Then and Now

After two years, I am finally back in Serena camp. I was out here from May 2013 – May 2014 as a research assistant in Serena. I’m now here as a graduate student. I arrived in Kenya almost two months ago, but I spent my first two months in Talek and last week I finally got to return to Serena. Seeing all the places I became so intimately familiar two years ago was amazing and surreal. I finally feel like I’m really home again!

Even more than the camp and the landscape, it’s been exciting to identify hyenas that I knew before. I wasn’t sure how many spots I remember but so far I’ve been able to correctly ID on the first try quite a few hyenas! (Including some of my favorites). Some hyenas have passed away, and some hyenas that were little cubs are now ragged looking adults, and of course there are a ton of new cubs and subadults to learn!

ARRO with her cub KATH (about 6-7 weeks old).

KATH when she was a little black cub about 3-4 weeks old.

ARRO (Arrow) was an adult female in the North clan when I was out here. Before I left she had two tiny little black cubs, one of which was KATH (Kathleen Hanna). ARRO’s lineage was “punk rock artists”.

KATH today, a subadult hyena at 2 1/2 years old.

Now, KATH is a fully grown hyena! Even though she’s still only two years old she’s already starting to fade and lose her spots.

BSCT, a cub in South Clan at 14 weeks old. 

BSCT (Sea Biscuit) was one of my favorite little cubs. She was BLG’s (Bellagio) first cub and I got to give BLG her lineage, famous race horses.

BSCT when she was about 5 months old. 

BSCT always had fairly small, nondescript spots. Now as a subadult she was hard for me to ID!

Today, BSCT is almost 3 years old. 

 Can you match BSCT’s spots as a subadult to her cub photo? Her mom BLG, now has two new little race horses: PHRH (American Pharoah) and AMRL (War Admiral).

BLG with her current cubs AMRL (nursing, left) and PHRH (right).

SLIN, an adult female in South Clan. 

SLIN (Slinky) was a pretty mean looking adult female hyena in South Clan even when I was out here. Now, she’s lost one of her ears making her look quite intimidating!! You can still match her ear damage from a few years ago to her ear damage today on her left ear however.

SLIN today, missing one ear.

DETH when she was a cub with her mom KOMO in South Clan at 7 weeks of age.

DETH (Death Star) is part of the “space ships” lineage. She was also a cute little black cub when I was out here. This is another lineage that I started as she and FYRE (Firefly) were KOMO’s (Komodo) first kids. KOMO is the daughter of JAVA, South Clan’s alpha female. JAVA’s lineage theme is “places in Indonesia”.

DETH today is almost 3 years old. 

Now, DETH has some wicked ear damage making her very easy to recognize, and also making her look like a much older! 

BOOM and her cub RUMG (JLYR's younger sibling). 

BOOM (Boomerang) was an adult female in the Happy Zebra Clan when was out here. She was one of the alpha female’s (PIKE) daughters. All of PIKE’s kids are named after ancient weapons. BOOM was a great mom and had two little cubs as well as two subadults kids while I was out here. All of her kids were named after “things pirates say”.

JLYR when she was 1 year old.

JLYR (Jolly Roger) was one of the first hyenas I learned to ID because she had a big target on left her side. She was a super playful subadult hyena. Today, BOOM is gone, presumably dead, but JLYR now has some really cute cubs of her own! JLYR’s lineage is “female pirates” and her first cub is OMLY (Grace O’Malley).

JLYR today (almost 4 years old) with her cub OMLY.

OMLY, JLYR's first cub and BOOM's grandcub.

OMLY is a little pirate queen!

NAV when she was 21 years old.

NAV (Navajo) was an ancient hyena on the Talek half of the park when I was here and I got to see her once. She was already a record setting female at 21 years of age. Now, she’s 23 and still hanging in there!

NAV today at 23 years old.

ANTJ when he was about 10.5 weeks old. 

ANTJ when he was 19 weeks old.

ANTJ (Aunt Jemima) was one of WAFL’s (Waffles) newest cubs born when I was out here before. WAFL is the alpha female of North Clan so he was a little prince. Now he’s a full grown beautiful adult hyena! 

ANTJ today at almost 3 years old.

SHTR (Shoot Her!) is one of TREX’s kids and part of the “Jurassic park quotes” lineage. Dave Green and I started TREX’s lineage.

TREX nursing CLEV while SHTR rests on top of mom.

SHTR was the subordinate cub in her litter (her sister was CLEV or Clever Girl) and CLEV often prevented SHTR from nursing. I was worried she wouldn’t make it but she’s still here two years later!

SHTR when she was about 12 weeks old.

SHTR today at almost 3 years old.

