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!