Photograph by Yvonne de Jong

LOLLDAIGA HILLS RESEARCH PROGRAMME

Tom Butynski & Yvonne de Jong

Monthly Report – September 2016 (Issue 5)

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Cover photograph: Savanna elephants Loxodonta africana Lolldaiga Hills Ranch.

New to lolldaiga.com

Camera trap portfolio for September 2016

News item: Thirteen Species Added to the Lolldaiga Hills Ranch Butterfly List

Lolldaiga Hills Ranch. Photograph by Paul Benson.

News Thirteen Species Added to the Lolldaiga Hills Ranch Butterfly List During 24–26 June 2016, Steve Collins (Director, African Butterfly Research Centre), and Bennie Coetzer and Andre Coetzer (butterfly experts from South Africa), visited Lolldaiga Hills Ranch to join Mike Roberts (General Manager, Lolldaiga Hills Ranch) in advancing the Lolldaiga Hills Ranch Butterfly List. Together, they added 13 species to the Lolldaiga Hills Ranch Butterfly List, bringing the total to 135 species. Go to: http://www.lolldaiga.com/biodiversity-research/biodiversity/species-list/ to download the ‘Butterfly Species List’.

Blue pied pierrot Zintha hintza at Lolldaiga Hills Ranch, a new taxon on the Ranch’s butterfly list. Photograph by Mike Roberts.

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Pocket Guide to the Primates of East Africa In 2012, the Lolldaiga Hills Research Programme (LHRP) published a paper titled: The Primates of East Africa: Country Lists and Conservation Priorities (De Jong & Butynski 2012). This year, LHRP attended the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group’s African Primate Red List Assessment Workshop in Rome. LHRP is responsible for just under 50 global Red List species and subspecies ‘degree of threat assessments’ on primates and warthogs. This month, Conservation International granted LHRP (Tom Butynski & Yvonne de Jong) financial support to publish the Pocket Identification Guide to the Primate of East Africa. This Guide will be part of Conservation International’s Tropical Pocket Guide Series, with excellent illustrations by Stephen Nash. The Guide will provide distribution maps and natural history information for each primate taxon known for East Africa. The Guide will be distributed globally and is expected to be completed before the International Primate Society’s congress in Nairobi in 2018. Besides bringing more attention to primate conservation in East Africa, the Guide will bring attention to the LHRP.

New Taxonomic Arrangement for Laikipia’s giraffe One giraffe species - Giraffa camelopardalis - and 9-11subspecies, have traditionally been recognized. However, a molecular study by Fennessy et al. (2016) reveals not one but four giraffe species. Lolldaiga Hills Ranch supports the reticulated giraffe Giraffa reticulata, a species only found in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia. The world population is ca. 8,660 individuals (http://giraffeconservation.org). No subspecies of G. reticulata are currently recognised. Fennessy et al. (2016) urge “targeted conservation efforts of the world’s tallest megafauna”. With an estimated 100 individuals, Lolldaiga Hills Ranch holds >1% of the world’s reticulated giraffe. This population appears to be both healthy and growing. Fennessy, J., Bidon, T., Reuss, F., Vamberger, M., Fritz, U. & Janke, A. (2016). Multi-locus analyses reveal four giraffe species instead of one. Current Biology 26: 1–7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.036

Pocket Identification Guide to the Primates of West Africa by John Oates (2010), one of the more recent guides in Conservation International’s Tropical Pocket

Guide Series.

Reticulated giraffe Giraffa reticulata on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch. Photograph by Yvonne de Jong.

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New report: The Great Grevy’s Rally by Tanya Berger-Wolf, Jon Crall, Jason Holberg, Jason Parham, Chuck Stewart, Belinda Low Mackey, Paula Kahumbu & Dan Rubenstein. In January 2016, a citizen science assisted ‘Sight-Resight’ census of Grévy’s zebra Equus grevyi took place in Kenya. For two consecutive days, volunteers drove around photographing Grevy’s zebra within dedicated blocks. This survey took place throughout the species’ geographical range in Kenya (>25,000 km²). The main outcomes of this survey are:

“the number of Grevy’s zebras in Kenya ranges from a low of 2257 to a high of 2443”

“Laikipia County, once considered a refuge, is now home to the largest population of Grevy’s zebras in Kenya”

“the demographic state of the national population and most counties are healthy”

“the fraction of females giving birth per year is high, or its inverse, the inter-birth interval is low. Both indicate that the reproductive potential of a population is strong and steady”.

