YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — A woman from a traditional Maasai village spent two weeks in Yellowstone National Park in June as part of a cultural exchange with a member of the Yellowstone Wolf Project, aimed at finding common ground in human-wildlife coexistence work.
Yamat Lengai, Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Adaptation Officer at Tanzania People & Wildlife (TPW) joined Taylor Rabe, a biological science technician working for the Yellowstone Wolf Project, from June 1 through 14 to learn about predator management in Yellowstone. Rabe will then assist Lengai for two weeks in Tanzania and learn about the wildlife conservation programs at TPW this October. Both women are a part of the non-profit Conservation Nation, which brings underrepresented communities into the conservation field.
The fellowship exchange explores common themes with how large predators are monitored, protected and studied. According to African People & Wildlife, Lengai went from fearing lions to helping protect big cats, elephants and other animals. Rabe is changing how people see and understand wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
During the Yellowstone phase of the exchange, the two women have enjoyed working with one another.
“Yamat has followed me in my role as a biological science technician with the Yellowstone Wolf Project,” Rabe said. “She has been helping our research efforts with recording observations, radio tracking our collared wolves, setting up bio-acoustic devices, getting pup counts and doing all the things we do on a day to day basis.”
Lengai said that it has been helpful to learn about radio telemetry, which uses radio signals to track animal movement and location, and bio-acoustic monitoring to record animal vocalisations. The recording of animal sounds allows for identification and measures species behavior and abundance. Lengai said that she looks forward to implementing the new technology to track lions. She also envisions the use of GPS collars to help educate communities about human-elephant conflicts.
“I have gained a lot of experience here and I can now apply it to my work in Tanzania,” Lengai said. “We just use paw tracks and sometimes sounds to monitor lions and maybe we can adapt the use of these technological devices.”
Rabe said that Lengai also assisted with the implementation of “aversive conditioning” (conflict mitigation) strategies for wolf management. Electric fencing, boom boxes that emit vocalizations, livestock guardian dogs and fladery — a perimeter fence made of strips of red plastic to blow in the wind and scare wolves — are all non-lethal methods to reduce wolf-livestock conflicts, according to Rabe.
During the two weeks, Lengai learned about YNP’s educational efforts and spoke with hundreds of Yellowstone visitors regarding wildlife coexistence.
“The facts are essential when educating people about our relationship with predators,” Rabe said. “Wolves are beneficial to the ecosystem. Livestock depredation from wolves is very rare.”
Rabe shared statistics from Montana’s Livestock Loss Board, which documented that wolves were responsible for 26 livestock deaths in 2023. Lengai shared how the TPW grows “living walls,” trees planted strategically to create an enclosure for livestock, to reduce livestock-predator conflicts.
“We have lions, cheetahs, leopards and elephants … those are our most critically endangered animals,” Lengai said. “These predators can attack people’s livestock at night, or when they are out to pasture. Trees are planted, attached with a linked chain and the trees grow to create a top cover. It has been 99.9% effective in protecting livestock from predators.”
Rabe said that she’s excited to “put her boots on the ground” and learn more about TPW’s interconnected approach to wildlife management when she visits Tanzania this October.
“Even when predators are killing livestock in Tanzania, local communities want a solution but they don’t hate the animal itself … it’s an interesting perspective,” Rabe said. “Their work with living walls is cutting edge — using the natural landscape to minimize losses.”
Rabe and Lengai share more about their fellowship exchange via the free webinar, Coexistence Across Continents, recorded on July 16.
Stay tuned for Buckrail’s report on Bland’s fellowship exchange in Tanzania this October.
