Guess Who Else ‘Migrated’ into The Masai Mara This Weekend
Category: Mara Triangle, tourism | Date: Aug 19 2008 | By: Maina
In a rather unusual event, Kenya’s top guy ‘migrated’ with a large portion of his clan into the Masai Mara this Sunday to see the the popular Wildebeest Migration from the Serengeti to the Mara. Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki - amusingly described by Tourism Minister, Najib Balala, as Tourist Number 1 - seemed to have had a ball down there. I hear that the migration is particularly thick this season and the accompanying wildlife is superb. Well you just need to look at Paula’s post to see the magnificent images she brought back just a few days before the country’s CEO pointed his family towards the Mara River.
In President Kibaki’s words “It is a wonderful world, wonderful indeed and of course it is wonderful for me to be here,”
President Kibaki is in blue floral shirt.
It was big news here in Kenya and most of us suspended (voluntarily) our evening activities either at 7pm (for the news in Kiswahili) or at 9pm (for the English version) to watch the not-so-often-in-the-news president and his grand children relaxed and watching game. And the man seems to be having lots of fun. Picture this: it is common knowledge that the President hardly ever gives a one-on-one interview with the press. He avoids the press like the plague. But the sight of tons of gnu spread out into the horizon must have softened his heart and he gave an uncharacteristically jovial interview with Linus Kaikai of Kenya’s premier private TV station, KTN. The migration can have this effect on people.
Its a good thing for Kenya’s tourism when the top mwananchi*is publicly seen visiting the Mara. It definitely will encourage us, middle-class Kenyans, to visit our country (we’re conspicuously absent in tourist spots - except as tour guides and hotel staff). His appeal to the international community to come visit the Country, and the Mara, is also welcome given that the tourism industry is yet to recover from the traumatic post-election violence that shocked the whole world early this year. According to reports however it seems that the recovery has been much faster than expected although we are not there yet.
The Mara remains the top wildlife tourism destination in East Africa and such high profile endorsement might be of help to such places as the Mara Triangle that have been struggling to get back on their feet after the crippling effects of the violence.
Read more about the Presidents visit to the Masai Mara here and here
*mwananchi is citizen in Kiswahili
Tags: Kenya, Masai Mara, migration, Mwai Kibaki, President, Serengeti, tourism, wildebeest
Magnificent Masai Mara - wildebeest migration in full swing
Category: Mara Triangle, Uncategorized | Date: Aug 17 2008 | By: baraza
I’m back from an amazing 3 days in the Masai Mara. Apart from a rather irritating spate of punctures that took us to some amusing experiences which I wrote about on a blog called Afrigadget, it was absolutely spectacular.
We drove in from Nairobi along a road that could be described as Africa’s worst, and into a camp run by JK Safaris. Since the election crisis tourists have not returned in full swing even to the Mara which meant we had the entire tented camp to ourselves, and the most relaxed wildlife viewing that I’ve had in a long time in the Mara. Instead of hundreds of cars there were tens.
Arriving in the park had particular significance as we’d just overcome a puncture that nearly ruined the trip.
Spectacular wildlife viewing - the migration is in full swing and the landscape was saturated with herds of wildebeeste, zebra, gazelle and other species.
After much “hmming” and bleating the first wildebeest leaped into the water setting off a frenzy of excitement amongst the crocodiles. The flow of the river was stronger than I’d imagined, causing them to drift downstream while they swam like crazy to get across to a safe landing point.
Once the crocs had one animal in their clutches, the othere were safe to cross. The sacrifice of one wildebeest seemed worth it - hundreds if not thousands made it across safely, bleating excitedly as they emerged .
Hippos avoided busy crossing points and rested a bit further upstream.
Our guide Moses claimed that hippos mate for 3 hours. It certainly seemed like a slow process!
Not just migration - the Mara is exciting
Dung beetle - with a massive ball
Wildlife seems tame - this stunning lilac breasted roller let us get very close.
Topi guarding his leking spot
Lazy lions
….and an uncooperative leopard
The best moment came last for my son Josh - he received a Masai name and spear for his 16th birthday.
The challenge of saving the Mara comes closer to home after a special trip like this. Losing the area due to political fall outs in Kenya would be the height of stupidity and short sightedness by our leaders. Thank you all for your support towards the Mara triangle through Kimojino’s blog.
