Kenya – January 2024
We had a great trip to Kenya in January 2024. Mammalian highlights include Somali Lesser Galago, Striped Hyaena, Leopard, Cheetah, Maned Rat, Giant Forest Hog, Rusty-spotted Genet, African Wolf, Four-toed Hedgehog and Tana River Crested Mangabey, plus an assortment of roosting bats. We also had some fabulous animal behaviour – African Bush Elephants drinking and playing in the water, Spotted Hyena getting ready to hunting in the evening and also courtship between two adults and young vervet monkeys playing together.
Kenya – Three Weeks in January 2024
Post author
5 Comments
-
-
Jane Kempler
I probably should have included this in my report. We had a total of 92 species:
1 Bush Hyrax Heterohyrax brucei Meru, Laikipia, T. West
2 Eastern Rock Hyrax Procavia capensis johnstoni Laikipia
3 Southern Tree Hyrax Dendrohyrax arboreus crawshayi Sandai & Creaky Cottage
4 Bush/Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana Meru, Laikipia, Aberdare, Amboseli, T. West, T. East, Arabuko
5 Four-toed Sengi Petrodromus tetradactylus Arabuko
6 Rufous Sengi Galegeeska (Elephantulus) rufescens Rukinga (no photos)
7 Golden-rumped Giant Sengi Rhynchocyon chrysopygus Arabuko
8 Tana River Red Colobus Piliocolobus rufomitratus Tana River Primate National Reserve (TRPNR)
9 Guereza Colobus Colobus guereza kikuyuensis Aberdare & Creaky Cottage
10 Northern Yellow Baboon Papio cynocephalus ibeanus TRPNR (no photos)
Southern Yellow baboon Papio cynocephalus cynocephalus Amboseli, Arabuko, T. East, Rukinga, T. West
11 Olive Baboon Papio anubis Meru, Laikipia, Aberdare Baboons in Amboseli are generally hybrid Olive x Yellow
12 Tana River Mangabey Cercocebus galeritus TRPNR
13 Eastern Vervet Monkey Chlorocebus pygerythrus centralis Meru, Laikipia, Amboseli, T. West, Ruk, T. East
14 Pousargue’s Monkey Cercopithecus mitis albotorquatus TRPNR (no photos)
Zanzibar Sykes’ Monkey Cercopithecus mitis albogularis Tsavo East & Watamu Watamu is a hybridisation/transition zone with Pousargue’s
Kolb’s Monkey Cercopithecus mitis kolbi Aberdare & Creaky Cottage
15 Kenya Coast Dwarf Galago Paragalago cocos Watamu (no photos)
16 White-tailed Small-eared Greater Galago Otolemur garnetti lasiotis Watamu (no photos)
Pangani Small-eared Greater Galago Otolemur garnetti panganiensis Amboseli
17 Kenya Lesser Galago Galago senegalensis braccatus Amboseli, Rukinga
18 Somali Galago Galago galarum Meru
19 Naked Mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber Meru
20 Ochre Bush Squirrel Paraxerus ochraceus Laikipia & Rukinga
21 Unstriped Ground Squirrel Xerus rutilus Meru, Laikipia, T. West & East, TRPNR
22 Striped Ground Squirrel Xerus erythropus Meru
23 Maned Rat Lophiomys imhausi Creaky Cottage
24 African Root-Rat Tachyoryctes splendens Aberdare
25 Giant Pouched Rat Cricetomys ansorgei Creaky Cottage
26 East African Gerbil Gerbilliscus vicinus Rukinga
27 Unknown Spiny Mouse Acomys sp. Meru
28 Acacia Rat Thallomys paedulcus Meru
29 Zena’s Brush-furred Rat Lophuromys zena Aberdare
30 Mesic Four-striped Grass Mouse Rhabdomys dilectus Aberdare
31 Cape Hare Lepus capensis Rukinga (no photos)
32 East African Savanna Hare Lepus victoriae Laikipia
33 White-bellied Hedgehog Atelerix albiventris Watamu
34 Wahlberg’s Epauletted Fruit Bat Epomophorus wahlbergi (presumably) Arabuko Sokoke (no photos)
35 Heart-nosed Bat Cardioderma cor Rukinga, T. East
36 Yellow-winged Bat Lavia frons T. East Zarek only (no photos)
37 Unknown Leaf-nosed Bat Hipposideros sp. Meru
38 Sundevall’s Leaf-nosed Bat Hipposideros caffer (clade 5) Watamu
39 Striped Leaf-nosed Bat Macronycteris vittatus Watamu (no photos)
40 African Trident Bat Triaenops afer Watamu
41 Slit-faced Bat Nycteris sp. Amboseli
42 African Sheath-tailed Bat Coleura Afra Watamu
43 Hildegarde’s Tomb Bat Taphozous hildegardae Watamu
44 Mauritian Tomb Bat Taphozous mauritianus Amboseli
45 Free-tailed Bat Chaerophon sp. Amboseli Bat Detector and seen flying overhead (no photos)
46 Unknown Free-tailed Bat Molossidae T. West Likely Tadarida sp. – potentially 2 separate species (one with white belly and one with brownish-grey)
47 Black-backed Jackal Lupulella mesomelas schmidti Laikipia, Amboseli
48 East African Golden Wolf Canis lupaster bea Amboseli
49 East African Bat-eared Fox Otocyon megalotis virgatus Amboseli
50 Lion Panthera leo melanochaita Laikipia & T. East
51 African Leopard Panthera pardus pardus Laikipia
52 Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus jubatus Laikipia
53 Common Genet Genetta genetta Meru
