Center for Endangered Species Conservation

Giraffe Ecology and Conservation

Kenya

Summer Session 1

4 Weeks

4 Credits

Summer 2024

Jun 3 - Jul 2

Closed

Program Costs

Tuition$5,355
Room & Board$2,395
Total$7,750

Application Deadlines

Summer 2024

April 1, 2024

Resources

Kenya Field Guide + Financial Planner

SFS Policies and Procedures (2023)

SFS Academic Handbook (2024)

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Summer Session 1 Program

Giraffe Ecology and Conservation

Rift Valley, Kenya,

Kenya

Immerse yourself in the world-famous national parks and reserves of Kenya while studying the world’s tallest terrestrial animal. Through safari drives, field excursions, and conversations with wildlife experts, you will study emerging giraffe conservation issues and develop an understanding of policy implementation and legal protections. You’ll explore traditional knowledge and different approaches to wildlife management and conservation with the Maasai and local community groups.

Enjoy travelling lectures to multiple conservancies within Amboseli ecosystem, home to the majority of giraffe populations.
On two multi-day camping trips, explore both Amboseli National Park and Maasai Mara National Reserve to view a wide range of megaherbivores and predators in different habitats.
Visit local Maasai communities and settlements (‘manyatta’) to converse and understand how they coexistence with wildlife around them.

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Academics

This academically rigorous program follows a six-day/week schedule. Each program combines theory learned during classroom sessions with field-based applications. The interdisciplinary curriculum facilitates students’ active discovery and understanding of the complexities of environmental, social, and economic issues in Kenya.

Major academic themes include:

Giraffe behavioral ecology and communication

Poaching and legal framework transformations in wildlife conservation
Wildlife displacement and its effects on giraffes
Disease and veterinary services in Kenya
Use of technology in giraffe conservation efforts
Transboundary giraffe conservation

Habitat intruders and threats to giraffe populations

Courses

On the Giraffe Ecology and Conservation program, you will take one 4-credit course. This course is participatory in nature and is designed to foster inquiry and active learning combining lectures, field exercises, assignments, and tests. This course is taught in English.

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to view a description and download the syllabus.

SFS 3253

Giraffe Ecology Conservation

4 credits

Core Skills

You will acquire practical skills in the field such as: giraffe identification techniques, ground counts, behavioral studies, home range assessment using telemetry, mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts, basic introduction to Swahili language, conducting social surveys, oral presentation skills, and data synthesis, analysis, and interpretation.

Field Sites

You will visit key giraffe conservation areas in the Amboseli region, visit the Giraffe Center and community conservancies, learn from the Maasai people and other local tribes living at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro and in the Maasai group ranches, and interact with researchers from the Kenyan National Parks system.