Tags: Kenya, Kimojino, Mara Conservancy, Masai, Masai Mara, Wildebeeste
Conversation with a chief
Category: Mara Triangle, Podcasts | Date: Apr 04 2008 | By: admin
While in the Mara I enjoyed how quiet it was, the absence of noisy irritating tourists, there were virtually no other cars around, the wildlife was having a great time. But the people and the Mara are suffering. This post was recorded while I was visting Kimojino a few weeks ago. I posted stories, podcasts and photos earlier about the tourism collapse here and the killing of a lion by a warthog here. This post is about a conversation I had with Kipas, the village chief.
This is Kipas, the chief of Enkereri Masai village. I think that what he has to say about the effect of the tourism collapse on his community is one of the most touching conversations I’ve had in a long time. Another person has written about his wisdom, charm and wit here.
The photos help to illustrate the scenes
The village is perched on the escarpment. The community and their goats have a view to kill for!
I don’t think these are all his wives, but he is chief of all these women, 18 families in all.
The women are among the most beautiful creatures on earth!
In the village, work is segregated, men carve weapons and talking sticks using only a machete
Women adorn the talking sticks - listen to the podcast to learn more about the Masai talking stick
All the women are involved in the beautiful art of beading, including Kipas’s mother here.
And apart from beauty, and crafts, the women are sensational singers.
The men are responsible for bringing the cows home at the end of the day.
I’d really appreciate feedback. Did you like this podcast? Shall I keep them coming?
Mara crisis bites harder as tourists stay home
Category: Emergency appeals, Mara Triangle | Date: Mar 07 2008 | By: admin
Although the political crisis in Kenya may be over or at least reduced, tourist and tourism revenues have not and will not snap back. The cancellation of flight routes, closure of hotels and tour companies, and booking cancellations all took place over a few weeks. Restoring confidence in Kenya as a tourism destination however, will take years and massive investments in marketing Kenya.
While in the Mara I had long discussions with the CEO of the Mara Conservancy, Brian Heath.
His dream was and is to make the Mara economically sustainable from tourism revenues. I thought you’d like to read some of the extracts of his February report to get a good understanding of the scale of the problem. Notice how long the security section of the report is!
Tourism
February has been another disastrous month for tourist visitations. There was a short period in the middle of the month when people began to return and it looked as if the situation might be salvaged to some extent. However, the stand-off between the two main political parties and renewed threats of mass action throughout most of February meant that tourists are still very reluctant to visit. We may be lucky and maintain the expected 30% of our original estimates for the coming months but can not foresee any significant improvement in tourist visitations before July.
Security
Ten poachers were arrested during February, 9 of them were Tanzanians and the tenth a Luo poacher who had been arrested before. This brings the total to 1,013 poachers arrested since June 2001.
The Ngiro-are team arrested one poacher on the evening of the 9th. He was one of three people entering the Lemai Wedge to hunt along the escarpment near Kinyangaga.
Some meat was found stashed in a tree near Ol Kurruk by a routine patrol between the community scouts and our rangers on the 15th. The following day we mounted a patrol in the Sankuria forest and arrested one Luo poacher, he had been in the forest for six days and had killed a zebra and a waterbuck. Three wire snares were recovered.
The Ngiro-are team arrested two wa Kuria poachers on the 19th as they were traversing the Lemai Wedge, on their way to hunt hippo along the Mara River. They informed us that they had met with another group of poachers, also on their way to hunt hippo on the Narok side of the river. The following day we mounted a joint patrol along the Narok side of the river but found no poacher activity.
The Ngiro-are team arrested one poacher as he and his companion came down the escarpment to hunt in the Lemai Wedge late in the evening of the 22nd. They recovered four wire snares.
The Ngiro-are team were asked to assist the rangers from Kinyangaga on the 24th. The rangers had confiscated some wa Kuria cattle for illegal grazing in the Lemai Wedge and were taking them to Kinyangaga when they were accosted by an irate mob of wa Kuria, trying to recover their cattle. The situation became tense, with arrows and bullets fired at the rangers. Our rangers assisted in getting the cattle into the Kinyangaga compound and then withdrew. The wa Kuria continued firing into the compound. The Tanzanian rangers managed to apprehend one person with a firearm, only to discover that he was a policeman from the local village.
