Wednesday, January 21, 2015

New RA - Serena Camp: It's Good to be Back!

Jambo! My name is Spencer Freeman; I'm the new research assistant in Serena camp. I flew into Nairobi ten days ago on the 10th of January, and have been in Serena since the 15th. Its hard to imagine a more beautiful view of the park! I'm currently a student at Kalamazoo college pursuing a bachelors degree in biology, but I'm taking a year off to work on the hyena project in the Mara. My goal as of now, after I finish my undergraduate degree, is to go to grad school for a PhD in a biology-related field, but I'm still trying to narrow it down. Hopefully this year will help!
This past Summer I was a BEAM student (behavioral ecology of African mammals) in Kenya. BEAM is a three week study abroad program run by Dr. Holekamp's graduate students. During my three weeks on BEAM I traveled to Meru, Nakuru and, of course, to the Mara. I learned all about the wildlife and ecology in Kenya, and got a great introduction to the kind of field research that is done out here. When the three weeks were up, I realized that I had fallen in love with the Mara, and knew that I'd have to come back.

Since I've been back in the Mara, I've been greeted by lots of familiar faces:




Seen some amazing views:



And, of course, started meeting some of the guys in the clans!




I couldn't be more excited to be back, and I can't wait to let you know what adventures the next year in the Mara brings!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Spencer,
Dad Just sent me the link to your blog. Your pictures are incredible, and I'm glad that you are enjoying the experience. Keep well and stay safe. We are looking forward to hearing more about your adventures while you are there.
Love,
PapaD

Nora said...

Glad you made it back! I'm having Hadley send out sweatshirts and Isaac's hat in the next camp shipment. It'd be great if you could try and give them to Chris & Isaac next time you see them in the Mara!


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