Although additional surveys have yet to be undertaken, there can be no doubt that the Ranch supports well over half of the species of plants and animals present in Laikipia County.
Lolldaiga Hills Ranch is a 200 km2 (49,000 acre) cattle ranch and wildlife conservancy. Located 20 km north west of Mount Kenya at an altitude of 1,800 – 2,300 m, the Ranch has outstanding views of Mount Kenya and the Aberdares.
The Lolldaiga Hills Conservation Landscape (LHCL) is comprised of four properties; Lolldaiga (ca. 200 km²), Ole Naishu (ca. 125 km²), Enasoit (ca. 17 km²), and Ol Jogi (ca. 210 km²)...
The charismatic, semi-terrestrial, southern patas monkey Erythrocebus baumstarki, is probably now restricted in the protected savannas of the western Serengeti (central northern Tanzania). It seems that, at present, fewer than 200 individuals occupy about 15% (9,700 km²) of their early 20th century geographic range. This large, slender, long-limbed, primate once occurred in the acacia woodlands near Mount Kilimanjaro and in southern Kenya but was extirpated from these areas prior to 2016 due to factors related to the rapidly increasing human population. The main threats are the degradation, loss, and fragmentation of natural habitats, and competition with people and livestock for habitat and water. Poaching and domestic dogs are also threats. As a result, this shy and secretive monkey is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [Website: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/92252436/92252442].
There are two species of warthog, the well-known common warthog Phacochoerus africanus and the desert warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus. The latter occupies the Horn of Africa and Kenya but it once occurred in South Africa and, perhaps, Namibia, where it was known as the ‘Cape warthog’. The desert warthog, long overlooked by zoologists, is one of Africa’s least studied and most poorly-known large mammals. Although this pig was described in 1766, confusion concerning its taxonomy resulted in the recognition of only one species of warthog, the common warthog.
New article:
Dedan K. Ngatia, Paul W. Webala, Mugo J. Mware, Thomas M. Butynski, Yvonne A. de Jong, Adam W. Ferguson (2021). African Journal of Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/aje.12830
Abstract: The paucity of studies on Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon (Linnaeus, 1758) in Africa highlights the need for baseline information on the geographic range of this species as well as factors that may determine its distribution. This study presents eight novel locality records of H. ichneumon in Laikipia County, central Kenya, addresses questions on the species’ distribution in Africa, and predicts environmental (climatic) suitability across its range. From a total of 4,822 H. ichneumon occurrence records, we used 4,432 georeferenced records to generate distribution maps, conduct ecological niche modelling, and identify environmental limits for this species across its range with a focus on Africa. 20% of all records originate from continental Africa, including 121 records for Kenya. Despite extensive field research and predicted habitat suitability, H. ichneumon has not been previously reported in Laikipia County. Our niche models, however, predicted parts of Laikipia to be environmentally suitable for H. ichneumon. Similarly, our new distribution maps show extended geographic ranges both in Laikipia and Kenya as compared to the 2016 IUCN map. The eight Laikipia records underscore the limited knowledge for this species, its distribution, and its environmental requirements in Africa.
The taxonomy and vernacular names for the Birds of Lolldaiga Hills Ranch have been up-dated using the new (2019) Checklist of the Birds of Kenya (fifth edition). This checklist was compiled by the Bird Committee of Nature Kenya/East Africa Natural History Society. The new Birds of Lolldaiga Hills Ranch lists 421 species. Thus, Lolldaiga Hills Ranch (c. 200 km2) holds no less than 37% of Kenya’s 1,113 species of bird.
Thomas Butynski and Yvonne de Jong,
Eastern Africa Primate Diversity and Conservation Program
The taxonomy of the Gentle Monkey Cercopithecus mitis has been debated for many decades, mainly due to the complex and wide distribution of its many subspecies. Tanzania and Kenya, together, support no fewer than eight of the currently recognized 17 subspecies. In the most recent issue of Primate Conservation (Issue 34, April 2020), Butynski and De Jong review the taxonomy and distribution of these eight subspecies and describe a new subspecies endemic to central north Tanzania, the Manyara Monkey Cercopithecus mitis manyaraensis. This new subspecies is named after Lake Manyara which lies near the centre of its geographic range.
Yvonne A. de Jong and Thomas M. Butynski
