RCP Report February/March 2017

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1 If you no longer wish to receive these messages, please click here to unsubscribe. RCP Report February/March 2017 Encounter of the 'lion' kind for Bahati Masha! Our Lion Defender Bahati Masha had a close encounter this month! While out in the field monitoring his zone near the so-called Never-Ending Road, an area well known for its African wild dog packs and other large carnivores, he found the tracks of a male lion. The tracks became very fresh at the edge of thick bush, at which point Bahati made the decision to backtrack for safety reasons. Unfortunately, (or fortunately!) he came face to face with the owner - a large male lion was lying on the road in broad daylight, just 50 metres away!

2 Photo: Lion Defender Bahati Masha mulling over his adventure, as he indicates the lion spoor (footprints). Photo credit: Penelope Rogers Luckily the Lion Defender vehicle was already in the field and headed in his direction, so Penny (Lion Defenders Manager), Mathew (Coordinator), Stephano (Community Liaison Officer) and Kambona (RCP Research Assistant) could make a detour to check on Bahati and observe the lion tracks. Bahati admitted to being both scared and excited, saying, When I saw the lion I thought that he hadn t seen me, so I was quickly looking for a tree to climb! Bahati was very excited to have his observation confirmed, and could show the team where the lion had been lying and where it had crossed back into the bush, heading towards the Idodi river for water. First-hand lion sightings are rare in the Lion Defenders zones because of the thick thorn bush in which they work. It was an exciting day and highlighted that lions are around even if we don t see them every day!

3 Photo: The very fresh lion tracks observed by Bahati. Photo credit: Penelope Rogers From our Research Desk: RCP collaborates on publication 'From Attitudes to Actions: Predictors of Lion Killing by Masaai Warriors' Killing by local people is one of the major threats to the conservation of lions and other large carnivores in Africa. Local people are often, unsurprisingly, antagonistic towards lions and other dangerous animals, but there has long been debate about whether more negative attitudes are linked to a greater likelihood of killings. Understanding the relationship between attitudes and actions is fundamentally important if we want to understand how to reduce carnivore killings, but this is a difficult area to address, as people are often unwilling to admit if they have personally killed lions. However, in Masaai society, lion killing has traditionally been celebrated, and by working closely with Masaai warriors, the Lion Guardians team in Kenya could identify who had engaged in killings and who had not, and therefore to examine whether those killers did in fact have more negative attitudes. The results showed that general attitudes towards lions were indeed the main predictor of lion killing behaviour, and were more important than traditional customs or the defense of livestock. This result shows how important it is to work on improving local attitudes towards lions and other wildlife which is something we are actively addressing at RCP through programmes like our Park trip and DVD night educational outreach. The article can be found here:

4 Daily life in the RCP Camp RCP friends and donors are often curious about life at camp, and are interested in what it looks like and what infrastructure is in place. Over the next two newsletters we explore the ups (and downs) of life in the RCP field camp. The Ruaha Carnivore Project camp is situated on the edge of Kitisi village in the remote Ruaha landscape. The camp is neat and well-run with not a single piece of litter lying around, mainly thanks to Alex, our hard-working camp assistant. The fleet of 7 rugged camp vehicles are parked in a row with Rashid the mechanic hard at work constantly repairing the fleet which are out in the field daily navigating rough terrain. The atmosphere in the camp is quiet and harmonious and very work-like. People quietly go about their tasks, preparing meals, feeding the guarding dogs and the camp dogs, recording data from the field about wildlife sightings, camera trapping data and education programmes. No thumping music, just the gentle sounds of people at work the thumping of the pestle and mortar grinding up garlic and ginger in the kitchen, the quiet buzz of conservation of the staff working out solutions to refine their approach and techniques. And especially during the rainy season if the solar power is insufficient - every couple of the hours the hum of the generator as everyone grabs power sources to power up depleted laptops and cellphones. Photo: Evening meals are always a festive affair, when people interact after a hard day s work. Seen here in photo (from left) Amy, Rashid, Jacob, Hillary, Leejiah, Penny and Meritho. Photo credit: Margaret Roestorf

5 It s definitely no place for the faint-hearted as it's unfenced and open to nature it s very common to be stared down by a gecko or a spotted bush snake while eating. Meal times are when the team grab a moment to chat in the communal canteen situated right next to the kitchen. The kitchen mamas cook for the camp staff, providing breakfast, lunch and dinner for about 15 people daily. There is no refrigeration and dry ingredients are stored in barrels with lids although it is a constant struggle to keep rats away from the food, so improving the kitchen is a top priority in terms of camp infrastructure. Photo: Cooking is over open fires in big cooking pots. Photo credit: Margaret Roestorf The washing up area is a big flat slab with a drain in the middle and is the favourite place of the weaver birds who swoop in for regular meals of ugali (porridge) from the pots. Everything is very basic, but clean and orderly. It s also the favourite hunting ground for a resident boomslang, which fortunately is a shy snake and doesn t cause much trouble.

