Safari Notes

Dinder National Park, Sudan, A War zone

2024-10-27T04:55:00.000-07:00

Sudan's Dinder National Park has beome a battle field in the fight between humans and wildlife for land.

Vast grasslands, lakes and woods are spread over more than 10,000 square kilometres, making it an important flyway for migratory birds.

But the massive reserve is under threat.

The population has exploded, putting pressure for new croplands on this area tucked away by the Ethiopian border.

"It (birds) enjoys the richest wildlife in Sudan," said Albadri Alhassan, head of the park's development organisation. "But the growing human violations threaten to diminish the wilderness."

When the park was first declared a protected reserve under Anglo-Egyptian rule in 1935, the area was sparsely inhabited.

But in recent decades, the population has soared in the villages that dot the park and its surrounding buffer zone, creating huge pressure for new land to grow crops.

And as cattle herders' traditional grazing lands have been ploughed up, they in turn have increasingly encroached on the park in search of pasture.

"Such behaviours are posing an immense threat to the reserve," said the head of Dinder's wildlife research station, Omar Mohamed.

Among the hardest-hit species has been the giraffe, which has disappeared from the park in the face of habitat loss and other environmental factors, Mohamed said.

Cattle herders pass into the park for pasture, their traditional grazing lands ploughed up.

Villagers say they do their best to follow park restrictions but add that they desperately need more land to feed themselves.

"We use traditional agriculture and we prevent our animals from grazing outside our village," said farmer Abubakr Ibrahim from Mai Carato, a village on the west bank of the Rahad river, which flows through the reserve.

He complains that some regulations are "very hard and impractical" to follow in the growing villages.

"Our village alone has an estimated population of around 2,000 people," he said, adding that its allotted five square kilometres of land was "too small".

"It is not enough for us," he said, arguing that "the reserve is vast, so giving us more space will not do any harm".

But conservationists disagree.

"Any expansion to the villages will greatly harm the reserve, disturb the wildlife and reduce their resources," Mohamed said.

"It would be best to move those villages to better-serviced areas outside the reserve."

Human encroachment disturbs the park's wildlife in other ways too.

Hungry villagers often harvest wild honey from the park's woods, lighting fires to create smoke to ward off the bees, in breach of park rules.

Rangers patrol the rugged terrain in search of violators, who can face hefty fines or up to six months in prison depending on the offence.

"We try to pursue them but sometimes they flee before we arrive," ranger Mohamed Makki told AFP.

But all is not lost. The park's wildlife research chief says sightings of hyenas, lions and smaller cats like genets and servals remain common, particularly at night.

By day, visitors can see African buffalo and several species of gazelle as well as an array of birdlife, both resident and migratory.

Despite all the challenges, the reserve has "remained pristine and managed to maintain its wilderness," Mohamed boasts.

"All we want is to keep it this way." 🌍

Article From: Africa News

WHY MUGUKA & MIRAA (QAT ) SHOULD BE BANNED IN KENYA?

2024-05-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

#Muguka and #Miraa are known to be detrimental and destructive to families, health and wellbeing. In #Kenya most of those who consume the two are #Muslims; and look at what it has done to them - it has kept them low economically and educationally.

Children from families who chew the two drugs, very rarely go far in education. It's Muslims who are mainly to be found in poor places like: Kalolenis, Majengos, Bondenis etc. If it wasn't for many Muslims working in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries (where many were being paid well) and if it wasn't for millions of #Somalis migrating and living in Western countries (sending remittances), Muslims would have been even much poorer.

Then look too, at countries that have many people chewing muguka/miraa - they are some of the poorest and most fragmented - #Somalia, #Yemen and #Djibouti. The millions of Muslims in #Ethiopia are poor and uneducated mainly due to their families being dominated by #qat.

How can the laws or constitution of any nation say it's just and fair and yet support the consumption of such destructive plants? What makes the consumption of muguka/miraa along the coast and other places where there are Muslims so sad (and insulting), is that - they are produced by others very far from where they are consumed. Others who immensely, financially benefit from the two, and are not adversely affected by either.

