On the Expedition
Help protect Tsavo’s legendary maneless lions and find ways for lions and local communities to live side by side.
The 600-square-kilometer Taita/Rukinga Wildlife Conservancy offers one of the finest wilderness experiences in Kenya, and is home to civets, aardwolves, and other species missed on most safaris. However, lions are difficult to locate, and you'll search for them from project vehicles in evening, late night, and early morning drives, taking a mid-day siesta like most of the local wildlife. When you find lions, you'll keep track of individuals and scan for prey. You'll also help photograph lion whisker patterns (for identification) and videotape and record behavior. While on patrol, you'll monitor the distribution and abundance of more than 100 species of other wildlife to help secure government protection for the Taita/Rukinga Wildlife Conservancy's unspoiled savannah woodland.
Meals and Accommodations
You'll stay at Camp Tsavo in the Taita/Rukinga Conservancy Ranch, in a cluster of private, modern, comfortable field research tents in the heart of the Kenyan wilderness. You may get to see elephants, baboons, impala and other wildlife as they pass through the area. You’ll enjoy dining on a varied and balanced menu of mostly Western fare, including fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and fish, flavorful spices, and delicious desserts, all prepared and cleaned up by the excellent camp staff.
About the Research Area
Encompassing some 20,000 square kilometers, Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks comprise Kenya’s largest wildlife sanctuaries, equaling the size of Massachusetts or Wales. Their unspoiled beauty and abundant wildlife rival any wilderness area in Africa. The project’s base camp is on Taita/Rukinga Conservancy Ranch, a 96,000-acre tract of privately owned land that is nestled between the southern arms of Tsavo East and West. Both Taita and neighboring Rukinga Ranch, which is managed by Wildlife Works, contain extensive acacia savannas that have disappeared elsewhere in Kenya due to cropland conversion or exploitation for charcoal.
The ranches form a vital migration corridor for almost 1,000 elephants and hundreds of buffalo that move seasonally between the parks in search of water. As a private sanctuary, the ranches offer research opportunities that are impractical in the national parks, including round-the-clock surveillance and radio- and satellite-telemetry. (The Taita/Rukinga Conservancy also hosts another Earthwatch-supported project – Elephants of Tsavo.)
In tents at night, you’ll hear the sounds of Africa take over – the hoots of eagle owls, the rumbling and trumpeting of elephants, and the thundering roar of a lion on patrol. Some days end late and others begin very early, but like most wildlife here, you’ll be able to rest at midday. Many experienced travelers regard the Conservancy as one of Kenya’s premier wilderness spots.