6 Photo: It s a happy camp. Here the mamas (Mama Bora on the left and Mama Danieli on the right) clean up after a meal for the big RCP family in camp while keeping one eye out for the resident boomslang snake! Photo credit: Margaret Roestorf Photo: The camp kitchen the hub of any camp! Photo credit: Andrew Harrington

7 The camp has intermittent electricity from the solar panels, which are backed up during the rainy season by the camp generator which runs a couple of hours a day, and connectivity to the internet is (patchily!) provided through mobile phone dongles. There are exciting times ahead, particularly as thanks to the Wildlife Conservation Network s Solar Project and especially Stephen Gold, the project has just received a container of top-quality solar supplies, which should transform the power situation. The installation of the new solar system will allow the team to power camera-trap batteries, laptops and all other equipment all day year-round, which will transform our efficiency. Many of the staff are also thrilled as it may enable them to have a television at camp, providing access to much-loved football matches! Photo: Sometimes there are celebrations in the camp the traditional sherehe (celebration party) in the camp on this night was being sponsored by PhD student Leeijiah Dorward who was ending a stint at the camp. Photo credit: Margaret Roestorf Currently it s the wet season with threatening clouds overhead and frequent short rain showers, which has turned the camp, which was dusty and dry, into a green haven home to a large variety of creeping, crawling and flying insects and several snakes most of which aren t venomous. But the team treads carefully and an alert cry goes up about once a day with the rest of the team running in to support the relocation of the snake if needed. Meetings take place in the open-air areas adjacent to the permanent residential tents that have working spaces or in the canteen area once the meals are cleared up. There is a basic mud-brick office which there are plans to improve as soon as possible. We will be providing a bit more information about the camp in the next newsletter you can read more about showering and using the toilet camp-style, and the regular wildlife encounters that occur during those activities!

8 RCP prepares 'Gesuda' for an honoured elder It was a proud moment for the RCP Lion Defender, Mandela Dudiyeka, as he was chosen by the wazee (elders) to make and deliver the traditional alcohol, gesuda, to the funeral ceremony of a villager who died at a ripe old age... the elder was known to be over 80, and some said that he was 105 years old! Shabani, the son of the deceased elder, is a great supporter of the Ruaha Carnivore Project and in honour of his father he asked the RCP Lion Defenders to prepare the drink, which is only drunk at traditional ceremonies to worship the Barabaig god Gidanwmagira and at funerals, wedding and to mark the anniversaries of the deaths of relatives and ancestors. Mandela and his fellow Lion Defenders prepared and delivered the drink as part of their community assistance role. The gesuda was made in the traditional way, with fermented honey and roots mixed with water, and left to simmer over a low fire for the whole day, and was delivered in a huge calabash, whose top acts as a useful measuring cup! Photo: The giant calabash with its measuring cup on top. Photo credit Penelope Rogers Before Mandela set off on his journey across bumpy roads of rural Ruaha, he carefully strapped the calabash to his back and then mounted his bicycle to make his way to the place where the ceremony

9 was being held. He delivered the precious liquid on time, without spilling a drop! The penalty for spilling the liquid is a fine of one cow - so Mandela was extra careful! Photo: Mandela embarks on his journey. Photo credit: Penelope Rogers Sightings in the Ruaha landscape These great pictures of lion cubs playing with a tortoise were taken by one of our Senior Research Assistants, Alphonce Mallya, in Ruaha National Park. Young lions quite often play with tortoises, and it seems to give them lots of pleasure batting them around and trying to coax the tortoise out... unsurprisingly, the tortoises usually keep themselves firmly tucked away and in our experience, often seem to emerge unscathed once the cats lose interest.

