00:00We're here in northern Kenya, specifically the Loisaba Conservancy, and the reason
00:04that we're here is we're doing a satellite tracking effort with the
00:08reticulated giraffe, which is a species of giraffe found nowhere else in the
00:12world, just northern Kenya, and by tracking the movement of this giraffe
00:16we're going to get insights into how much space they need and what types and
00:21areas of habitat are important to them, and that's really going to help us
00:24prioritize our conservation efforts going forward. So we usually get going at
00:29about 6.30 in the morning just as the sun's coming up, and we'll all drive to
00:33find giraffe, but not just any giraffe. It has to be the right giraffe that's
00:38healthy and will be good to go under sedation, and the landscape has to be
00:42good so that it'll be safe. Then the two Kenyan vets who are in charge of the
00:47whole operation, they'll mix the sedation drugs and then they actually put them
00:52into little darts and put them into air rifles, and then the lead car will
00:57approach the group of giraffe slowly. As the giraffe are calm, the car will slowly
01:03get closer, and then once they're within range, they'll fire the dart at the
01:08giraffe and it will go into either the shoulder or the rump area. Then what
01:12happens is the drug gradually starts to take effect. The giraffe does this funny
01:15little dance called high-stepping, and it kind of high steps like that, and then you
01:20know the giraffe, okay, is getting ready to really fall asleep. And so you get there as
01:26quickly as you can, you jump out of the car, and the team has ropes, and they'll go
01:31and they'll put the ropes around the giraffe, so then when it goes over, you're
01:36there to let it fall in a controlled way. And then the moment it falls, you put a
01:41shuka, or a Kenyan blanket, over its eyes, and that immediately calms the animal.
01:46So at that point then, the vets make an assessment and say, yes, this is, the giraffe is stable,
01:53let's proceed. And at that point, we attach the satellite tracking unit to the
01:57ossicone, and then take other measurements of the giraffe. All the
02:02different sizes of its leg and neck and things like that, as well as the sex, and
02:06all those other parameters that are really, really valuable to us. Then, when
02:10everyone's complete, everyone gets off, and it's amazing. The giraffe just pops up,
02:16it's very calm, and you just see it walking away in the distance, and it's not
02:20showing any ill effects, and the unit is safely attached, and that's when everyone
02:24is happy. The giraffe is safe, all the team are safe, and then you've done a
02:30really good job.
02:31Yeah, it's really exciting to participate in such a project that unmasks the
02:38movement of reticulated giraffes in this landscape, because once we know where they
02:44move, we will find ways of protecting them and managing them in their habitat. So
02:50there is a lot of profit, there's a lot of conservation dividend we're going to
02:55get out of this project.
02:57You know, this is one of the best sort of collaring experiences I've had. The vets
03:01have been awesome, people have communicated really well, and we've really sort of
03:05come together as a team, so I'll be happy to come back here in the future and work
03:09with the guys on the ground.
03:11So now that we've finished here on Loisaba, I'm massively excited. We have collectively
03:17a team of about 20 people, have all come together from literally across the world. It's been
03:21led by Kenyans and supported by people who have done some of this work from around the
03:26world, as well as experts in movement ecology. And the teamwork that we had working with
03:31these large graceful animals was absolutely incredible. Everyone was calm, professional,
03:37and just gelled together as a team. And you know, you work hard in doing this and it takes
03:43a lot of energy. But at the end of the day, what really I was delighted about was everyone
03:48had a smile on their face. And I think everyone made new friends. And that's the way conservation
03:53should be. Everyone working together for wildlife, for people, to sustainably coexist
03:59together in the future.