54 Large-spotted/Blotched Genet Genetta maculata Meru & Aberdare
55 Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena Laikipia
56 Spotted Hyena Crocuta crocuta Meru, Laikipia, Aberdare, Amboseli, T. East
57 Slender Mongoose Herpestes sanguineus Meru (no photos)
58 White-tailed Mongoose Ichneumia albicauda Meru, Laikipia, Amboseli
59 Banded Mongoose Mungos mungo Tsavo East
60 Common Dwarf Mongoose Helogale parvula Laikipia, T. East
61 Common/Plains Zebra Equus quagga boehmi Meru, Laikipia, Amboseli, T. West, Ruk, T. East
62 Grevy’s Zebra Equus grevyi Laikipia
63 Southern White Rhino* Ceratotherium simum simum Meru *Exotic
64 Giant Forest Hog Hylochoerus meinertzhageni Aberdare
65 Desert Warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus delamerei Meru
66 Eastern Warthog Phacochoerus africanus massaicus Laikipia, Aberdare, Amboseli, T. West, T. East
67 Common Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius Meru, Laikipia, Amboseli, T. West
68 Reticulated Giraffe Giraffa reticulata Meru, Laikipia
69 Maasai Giraffe Giraffa tippelskirchi Amboseli, T. West & East We didn’t see the “Galana” hybrid in T. East
70 Cape Buffalo Syncerus caffer caffer Meru, Laikipia, Aberdare, Amboseli, T. West & East
71 Southern Lesser Kudu Tragelaphus imberbis australis Meru, T. West
72 Northern Greater Kudu Tragalaphus strepsiceros chora Laikipia
73 Bushbuck Tragelaphus sylvaticus Aberdare
74 Common Eland Taurotragus oryx pattersonianus Laikipia, T. West
75 Coastal Suni Nesotragus moschatus moschatus Arabuko Sokoke
76 East African Bush Duiker Sylvicapra grimmia altivallis Aberdare
77 Black-fronted Duiker Cephalophorus nigrifrons Aberdare
78 Hinde’s Dikdik Madoqua hindei Rukinga, T. West & East
79 Kirk’s Dikdik Madoqua kirkii Meru
80 Guenther’s Dikdik Madoqua guentheri Laikipia
81 Thomson’s Gazelle Eudorcas thomsoni thomsoni Laikipia, Sandai, Amboseli
82 Peter’s Gazelle Nanger petersi T. East
83 Southern Grant’s Gazelle Nanger granti granti T. West & Amboseli
84 Bright’s Gazelle Nanger notata Meru & Laikipia
85 Gerenuk Litocranius walleri walleri Meru, T. west & east
86 Bohor Reedbuck Redunca redunca wardi Naro Moru & Amboseli (No photos)
87 Common Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus ellipsiprymnus Meru, Amboseli, & T. East
Defassa Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus defassa Laikipia & Aberdare
88 Klipspringer Oreotragus oreotragus schillingsi Rukinga
89 Impala Aepyceros melampus melampus Meru, Laikipia, T. West & East
90 Coke’s Hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus cokii T. West & East
Jackson’s/Laikipia Hartebeest A. buselaphus cokii x lelwel Laikipia
91 Eastern White-beared Wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus Amboseli
92 Beisa Oryx Oryx beisa beisa Laikipia
Fringe-eared Oryx Oryx beisa callotis T. West & East
-
-
-
Jane Kempler
I think we had 49 new species which was pretty amazing. Lots of there were rodents and bats. We don’t keep a list of everything we’ve seen, so this is based on our (very well catalogued) collection of photos which are all labelled with species and location. So it is possible that I’m overcounting if we’ve seen something before and forgotten and also not managed to take a photo. I also haven’t counted subspecies separately. Our new ones were:
Southern Tree Hyrax
Rufous Sengi
Golden-rumped Giant Sengi
Tana River Red Colobus
Tana River Mangabey
Kenya Coast Dwarf Galago
White-tailed Small-eared Greater Galago
Pangani Small-eared Greater Galago/Kenya Lesser Galago
Somali Galago
Naked Mole-rat
Unstriped Ground Squirrel
Maned Rat
African Root-Rat
Giant Pouched Rat
East African Gerbil
Unknown Spiny Mouse
Acacia Rat
Zena’s Brush-furred Rat
Mesic Four-striped Grass Mouse
Cape Hare
East African Savanna Hare
White-bellied Hedgehog
Heart-nosed Bat
Unknown Leaf-nosed Bat
Sundevall’s Leaf-nosed Bat
Striped Leaf-nosed Bat
African Trident Bat
Slit-faced Bat
African Sheath-tailed Bat
Hildegarde’s Tomb Bat
Mauritian Tomb Bat
Free-tailed Bat
Unknown Free-tailed Bat
East African Golden Wolf
Common Genet
Striped Hyena
Grevy’s Zebra
Desert Warthog
Reticulated Giraffe
Coastal Suni
Black-fronted Duiker
Hinde’s Dikdik
Guenther’s Dikdik
Peter’s Gazelle
Bright’s Gazelle
Gerenuk
Beisa Oryx
Fringe-eared Oryx
-
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Jon Hall
Great report and photos – thanks. I’m very happy to see that Maned Rat tourism is alive and well (and apparently a bit more ethical!) than it was a year or so back at Creaky Cottage. How many mammal species did you see in total?