Reduced habitat undermines the long-term viability of Kenya's irreplaceable wild animal populations and the booming tourist industry they support. The search for ecologically appropriate solutions to the conflict between food production and wildlife habitat must proceed without delay. Recent Center Contributions SFS has been in Kenya for over fifteen years and has contributed to the management plans for the game ranch on which the Center is based, several Maasai groups ranches as well as national protected areas such as Nairobi National Park. Decisions regarding stock rotation and use of pasturelands were based on their findings. Students analyzed 17 years of data on Thomson's gazelle to identify possible reasons for a recent population decline.
Data suggest that the decline is due to predation on juveniles.
Students conducted an assessment of the socio-economic impacts of the Kimana Wildlife Sanctuary, the first private reserve operated on a Maasai group ranch. Ranch managers are using these data to develop sustainable management policies. SFS teams helped build a library in the town of Magadi and taught the local schoolchildren about the environment through skits, songs, and readings. Oryx and vervet monkeys, umbrella shaped thorn trees, wildebeest, impala and a diverse array of tropical birds are reminders that we are in Africa. Students sleep in thatched bandas.