The Ngiro-are rangers found a temporary poacher’s camp at 9.00 am on the 25th in a water-course between Ol Dono Nasipa and Konyoike – about half a kilometre into Tanzania. The five poachers were the group we had been looking for on the 19th on the Narok side of the river. They had camped upstream from the search area, had killed one hippo and were on their way home after drying the meat. All five were arrested, four by the Ngiro-are team and the fifth after they were joined by the Serena rangers. Three wire snares and three heavy pears were recovered.
Revenue and Accounts
In January we had to re-calculate our budget, based on possibly receiving only 30% of our anticipated revenue. Although we implemented most of our cost-cutting measures in January our January Profit and Loss account indicated that we have a shortfall of Ksh 1.576 million (US$ 22,500 at the current rate of exchange.
We have been very fortunate in receiving support to meet our projected shortfall and would like to thank the following for their support. I would particularly like to single out Asuka for her support; she has raised US$ 29,000 in three weeks through her articles and blog for the Mara Conservancy. This shows the power of the Internet in raising funds if the message is right.
CMC Motors - 2,500,000 (approx US $ 40,000) for vehicle service and spares for one year
Asuka - 2,030,000 (approx US $ 23,000) Donations through her blog
Anne Kent-Taylor Fund 1,050,000 (approx US $ 12,000) donation for community scouts and security allowances
WildlifeDirect 700,000 (US $ 10,000) Donations through the blog
Care for the Wild 70,000(US $ 1,000) Donation for anti-harassment
Mc Phelps and family 70,000 (US $ 1,000) for Cheetah 1 (patrol team)
Total Raised to date 6,420,000
The exchange rate is about 1$=Ksh70Brian also noted that the Masai who had been laid off by hotels had returned to their villages where they were now herding livestock. These include diploma holders who just can’t make a living anymore in tourism.
We interviewed Dixon qualified in hospitality, who had returned to the village to herd cattle, a job normally reserved for boys. He was not alone, there were hundreds of cases like his. He was very bitter not about the hotel that fired him, but with the Kenyan leaders who are ignoring the suffering of so many as a result of the violence that followed the election dispute.
If the Maasai cannot get jobs in the tourism and wildlife sector, they will do what they need to do to survive- increase their herds in the Greater Mara ecosystem. This is perhaps the greatest threat to wildlife which migrates through the entire ecosystem which includes the Serengetti in Tanzania. Cattle, sheep and goats all compete for the same grazing as the wildlife…if we lose the Greater Mara, it will only be a short time before we lose the Mara as a consequence. The harmony between the Maasai and wildlife is on the verge of shattering as a result of this crisis. You can learn more about the Maasai wildlife interface in Asukas blog (she deals with livestock diseases that could affect wildlife) and at this website called reto-o- reto which means ‘I help you, you help me’. It’s a research project all about finding better land use management for pastoralists.
For the Mara Triangle the lack of funds means that planned developments have been put on hold. Only essential road works are being done (anyone who has been to the Mara knows what why roads maintenance is so critical).
These workers were on a break - the machine had broken down! Most of the road working machines are lying idle now.
Roads can wait but patrols cannot.
Despite all the cost cutting, we are now facing a situation where patrols are threatened. If patrols are halted, poaching will escalate and could go out of control, this we must prevent.
Before I go, this one’s for Theresa, Sheryl, FJP and all the others who love donkeys. This foal was absolutely tiny and adorable. Enjoy 
10 Mara magnets
Category: Amazing facts, Mara Triangle | Date: Mar 04 2008 | By: admin
I am back at home, close to Nairobi. It’s going to be a late morning to work as my son is not well. I don’t mind the delay, my house in one of the most spectacular spots over looking the Great Rift Valley. My view is awesome, I get to birdwatch with a cup of tea in my hand or just spend hours gazing all the way into Tanzania across smokey mountains.
As lovely as it is here, I do feel a dull heaviness, I’m missing something deeply. The truth is that my heart is still in the Mara. I can’t believe how deeply I have fallen in love with that spectacular place, the people, the wilderness.
So here are my ten top secrets to why I love the Mara
1.The beauty is breathtaking. Can you imagine dressing like this every single day?
