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Center for Wildlife Management Studies
Kenya
Game Ranching Limited, 1985-2001
Kuku Bush Camp, 1999-2001
Kilimanjaro Bush Camp, 2001-present
National Park Site, 2001-present

The first SFS programs in Kenya took place in the summers of 1981 and 1982 and focused on environmental factors affecting the survival of the black rhinoceros in Nairobi National Park and translocation efforts by the Kenyan Game Department in Meru and Amboseli National Parks. In 1983, SFS moved its summer programs to the Hopcraft ranch (Game Ranching Limited) in Athi River where it would remain for the next 18 years.

In Spring 1985, SFS offered its first semester-length program, Wildlife Biology and Management. Courses included Introduction to Wildlife Biology, Peoples and Cultures of East Africa, Population and Community Ecology, Man and the Environment and an independent directed research project. For many years these research projects revolved around factors that were important to our location on a game ranch:  ungulate ecology and management, cropping techniques, harvesting strategies, wildlife censusing and habitat analysis.

In an effort to expand the Kenya program and research efforts to include a greater focus on community wildlife management and human-wildlife conflict, SFS began efforts to locate a community-based site off the ranch and in 1999, established a temporary camp (Kuku Bush Camp) on a group ranch in Masaailand near Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Tanzanian border. Students now had the opportunity for daily interaction with Masaai communities who were directly impacted by the wildlife in their area. The move occurred at an opportune time since1999 also marked the appointment of the first Kenyan Center Director, Dr. Simon ole Seno, a Masaai from Narok. 

In 2001 the move from Game Ranching Limited was finalized with the establishment of the Nairobi National Park Site (NPS) situated on the southern border of the park along the Mbagathi River. With access to both the park and private lands in the park's dispersal area, SFS students were able to access a broad range of perspectives on community wildlife management—from individual private landowners to local communities to government and non-governmental agencies.

From the early 1980's through 2001 the Kenya program was consistently the most popular destination for SFS students. While the events of 9/11 temporarily diminished enrollments in all of our programs, the US imposed travel warning for Kenya which went into effect in mid-2003 has had a dramatic impact on enrollment at this Center resulting in the temporary closure of the Nairobi National Park site and a halt to the research that we had been conducting there. We echo the hopes of Paul Gathitu that more SFS students will be returning soon so we can pick-up from where we left off in 2003 and continue the important work we are doing in that region.

SFS work in Kenya continues, however, at Kilimanjaro Bush Camp which opened its doors in the summer of 2001 and replaced the nearby Kuku Bush Camp as the base of SFS operations in Southern Kenya. Students have easy access to private farms, the Masaai group ranches of Kuku, Kimana and Mbirikani, and the Kimana Wildlife Sanctuary—all of which are within the Amboseli-Tsavo National Parks wildlife corridor and dispersal area. Current research focuses on developing guidelines for the management of the corridor in a manner that will ensure wildlife resource conservation and enhance the economic well-being of the communities in the area.


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"SFS began working very closely with Nairobi National Park (NNP) in 2000. Since then, the school through its research has contributed significantly towards the management of NNP. To facilitate an effective working relationship, KWS and SFS entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) whose main focus is collaboration in research and training. Since the signing of the MoU in 2001, many research projects have been completed cooperatively by both SFS and NNP, including a comprehensive vegetation map for the park and the adjacent dispersal area, and monthly wildlife population monitoring program. We worked together on the implementation and monitoring of fire as a vegetation management tool for the park. This has included doing the actual burning jointly and having the school conduct vegetation and wildlife studies to determine recovery and use of the burnt areas. Finally, the school has acted as an effective link between the park and the Kitengela community through research, community presentations and workshops. I hope more students will be able to come to Kenya again soon so we can continue some of the important research we have begun."

--Mr. Paul Gathitu, Assistant Director, Kenya Wildlife Service; Former Senior Warden, Nairobi National Park


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Center History: Kenya