10 Photos above and below: These two curious lion cubs were seen playing with a tortoise in the Ruaha National Park. The poor tortoise was subjected to cuddles, licks and sniffs before they lost interest and let it continue on its way. Photo credits: Alphonce Mallya Ruaha is an amazing landscape for many wildlife species, but especially for lions, cheetahs, African wild dogs, leopards and spotted hyaenas. Our Director, Amy Dickman, was lucky enough to have a great leopard sighting recently along one of the dry river beds in Ruaha National Park. A baboon was barking in the river bed, and upon further investigation it became clear that it was trying to chase away a leopard. Rather surprisingly, although the baboon was alone, the leopard was indeed backing away, but eventually the baboon pushed its luck and the leopard charged it, pushing it

11 back. The leopard then casually walked around the river bed, drank some water and then walked along the road for a while, scent-marking on bushes and vocalizing as she went. She was a beautiful leopard and was completely unconcerned by the presence of the vehicle, so hopefully we will see her more in the future! Photo: Leopard in the Park Photo credit: Amy Dickman Meet the Team: Penelope Rogers, Lion Defenders manager Penelope is the manager of RCP s Lion Defenders programme, and has been with the project for nearly two years. Penny comes from Brisbane in Australia and comes from a small family that has always had an interest in outdoor pursuits and conservation, like sailing and camping. A change of career, inspired in part by a cheetah documentary, led Penny to become involved in big cats. After 6 months volunteering at a cheetah project, she did her masters in conservation. Whilst completing her Masters, she worked as a water ecology scientist, and it was during her studies that she discovered the Lion Guardians project in Kenya.

12 Photo: Penelope Rogers, Lion Defenders Manager Photo credit: Ruaha Carnivore Project Says Penny: I fell in love with the Lion Guardians approach, it s simple and connects with the people and culture. So often in wildlife conservation we forget about the people and they are key to successful outcomes for wildlife. Determined to become involved in the Lion Guardians approach, she studied Swahili (in Australia) and brushed up on all the skills sets required for the job. Meanwhile, the Ruaha Carnivore Project had been partnering with Lion Guardians and trialing the model for the first time outside Kenya, and for the first time with a tribe that was not the Masaai. This had proved successful and we were looking for a new manager to further develop the Lion Guardians approach in Ruaha, and enable it to become an independent programme certified by Lion Guardians. In 2015, Penny was hiking in Scotland when she saw an advertisement for the Ruaha Carnivore Project job managing the Lion Guardians model (which then successfully transitioned into the Lion Defenders programme), immediately applied and got the job! She was drawn to the model initially because it combines carnivore conservation with the culture of the people facing the conflict every day. Says Penny: It s working with the people who experience the conflict, providing direct solutions and benefits and recognising that in conflict it s not just the wildlife that suffers.

13 Photo: Penny with the RCP Lion Defenders team at the Lion Guardians games in Kenya in Photo credit: Penelope Rogers Penny admits that her job isn t as glamorous as it may sound, but her work provides the backbone of the Lion Defender team at RCP, by taking care of logistics, mentoring the Lion Defenders, helping to develop the programme and continually adapting it to the local situation, to best reduce conflict and stop lion hunts. Penny loves the diversity that the job offers It involves a lot of administration, reporting, book-keeping and logistics, but then can flip straight to guarding livestock enclosures with the team for nights on end with no sleep, to protect livestock and people from lion attacks. Penny has been a core part of the team for nearly two years but will shortly be moving up to the north to provide advice to the Lion Guardians project in Ngorongoro, and to gain more conservation experience in a different setting. We will be very sad to see her go, but we know that she has vastly strengthened the project and left the Lion Defenders a far more organized and able team. Thanks Penny!

14 Simba Scholarships encourage young people to consider future in conservation The Ruaha Carnivore project works closely with local communities not only to protect their stock and reduce the costs of carnivore presence, but also works to provide tangible benefits to local people from living alongside wildlife. Villagers chose education as one of the most important benefits they would like to see, and one of the many ways we are addressing this is by funding full secondary-school scholarships for promising local pastoralist students. Many students, especially girls, would not be able to attend secondary school without this assistance, and this programme will have very long-term benefits both for the scholars and for the wider communities. It also highlights to students that conservation is valuable, and is even a possible job opportunity, as explained by Eva, one of our first Simba Scholars: "Hi, my name is Eva KreliiI and I dream of big success in conservation. I m from a pastoralist family and we are a family with seven children. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my sponsor Ms. Pamela Turner who is sponsoring my secondary school education and has been doing so from January I was really so happy to get this scholarship, as there are many friends in my class with the same qualifications, but they missed this scholarship and I got it. This is great exposure for me, it truly inspires me to study hard. If I didn t receive this chance, perhaps now I could have more than three children since in our culture a girl can be married from the age of 12 years which is very unfair and against human rights.