Africa Rising

2023-08-31T05:24:00.007-07:00

Democracy" - what's its definition? The West prefers it to be defined as suits them.

Hence - they did all they could to subvert and overturn "democratic elections" in: Algeria, Palestine etc. And they support and prop dictators as long as these are what they consider beneficial to/for them. They invade and kill millions and try to impose on others, as in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Grenada etc. - in the name of "human rights" and "democracy", as defined by them.

Africa and many parts of the world have been scammed/duped by the so called "democracy". Millions are living in hunger, misery and abject poverty in these so called "democracies". While the rulers, leaders and the elite in these countries live in such affluence and luxury that - that, in itself are excellent catalyst and motivation for these revolutions sweeping Africa.

Very hopefully these revolutions will very uplift the lives of its people, give these people justice and peace.

Rwandans - We All Are This Week

2014-04-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

Twenty years ago, one of the darkest and most horrific tragedies in human history was viciously and mercilessly executed in one of the most beautiful countries one can ever imagine: Rwanda. No other human tragedy is comparable to this in the last one-hundred years, except the horrific events of World War I and World War II. In 100 days in 1994, about 6,000,000 Rwandans were displaced. An estimated 1,000,000 people, mostly Tutsis and some moderate Hutus, were mercilessly hunted and slaughtered: children, the old, the disabled, women - it made no difference to the Hutu extremists who had meticulously planned the exterminations. Neighbours killed neighbours and some husbands even killed their Tutsi wives, saying they would be killed if they refused. At the time, ID cards had people's ethnic group on them, so militias set up roadblocks where Tutsis were slaughtered, often with machetes which most Rwandans kept around the house. Thousands of Tutsi women were taken away and kept as sex slaves.

Today, anyone who visits Rwanda would very much wonder at how such a very friendly, welcoming people could commit such heinous acts in such a short span of time. At the same time, one would be even more surprised and awed; and at the same time very relieved and elated - at how the very beautiful, hilly country has healed and advanced in just twenty years. Twenty years is a very short time for any country to achieve what Rwanda has; but, considering what this country has gone through - what its leadership and its people have attained is incredible.

In almost every international index for development - human development or otherwise - this very small country in the heart of Africa ranks right with the top countries. It is one of the fastest developing countries in Africa; its institutions - educational, medical, health - are some of the best in Africa; it not only has the cleanest capital city on the continent but, many have said that it is the cleanest country in the world. In the past two decades Rwanda has transformed itself from a society viewed internationally as a place of horror to one which is greatly admired. Today, Rwanda is a place where the unachievable has been attained; and the insurmountable has been overcome. Rwanda is a beacon of hope. A beacon that is exemplary and very much worth emulating by other nations, in Africa in particular.

Wishing the people and the leadership of this great, wonder nation all the very best. Rwandans - we are all this week. May God bless Rwanda and give its people the strength, the courage and the wisdom to continue in this very noble path that they are on now. May God bless Rwanda and give it everlasting Peace and Prosperity.

+ Reflecting on Rwanda's Past—While Looking Ahead by Paul Kagame
+ 1994-2014: Rwanda’s tremendous journey
+ National Geographic: Rwanda: The Art of Remembering and Forgetting
+ Images: Google

Rwanda Genocide Anniversary: Twenty Years After...............

2014-03-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

Rows of human skulls sit in glass cases near the red brick Catholic church here. Some are cracked in half; holes are punched in others. Hundreds of arm and leg bones lie nearby. To the left is a table of tools: rusty shovels, hoes, pipes, and a machete — the weapons of genocide.

Down the hill 10 miles (15 kilometers), thousands of Rwandans gathered under spittles of rain to watch the arrival of a small flame, symbolic fire traveling the country as Rwanda prepares to mark 20 years since ethnic Hutu extremists killed neighbors, friends and family during a three-month rampage of violence aimed at ethnic Tutsis and some moderate Hutus.

Rwanda puts the death toll at 1,000,050. Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, speaking at a memorial event in London this week, called the genocide "the most brutally efficient killing spree in human history."

