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The credit of converting the unchartered Tsavo to a wildlife park goes to Kenya’s first generation of wardens, David Sheldrick, Peter Jenkins and Bill Woodley. They were proficient riflemen capable of shooting an elephant, rhino, lion or buffalo the moment they could walk. The first task of the early pioneer park wardens, Sheldrick, Jenkins, and Woodley, was to walk on foot in punishing temperatures of the dry season. They carried with them what water they could. But during wet seasons, they ventured further, for they were hardened naturalists, and drank from waterholes that were used by the animals as well.
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The African Rift Valley System is one of the tectonic features not only of Kenya but also of Africa that extends from Mozambique in the south through eastern Africa to Jordan in southwestern Asia. The rift extends from south in Mozambique all the way up to north in Jordan to the southwestern Asia. Consisting of the Nubian Plate, the Somalian Plate, the Ethiopian Plate and the Arabian Plate, fault scarps are the most noticeable feature of the African Rift Valley. Nevertheless, the formation of Rift Valley in Kenya is an ongoing discussion and geologists reckon that more research is needed.
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There are up to two million lesser and greater flamingos in Lake Nakuru. The sight of huge flocks of these flamingos along the Nakuru lakeshore seems like a mirage from a distance because of its combination of white feathers and fuchsia-colored legs. In fact, at times, the lake’s surface is almost never seen. The patterns of flamingo migration are quite mysterious too. Sometimes they depart at night on long journeys between the many different alkaline lakes situated along the Rift Valley. So, it is never easy to predict at which lake they are. Flamingos almost never breed in Lake Nakuru.
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Little did the British colonial government know when they were splitting and developing Tsavo National Park that it would turn out into one of the most visited wildlife spots in the world. Both the West and East parks have their unique charm. While Tsavo West National Park is a stunning scenic beauty, Tsavo East National Park is slightly larger and closer for a day visit. Hopefully, with the conservation measures put in place by the wildlife authorities and the efforts of other stakeholders and well-wishers concerned, the population numbers of elephant and rhino may be restored to the former times.
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The beautiful and picturesque Nakuru, located 164 km from Nairobi, rises from the floor of the East African Rift Valley and is surrounded and dominated by an undulating terrain of acacia woodlands, open rough grassland and euphorbia forest, characteristic of the vegetation in the rift valley. Nakuru encloses the park, the lake, and its adjacent lands. The word Nakuru in the Maa language of Maasai means dust. The name is such perhaps due to its vast savannah whose soil loosens during the dry season. The place is ideal for bird watching and hiking and is a 2½-hour drive from Nairobi.
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Amboseli’s history is as ancient as human civilization. Excavators have discovered many fossils here. Although the Bantu people settled in Kenya over the first millennium, the Maasai established themselves in Amboseli. They were a Nilotic tribe but have amalgamated the customs of other tribes to form their culture. They named the region Empusel, which means salty and dusty open place in the Maa language. Maasais are fierce warriors, much like their ancestors, but living in peace with the wildlife population. Hence, the European explorers avoided them initially until an expedition arrived in the region in 1883 led by Joseph Thompson.
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One of the geologic wonders of the world is the East African Rift Valley System, which is the largest fracture on the surface of earth. People also call it the Afro-Arabian Rift Valley. It is where the tectonic forces of this planet have created new African plates by splitting the old continental crust apart in the same way it does mid-ocean ridges. So, the East African Rift Valley is a divergent boundary in a region of continental crust. Debates are still going on as to how exactly rift comes into being. But the process is well displayed in East Africa.
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Naivasha’s history embarks on a journey of facts and tales revealing the life of its people. Setting foot here unfolds the traces of its momentous events. The population is about 158,680 according to the Census of Kenya of 2009. Commercialization has crept into this quaint little town that Maasais once inhabited before the British colonised it. Lake Naivasha is the iconic feature of Naivasha fed by Malewa and Gilgil rivers flowing down the Aberdare Mountains. The water supports a horticultural industry and geothermal projects. However, this is taking its toll on its biodiversity resulting in environmental degradation, which are unsustainable.
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A notable feature of all elephants is their large ears, which radiates excess heat. Other distinguished elements are its face and familial structure. These features of the elephant make up the beautiful side of it. The ugly aspect of the beautiful giants comes out with the intervention of humans. In southeast Kenya, elephants and people enter into contact often, and conflicts occur. The main culprits of the conflict is population growth and climate change. A whole team of experts and field workers is working hard to eradicate the ugliness and restore the elephants to their former beauties that they are.
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In the wild, most elephants live in herds or clans that can only be separated by capture or death. Separation from one another, including transfer between different zoos, is a traumatizing event for them. During such trying moments, just like humans, elephants have proven to show great ability to empathize with the misfortune of others. The intelligence and insight of the animal are particularly note-worthy when they console each other in times of trouble. Some even consider that elephants do possess consciousness. Such thinking is not hard to believe. With further analyses, it may be able to ascertain its veracity.
