Clawed Frogs

I think these guys are some of the more charming frogs we encounter in our sampling efforts. This guy was located in some emergent vegetation up in Kapkimolwa. We have found this species all over the Mara River Basin from the tributaries to the mainstream Mara.

He would give Kermit a run for his money in a beauty contest.

Looks like he was squashed in this picture but they just kind of lay flat. In stagnant pools, you'll often times only see their eyes just above the surface of the water.

Return of the Unknown Frog

Last year on June 27th, we found a small frog near the Tanzanian Gold Mine that we were never able to identify. Well, last week, we found a very similar frog, possibly the same species, here in Kenya by the New Mara Bridge.

He turned up after we did a kick-net sample in some emergent vegetation just upstream of the bridge.

Seems pretty strange that in an entire year, we have only found two of these frogs even though we've been sampling all the way up to the Mau Forest.

More Frogs

We were driving out of a small riparian forest near the confluence of the Mara and Talek rivers when we hit a big mud patch. Amanda exited the vehicle to scout out the path ahead to see if we could make it through the mud when these two guys surprised her. Look closely at the big guy...right on his back...the milky secretions of toxins designed to thwart the attempts of herpers from picking him up. Of course, this did not deter Amanda...only made it more fun.

Frog Diversity

Check these two guys out.  They were both found at practically the same spot on the bank of the Mara near the New Mara Bridge.  We were just getting ready to sample in some emergent vegetation on the river bank for macroinvertebrates and the big one caught our eye first.  The little puddle frog came out of hiding shortly thereafter.  

The Mau Swamp

We were able to visit the Mau Swamp a few days ago. Here is one of the critters we found hanging out in the grasses surrounding the swamp.



This guy was amazing cool. We identified him as a Von Hohnel's Chameleon. Here is some more information on him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamaeleo_hoehnelii

Check this page of a few of the herps we've found and their locations on a map of East Africa: http://picasaweb.google.com/cldutton/FrogsAndSuch/photo?authkey=HRORr2-PKI4#map

The Wildebeest Migration Has Begun!

Well, I guess the Maasai Warrior who called Amanda the other day to tell her that the Migration has begun...was right. We were driving to one of the sites near the Maasai Mara when a bunch of Wildebeest were running across the road. There was probably only about 100 or so...but this is only the beginning of the migration.

Look at the "older" Wildebeest in the bottom right of this picture. He was corralling the other Wildebeest and pushing them hard.

That same "older" Wildebeest is now in the bottom right of this picture. He was dictating the speed of the entire herd by pushing the younger ones along.

Here is a pretty little frog we captured at one of the sites yesterday. We are still working on positively identifying him. The problem is that the species that we "keyed" him out to is not suppossed to be present in this locality.

Here is a picture of the same frog species expect in the stage between tadpole and frog. Notice his long tail!

Amanda and some of the Maasai women and children that helped her collect some bugs. The Maasai women and children were down at the stream doing laundry and collecting water. Every time they see us at the stream they become very curious and end up watching everything she does very closely. This group helped her collect quite a few bugs from the stream.

Here is Amanda showing a frog to one of the Maasai boys that happened to be herding goats near one of the streams we visited. As the goats were drinking from the stream, he began to help Amanda collect bugs using a little strainer.

This is an example of the views we see on a daily basis.

Here is a picture of one of the Aloe plants present in Kenya.

We're currently staying in Nakuru and just ate dinner at an amazing Chinese restuarant. We'll be headed back out to the field tomorrow and then down to Nairobi for a few days of business.