Happy Holidays from Mpala!

Live camera viewers on Explore.org have had a big year at Mpala, the home of African Wildlife. As the landscape transitioned over 2017 from a dull drought beaten brown into a lively lush green haven teeming with life, the Explore.org family continued to witness magical moments. Daily sights and sounds combined a familiar musical ensemble of hippo grunts in sparring matches, the distinctively penetrating and recognizable haa-haa- haa-de- dah call of the Hadada Ibis, among other rich calls of many species at the pool–warthogs, elephants, giraffes, zebra, and more.

Beyond the scope of the sights and sounds delivered by the live cameras, multidisciplinary research and scientific findings paced with conservation and community outreach programmes went on to inform the world. Scientists at Mpala Research Centre will continue to conduct cutting-edge research. The 48,000-acre living laboratory of semi-arid savanna, acacia bushland, wooded grassland, rocky escarpments and riverine habitats along the Ewaso Nyiro and Ewaso Narok rivers will remain home to many wildlife species and hundreds of students, educators, and scientists from around the globe.

Mpala Research Centre -The Living Laboratory. An Olive baboon receives vet care.

Conservation efforts in Laikipia and beyond are among the highlights of 2017. Amazing numbers from the just concluded Laikipia Rabies Vaccination campaign combined with education outreach reaching over 12 schools, 400 club Northern Kenya Conservation Club members and their families form Mpala’s Science, Education and Conservation waves. Explore.org viewers can expect more of the amazing wildlife that graces our landscape and the live cams in the coming year. Live chats, interviews, field guide entries and close up views of our unique wildlife.

For the Mpala family, 2018 is expected to be an even bigger year. More science, education and conservation will happen. At Mpala Live!, we hope to build on the field guide. We hope to further enrich this invaluable resource from the current 88 species as seen on live cameras and into the hundreds. Viewers can expect compelling first-hand narratives from the bush by scientists.