At the flame ceremony in nearby Kirehe on Thursday, Theopiste Mukanoheli told the crowd how as an 18-year-old she watched her neighbor dig a 10-foot hole, a grave to cram bodies in. She was inside Nyarubuye Catholic Church when attackers threw in grenades, killing hundreds. Most of her close family died there, she said.

Mike Nkuzumuwami, who helps look after the rebuilt red-brick church, says 35,000 people died in his hilltop community, a sea of green where tens of thousands of banana trees grow. He notes that one positive change the genocide has brought about is a near erasure of the Hutu-Tutsi divide, a principle directive of the Rwandan government, which wants Rwandans to see themselves as Rwandan, not an ethnic tribe.

"After the killings no one has called me a Tutsi, and those Hutus involved in the genocide regret what they have done," the 45-year-old said.

School groups visit the church, mass grave and museum of death. Near the skulls and bones are tables of dusty brown clothes, sandals, slippers and shoes. The younger generation does not understand the genocide, Nkumuwami said, and Rwanda's aging population doesn't want them to repeat it.

As Nkuzumuwami spoke, 12-year-old Nikeyimana Obadia lingered nearby, eager to interact with visitors. The curious boy is growing up in a land of stick and mud homes, where children eat cassava and beans and are tasked with filling plastic jugs at the community watering hole. His family speaks of the genocide at times. He knows his grandfather died in it.

"This is very bad. I hope everyone doesn't do this because it's easy to destroy life," he said in a student's English.

At the Kwibuka 20 ceremony — a Rwandan word meaning remember — thousands of eyes gazed upward to watch a slickly-produced film showing the lesser scenes of genocide horror. A voice in English says the killing spree was a planned political campaign that came from an ideology called Hutu Power. Tutsis, the video says, were meant to be exterminated.

Nsengiyomva Apollinaise, a local government official, says the flame ceremony that has traveled the country and will make its way to the capital, Kigali, on April 7, helps remind the country how far it has come. The video shows newer, happier scenes, too: economic prosperity and the calm face of President Paul Kagame.

"This is something that happens every year, an event to help each Rwandan personally remember what happened, and examine the causes," said Apollinaise, who said his parents and siblings died in the genocide. "And also to see the path to move forward on."

Source: Huffington Post
More: The Independent, Human Rights Watch
Images: Google

Why is Africa against homosexuality?

2014-02-16T06:59:00.000-08:00

Many in the West, including leaders and politicians - are forcefully doing all that they can to promote the acceptance of homosexuality. Presently, in America, those campaigning have insultingly gone as far as to equate legal rights for homosexuals with the historic black struggle against racism; there is a specter haunting it. It is the movement to promote and legalize homosexual marriage. The movement has adopted a cunning political strategy to appeal to everyone from the suburban soccer mom to the urban white-male liberal: It has packaged its demand for the radical redefining of marriage in the rhetoric and imagery of the U.S. civil rights movement. For Africa and Africans, if the Western world condones and accepts homosexuality, is not a problem; America and other Western countries (which base their democracy and culture on ancient Greece which tolerated and allowed homosexuality ages ago) are free to decide for themselves what kind of a culture and a society they prefer. But, for America and the West to try and force Africa to accept homosexuality the way they do - is utterly wrong and very disrespectful of Africans.

Having been born inland, in East Africa; growing up and living, inland, during all my youth and early manhood - I was not aware of homosexuality until late. I was about twenty-one years old - shocked and at the same time found it very ridiculous - when I first saw homosexuals in Mombasa; they openly displayed themselves and publicly related to each other. In Tanga, Dar es Salam and along the East African coast, homosexuals have been there since the first sailors from foreign lands landed on the East African coast and introduced it there.

In Africa, for very long - no one, no leader, bothered about homosexuals or homosexuality; and no one harassed homosexuals. It was only since a few years ago when Western countries, and especially their media and leaders, started pressurizing and lecturing Africa on homosexuality that most Africans have become aggressive and violent about it. Before, for Africans - homosexuality was not an issue to consider or weigh on. But, with the relentless campaign by Western leaders and their media - many, if not most, Africans have felt threatened; and hence the backlash. The more the West tries to impose homosexuality on Africa, the more attention and focus is on homosexuals; and the more the backlash. Worsening even more the plight of homosexuals in the Continen.