15 Photo: Eva Krelii crossing the swinging bridge in Ruaha National Park. Photo credit: Fenrick Mgiswa My dream is to become a good ambassador of conservation and to fight for human and wildlife rights. I m saying this because there is a huge challenge with taboos in my culture. These include things like gender discrimination and also wildlife killings because we live near the National Park. By God s grace if I am able to continue my studies I would like to study courses related to wildlife, veterinary medicine or natural resource management. Studying these courses will give me knowledge about conservation and skills to manage our natural resources that surrounds us. Lastly, I would like to thank RCP by saying that the investment you re making into education is not empty but is an asset as now I m expecting to graduate in November I promise to continue to work hard at my studies to make my dreams to help the wildlife and people in my country and my community come true." Camera-trapping continues to provide insights into Ruaha s understudied wildlife Despite its global significance for wildlife, Ruaha has long been understudied, and the Ruaha Carnivore Project is the first team conducting detailed data on the local large carnivore populations here. We do this in two main ways: through the Park sightings programme (where Park drivers record carnivore sightings and report to them) and through camera-trapping, where remotely-triggered camera-traps document the presence of wildlife. The camera-traps are particularly useful outside the Park, where they enable us to collect information on the presence and distribution of elusive and hard-to-see wildlife. This always provides some fascinating images, including of some highly-threatened wildlife, as seen below with the wild dogs camera-trapped on village land in Mahuninga.

16 Photo: A pack of endangered African wild dogs camera-trapped on village land in Mahuninga. Photo credit: Ruaha Carnivore Project The same camera-trap on village land captured a wonderful image of a very young baboon hanging upside down on the branch, and having lots of fun with his troop! Photo: A young baboon displaying its acrobatic skills by the waterhole by Mahuninga village. Photo credit: Ruaha Carnivore Project

17 A young RCP Fan: Sierra Gradis writes to Dr Dickman Living in the remote Kitisi area, it is always unexpected but exciting when we get interest from people living on the other side of the world. This month, we were contacted by Sierra Gradis, a 9 year old student from California, who wanted to know more about the project and how our Director came to run the project. She said: My name is Sierra Gradis, I'm at an elementary school in Thousand Oaks, in California in the US, and I am a BIG FAN of the Ruaha Carnivore Project! I am 9 years old and in the third grade at Mates Elementary School. Our teacher told us that we need to write a biography on someone we admire, and I really appreciate all of your work with big cats and animal conservation. Someday, I would love to meet you and learn more about the important work that you do! Many thanks! Photo: Sierra Gradis dressed up as a big cat conservationist: hopefully in the future she can do it for real! Photo credit: Michelle Gradis Amy wrote back to Sierra and encouraged her to keep up the dream of one day working in this field. Sierra asked Amy if there were any childhood events that led to her success, and Amy replied 'Frankly, I don t know I was always passionate about big cats and wanted to work with them for a long time. I think the main thing was having the encouragement of my mother that I could do anything I wanted, even though many people (even my Zoology tutors at university) thought that working with big cats in Africa seemed like an impossible dream. I always tell people that now, to believe in themselves and follow their dreams if you are dedicated and work hard, then you will achieve it.' Hopefully Sierra will have raised awareness of the Ruaha Carnivore Project and the need for carnivore conservation, and hopefully she will work in this field in the future. In the meantime, we always need more schools to twin with village schools through our Kids 4 Cats programme, so please do get in touch if Mates Elementary School or any others want to get involved!

