Kenya

My short time in Kenya was spent mainly on safari exploring Kenya's beautiful landscapes. There are so many exciting animals to see and the Kenyan people are very proud of their huge National Reserve, the Masai Mara (Disney's film, African Cats, was filmed there). The Mara is 1510 square kilometres large; that's twice the size of Calgary's city limits. Plus, it extends south to Tanzania, where it is called the Serengeti. The animals move back and forth freely between the two countries.

I spent four days on safari drives through the park, and saw three of the five "Big Five" animals. In the past, the "Big Five" were the five most dangerous animals to hunt: lions, elephants, rhinos, water buffalo, and leopards. People nowadays sometimes take water buffalo off the list and put cheetah on and say that they're the most interesting to see. Either way, I saw 3 out of 5.

African Elephants

Water Buffalo and Zebra

Spotted Hyena

Hippos

Lioness and Cub

Lioness Yawning

Cheetah surveying the plains

Masai Giraffes

The words 'Masai Mara' mean 'spotted land of the Masai' in Swahili, the language most commonly spoken in Kenya. It got its name because the Mara has trees spread across it, so from the air it looks like a yellow blanket spotted in green.  The Masai people are native to Kenya and still live off of the land. I got the opportunity to visit a small Masai village. They performed three dances for me: one that represented the way the lions move across the land, a jumping dance to show how strong the men are, and a dance for the women. They make their houses out of sticks and mud. Each house is made up of one room that has a kitchen in the centre, and two platforms on either side (a bed for the parents and a bed for the kids to share). There is a small hole in the wall for the smoke from the kitchen fire to get out. That is the only light in the house. There is no bathroom in the house, you just go in the bushes. The Masai herd cows and work as a village to raise the cows. I was pleased to see there is a Masai school close to their village.

The Jumping Dance

In other parts of Kenya that I saw, people usually lived in houses made of concrete. Many people had stands where they sold clothing, goods, or food. The towns lined the main roads so it was easy for people to sell things.

This shoe stand is put up and taken down EVERY day.
Think of how much work it would take to arrange all the shoes like this!

Because I didn't spend as much time in towns, it was harder for me to see what life was like for children. I did see kids going to and from school, or playing in school fields wearing their school uniforms. Each school seemed to have a different coloured uniform. Most of the schools I saw were long concrete buildings with one or two rooms. There were tiny buildings at the end of the school fields that had squat toilets in them (just a hole in the ground with no seat or toilet bowl). I saw many children playing SOCCER. :)

The other place I went on safari was Nakuru, which is close to the centre of Kenya. It was much greener and lusher here than the Masai Mara. There had been flooding there recently, just like Calgary. In the Nakuru National Park, I saw more lions, but these lions are special because they climb trees, which is rare. I also saw endangered black rhinos, white rhinos, and a different kind of giraffe: the endangered Rothschild giraffe.

Water Buffalo at Sunrise...notice the flooding!

Endangered Black Rhionceros 

Olive Baboon with Baby

Zebras

White Rhino

Endangered Rothschild Giraffes

Vervet Monkey

I had a great time in Kenya learning about the animals that are here and what the country is doing to try to protect them. Animals like elephants and rhinos are still hunted illegally for their tusks/horns, so it is good that the country is taking action to keep these animals safe!

At the David Sheldrick Elephant Sanctuary in Nairobi

In Nairobi, for example, there are many sanctuaries dedicated to rescuing and taking care of animals affected by poaching. I visited two, the David Sheldrick Elephant Sanctuary and the Karen Blixen Giraffe Centre. they let people visit the sanctuaries so they learn about the animals and help support the Centres so they stay open.

The first provides a home and medical care for baby elephants who are orphans because their mothers have been poached. Elephants are like humans because they need their mother's care for the first few years of their lives. They gave excellent memories and elephants live in herds made up of female elephants, babies and adolescents. There might be a bull, a male elephant, but it's the oldest female who leads the herd.

At the sanctuary, the keepers take very good care of the elephants. They feed them milk from bottles and even sleep with them to provide companionship.

When the elephants are three or for years old, and healthy, they are returned to the wild. They only let people see them for thirty minutes a day so they aren't too disturbed or habituated by people.

I got very lucky because one elephant choose to walk close to where I was standing and I was allowed to pet it. it's hair is very thick and coarse so it felt prickly!

At the Giraffe Centre, I learned that there are the type of giraffes in Kenya: the Masai, the Reticulated, and the Rothschild. The Rothschild are endangered. At this Centre, they breed the Rothschild giraffes then introduce them to a herd in the wild in pairs, so they aren't lonely. The giraffe have a large area for roaming and they can choose to go to a tower if they'd like, where the humans can view them. I got to hand-feed a giraffe here! 

I also learned that giraffes only have seven vertebrae but they are all huge! Mother giraffes look for a soft spot to give birth because the baby has to fall from such a high height when its born. Pregnant mothers ready to give birth can wait for two weeks in labour until they find soft enough ground!

These sanctuaries reminded me a lot of our animal enclosures project and I was pleased to see that they had lots of space and privacy.

I'll now be taking a bus from Western Kenya across the border and into Uganda. the home of the mountain gorilla!