The disdain for homosexuality and why African societies and countries prohibit it is not - as fervently claimed by some - a colonial mentality or due to some left over colonial law or because of some so called 'powerful evangelical Christian lobby'. For Africans, to even discuss about homosexuality is not acceptable let alone accept it. Anyone who has lived in Africa knows this. To Africans, it is normal and natural for a man to have sexual relationship only with a woman, and a woman only with a man; for Africans - the idea that those of the same sex can have any kind of physical relationship is totally ludicrous and alien. That's the way we have been brought up and that's one of the main basis of African traditions, culture and society. A tradition that is even, today, reflected in America (where the 'gay' community is predominantly white) and how African Americans (who are still very marginalized in the US; even by/within the same gay communities who are trumpeting 'civil rights' ) think very contemptuously of it.

Africans have never forced or even tried to persuade the West into accepting polygamy (a very normal and acceptable practice in Africa) which is a major crime in all these same countries trying to impose homosexuality on Africans; in the US and the Western world, anti-polygamy is the norm (but it is fine for a man to keep as many mistresses - even in the same house - as he wishes) and polygamists are persecuted and if found prosecuted and jailed - Africa has never raised a voice against this. If the West truly cares about Africa and Africans, instead of threatening and trying to blackmail African countries - there are many other much more pressing issues to be assisted with and be solved in the Continent rather than continuously, disrespectfully, barraging and lecturing Africa on homosexuality and trying to impose it on the Continent.

+ Why Same Sex Marriage Is Wrong......
+ Uganda: for or not for homosexuality
+ Images: Google

How Do Solar Panels and Solar Power Work?

2013-12-17T03:06:00.000-08:00

Touted as a promising alternative energy source for decades, solar panels crown rooftops and roadside signs, and help keep spacecraft powered. But how do solar panels work?

Simply put, a solar panel works by allowing photons, or particles of light, to knock electrons free from atoms, generating a flow of electricity. Solar panels actually comprise many, smaller units called photovoltaic cells. (Photovoltaic simply means they convert sunlight into electricity.) Many cells linked together make up a solar panel.

Each photovoltaic cell is basically a sandwich made up of two slices of semi-conducting material, usually silicon — the same stuff used in microelectronics.

To work, photovoltaic cells need to establish an electric field. Much like a magnetic field, which occurs due to opposite poles, an electric field occurs when opposite charges are separated. To get this field, manufacturers "dope" silicon with other materials, giving each slice of the sandwich a positive or negative electrical charge.

Specifically, they seed phosphorous into the top layer of silicon, which adds extra electrons, with a negative charge, to that layer. Meanwhile, the bottom layer gets a dose of boron, which results in fewer electrons, or a positive charge. This all adds up to an electric field at the junction between the silicon layers. Then, when a photon of sunlight knocks an electron free, the electric field will push that electron out of the silicon junction.
A couple of other components of the cell turn these electrons into usable power. Metal conductive plates on the sides of the cell collect the electrons and transfer them to wires. At that point, the electrons can flow like any other source of electricity.

There are other types of solar power technology — including solar thermal and concentrated solar power (CSP) — that operate in a different fashion than photovoltaic solar panels, but all harness the power of sunlight to either create electricity or to heat water or air.

Source: LiveScience
+ Best Solar Panels 2014
+ Images: Google

May Madiba Rest In Peace

2013-12-05T20:54:00.000-08:00

Rebel, Revolutionary, Freedom-fighter, Leader, Statesman, Legend, Icon, Saint - all these can be used to describe the One and Only: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. He is comparable to no other leader in Africa or out of it. For a man to have spent 27 years incarcerated for no crime but because he dared speak out his mind; he dared struggle and fight for justice, equality and honor for his own majority citizens - for that man to be released from that prison and still be so humble, kind, forgiving, merciful and magnanimous to friends and foes, and those who hated and imprisoned him; and for that man to rule the country he set free for only four years and then had over power; for that man to treat all alike and equally, be they foes or friends or children or servants or heads of states; for that man, for most of his life until recently, to wake up each morning and still make his bed - these will go down in history as one of Mandela's greatest legacies and gifts to his Rainbow Nation and to the World.

