It was the early morning of 22nd June 2013, when a team of us including Grevy’s Zebra Warriors and Scouts set off in search of an injured Grevy’s zebra. The report came from a warrior who told us that the Grevy’s zebra was hurt on the fetlock of its right front leg. He reported that he could even touch its huge ears and it would not run away. This was very worrying as it meant the animal must be in a very serious condition for it to tolerate human touch. The warrior was unable to show us its exact location because he was on his way to participate in the Rendille traditional ritual called “sorio” which is an equivalent of the Jewish Passover. So we set off in search of the Grevy’s zebra based on his description of the area and also asked the Kenya Wildlife Service intelligence unit to join us which they immediately did.
Due to the lack of roads in this region, we undertook most of our search on foot. On climbing several plateaus and using them as vantage points for surveying the area, we eventually spotted a lone male grazing on the Sengereruwa plateau more than 10 km away from Laisamis centre. Two of our Grevy’s Zebra Warriors went to get a closer look to check whether that was the individual we were looking for. To our surprise a herd of 13 Grevy’s zebra then emerged from below the pile of larva rocks which we were using as our lookout. The herd stared up at us wondering who the unexpected visitors were in this arid, unoccupied landscape.
We watched as the two warriors approached the male Grevy’s zebra. It started walking away with a slight limp and its tracks showed that yes indeed it was not putting all its weight on its right front leg. We realised that the warrior had exaggerated its condition, flagging to us that we still have a lot of awareness work to do among the warriors in the region! After critical assessment we all reached the conclusion that this particular case did not warrant veterinary intervention. The Grevy’s zebra was still grazing, its body condition was good and it was able to move. We suspected that the injured male must have got into a serious fight with another male, leading to this injury. We arranged for two of our Grevy’s Zebra Warriors to follow up over the next few weeks and check its condition.
We refocused our attention to collect data on the herd that was below us. After that we climbed down off the plateau and drove off to look for a convenient place to make some hot Kenyan tea to refresh ourselves after the long walk. We all converged at the “filling point” just like the tributaries of a river meandering through the valleys and hills and converging at its end point where the energy of flow comes to a halt. It was a happy ending at last and a chance for catching up with old friends separated by conservation duties and responsibilities. How satisfying and gratifying it was to the lift the soul from an expected tragic situation to a happy chatting moment!