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All male and female African elephants grow tusks. The female ones are thin, small, and often of the same thickness. However, in Asia, only some male elephants have tusks. And the female Asian elephants do not have tusks but have tiny horns known as tushes. Perhaps the elephants in Africa have a greater need for digging for sustenance. In elephants, tusks are elongated, enlarged, and modified incisor teeth and are no different from other teeth. Tusks can grow up to eight inches a year. One of the largest ones found weighed about 200 pounds and was about 10 feet long.
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The elephant’s memory power is extraordinary. There is an age-old adage: elephants never forget. To say that an elephant never forgets may be an exaggeration. It is equally impossible to claim that an elephant always remembers. It seems more likely that they forget. Although the theory is a myth, it doesn’t stray too far from the truth. Research has shown that elephants do possess the incredible and the exceptionally long memory power for certain things with the ability to keep information for many decades. The face and smell of family members are the two things that it remembers the most.
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The elephants in Kenya have lost over half of their range since 1979. There has also been massive poaching for trophies and ivory over the decades. A combination of loss of range and poaching has led to a significant drop in their population. A substantial elephant population in Kenya occurs in well-protected areas. But less than 20% of the habitat is under formal protection. Half of the area comprises the Tsavo conservation area. The Tsavo trust officers in collaboration with Kenya wildlife services monitor and patrol the area daily through ground and aerial reconnaissance and collect information about the elephants.
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People have been aware of the fact the elephants are the largest mammal on earth but perhaps did not know that they also have a long life. They live up to the age of 80. Science and field research has proven that elephants are also one among the very few intelligent creatures on earth such as particular dolphins, apes, chimpanzees and even humans. The long-lived and highly smart animal is naturally the perfect focus and target for cognition reasoning experiments, considering its complex cranium structure, highly sophisticated neural circuitry, and large temporal lobe, of course, everything to do with brains.
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The elephant’s trunk has evolved among mammals. It is unique to members of the Proboscidea, which includes the mammoths and mastodons. The trunk weighs 130 kg and is capable of lifting about 250 kg. It is also extremely dexterous, sensitive, and mobile, which makes it appear independent of the rest of the body. It is put to use for various purposes. Anatomically, an elephant’s trunk is a combination of the nose and upper lip. The nostrils are at the tip. The proboscis comprises of 16 muscles. The most significant muscle, which covers the top and the sides, raises the trunk.
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The families of elephants contain up to 10 members moving together as one unit. This family structure is called herd with the oldest female elephant called matriarch, in charge. She leads the pack and controls the daily activities of its members. The matriarch elephant in the herd is also the most experienced family member. In critical moments, the entire group relies on the experience of the oldest female. The wealth of experience of the matriarch is due to her photographic memory and the ability to retain superior memories for several decades. Those sharp memories sometimes even last a whole lifetime.
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The recalling power of elephants in the wild and captivity has been fodder for many stories, both fiction and non-fiction. Ancient legends and tales have it that elephants never forget a face that they have seen even just once. Moreover, they also remember people with whom they have come into contact. The ability of elephants to recall their peers and human beings from the past serves them well as they can live up to 70 to 80 years. Not only are they able to recognize peers and people, but also express emotions in ways that perhaps only human beings can.
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Major David Sheldrick was the founder of Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in Kenya. Before he founded it, he was the senior warden and one of the pioneers of Tsavo east national park during the sixties. His passion for the wilderness led him to undertake in-depth research delving into all early records of the habitat to comprehend the changes taking place in the Tsavo area under his control during his wardenship. By studying the root systems of trees and grasses, David understood the effect they had on a changing water table. Hence, David knew about Tsavo and its rhythms more than anyone.
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Nile crocodiles are prehistoric survivors of dinosaur antecedents. In their present form, they date back 80 million years. The Egyptians kept them as pets 26 centuries ago. Nubian fishers, to this day, stuff them and mount them over their doorsills to ward off evil. The main features of crocodile are its four splayed, short legs, a scaly hide, powerful tail and a strong jaw. Although they are scary creatures, their group dynamism and individual behavior are often fascinating and amusing to both the biologists and the general public alike. Pollution, habitat loss, and illegal hunting have severely depleted their numbers.
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Some countries produce crocodile skin and process the hides to leather. In other words, they have crocodile farms and are also equipped with the infrastructure to transform the skin to leather. But some other countries that supply raw crocodile skins such as Kenya are in a dilemma. They ask whether it would not be profitable to tan them locally in their country rather than export them in the wet salted state. When it comes to owning the leather processing business the immediate practical solutions available at their disposal are to either, do partial leather processing or run a pickling plant.