2.If you are not naturally beautiful, you can spend the entire day in the spa and blame the mud mask for your bad smell.
3. You can be fat, short, stubby, naked and still be proud… it’s not only about the big cats you know (anyone know who this friendly animal is?)
4. Adorable Asuka aka Mara vet– Her stories will make you laugh and cry, you can’t help but love her (she is the first field person that I have ever met who can get away with wearing cute outfits in the African bush).
5. I adore the small guys - don’t you wish you could just hug them?
6. Siesta’s over looking the world. The Masai live on the escarpment overlooking the Mara - it is a view to die for every morning.
7. Food….the buffet is to kill for. We saw five different predators on our first day!
8. No one minds your spots. One can get ridiculously close to these cheetahs who have world fame in the BBC’s Big Cat Diary
9. Tanning weather all year round. I thought this guy was sick and drew attention to Simon who had a good laugh at my ignorance.
10. You can reserve the worlds best viewing points. Leopards are so secretive that sightings are usually the no. 1 wish of every visitor. Seeing this spectacular chap at close range in full daylight was like dying and going to heaven. Leopards are so lazy that they just sit there ….actually, he slept through most of our encounter and looked up when we started the engine to leave….I snapped this shot just before he closed his eyes and curled up like a kitty, covering his face with a paw. Others were not so lucky. An american family we met had spent days looking for leopard and when they finally did spot one, the kids exclaimed with such excitement (naturally) that it terrified the leopard which took off before they could get a single photo. You can imagine their sweet but sour feelings….I felt a bit guilty showing them this photo.
I actually took all those photographs, recorded podcasts, and video plus so much more in three days. It felt like a dream….you know what it’s like when you first fall in love? Euphoric yes? You feel like you’re the only one feeling it….
Then I met an Austrian lady who so infatuated with the Mara that she leaves her home in England and lives for six months at a time at a lodge in the Masai Mara each year – and she has been doing this for years! There’s no competition, her love for the mara far exceeds mine. I feel pathetic, how can I compete with my three days? My last trip to Mara was 3 years ago! I feel like a little like a mistress - stealing a few moments with the Mara from time to time!
I have to remind myself that I was in the Mara Triangle for work not play, to learn more about the crisis that Kimojino is blogging about, and find new ways to help him and the Mara Conservancy secure the Mara Triangle for the longterm. It’s unthinkable that we could lose the Mara because of a collapse in tourism brought on by politics of a few egocentric individuals who would like to be called ‘leaders’. As Kenyans and global citizens, we all can help the Mara survive the crisis - I hope my pictures and podcasts convince you. Book your flight today … or make a donation on the Mara blog to secure this precious heritage for your next visit.
Lion killer escapes
Category: Amazing facts, Mara Triangle, Podcasts | Date: Mar 04 2008 | By: admin
Last week I spent three days in the Masai Mara and went on patrol with the rangers of the Mara Conservancy to catch 7 alleged hippo poachers that were believed to be in the area. While on patrol we had a few ‘adventures’ and dramatic though amusing incidents. Though I wasn’t there, the five poachers were finally caught two days later with a dead hippo which Kimojino reported here.
This podcast and these photos document an extraordinary and rare incident that I’ve never heard of before and nobody that I know has ever observed a warthog killing a full grown lion! Listen to this new post here
The incident took place during a break in the middle of the patrol – we broke off to investigate a report of an injured lioness and what we found was almost too amazing to be true.
A ten year old lioness, killed by a warthog. She looked pregnant. That’s the broken off warthog tooth. Can you see the tiny wound in her neck? Surgical! Only after we turned her over did we notice the pool of blood beneath her.
The brave Masai rangers couldn’t resist getting a few photos with the slain lioness
Here’s the proud lion slayer in a hole just a meter from the dead lioness. Impressive teeth no?
Being the coward I am I wouldn’t put my head in it’s hole (thank God!) but stuck my camera in and took into one but 2 photos with the flash. She or he didn’t budge a millimeter despite all the noise and flash… we were convinced she/he was dead. Can you see the missing tusk?
Here is the deadly tusk - source of much exclamation and awe.
