Community Outreach — Mara Hyena Project

Our Approach

Embedded in the Maasai Community

The Mara Hyena Project has operated in the Maasai Mara for over 35 years because local communities have permitted and supported our presence. We take this relationship seriously. Our field camps employ Maasai staff and research assistants from the local community, we offer outreach and education talks to local tourist lodges, schools, and park staff, and offer consulting to Maasai herders and farmers dealing with human-hyena conflict.

Our outreach work is driven by the fact that science and conservation only works when local people see value in the animals being conserved. Changing attitudes toward hyenas requires patient, respectful, sustained engagement.

Programs

What We Do

School Education

We visit primary and secondary schools in communities surrounding the Maasai Mara, delivering age-appropriate lessons on hyena biology, ecology, and the importance of wildlife. Our school programs have reached hundreds of students across the Mara region.

Cattle in a livestock enclosure in the Maasai Mara.

Conflict Consulting

We offer free, evidence-based consulting to farmers and herders experiencing conflict with hyenas. Advice covers practical, non-lethal strategies for protecting livestock. This service is free and available to any community member in the region.

MHP team member giving a hyena talk at a safari lodge.

Hyena Talks

Our Hyena Talk program brings science-based hyena education to tourist lodges, community groups, conservation organizations, and schools. These talks bust the most common myths about spotted hyenas, hyena socioecology, and MHP research. Request a talk →

Research assistant conducting hyena fieldwork in the Maasai Mara.

Scientific Training

The MHP provides statistical workshops for students and wildlife workers, financially supports the education of Kenyan students, prioritizes the training of Maasai Research Assistants, and serves on graduate supervisory committees for Kenyan students at Kenyan universities.

Science Communication

The MHP shares hyena research with a broad public audience. Follow us on Instagram (@marahyenaproject) or check out our blog for regular field updates.

MHP presenting research at a wildlife conservation conference.

Conservation Advocacy

MHP long-term population data and expertise inform conservation policy and management decisions in the Maasai Mara region. We engage with the Kenya Wildlife Service, reserve management, and organizations such as the Kenya Wildlife Trust, The Mara Predator Hub, the Maa Trust, the Greater Serengeti-Mara Conservation Society, and the One Mara Research Hub to ensure sound science informs decisions affecting hyena populations.