Dear All,

In his letter of 18 Feb. 09, Brian Finch wrote that, on 16 Feb. 09, he and Rupert Watson saw an oribi near Hyaena Dam in Nairobi National Park.  I think that this is at least the second time that Brian has mentioned oribi at this location.

As you probably know, oribi are not a common animal in the Kenya Highlands.  This may be one of those species that is in rapid decline in Kenya....but which for which the decline has been over-looked by the conservation community.  
 
Yvonne de Jong and I are attempting to compile as much information as we can on the distribution and abundance of the oribi in the Kenya Highlands....particularly for the region that includes Nairobi, Ngong Hills, Aberdares Range, Mt. Kenya, Embu, Meru, Laikipia Plateau, and down into the Eastern Rift Valley.  We will enter these data into a database that we are establishing ("OribiBase").
 
So, if you have any observations for oribi in the Kenya Highlands (past or present), please send the following information to me: year, location, number of oribi observed, your name as it should be entered into the database, and any notes/details that you can provide.  
 
If any of you have good photos of oribi from the Kenya Highlands, we'd greatly appreciate receiving them.  I am not aware of a good photo of an oribi from this region.
 
Thank you!
 
Best regards,
 
Tom Butynski
 
tbutynski@aol.com