Cosmas, Reinier and I joined our Samburu staff from 5 -11 May.

New scouts – Moses and Soulh – were trained on spoor ID and data collection equipment in February. They worked out of the Meibae headquarters with Chris and the other Conservancy rangers for two weeks in March. They spent thre time in their own respective areas in April with Chirs visiting them each for only two days.

Our first two days at Meibae were spent entering data, with a couple of short walks to the rapidly flowing Ewaso River. I have never seen this area so green. The tall grass and afternoon rain showers also means that it is hard to even find tracks. In late February there were a large number of livestock losses in the Masse portion of the study area, but need more community sensitization about our work before we begin formally conducting interviews at confict sites.

Since January our scouts and Meibae rangers have recorded 23 incidences of cheetah sightings or tracks. It is likely that several of the sightings are of the same group. Our current estimate is 10-12 adults and 6-8 cubs.