It has been an exciting time at Mpala Research Centre with the spotting of a new litter of African Wild Dogs! The species had all but disappeared from Laikipia County in the 1990s but thanks to conservation efforts had been making a steady comeback since 2000. At its height, there were over 300 individual African
Service Dogs Help Save Cheetahs from Extinction in the Wild
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), at least 10,000 species become extinct annually. Fast approaching this sad marker is the world’s fastest land mammal, the cheetah. Once occurring throughout much of Africa and Asia, the cheetah has now vanished from most of the regions. At Mpala, a team of scientists from Action for Cheetahs is using trained
Oxpeckers: A Taste for Blood
In the savannah, most large mammals depend on the services of a common ‘grooming crew,’ the ever-present oxpecker, one of the most commonly sighted birds on our live cameras. On Mpala we have red-billed oxpeckers and yellow-billed oxpeckers. Where both species feed together, the yellow-billed are generally dominant. The birds perch on wild and domestic animals to eat parasites found in
Jane Goodall Visits Mpala Research Centre
It was a special week at Mpala, the home of African wildlife on Explore. Conservation icon Dr. Jane Goodall was here, spreading a message of hope for the next generation of scientists and nature lovers. “When scientists say it’s too late…that’s where I think they’re wrong. I think we have a window of time–we know that we
All About the Leopard Tortoise
Mpala Research Centre is home to many reptile species including the unmistakable Leopard tortoise. Each day, one or more slow but sure individuals will be seen crossing from one end of the Mpala campus to the other. They bear dome shells with distinctive yellow and brown spots and radiating circles that make the leopard tortoise one of the