Though I’m very sorry for the lioness I cant help wondering what the heck she was doing? Putting her head into a warthogs hole??? Everyone knows that the first law of African savanna bush, don’t ever EVER stand in front of a warthogs hole. Now you know why.
I hope you enjoy the podcast
Mara skulls
Category: Mara Triangle | Date: Mar 02 2008 | By: admin
On arrival in the Mara one often sees bones on the ground all over the place and sometimes they get collected and left at key spots. I love studying bones so took these photographs and wondered if you could identify them…
Easy? Try these then…..
Sorry about the missing teeth….
How many could you identify?
Our trip to Mara was punctuated with some really fun and interesting adventures. Tomorrow I will upload another podcast about an amazing incident that I and many others, still find hard to believe. It involves a fight between a lion and a warthog.
Mara Poachers and hippo attack
Category: Mara Triangle, Podcasts | Date: Feb 28 2008 | By: admin
Friends,
Today I’m going to try a much awaited experiment and upload a podcast -
I recorded this in the Mara Conservancy last week where I spent three days finding out more about the effects of the collapse of tourism on this world renowned conservation area.
I hope you enjoy sound trip which hopefully will give the visually impaired a feel for the Mara which is among my most favourite places in the world.
I’m attaching photographs to help you visualise the patrol. These 5 minutes reflect what happened during the 4 hours anti-poaching patrol in which we were searching for 7 hippo killing poachers. Kimujino has more on the arrest of these poachers on his
This is the sign between the Mara Reserve and Transmara Reserve which together make up the Masai Mara
A hippo slide
On patrol looking for footprints on the soft earth
Hippo in the Mara river
Can you see the new born hippo by his mothers legs?
We must prevent a crisis in the Maasai Mara!
Category: Mara Triangle | Date: Jan 25 2008 | By: admin
The post election violence caused by the disputed outcome of December 27th presidential elections has completely rocked Kenya and everyone is hurting. We have had to close the office many times to avoid getting caught up in riots. Some people are scared and are just moving altogether.
This family used a cloth donated by USAID to cover their pick up as they moved away from a trouble spot in Nairobi
Hundreds of children, women and men have died violently as neighbours and even familes have turned on each other, hundreds of thousands are suffering after being displaced, losing property and their livelihoods.
Only a few businesses have from the trouble 
People are tired, scared and desperate.
I pass this billboard everyday - it was erected in happier times, its so out of touch now!
Everyone here in Kenya is pinning their hopes on Koffi Annan’s mediation genius. It seems has made a major breakthrough by getting President Kibaki and the main opposition leader, Mr. Raila Odinga to actually meet over the crisis. We’re yet to find out what actually transpired in those meetings …. But at least they are both talking peace.
Today’s front page news that Koffi Annan had succeeded in getting Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga together has brought smiles back to faces
You’d think something catastrophic had happened - newspaper stands were crowded this morning
While peace may soon return to the violent hotspots around the country, it will be years before the vibrant tourism can recover which has direct implications for wildlife conservation. The scenes of violent demonstrations and confrontations with police which have been frequently screened on international TV networks have wrecked untold damage to the tourism industry. I met with the head of KWS Mr. Julius Kipn’getich this week, he told me that visitation to the parks had dropped by 90%. Hopefully the parks which include Amboseli, Tsavo, marine parks, Lake Nakuru and Mt. Kenya will get some promised government support but I’m personally a bit skeptical that government will come through with significant help, they have a reputation of not following through with promises. For example, only this week showed that they would be unable to follow through with free secondary education country wide as promised.
Things are slowly returning to normal. Most schools are now open - this little girl’s father gives her a ride on a specially adapted chair
Trade is going on and this guy was weaving dangerously through traffic to get his produce into the city!
Jake Grieves Cook, the Chairman of the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) told me that the disruption to tourism is the worst disaster for industry that Kenya has ever faced. The KTB and related organizations are working overtime to reverse the negative image of Kenya and lure tourists back because the parks are actually not affected by the trouble in the country.
The British Travel Advisory was amended on Saturday so that it is no longer a blanket “non-essential travel” warning against the whole of Kenya and applies only to specific locations which his on similar lines to the US and German government advisories. This may bring slow relief – we expect it over coming months or years, but with only 10% visitation at a time when over 85% occupancy in hotels was expected has driven the industry to take extreme measures. Some hotels have even closed down and all businesses are hurting.
