By Julius Lekenit, Governance and Partnerships Manager
@Nelson Guda
It was a calm and chilly morning on the beautiful plains of El Barta in Samburu North and time for another foot patrol for Lmantros Lenangetai, one of our Grevy’s Zebra Ambassadors. The sounds of the livestock blending with the voices of children playing brought a smile to his face, although his mind was full of troubling thoughts. Insecurity in his area was rising and something strange with the name “Coronavirus” was making the situation worse with panic and fear. The Government had banned social events and big meetings and was enforcing social distancing. This was hard and difficult to enforce among the pastoralists whose lives and livelihood revolve around communal activities.
Sitting on his traditional Samburu stool outside his hut, Lenangetai heard his phone ringing and he quickly answered when he saw that it was one of his colleagues, Letilipa, an Elbarta Conservation Council (ECC) member. Lenangetai received the bad news that a lactating female Grevy’s zebra had been found by two ECC members seriously ill in the Lkotikal area. He immediately put on his uniform and grabbed his SMART phone and camera, ready for data collection.
At Lkotikal, Lenangetai and his two ECC colleagues found the female Grevy’s zebra in a very bad way, unable to stand. They sprang into action, fetching more than forty litres of water for the zebra to drink. They dug a hole next to her and filled it with the water, sighing with relief when she eagerly drank the water. They then started communicating with the local vet to inform them of the sick animal. While this was going on, another team found the zebra’s young foal, approximately five months old, watching her sick mother from a distance. Lenangetai and the two ECC members knew they had to make sure the foal and the sick mother survived.
After a long, tough day Lenangatai realised that the sick mother could not be saved, but despite this he continued to give her water while at the same time monitoring the foal. He and his colleagues drove the foal towards a herd of Grevy’s zebras nearby and monitored it until they were sure that it was comfortable staying with the herd. The thought that the foal would be safe from predators that night gave them some comfort. The next day Lenangetai came back to the same area and searched for the foal for more than six hours. Eventually, to his huge relief, he found it still with the same herd. The passion and commitment shown by our Grevy’s Zebra Ambassador and the ECC members is evidence of their love for the Grevy’s zebra and their dedication to saving this endangered species, even during these difficult and unsettling times
