Valentina and the Mama waterbuck
There's a seven hour story, here, and only a fraction of the photos posted to tell it. I have seen this female's tracks since
late November. Now finally with a new project camera and a stroke of luck, I am able to see her close enough and even spend the
day with her. All my other Tsavo E. cheetahs have been given Swahili names that begin with "A", so far. However, on Saint Valentine's Day, I felt it right to make an exception.

...Funds for the materials and initiation of our structured in-school and community "A Tsavo Cheetah's Ecosystem" education programs, and cheetah camera trap surveys,  inside and outside the Tsavos. These critical programs will commence, upon the disbursement of funds, by late December. Thank you TUI - Holland International and a special thank you to Stichtting SPOTS  Netherlands, for making these funds (and programs...) a realization!

We met a very special cheetah in Tsavo East today!
"Dumes" is well on his way to educate local primary school children on his
species and its importance within the ecosystem, here in Tsavo. Dumes will
engage with children through puppetry and story book participation. Watch our
page to follow Dumes on his adventures and progress in our education
programs.

Tsavo Cheetah Project will have a table at this year's
WCN Expo. If you're going to San Francisco be sure to... buy tickets and learn
about this globally important cheetah population in "gorgeous Tsavo", and the work our project is doing to protect it.

The Tsavo Cheetah Project is proud to announce our partnership with Felidae
Conservation Fund http://felidaefund.org/?q=tsavo-cheetah-project
as of March, 2013. We look  forward to working
with Felidae for the protection and conservation of the Tsavo
cheetah population.

In late November, I had found a very pregnant female cheetah who I was fortunate to see again over a week's time. Unfortunately, I had to leave for  meetings in Nairobi for more than a week following this period. Since my return to the field I have not seen her again, but expect that she had given birth while I was away. Early this morning, I chose to detour from the sighting location that I usually pass by to check for her on this route, but would take it on my way back in the afternoon. Well, I am elated that I did! Even though I did not see her, fresh spoor (tracks) in the exact location and direction where I had seen them during her presence in November, had resurfaced. This gives me hope that they may be hers, indicating that she is, in fact, still in the area. I will have to return and try confirm its her, of course, but finding the natural signs of a study animal can be just as rewarding, sometimes, as seeing them physically.

It has been eventful in the field, during recent months, so its time for an current update. Since October, I have mainly focused project activities on identifying a number of individual cheetahs in the southern sector of Tsavo East. This was much easier before the rains, during dry season. Now, during December, as with the later part of November, I am still able to monitor known cheetahs and even find new individuals, though with much greater effort and a combination of techniques.

In conjunction with the direct sightings, camera traps are being placed specific locations where I have unfortunately lost track of a few individual cheetahs which I had last monitored in May. My fear is that they may have come into confrontation with pastoralists who graze livestock within the park or perhaps they even wandered outside the park onto community land. Both circumstances could pose dire consequences for these cheetahs. By placing trail cameras in areas where they were frequently seen and followed, the project will potentially have better idea if they remain in this location or even if any new cheetahs are occupying the area.

Irresponsible tour driver behavior in Tsavo has become a serious problem where cheetah protection and conservation are concerned. I have personally witnessed and others have also reported incidents to me, drivers going off-road in the park, often several hundred meters, driving straight up to cheetahs who are often resting under trees for shade (please refer to the photo below, which gives just one example). The cheetahs are always frightened away by this unethical behavior and I have even lost track of individuals of which I am monitoring, all due to a driver's need for a 'big tip'! TCP is working with on-ground KWS rangers to combat this issue, for the welfare of the cheetah. Violators will be restricted from access into the park. 

Community visits are an essential component of cheetah conservation. The project is always willing to provide livestock husbandry improvement and education on predator behavior to local residents who reach out. Although a recent culprit turned out to be a leopard instead of a cheetah, the problem appears to be solved (at least, for now!) and any further incidents will also be attended to..