Ms. Barrett said...
Questions from Eric C. (HMS 6th pd.)
1) Is there a major difference between Wamba and Lewa in terms of vegetation, habitat, and water supply?
Yes, there is a major difference between the vegetation and water availablitity between Lewa and Wamba. In Lewa the vegetation is much more lush and taller in some areas, due to a little bit more rainfall. They also have a swamp area and a spring fed pipe that provides a water source for most of the animals that will travel to find the water. In Wamba it is very different. It has not received enough rainfall and so the grasses are very , very short in some places, sometimes only .5 cm tall, but the Grevy's Zebra are surviving on this. There is very little water source available and the Zebra in the Wamba area must share this with the local livestock. In the Samburu Reserve/Buffalo Springs area about 2 hours from Wamba there are more water choices for the animals.

--Tammy Schmidt, Team Member-St. Louis Zoo

2) Would the research team see the same number of zebra in the rainy season compared to when it is not the rainy season? Is there a specific time of year that the zebra are more common?
You would definitely see more Grevy's Zebra in the rainy season versus the dry seasons. I was told by the researchers in Wamba that they will typically see upwards of 200 zebra in the Wamba rangelands, but we were seeing less than 30 zebras. The Zebra had moved on to find the water sources.

--Tammy Schmidt, Team Member-St. Louis Zoo