It’s been a lot of fun matching my memories of little cubs to these full grown hyenas and seeing how some hyenas are still the same (e.g. NAV). Mostly, it’s great to be back out here seeing the hyenas just being hyenas and raising their families!

Two young subadult hyenas taking a nap in classic hyena style.

At the Happy Zebra Den 2016. 

The next step

The last days in Kenya are a whirl of emotions for any RA, and I was no exception. On July 18th, I had to say goodbye to my hyenas, my coworkers, and my newfound home to fly back to the US. I kept myself busy with sundowners, horseback riding in Nairobi, and movie watching as my departure crept closer and closer. 

Despite not climbing on a horse in ten years, I didn't fall off! I suspect Richard, my true and stalwart steed, had a lot to do with that. 

There were tears to be sure, but on the whole I didn't fare too badly. I can thank my taxi driver, who chatted with me all the way to the airport, and a fellow airplane passenger, with whom I talked for most of one of my flights, for keeping me upbeat and distracted while traveling home. They delivered me safely into the arms of my family who were more than happy to whisk me home and listen to my many, many Kenya stories. 

The transition from Kenya back to my childhood home is a bit of an odd one. In some moments, jumping back into my old life is very easy. Obviously the house I lived in for 21 years is familiar and I fall into the same patterns I've always had pretty quickly. It's certainly been nice to have access to a veritable wonderland of food, AC, and internet. In other moments, I am launched back to Kenya. I find myself watching for biting ants while walking around barefoot outside, or jumping when some animal moves in the backyard. Even with frequent updates from folks still in the field (thanks Robyn!) I miss the hyenas around whom my life revolved for so long. As I settle back in, I'll do my best to savor the wonderful memories of the year I had while still enjoying the place I am now. 

In at least one notable way, my life is going to be a little different than the average homecoming RA's. My time in Kenya may be done, but I'm not through with this lab yet! Come August, I'll be taking over as the new lab manager for the MSU Hyena Project. With my prior experience volunteering in the lab last year, and some training from our outgoing manager, hopefully I'll be able to step up to the challenge of this new job. After a year of hyena wrangling, camp managing, and the general chaos that every RA experiences, I bet every other job will feel like a breeze!

It's an Alien Invasion!

Many here in the Mara come to associate the months of June, July, and August with the influx of seas of wildebeest, Thomson's gazelle, zebra, more wildebeest, elands, topi, and yet MORE wildebeest, among others.

Have I mentioned there's lots of wildebeest yet?

But following these great herds, another intruder from a far distant land probes its way into the region. Having left its mothership far behind, this wanderer traverses the vast plains of the savanna, looking for any sign of intelligent life - a new home perhaps, a new family into which it may be abducted.

Back at home for our Talek hyenas, small signs of change begin to appear. Perhaps that crunching of bones around the corner isn't coming from your cousin, but from another life form, someone strange and new. And following the droves of food, more and more begin to arrive, peering in on your family with an eager and inquisitive eye. Beware: the alien males are invading!

AL516 was first sighted on July 4th. Our very own Independence Day invasion!

While the migration is primarily herbivorous in nature, it provides an ideal opportunity for dispersing males to find a new home and new clan by following the rich source of food. As these individuals follow the herd, they may slowly begin to drop off into new territories they find suitable, if and only if the natal hyenas accept them into the clan ranks.

As a result of this, our researchers have been bombarded with sighting after sighting of these wandering aliens (as if ID-ing for this new researcher wasn't hard enough!). And if they do choose to associate themselves with our Talek clan and try to stay in the region, they face a monumental task. A newcomer into the clan automatically falls to the bottom of the rank hierarchy and must battle constant aggressions from higher ranked females trying to ensure the security of their land and food sources for them and their families. Gradually, a lucky male with the right amount of appeasement (and a whole bunch of polite behavior) will come to be accepted into the clan. If we at Fisi Camp see an alien hanging out with the clan at least 3 times, he will be given a name and the attachment will be official in our books!

NYC is the most recent addition to Talek Clan and likes to hang out with the Pond hyenas. Who will be next?

For the size of Talek clan in its entirety, the number of immigrant males is relatively small in proportion, comprising perhaps 10% of the current population. To be accepted into the clan, though fundamental to the prevention of inbreeding while mating, is rare considering the tradeoffs involved with sharing food and resources with a stranger. Over the past month of research, our forays into Talek territory have brought us into contact with at least 6 aliens, and the migration is just beginning. Who, if anyone, will join the ranks of our clan this season? Which of our natal males will adopt a nomadic lifestyle and wander away with the migration to invade far off territories?

Stay tuned to find out!