Blog

Students, faculty, and staff returned from their 6-day expedition to Lake Nakuru National Park. This was our first expedition to Lake Nakuru in several years, but we were excited to return to the abundant biodiversity that Lake Nakuru has to offer. The students were able to spend much of their time riding around in the Land Cruisers, seeing the material that they were learning about simultaneously. Lake Nakuru’s lush, green, lake ecosystem provided an excellent contrast with the dry, dusty environment of the Kimana group ranch that surrounds KBC.

The students were able to conduct a new field exercise that incorporated animal behavior during expedition. Split into four groups, each car drove off in different directions in search on white rhinos. Once an individual or group of white rhinos was spotted, the group would then perform a 30-minute behavior observation. In many cases of our exercises in the field, identifying and counting is the main objective, therefore exposing the students to this new field activity was very enriching for both students and faculty alike.

As the first half of the fall 2011 program is drawing to a close, we will hold another day trip to Amboseli National Park as the last field excursion before the students switch to Moyo Hill in Tanzania. As faculty we are excited for the students as they continue on their journey in East Africa and will continue to expand their knowledge of wildlife management in Kenya and Tanzania.