18 RCP s Porridge Project improves education in village schools As mentioned above, one of the top benefits that local people wanted to see from living alongside wildlife was more investment in local education. One of the main problems in this area is that even if they attend school, primary school students often do very poorly and fail to make the grades for secondary school. When investigating why this was, it emerged that many students walk several miles to school in the morning without breakfast, and then stay at school without any way of getting food. Unsurprisingly, they find it hard to concentrate and this was identified by teachers as a major problem. RCP has worked with partners such as Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Tusk and the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species to address this issue by developing a porridge project for primary schools. We buy food from local women s collectives and employ local women to cook a free meal of nutritious porridge for the students each day. The porridge is based on available ingredients but usually comprises maize, milk, nuts and eggs. Photo: Children get a solid meal at school through the RCP Porridge Programme. Photo credit: Fenrick Msigwa This has made a huge difference to the first school (Kitisi Primary School) that we have trialed it in the head teacher reported increased attendance at school (as families knew their children would have at least one good meal a day), and marked increases in attainment. Over the past year since receiving the food, the number of students passing the final exams has increased significantly, and the head credits it largely to the food available. The primary school is now one of the top-performing local schools, and the teachers and families are extremely impressed, so we are now looking for funds to roll this out to more schools.

19 Fenrick Msigwa, our Research Assistant in charge of the educational programmes, reports very high levels of satisfaction with the programme, and it is undoubtedly one of the most valued things we do in the local community, especially in times like now, where erratic rainfall means many people are going hungry. The programme really demonstrates important local benefits which come from wildlife, and other similar programmes have also led to a reduction in bushmeat poaching which is a major threat to wildlife. It s a wonder what a simple cup of porridge can do sometimes it s the only meal the kids will have that day. To sponsor a child's school meals for a month costs only US$5. To donate towards this please refer to the donating options at the end of the . Support RCP through our Amazon Wish list If you haven't yet browsed through the RCP wishlist it's a great way to get connected to the project and find needs that suit your pocket and your passion. We recently had our first purchase via our Amazon Wish list and are very excited to have received our solar lanters, which will be issued to our Simba Scholars so that they can study at night in safety. There is an issue with schoolchildren setting their dormitories alight using candles when studying at night. The donor who gave the solar lights said: 'The wish list give me an insight into the resource needs of RCP and selecting from it made me feel more involved with the project. I found it gratifying to know how the donated items will be used and the beneficial impact. I will definitely be using it again in the future'. THANK YOU ~ ASANTE SANA As always, we thank all our donors for their generous and committed support. To dedicate your support click below and fund out more about our programmes: Ecological research RCP provides vital data on Ruaha s little-known carnivore populations through camera-trapping and recording carnivore sightings. More than 10,000 carnivore sightings have been recorded to date.

20 Community camera-trapping RCP trains and employs local villagers to set up and manage camera-traps on village land in return for community benefits, directly linking conservation with development. Protecting the livelihoods of villagers living in proximity to carnivores reduces conflict. Fortifying livestock enclosures and placing guarding dogs are proving successful in minimizing conflict. The RCP Lion Defenders actively prevent and stop lion hunts. These Lion Defenders are chosen from amongst the bravest and most influential warriors. Kids 4 Cats is a school-twinning programme where local schools are 'adopted' by international schools who raise at least US$500 annually for them, to buy essential education material and equipment. Simba Scholars receive full scholarships for all four years of their secondary school. The cost is US$2,000 per student and RCP is keen to expand the programme to more students. Porridge Project No one likes to go to school hungry, so RCP and our partners make sure that local scholars have full tummies when they're at school - this increases attendance and attainment, employs local women and is a major benefit in villages where there is very little food security. DVD nights and Park trips provide education about conservation and species in a fun, nothreatening environment. To date more than attendees have enjoyed DVD nights and more than 1,000 people have been on Park trips. Should you wish to know more about individual programmes we will happily send you more information. Please contact our communications manager, Margaret Roestorf at margaretroestorf.rcp@gmail.com. Should you wish to speak directly to the Director, Dr. Amy Dickman, please contact her at amy.dickman@zoo.ox.ac.uk. To support our work you can use one of the following channels: Donating via EFT Bank: Barclays Bank plc Account Name: University of Oxford Development trust Account Number: Sort Code: Swift Code: BARCGB22 IBAN Number: GB06BAR UK Donors (online)

21 US Donors (online) To pay via cheque please contact Amy Dickman at Until next month - so long... tutaonana The Development and Alumni Relations System (DARS) provides a common source of data on all alumni, donors, students, staff and friends of the collegiate University. Our long-term intention behind this shared resource is to improve mutual understanding, by enhancing the quality of our communication at all levels and developing a better appreciation of our relationship with alumni, donors and friends. Please see for information on the way in which your personal data are held and used in DARS. If you no longer wish to be contacted by the University, or wish to alter the way your data are held and used, please send a suitably worded to database@devoff.ox.ac.uk