May God rest his soul in Peace.

+ Image: Nobel Price
+ Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

United For Wildlife is formed by Prince William to Conserve Wildlife

2013-09-19T00:31:00.000-07:00

United For Wildlife

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge has formed a new wildlife conservation foundation: United For Wildlife. The foundation will collaborate with seven of the world’s most influential conservation organizations: Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International, International Union for Conservation of Nature, The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF UK and the Zoological Society of London - in a new partnership to combat illegal wildlife trafficking. “The threats to our natural heritage are extensive, but I believe that this collaboration of the best minds in conservation will provide the impetus for a renewed commitment and action to protect endangered species and habitats for future generations,” said the Prince, who is the president of United for Wildlife.

Through his Foundation, His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge has brought together an unprecedented collaboration between seven of the world's most influential conservation organisations and the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. The partnership, named "United for Wildlife", is a long-term commitment to tackle the global challenges to the world’s natural resources so they can be safeguarded for future generations.

The partnership between Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International, International Union for Conservation of Nature, The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF-UK, the Zoological Society of London and the Royal Foundation will lead the way to substantially increase the global response to major conservation crises.

It is very relieving and comforting to have the Prince form and head this new foundation. The Duke of Cambridge is known for his passion and love for wildlife. He has done much in helping to protect, conserve, save wildlife; and building awareness for wildlife conservation, for Africa in particular. In Prince William, Africa, Wildlife - the endangered ones in particular - indeed, have a true and real friend.

Why Kenya should quit the ICC

2013-09-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

In a normal, just world - any one who commits a crime has to face justice; who ever that person is and whatever that person's position is - who ever commits a crime has to be punished. But, we don't live in a normal, just world. The words 'crime', 'justice' and 'punishment' are used selectively. Especially by the one court that's supposed to serve all the world's people: the International Criminal Court. The ICC decides, hunts, convicts and punishes selectively. The court, so far, has meted out its so called justice - only on Africa.

Whatever one might think; however hard one tries to look at it, there is no doubt that the ICC is selectively, unfairly and biasedly focused only on Africa and Africans. Cases in point: leaders in Sudan and Kenya are indicted by the ICC and yet those in Sri Lanka, where similar or worst crimes happened, are not; Joseph Kony is wanted and hunted by the ICC and yet the Burmese Buddhist monk, Ashin Wirathu - whose terrifying methods is very similar to Kony's - is not; and there is Syria and all the atrocities being committed there and, so far, the ICC, incredibly, doesn't have a single one of the perpetrators on its list. And no other country has acted with so much arrogance and impunity as Israel; it continues to blockade and strangle Gaza, and it continues to brutally oppress and suppress Palestinians with no action, at all, from the so called international court. If the ICC was/is just and equitable, there should be no hiding place. But international law never reaches into some corners because the levers that control the wheels of justice, we discover, are sometimes leaned on by the criminals themselves - quoted from Veterans Today.

With these, and some more such cases in mind, why should Kenya (and other African countries for that matter) continue being a member of the ICC with its selective, unfair and biased system?

Mauritius Is Africa's Most Competitive Econnomy According TO WEF Report 2013

2013-09-06T02:57:00.000-07:00

The island nation of Mauritius has claimed Africa's top spot in the annual Global Competitiveness Report for 2013-14, which was released Wednesday by the World Economic Forum, or WEF.

In a ranking system where market size carries weight, it may come as some surprise that such a tiny island could outperform every other economy on the continent. But Mauritius boasts one of Africa's most stable political systems and one of its most transparent business environments. It also stands out for its comparatively good infrastructure, low trade barriers and high levels of public education.

