On September 5th, my tour group & I will leave Miami airport to fly to Kenya. We will be cruising around in our vans to Lake Nakuru National Park, Samburu National Park & the Masai Mara National Park—three of some of my most favorite spots on earth!! This will be my 15th trip to Africa (two to Zimbabwe/Botswana, & thirteen to Kenya), which should indicate to you my love for the place and all its inhabitants! Herein, I’ll share a few of the creatures my groups & I have been so lucky to study & photograph.
The lion, ‘KING of the jungle’, which is a pretty true statement except when it comes to a group of hyenas. This mama hyena & her pup are adorable, but don’t be fooled by this happy scene.
A group of hyenas are fierce & a dreaded enemy of the lion—other than man, I believe the only enemy of the lion. Hyenas have an incredible sense of smell, a fact the lion is all too aware of, which is why he will often bury deep in the dirt his ‘catch/food’ if he suspects any hyenas are in the area. The male lion will often sit back while a group of females do all the stalking & hunting of prey, such as warthogs, impalas, gerenuks etc. The conduct of Mother Nature’s creatures sometimes reminds me of home!!
The Water buffalo is considered one of the most dangerous creatures on earth. It’s size and disposition play into its fearsome reputation, but more than that is the fact that this giant creature has a memory. They are often hunted for sport (which I am totally against). It is common knowledge among hunters that you better shoot to kill—not wound—as the beast will remember & later stalk you. My guide shared the tale of being hired to take a hunter from England out into one of the parks where they stalked and the hunter shot a water buffalo, wounding it. The guide & hunter spent the rest of the day trying to find the wounded beast to kill it. Darkness came & they had to quit, resuming the search the next day. The buffalo ‘lay in wait’ for them, planning his revenge on the hunter. When confronted, the beast knew which of the two men had shot him, & gored the fellow to death. Not a pretty story but a good lesson can be learned from it.
Below is a press release from our conservation partner, WildlifeDirect, which announces that the Kenyan Parliament has approved a motion to significantly raise penalties for killing wildlife in Kenya. The Parliament also approved the increase of number of game rangers in Kenya. This motion is very good news for the wildlife in Kenya.
Nairobi, 22 May 2013 – Today, Kenyan MPs overwhelmingly approved a motion to increase the number of game rangers and the passing of an emergency amendment to the Wildlife Act that raises penalties for killing wildlife especially elephants and rhinos to up to 15 years in jail and/or a fine of up to Ksh 10 million. This increase of 2,500% on current fines, means that wildlife crimes now have the same status and punishments as the Economic Crimes’ Act, the Organized Crime Act and the Anti-Terrorism Crime Act. It is a spectacular win for Kenya as it restores her capacity to demonstrate leadership in protecting her wildlife and natural resources. The motion was moved by a private member, Hon Chachu Ganya, MP for North Horr and seconded by Hon Toposo (Butere) who noted the economic importance of elephants to the economy of Kenya through tourism, job creation and development.
“Kenya’s elephants declined from 160,000 in 1960s to 16,000 in 1989 due to poaching. Today Kenya is home to only 38,500 elephants and 1,025 rhinos. These animals are a major tourism attraction and anyone who threatens them is committing economic sabotage and should be treated as such.” the MP for North Horr stated in his opening. Raising concerns about the economic implications of poaching, many Members of Parliament suggested that the penalties be extremely punitive and that Kenya has serious talks with China and other Asian market countries about their lust for ivory.
Happy Shooting,
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