Nashville Zoo continues to support species worldwide and take advantage of avenues for international conservation. Earlier this year, hoofstock keeper Jenna Wolczyk traveled to Kenya to work with local communities and wild giraffe populations.
Reticulated giraffe in the savannah near Nanyuki, Kenya
Save Giraffes Now
Jenna teamed up with Save Giraffes Now (SGN), an organization committed to saving giraffes through hands-on conservation projects throughout the African savannah including rescue and rewilding, anti-poaching and coexistence with communities. During her two-week trip, Jenna spent the bulk of her time helping a local team of wildlife scouts study how giraffe are affected by fragmentation and highway crossings along the Mombasa Highway.
Using camera traps, the SGN team is working to track the movement of these giraffe to better understand their travel patterns to reduce the number of potential vehicle collisions. Jenna was surprised to see just how close urban areas are to the wildlife they were observing, and now better understands how vital conservation education and awareness are to successful coexistence.
Left: Trap camera set up | Center: Jenna with Aggrey Chemwa, SGN field researcher | Right: Captured image of a giraffe crossing
Save Giraffes Now also supports the Ruko Community Wildlife Conservancy. Jenna visited the Ruko Conservancy and saw a one- and two-month-old giraffe during her time there and learned about their unique conservation efforts to save and translocate a tower of Rothschild giraffe. She was able to observe conservation organizations working with local communities as the conservancy supports four local schools and brings a group of students to see and learn about the giraffe annually.
One and two-month-old Rothschild giraffe calves at the Ruko Conservancy
Jenna Reflects on her Trip
One afternoon, Jenna and the SGN team saw a tower of 35 giraffe. At first, the giraffe were alert and cautious, but then started to visibly relax to the point where some of them laid down in the savannah. “It was a very special moment,” said Jenna. “It was comforting to know how much effort we put into building the relationships with our Nashville Zoo giraffe.”
Close-up of a Masai giraffe from the tower of 35
As Jenna returns to Nashville Zoo, she hopes to bring back some new enrichment ideas and offer our giraffe even more opportunities for them to exhibit their natural behaviors. While in Africa, Jenna noticed the abundance of acacia trees through the savannah and wants to introduce even more browsing options for our tower here at the Zoo.
Jenna’s trip was eye-opening on many different levels. Resources like insect repellant, hardy boots, rain jackets, first aid kits and more are readily available here in America, whereas these items for the SGN scouts are harder to obtain. She advises that when staff participate in fieldwork, it is an ideal time to bring over helpful supplies. Jenna interacted with several local communities during her trip and understands how wildlife conservation and education go hand in hand. With that in mind, Jenna looks forward to seeing the new and updated signage highlighting giraffe conservation that will be on display at our giraffe habitat once the Leopard Forest exhibit opens later this year.
Jenna with Swara Plains scouts who help monitor the Mombasa highway
Nashville Zoo and Save Giraffes Now
Nashville Zoo has financially supported Save Giraffes Now since 2023 through monetary donations. Jenna is the first keeper from Nashville Zoo as well as the first keeper from any institution to visit this organization in Africa and work with their team. We are looking forward to continuing this partnership with SGN and supporting giraffe conservation in their native habitat.
Jenna sitting in front of a tower of giraffes in the savannah
For more information on Nashville Zoo’s conservation efforts, visit www.nashvillezoo.org/conservation.