Many know Mauritius as a vacation spot; it boasts white sands, clear waters, palm trees and hundreds of hotels. This nation of 788 square miles, or 2,040 square kilometers, was uninhabited until the Dutch took it over in 1598. The slow influx of people eventually wiped out the famous dodo bird, which was native to the island, though plenty of rare plants and animals still exist there today. Mauritius -- which is located in the Indian Ocean some 1,200 miles from the southeastern coast of Africa -- is now home to 1.3 million people and a variety of ethnic groups, which coexist peacefully, although discrimination -- particularly against descendants of African slaves, many of whom live in poverty -- remains a problem.

Climate change is another concern. Some areas of the country are at risk of literally going under water as sea levels rise and extreme weather events like cyclones and floods become more frequent.

The WEF survey uses a scoring system in which countries are given up to seven points, based on quantitative and qualitative data and in accordance with 12 “pillars of competitiveness,” which include such items as infrastructure, education, financial market development, technological readiness and market size. Mauritius got a score of 4.45, putting it in first place in Africa and in 45th globally.

That bodes well for the future of this island nation. The report defines competitiveness as "the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country," adding that "a more competitive economy is one that is likely to grow faster over time." No wonder, then, that Mauritius has finally surpassed South Africa, which has traditionally placed first on the continent on this scale but is now relegated to second place, and 53rd worldwide, with a score of 4.37. (Last year, Mauritius achieved a rank of 54, with a score of 4.35, edging close to South Africa in 52nd place with 4.37.)

South Africa is still the continent's largest economy, and it's Africa's most prolific foreign investor. But its growth rate is now among the lowest on the continent -- in July, the International Monetary Fund downgraded the country's 2013 GDP growth projection from 2.8 percent to 2 percent. The economy is hamstrung by shrinking foreign currency reserves, recurring power outages, stubborn inflation, a persistent wealth gap and ongoing strikes in the mining, manufacturing and construction industries.

In contrast, Mauritius is unburdened by such complications. Its economy depended almost entirely on sugar cultivation until 40 years ago, but it has since diversified to include more agricultural products, textiles, tourism and financial services. The island has also lately emerged as a tax haven -- especially for Indian investors -- though this is a label its central bank governor has roundly rejected. Tax haven or not, the country is clearly taking advantage of its location in the middle of Indian Ocean, positioning itself to be a banking hub and connection point as trade between Africa and Asia ramps up. Today, GDP per capita in terms of purchasing power parity is at $15,649.

That's much better than most African countries' economies are doing. The continent generally performs poorly on WEF's annual list and took four of the five worst rankings this year. Globally, the bottom five performers for 2013-14 are Sierra Leone, Yemen, Burundi, Guinea and Chad, which came in last place with a score of 2.85. At the top of the list is Switzerland, followed by Singapore, Finland, Germany and the United States.

Source: International Business Times
Image: Google

There's more truth to the adage "Elephants never forget" than you might realize

2013-09-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

Elephants are incredible creatures. The largest land mammals on earth, they show a wide range of behavioral and emotional patterns in their up-to-60-year lifespans. They grieve over the bodies of dead herd members, and can even recognize their own reflections in a mirror. And, of course, there's that old saying: "Elephants never forget." While it may be an exaggeration, there's more truth to the adage than you might realize.

In the wild, an elephant’s memory is key to its survival—and its herd’s. Each herd has a matriarchal structure, with one older female in charge. When younger males in the group reach sexual maturity—usually around 14 years of age—they leave the herd to roam solo or occasionally form groups with other males. Proof of elephants' long memories lies in their behavior: When confronted with an unfamiliar elephant, matriarchs will huddle in defensive positions because they realize that those elephants could pose a threat to the herd's safety.

Science has also proven that elephants have great memories. In 2007, researchers at the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland placed urine samples in front of female elephants at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya; according to Scientific American, the elephants "acted up" when they smelled urine that didn't come from an elephant in their herd. The researchers concluded that elephants can recognize and track as many as 30 of their companions. "Imagine taking your family to a crowded department store and the Christmas sales are on," said psychologist Richard Byrne, one of the scientists who participated in the study. "What a job to keep track of where four or five family members are. These elephants are doing it with 30 traveling-mates." Elephants “almost certainly know every [member] in their group,” Byrne said, and exhibit cognitive abilities “far in advance of anything other animals have been shown to have.”

