Hello World,
Today was our first ecology lab in Olduvai Gorge. We brought 6 game cameras with us from Houston in efforts of getting evidence of species richness in the area. Our area of interest was lake Olbalbal. The lake was an hours drive from the research camp near a Maasai village. We had to get special permission from the chief in order to place our cameras near the lake. We had a special Maasai connection that allowed us to meet the chief which was such a privilege.
As we entered the village there were many cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, and chickens. The older kids were running around with a soccer ball as the little kids were shyly waving our way. It was temping to play soccer with the kids, but the visit through the town was short.
The question we were trying to answer with the cameras was how the species richness changes in relation to distance from the water source. Two cameras were placed 120 ft from the waters edge, the next 2 were placed 1/2 a mile from the first with the last 2 cameras being placed an additional 1/2 mile from the second set.
On our way back from the lake, the class witnessed an amazing site! As the land cruisers entered open golden savannas we saw a herd of giraffes that never seemed ended. As I continued scanning the landscape, there were more and more giraffes. It was amazing. In total, we estimated over 100 giraffes in that one field amongst the acacia trees in the background. The land cruisers pulled over, and we all got out of the cars in order to take in the sight. Each and every person stared in awe at the grace of those magnificent creatures. There were no elephants to be seen today.
Thank you for tuning in!