We are already seeing a cascading effect. Tourists have stop coming, hotels are closed, staff have been laid off, transport, supplies and other service contracts are canceled.
With no tourist plying the roads, all the roadside business will lose out, women who supply farm produce lose markets, and nobody has money to send home to rural areas. Tens of thousands have fled cities for rural areas where there are no jobs and no food. We predict that the protected areas will be unable to sustain anti-poaching activities and poaching will escalate.
Brian Heath of the Mara Conservancy, has raised an alarm and we are compelled to respond. The Mara has always been close to Richard Leakey’s heart - it is, after all, Africa’s greatest nature preserve . We believe that there is a looming conservation catastrophe that can only be averted with a well prepared program to raise funds. In response we intend to launch a major program to save this wildlife spectacle which was voted the worlds 7th Wonder just two years ago.
The Maasai Mara is home to the worlds most famous wildlife spectacle and beautiful people
Yesterday we launched a press release which was picked up by some papers here. We are going to ensure that the Mara Conservancy blog raises 160,000 dollars in the next 5 months. To achieve this we urgently need 16,000 dollars immediately to set up a sub station in the Mara that will enable Brian Heath to produce materials for blogs that will be as effective, if not more so, than gorilla protection blog. In 2007 we established camps in Bukima and Mutsora to enable blogs to operate from the bush. These blogs raised 350,000 dollars which has tremendously improved the protection of mountain gorillas in the Virunga National Park. We are certain that we can replicate this for the Masai Mara to avert a wildlife disaster of similar magnitude to losing mountain gorillas.
In our press release yesterday, we stated ‘The damage to the local economy means many people are expected to turn to poaching wildlife for the bushmeat trade, causing irreparable damage to the ecosystem. With its millions of animals, the Maasai Mara is especially vulnerable; over 900 poachers were arrested in recent years. In 2007 alone nearly 500 wire snares were collected, 15 animals rescued and 46 animals were found either dead in snares or recently butchered. The tourism crisis has lead to reduced manpower for surveillance which will lead to an immediate rise in poaching’.
Wire snares like these are made from any source of wire - fences
Traditional means of poisoning and shooting wildlife is also a threat
As are modern weapons
Snares are indiscriminate and cause unimaginable suffering to many species
Dr Kashmiri (center) responded to an alarm from Brian Heath (right) and with help from the Ann Kent Taylor Foundation saved this lioness and this baby elephant below
He now has a permanent limp but is fine
We know that the Mara depends on tourism because the entrance fee contributes to the protection of wildlife and management of the conservation area. We’re hoping that would be visitors will still be willing to contribute the equivalent for a 4 day safari, about 80$ to ensure that the Mara is protected and therefore survives this crisis.
We need to raise Ksh 10 million in 5 months to protect the wildlife in the Mara. That translates to 158,000 dollars. We can raise this with only 2,000 people donating 80 dollars or with 615 people give us 50 dollars each month for 5 months. We’d appreciate your help with circulating this information and helping to raise this money.
The mara is home to the worlds most famous wildlife spectacle, losing it because of political unrest in Kenya would be a global tragedy. Please help us. Paula
-
100% of your donation, minus a small bank fee, will go to your intended purpose.
Donations made here are safe.
-
Join our Facebook cause
-
-
Facebook Cause: WildlifeDirect -
Order "Looking for Miza" here
-
Play games on Miza.com
-
Donations Received
- Sep 16th Said A. USD110.00
- Sep 15th Ward K. USD110.00
- Sep 12th Paula K. USD11.00
- Sep 10th Anouk Z. USD110.00
- Sep 7th Jennifer C. USD50.00
- Jul 8th Roaney G. USD30.00
- Jun 24th Gerhard B. USD20.00
- May 4th Cynthia C. USD50.00
- May 3rd Robin C. USD50.00
- Apr 17th Theresa S. USD100.00
- Apr 15th Nicola A. USD100.00
- Apr 15th Theresa S. USD100.00
- Apr 15th Dana J. USD100.00
- Mar 31st Nicola A. USD100.00
- Mar 20th Theresa S. USD30.00
- Mar 19th Beth T. USD20.00
- Jan 27th Tim W. USD15.00
-
