Wildlife: Did you know?

18/04/2023

Did you know that leopard tend to have 2-3cubs per gestation.Mothers refrain from wondering their territories untill their young are capable to come with them. Cubs suckle for around 3 months and are kept hidden for about 8weeks to protect them from predators.

21/03/2023

...I thought you should know

21/02/2022

14/09/2021

Camouflage didn't work for this hare and neither did it's speed - they can run at up to 70 kph, energetically leaping sideways to evade predators. Yet this Martial Eagle, a formidable hunter, was able to catch it. After the kill the Martial Eagle carried the dead hare off to a suitable place to eat it where Shiv Kapila, one of our directors, watched it eat a full crops worth and then fly away.

Martial eagle | Polemaetus bellicosus | Tai Ngwilizi

26/08/2021

Ospreys are the only diurnal birds of prey with two toes forward and two toes backwards. Owls of course have the same toe arrangement but they are totally unrelated.

There have been occasional reports of Osprey breeding in Africa but none are proven except for those that breed off coasts of Egypt and Morocco, though islands off Djibouti and Somalia may well have some that breed. In eastern Africa ospreys can be seen year round as non breeding juveniles often stay during the northern summer. While mostly fish eaters there was an individual that stayed almost 2 years on the Athi plains- pirating rodents and other prey from Black Shouldered Kites and other raptors.

Osprey | Pandion haliaetus | Koho

26/08/2021

The Rüppell’s vulture holds the record for the greatest flying height recorded for any bird. An unfortunate rüppell’s vulture collided with an aeroplane at a height of 36,100 foot (11,000 meter) above sea level, according to the pilot. All in the plane survived, the vulture did not. At that height it’s minus 50 degrees celsius! Rüppell’s vultures don’t regularly fly at full altitude and it’s still uncertain why they do.

Rüppell’s vulture | Gyps rueppellii | Tumbusi-mbuga

03/08/2021

Secretarybirds hunt on foot and are known to walk up to 20 miles per day. They feed on small mammals, amphibians and reptiles which they sometimes catch by striking at it with their beaks, but most often they use their large feet and sharp talons to stomp it to death. Their scientific name means “archer of snakes” and refers to their appetite for snakes, even venomous ones such as Puff adders and Cobras.

Secretarybirds not only are great walkers, they are good fliers too. Collisions with fence- and power lines are among the threats to their survival, as is loss of habitat caused by the ever increasing human population. In 2020 the IUCN Red List status of Secretarybirds was changed from Vulnerable to Endangered because evidence from across its range suggests that its population is experiencing severe declines.

Secretarybird | Sagittarius serpentarius | Karani tamba

27/07/2021

When eating, vultures often insert their heads completely inside the carcass and their heads and neck get covered in blood and sticky remains. This is why scientists think most vultures have relatively bare heads and necks. They can shake off any sticky remains and parasites can’t easily cling to thick feathers and cause infections. Understandably, vultures take cleaning themselves very seriously and bath at every opportunity.

Picture: Rüppell's Vulture | Gyps rueppelli | Tumbusi-mbuga

14/07/2021

A photo every Kenyan needs to see:

These are rat and mouse skulls that have accumulated under a Barn Owl box after just ONE breeding season. No doubt about their pest control effectiveness.

If you have Owls breeding in your ceiling/house/garage/barn, they’re there for a reason. Leave them be, and your rodents will be well controlled.

(Photo by Jim White, Delaware, USA. Borrowed from RATS - Raptors Are The Solution)

14/07/2021

What's going on?

It is with great sadness that we report that 6 white-backed vultures have been found dead in the Kisaju-Olerai area. GPS locations of tagged vultures helped to define the suspected area and an extensive search was carried out by Kenya Wildlife Service, Nature Kenya-the EANHS and The Peregrine Fund . No signs of poison and no other victims were found.

White-backed Vultures (Gyps africanus) are critically endangered, one of the main threats being persecution and poisoning. A post mortem has to confirm whether these vultures were poisoned or not, but there is no other logical reason for multiple vultures dying at the same spot.

22/03/2021

Caption this 👆