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Land of the Elephants & Monkeys

November 12th, 2010 hmcane12

Habari!

This is going to be a rushed post because we are leaving our campsite in 20 minutes for one of the most talked about hikes, but I wanted to at least show you my pictures. So since I last talked to you, I have ventured off to two different national parks. First was Amboseli. We were only here for three short hours but we saw quite a lot. Amboseli is infamous for their elephant population. Although poaching caused the population growth to plummet about 50 years ago, Amboseli now has the greatest elephant population per km^2 now. At our first stop (5 stops/lecture) around 6:30 AM, we saw a cheetah awaking from its slumber. I don’t know why but cheetahs always remind me of National Geographic, I love it. From stops 2-5, you could honestly spot clans of elephants against every horizon. This one almost looks like he’s smiling at me, right (?) We got to see them fight/ play. One elephant was highly in must and was instigating fights with almost every elephant he passed by. He actually charged one of our SFS vehicles. Additionally, watching elephants copulate was quite a spectacle. I will forever remember Amboseli because of its crazy sunsets. It makes photography look so easy! Natinal park #2: Tsavo National Park. The park of the man-eaters. Sometime in the 1900s when the railway was being built through Tsavo, 2 male lions killed 135 humans. A few years ago, 2 other male lions pulled a couple out of their tent and ate them. Two years ago during an SFS stay, 8 male lions stalked a group of 3 SFS students on their way to the bathroom. Luckily the KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service) guards pulled in at the very instant (dawn) and their headlights illuminated the latrines to the point the 8 males, crouched in the adjacent tall grasses, were visible to the students. The KWS then shot their rifles into the sky and the lions ran. This is actually the largest park in Kenya and second largest in the whole continent. Because it is SO vast and has a large amount of woody species, it is pretty difficult to spot wildlife but the landscape made up for it. Tsavo encompasses both Mzima Springs, Shetani Lava Flow, and the Chyulu Hills. We stole about 5 volcanic roks here at Shetani. You would never suspect us right? Yes, this next picture IS in Africa. This was at Mzima Springs and they actually have a little cave underground with a plexiglass window. We could see all sorts of fish and hippos. There is actually a pretty cool, slightly disturbing, documentary we watched prior to leaving for Tsavo. It is about Hippo infanticide (where fathers drown their babies because they want to prevent them from maturing and taking over their dominant role). At first we were a little bit disappointed that we weren’t seeing as much wildlife but then it happened. We saw an entire herd of wild dogs. Wild dogs evolved from wolves and are basically undomesticated dogs. It was pretty cool to see the evolutionary route dogs would have taken if they had not have been domesticated. We pulled around the corner and saw this. At first I didn’t know if they were hyenas or goats or what. Then they started barking. It was so bizarre. The most exciting part of this all was that our staff was equally as excited as we were. Usually it’s us screaming about lions while our staff sits there compeltely unaffected because they’ve seen thousands…but this time was much different. I remeber in TZ I told my wildlife management professor that I wanted to see wild dogs and he said, “I haven’t seem them since 2005, so don’t get your hopes up.” Tsavo NP wasn’t actually even sure if the herd still existed in the park. We did see other very stoic looking ungulates but the wild dogs were a true treat. We also got to hike the Chyulu Hills which really was (again I hate using this workd but it looks like it’s becoming a pattern) breath-taking. It rained just before we had arrived in Tsavo so flowers were finally starting to blossom. Even in the most unsuspected places. The monkeys made up for the lack of wildlife. They honestly are so human like. They death glare they are SO maternal and loving (except when crawling through the windows of our land cruisers to steal chips) They rub bellies They give back rubs they are masters of delicate kisses and they inspect every inch of their partner’s bodies for ticks . After camping out for 5 days (Zarah got stung by a Nairobi fly- they actually give you acid burns wherever they step on your body…a KWS askari (guard) that patrolled our campsite every single night got stung by a scorpion. His hand was an imitation balloon), we were dropped at a lodge. They had a Chui (leopard) bar overlooking a rhino sanctuary. Crazy, right? We were all most excited that we could shower…I mean jump in the pool. But seriously, when we decide which lodge to go to, it’s solely based on the size of the pool. Welcome to Africa. I am totally rushing because today is a huge day for me. I am actually going to an AIDS clinic in Loitoktok, Kenya. I have no clue what to expect but I will keep you updated. Have a great weekend!

☮ Hannah

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