Gentlemen,
Fleur Ng’weno suggested that I share with you some of the mammal information we are amassing in Karura Forest Reserve. Actually, amassing is probably the correct term, since, apart from the very successful Colobus (
Colobus guereza kikuyuensis) re-introductiion project with IPR, we have mainly been recording presence by means of PIR camera traps and adventitious sightings. So far, we have 20-odd species, ranging from the giant pouched rat to the bushpig. Smaller rodents, shrews and bats are unrepresented.
We all feel certain that there is so much that could be done in the forest, that it really is necessary to formulate systematic inventory and research strategies with like-minded experts and organisations such as yourselves, in your case for mammals. Once we have such strategies, we feel confident that resources for further research could be found from outside sources. At the outset, I have to underscore that FKF is not a funding organisation, rather a donor recipient that has managed, with the concurrence of the KFS of course, to turn Karura into the impressive public asset it is today.
We have not yet, for example, explored in depth the statistically rather complex realm of mark-release-recapture population estimates using camera trap sitings. From what I understand, one needs a rather dense, systematic grid of cameras that could be well beyond our means. But perhaps you are aware of new, less equipment-intensive approaches that we could pursue.
In the meanwhile, we are thinking of estimating relative proportions of species observed in order to establish some area-specfic baselines. Clearly, with the securing of the forest and now-zero-snaring, casual sightings are increasing and for some species occurring more in the daytime. I’m sure that you can think of a host of other good things to do, using a judicious combination of your research staff and student candidates from the local universities. Estimating of activity regimes using proportional sightings comes to mind.
The new edition of a video camera trap has brought to our attention something of which I was not aware: the importance of "canopy browsing" from the forest floor. All three (or four!) species of antelopes are frequently observed feeding on fresh fallen canopy leaves. It seems to be all they do on-camera, apart from a bit of socialising. I suppose this is well-known to field mammalogists, although I’ve only seen passing mention, for example, by Kingdon with regard to the Blue Duiker. Harvey’s Duiker and the Grimm’s/Sunis in our video clips seem to go well beyond being merely ‘concentrate selectors’ of plant parts. I’m tempted to call them ‘growsers’, since they appear to get the bulk of their intake from fallen leaves.
And, since I have your attention, I wonder if I could get your take on the great Grimm’s Duiker-or-Suni debate that is raging here in the Karura. Well, perhaps raging is an exaggeration. A few of us are wondering... Does the Suni commonly stray upcountry out of the coastal forest range? Are the little grey-brown antelopes all Grimm’s of varying ages, or do we have both species? We have camera trap shots of them, some of which you may see here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.531062820248929.117675.167946106560604&type=3&uploaded=9. Let me know what you think, and if you want more material to look at. And here are some recent shots of the Grimms/Suni that have taken up residence in some numbers at they newly-cleared site at Amani Garden:
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