Elephants don't just remember companions they've spent long stretches of time with, either. A pair of captive elephants have shown that these animals can recognize other friendly elephants even when they had only spent short periods of time together. At The Elephant Sanctuary—a non-profit organization based in Hohenwald, Tennessee, that is the U.S.'s largest natural-habitat refuge developed specifically for endangered elephants—in 1999, an elephant named Jenny became very animated when a new elephant named Shirley arrived. After looking into the animals’ backgrounds, workers at the Sanctuary; found that the two had performed with the same circus for only a few months—22 years earlier.

Their superb memories help elephants stay alive in ways that go beyond just recognizing threats. Matt Lewis, a Senior Program Officer with the World Wildlife Fund’s Species Conservation Program, tells mental_floss that one of the best examples of elephant cognition “comes from desert-adapted elephants, where the matriarchs remember where reliable water can be found and are able to guide their herds to water over very long distances, and over the span of many years. This is a pretty clear indication that elephants have a great ability to remember details about their spatial environment for a very long time.” Studies have also shown matriarchs who have lived through dry spells before will lead their herds to more fertile land, while younger matriarchs who haven't experienced a drought are more likely to stay put.

The elephants are able to use their whopping 10.5-pound brains to encode identification and survival details, imprinting the key data to their memory to be recalled later. But an elephant's amazing memory comes only with age and experience—and older, larger elephants are often a target of hunters. “The tragedy," says Lewis, "is that when one of these [elephants] is lost to poaching, the information dies with her,” leaving the rest of the herd at a disadvantage—and having severe consequences for the species as a whole."

Source: Mental_Floss
Image: Google

Remembering Chepkube, Sio Port, Alupe and the Kenyan Coffee boom of the 1970s that made instant millionaires...

2013-09-02T04:37:00.001-07:00

Two events happened in the ’70s that turned scores of politically-connected Kenyans into instant millionaires and sharply increased the country’s foreign exchange reserves. They both involved coffee.

First, in July 1975, temperatures in Brazil plummeted to below freezing point, destroying more than 70 per cent of the South American nation’s crop.

This catastrophe in the world’s largest coffee growing country caused acute shortages in the global markets for years as prices hit the roof.

Then in July 1977, the erratic Idi Amin, who had taken power in a coup, rounded up all Americans living in Uganda. President Jimmy Carter responded by imposing a trade embargo on Uganda’s $250 million annual coffee trade with the United States.

It meant Uganda’s coffee farmers could only beat the embargo by selling through Kenya.

Kenya’s sophisticated elite and traders took full advantage of the global demand and Uganda’s troubles.

The epicentre of their black market trade was a small village in Bungoma on the Uganda border called Chepkube.

SMUGGLED COFFEE

Every night, between 1974 and 1978, trucks weighed down by thousands of bags of smuggled coffee rumbled along Chepkube’s narrow roads.

The coffee market usually opened at midnight to the wee hours of the morning. By sunrise, it was over.

As the illicit trade boomed, a new breed of carefree millionaires emerged in Kenya. They snapped up upper class properties in Nairobi and Mombasa, bought brand-new vehicles, flew first class, and uncorked extravagant wines at overnight parties for their friends and smuggler-equals.

The smugglers — a coterie of senior politicians, administrators, and traders — all hooked together by the cash-minting thrill at night, turned the once-sleepy village of Chepkube into a paradise — or simply, Black Gold City, as one newspaper called it.

Chepkube, with an estimated population of 2,400 in 1975, was a relatively easy crossing point for the smugglers. But it was not the only one.

Other black-markets had emerged at Sio Port and Alupe in Busia, creating a smugglers’ basin of fortune.

IMPACT ON ECONOMY

The impact on Kenya’s national economy was huge. In 1977, for instance, the balance of payments recorded a Sh2.2 billion surplus for the first time, while the foreign exchange reserves reached a record level of Sh2.7 billion.

