can be problematic when animals shade under trees in the heat of the day, and differentiation with plains zebras in areas where their range overlaps can be difficult.

The most reliable way to count Grevy’s zebra is through photographic recording of Grevy’s zebra.

This uses individual unique stripe patterns on each animal like fingerprints for identification, with statistical formulas helping to derive more accurate population estimates.

The rally is being carried out in Laikipia, Samburu, Meru, Isiolo and Marsabit counties, which together host more than 90 per cent of the global population of Grevy’s Zebra.

The Great Grevy’s Rally is a two-day photographic census to monitor the status and health of the endangered and iconic Grevy’s zebra in northern and central Kenya, where more than 90 per cent of the global population is found.

The Great Grevy’s Rally organising committee comprises Batuk, Grevy’s Zebra Trust, Kenya Wildlife Service and Laikipia Forum.

Other partners are Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Marwell Wildlife, Mpala Research Centre, Northern Rangelands Trust, Princeton University, Samburu Trust, Saint Louis Zoo and Wildlife Direct.

There are other pockets of Grevy’s Zebra population in Tsavo, Naivasha and Garissa.

They were, however, not surveyed at this time.

Armed with a camera and data sheet, the participants traversed various landscapes, capturing the right side of each Grevy's zebra they spotted.

Worth noting was that most of the landscapes were lush green following the heavy rains that pounded various parts of the country.

This has considerably improved the well-being and health of most wildlife.

In fact, most wildlife, including elephants, reticulated giraffes and Grevy’s themselves, looked healthy and happy.

Grevy’s spotted were, however, alert at all times, as the long grass provided a perfect opportunity for lions to hide before striking.

Grevy’s Zebra Trust director of research and impact Dr David Kimiti said a lot went into planning for the big day as participants had to be trained on how to go about the exercise.

Kimiti said more than 100 teams are taking part in the exercise.

“They were first trained in different groups. There was a team that was trained at Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia on Wednesday,” Kimiti said.

Teams from other areas were also trained. Citizen scientists were trained in Nanyuki on Friday.

Kimiti said some of the partners they work with are not necessarily scientists, meaning they have to be trained.

Citizen scientists in general are critical to providing sighting information as well as information on threats and mortalities to wildlife managers across the country.

There are multiple platforms that allow citizen scientists to record their data through their mobile phones using such simple tools as Survey123.

One of the infrastructure project at the Grevy’s Zebra Trust is the Northern Kenya Road Watch, which uses citizen scientists to record road kills across the A2 and other roads in the Grevy’s zebra range.

During the rally, photos of Grevy Zebras will be taken and analysed after the event.

“When doing photo analysis, we do it for photos taken on day one and day two,” Kimiti said.

“You see how many photos taken on day two were for different animals from the ones on day one. There is a formula we use.”

The formula gives an estimate of what the population is.

Areas where there are no Grevy’s zebra balance out with areas where the species are.

“My expectation is that as we receive photos and sighting information, we will be able to see how Grevy’s zebra populations have shifted,” Kimiti said.

“We will see where most of the animals are being seen.”

Kimiti said they do not know the impact of the drought in terms of distribution, even though the landscape has recovered from the drought.

Some Grevy’s zebras might have moved to areas that were resilient to the drought.

Kimiti said his hope is that more Grevy’s will be found within the conservancies, which are active in range land management.

“This is the hypothesis. We will know once results come out,” he said.