Twiga Trackers is a community-based conservation effort rooted in scientific data collection. “Twiga” means giraffe in Swahili, and participants of the Twiga Trackers program do just that – track giraffes! By collecting individually identifiable images and point locations of giraffes on Maasai community lands, Twiga Trackers can inform scientific models that estimate giraffe population size and trends.

The Need

The Maasai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi) is listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List. Experts highlight population trends as a key research need for this species. Estimates suggest the Maasai giraffe population has declined by half over the past three decades, leaving approximately 35,000 individuals spread throughout their range in Kenya and Tanzania. Poaching for meat, tail hairs, hide, and bones, as well as land use changes, continue to threaten the Maasai giraffe.

Our Contribution

Twiga Trackers allows Maasai youth and adults to contribute to scientific data collection by gathering images and point locations of individual giraffes. Although Maasai giraffes are declining, they roam freely within Maasai community lands, where they are easily observed.

Using a smartphone, Twiga Trackers take a geo-located photo when they see a giraffe. Giraffes are individually identifiable based on their spot patterns, which are as unique as a human fingerprint. Researchers can use point locations of giraffe individuals to estimate population size. With efforts over recurring years, population trends emerge.

The data collected through Twiga Trackers can inform a species management plan in the Amboseli region. Data may also be combined with data collected through similar efforts in other parts of Maasai giraffe range or on other giraffe species. Photos may be used to identify poached giraffe individuals when the hide is intact.

Our Results

We successfully launched a version of the Twiga Trackers program targeted toward Maasai teenagers. Teens worked with Board of Directors member Joseph Logela Melita to methodically walk transect lines on community lands and photograph giraffes. The teens provided substantial photographical data, and researchers estimated the number of Maasai giraffes living on the sampled landscape.

Next Steps

With the success of the teen pilot program, BCI is working on launching Twiga Trackers as an ongoing program. Specifically, we are working with schools to engage youth in science and data collection. We are also developing a complementary version of Twiga Trackers that targets adult Maasai livestock herders, who commonly walk community lands and encounter giraffes.