For the full report, go to: www.laikipia.org The last sighting of Grévy’s zebra on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch was in mid-2015 when three adult males were present in the northern part of the Ranch. The main route by which Grey’s zebra enter and depart Lolldaiga Hills Ranch appears to be through the ‘Pyramid Corridor’ of Lolldaiga Hills Ranch-Ol Jogi Conservancy. Lolldaiga Hills Ranch and other ranches in the Lolldaiga Hills Conservation Landscape probably hold under-utilized habitat for this ‘Critically Endangered’ species.

Two adult male Grévy’s zebra Equus grevyi on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch. Photograph by Tom Butynski.

Grévy’s zebra Equus grevyi at Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. Photograph by Yvonne de Jong

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What is a ‘Key Biodiversity Area’? The Lolldaiga Hills Research Programme is now completing the final forms and procedures required by BirdLife International to approve the proposal for the ‘Lolldaiga-Mukogodo-Ewaso N’yiro Important Bird Area’ and ‘Lolldaiga-Mukogodo-Ewaso N’yiro Key Biodiversity Area’. What is a ‘Key Biodiversity Area’? “Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are sites of global significance for the conservation of biodiversity. They are identified nationally using simple, globally standardised criteria and thresholds, based on the needs of biodiversity requiring safeguards at the site scale. As the building blocks for designing the ecosystem approach and maintaining effective ecological networks, Key Biodiversity Areas are the starting point for landscape-level conservation planning.” Monitoring of KBAs enables detection of threats and identification of appropriate conservation actions. KBAs help national governments, conservation organisations, and private land-owners ensure that scarce resources are directed to the most important places for the conservation of biodiversity. KBAs underpin all sustainable development and the attainment of sustainable development goals. KBAs help dicision-makers define their conservation priorities, achieve international commitments, and comply with environmental policies. [Taken in part from: Mwacharo, J. (2016). Nature Net, October issue].

Pied kingfisher Ceryle rudis at Lolldaiga Hills Ranch. Photograph by Tom Butynski.

Meetings and Visits

September 2016

Conservation and Management Meeting (17 September, LHR) – This meeting was attended by representatives

of Laikipia Wildlife Forum (Peter Hetz), Ol Jogi Conservancy (Jaime Gaymer), and Lolldaiga Hills Ranch (Robert

Wells, Harry Wells, Mike Roberts, Tom Butynski) to discuss the ‘Laikipia Unit Initiative’, the ‘LWF Draft Strategic

Plan 2016-2030’, and ‘The Kenya Wildlife Conservation and Management Act’.

Planned

University of Bern (4 October, Nanyuki) – Hanspeter Liniger and MSc student, Michael Herger, will meet with Yvonne de Jong to discuss their upcoming study: ‘Environmental Impacts of Red Meat Production in Two Different Livestock Farming Systems on Natural Resources in the Mount Kenya Region’. Butterfly & Moth Survey (28–30 October, LHR) – Hermann Staude (Lepidopterists’ Society of Africa) and Steve

Collins (Director, African Butterfly Research Institute) will visit Lolldaiga Hills Ranch to work with Mike Roberts

(General Manager, Lolldaiga Hills Ranch) to expand the Ranch’s butterfly and moth species lists.

Bird Survey (7–10 November, LHR) – Sir Jeffrey James will visit Lolldaiga Hills Ranch for bird surveys with staff of

Lolldaiga Hills Research Programme and others. The southward passage of birds, particularly raptors, will be on

at this time. It is anticipated that a few more bird species will be added to the 373 species currently on the

Lolldaiga Hills Ranch Bird List.

