Vue générale sur le Mathews Range et la forêt d’altitude, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Pictures by Timothy Boucher
Senior Conservation Geographer (Washington DC, USA)
(Cliquer sur les photos pour un meilleur effet !)
The Mathews (or Matthews) Range (1°15’N/37°15’E), also known as the Lenkiyio Hills, is a range of mountains about 150 km long, oriented north-south, in the Laikipia district of the Rift Valley Province in northern Kenya. The town of Wamba is located at the southeastern edge of the range. The highest point is Warges, at 2688 m asl, at the southern end of the range, separated by a valley from the rest of the range. The 2375 m high Ol Doinyo Lenkiyo mountain is the highest peak of the middle of the range.
The area is isolated, and holds forests of juniper and cycads. It is home to Rhinoceros, elephants and other large mammals, as well as some Samburu people. Part of the mountain range has been designated a wildlife sanctuary (Wikipedia).
Timothy Boucher is a Conservation Geographer, working for the Nature Conservancy and is based in Washington DC. He primarily does spatial analysis type of work, but also cover a myriad of other topics – including poverty, biodiversity assessments, global analyses, regional and site land cover remote sensing analyses, etc. He has been a (as he said : « fanatic » ?) birder since for about 28 years now, but have also participated in many ornithological expeditions and has been trained in scientific methodologies relating to birds : specimen preparation, banding (ringing), transect, etc.
The 2010 Mathews Expedition was a full rapid ecological assessment including a full suite of researchers, and also worked with elders and conservationists in the area. Involved institutions were the Nature Conservancy and the Northern Rangelands Trust. The researchers came from all over – including private and Kenyan Museum people.
Papilionidae
Retour au Camp n°2 (Mugur Kichich, 1400 m). Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Probablement femelle de Papilio dardanus BROWN, 1776, forme mimétique de Danaidae du genre Amauris (mimétisme batésien). Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Papilio phorcas ansorgei ROTHSCHILD, 1896. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Papilio phorcas ansorgei ROTHSCHILD, 1896. Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Papilio phorcas ansorgei ROTHSCHILD, 1896. Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Papilio echerioides wertheri KARSCH, 1898, femelle. Mathews Range, Kenya, 3 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
En altitude au Sud du camp n°1 : vue vers l’Ouest. Mathews Range, Kenya, 4 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Pieridae
Mylothris rueppellii tirikensis NEAVE, 1904 (?). Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Nepheronia argia FABRICIUS, 1775, femelle. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Lycaenidae
Acraeidae
Satyrinae
Nymphalinae
Junonia (Precis) terea tereoides BUTLER, 1901. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Charaxes cithaeron nairobicus VAN SON, 1953, mâles, sur excrément de lion. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Charaxes cithaeron nairobicus VAN SON, 1953, mâle, sur excrément de lion. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Dans la forêt des nuages : Cyca : Encephalartos Tegulaneus, MELVILLE, 1957. Mathews Range, Kenya, 7 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher Voir : http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/taxon.pl?name=Encephalartos+tegulaneus
Heterocera
Noctuidae, Calpinae : Erebus macrops, LINNAEUS, 1768. Mathews Range, Kenya, 8 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher
Chenilles (à identifier !)
Dans la forêt des nuages : Cyca : Encephalartos genus. Mathews Range, Kenya, 4 juin 2010. Photo : Timothy Boucher