Laikipia County (ca. 9,700 km²), central Kenya, comprises a highly diverse landscape of grassland, bushland, woodland, dry forest, moist forest, riverine forest, wetland, and farmland.
The Leopard Tortoise Stigmochelys pardalis is the fourth largest species of tortoise in the world (up to 18 kg), and the largest and most abundant in sub-Saharan Africa (Drabik-Hamshare 2017).
Increased pressure of grazing by livestock, together with a reduced time for vegetation to recover from grazing, have led to degradation in the rangelands of Laikipia County, Kenya. The community-owned rangelands neighbouring Lolldaiga Hills Ranch are no exception.
Seven species have been added to the Lolldaiga Hills Ranch bird list thus far during 2018. These species have been encountered by Per Aronsson, Nigel Hunter, Brian Finch, and Tom Butynski. The list now stands at 407 species.
Many animals defend against predation by co-opting the chemical defenses of their food. Although this poison sequestration behaviour has been most studied in butterflies, similar behaviours occur in other insects, amphibians and even birds (Savitzky et al. 2012, Nishida 2014).