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Publications and Reports

Publications and completed reports

In press

De Jong, Y. A. & Butynski, T. M. Desert warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus. In Ecology, Evolution and Management of Wild Pigs and Peccaries. Implications for Conservation. Melletti, M. & Meijaard, E., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Butynski, T. M. & De Jong, Y. A. Common warthog Phacochoerus africanus. In Ecology, Evolution and Management of Wild Pigs and Peccaries. Implications for Conservation. Melletti, M. & Meijaard, E., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Butynski, T. M. & De Jong, Y. A. Primates of Africa’s coastal deltas and their conservation. In Primates in Flooded Habitats: Ecology and Conservation. Barnett, A. A., Matsuda, I. & Nowak, K., eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Butynski, T. M., Parker, I. & De Jong, Y. A. Historic and current distribution, abundance, and habitats of Roosevelt’s sable antelope Hippotragus niger roosevelti (Heller, 1910) (Cerartiodactyla: Bovidae) in Kenya. Journal of East African Natural History 104.

Zinner, D., Keller, C., Nyahongo, J. W., Butynski, T. M., De Jong, Y. A., Pozzi, L., Knauf, S., Liedigk, R. & Roos, C. Distribution of mitochondrial clades and morphotypes of baboons Papio spp. (Primates: Cercopithecidae) in eastern Africa. Journal of East African Natural History 104.

De Jong, Y. A. & Butynski, T. M. IUCN/SSC Red List assessments for 13 species of African primate.

Submitted

Butynski, T. M. & De Jong, Y. A. South Western Mau Forest Reserve game proof barrier feasibility study. Unpublished report to IDH/ISLA and Rhino Ark.

Cunneyworth, P., De Jong, Y. A., Butynski, T. M. & Perkin, A. W. IUCN/SSC Red List assessment for the Peter's Angolan colobus Colobus angolensis palliatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. IUCN/SSC, Gland, Switzerland.

In preparation

Butynski, T. M. & De Jong, Y. A. Taxonomic status of the Mount Kilimanjaro guereza colobus.

De Jong, Y. A. & Butynski, T. M. A new subspecies of gentle monkey Cercopithecus mitis (Primates: Cercopithecinae) from northern Tanzania.

De Jong, Y. A. & Butynski, T. M. IUCN/SSC Red List assessments for 29 subspecies and one species of African primate. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. IUCN/SSC, Gland, Switzerland.

De Jong, Y. A., d’Huart, J. P. & Butynski, T. M. Biogeography of the desert warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus (Pallas, 1766) and common warthog Phacochoerus africanus (Gmelin, 1788) in the Horn of Africa.

Lion Panthera leo at Lolldaiga Hills Ranch. Photograph by Tom Butynski

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Rainfall on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch

Species totals as of end of September 2016.

Mammals on the Lolldaiga Hills Conservation Landscape…………………………..105 species Birds on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch…………………………………………………………………….373 species Birds on the proposed IBA/KBA………………………………………………………………….525 species Reptiles on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch……………………………………………..……………….….32 species Amphibians on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch...............................................................12 species Butterflies on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch……………… ……………………………………………135 species Moths on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch......................................................................200 species

Except for moths, species list for the above taxonomic groups can be viewed at www.lolldaiga.com

Common warthog Phacochoerus africanus at Lolldaiga Hills Ranch. Photograph by Yvonne de Jong

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Monthly rainfall (mm) on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch during 2016 (mean of four sites)

Rainfall data kindly provided by Peter Karani.

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Rainfall (mm) at four sites on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch during

September 2016

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Best Zoological Society of London/Lolldaiga Hills Ranch camera trap images on Lolldaiga Hills Ranch

(September 2016).

Savanna elephant Loxodonta africana

Striped hyaena Hyaena hyaena

Günther’s dik-dik Madoqua guentheri (‘frosted’ colour morph)

Günther’s dik-dik Madoqua guentheri (typical colour morph and ‘frosted’ colour morph).

Common warthog Phacochoerus africanus

Common duiker Sylvicapra grimmia &

African savanna hare Lepus victoriae

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Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus

Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus

Impala Aepyceros melampus

Ratel (=honey badger) Mellivora capensis

Spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta

Leopard Panthera pardus