Conservation of the endangered Grevy's Zebra.

27/06/2006 00:00:00 The Grevy's zebra is the most endangered member of the horse family in the world, with an estimated 2000 left in the wild. More than 70 percent of these live in the Samburu region of northern Kenya, most of them on unprotected community lands. Now an innovative partnership between Princeton University and Saint Louis Zoo's WildCare Institute is bringing effective conservation of Grevy's zebras within reach for Samburu pastoral cooperatives.

Since 2001, teams of Earthwatch volunteers have worked with Dr. Rubenstein and his Kenyan colleagues to determine the habitat needs of Grevy's zebra populations in northern Kenya and address the local conservation concerns. Part of Earthwatch's Samburu Conservation Research Initiative, the project is a crucial element to finding sustainable livelihoods for pastoral communities in the region.

'Earthwatch volunteers working at the Lewa Conservancy were instrumental in helping us show that part of the reason that Grevy's zebras fare poorly even in the best of conditions is related to competition with plains zebras,' said Rubenstein. 'Their data also showed that Grevy's zebras prefer to drink during the morning, highlighting the problem of coexisting with herds of livestock outside the conservancy that occupy waterholes during the daylight hours. By having to wait until dusk to drink, Grevy's zebras face elevated risks of predation.'

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