The gross domestic product increased by 7.3 per cent in real terms, while the number of people in paid employment increased by 5.3 per cent.

On the other hand, the supply of money went up sharply by 47 per cent.

Back in Kampala, Amin had given his British military adviser, Bob Astles, permission to shoot all smugglers on sight. But his unpaid soldiers were part of the racket.

They would chase the farmers carrying coffee to snatch it from them and sell to their own agents. At that time, the value of the Ugandan shilling had plummeted, with Ush100 exchanging for Ksh10.

With basic commodities like sugar, soap, fuel, tea, and detergents lacking in Uganda, Kenyans did rolling barter trade at the border.

“If the Ugandan coffee farmer manages to reach the border with his commodity and sells it to either an agent or a dealer, the first thing he does is to buy at least a loaf of bread and eat it there...” wrote one columnist.

“The next thing he thinks of is to get hold of a drink… They make sure they do not carry the Kenyan money with them for fear that it may be snatched by the soldiers.”

ORIGIN OF BODA BODA

With Amin’s soldiers always on the lookout, smuggling brought with it a new mode of transporting the cargo in small packages. It was the bicycle which moved from border to border across the no-man’s land, evading customs and the soldiers.

The term boda boda originated from this trade.

The new coffee millionaires were not taxed after President Kenyatta refused to tax the incomes of the smallholder coffee producers during the boom period, leaving the windfall to the farmers.

The trade was risky and the coffee traders always went to Chepkube armed with guns.

Take the case of Joseph Mararu. He was arrested in 1977 with eight bags of coffee and charged with driving an unregistered vehicle, disobeying the local chief, dealing with coffee without a licence, and keeping a firearm in an unsafe place.

One reporter who travelled to Chepkube recalled that at the height of the boom, prostitutes charged Sh500 from a low of Sh50. (A bag of coffee cost between Sh400 and Sh500). A bush doctor had also opened shop at the centre to treat venereal diseases.

MUD WALLED STORES

Mud-walled coffee stores where the contraband was hidden had mushroomed at the centre, guarded by men armed with simis and hidden pistols.

One Saturday, December 18, 1976, things went badly wrong at Chepkube at about 4pm. Some people reportedly broke into one of the stores where coffee worth millions of shillings was hidden.

The owners of the coffee arrived with armed hoodlums and a fight with simis and pangas ensued. When calm was restored, 10 people lay dead and more than 40 injured.

Bungoma District Commissioner George Mwangi gave all non-resident traders in the market 24 hours to leave. They refused. That is how Joseph Mararu was arrested and charged with disobeying the local chief.
The gravity of the smuggling was exposed when Labour Minister, Ngala Mwendwa, told a meeting that the smugglers were senior government officials.

“They do it in government vehicles and, by virtue of their positions, no one can question them. You just salute and let them pass… I am sure President Kenyatta is not aware of such people.

He is just being told that certain commodities are missing, but it is not explained to him why and how they are missing. Otherwise, he would have fired such people on the spot.”

Those who managed to smuggle their produce past the police roadblocks eventually used their Coffee Board licences to pass the beans as genuine Kenyan produce or export it on their own.

BARS AND HOTELS

In Nairobi bars and hotels, the smugglers washed down their “hard work”. They abandoned taking ordinary beers. At worst they were at home taking Johnnie Walkers in upmarket bars or down at the coast, where beach plots were snapped on offer.

It is estimated that between 1976 and 1977, more than 30 per cent of Uganda’s coffee production of about 70,000 tonnes was smuggled into Kenya.

The smugglers spread their tentacles to the DR Congo, then known as Zaire. World Bank statistics show that about 40 per cent of Zaire’s produce was smuggled out between 1975 and 1977. Most of it passed through Kenya.

Then there were those who specialised in stealing from fellow smugglers. Others targeted coffee from local farmers.

In 1978, two MPs, Muhuri Muchiri of Embakasi and Makuyu’s Jesse Mwangi Gachago, were jailed for five years after they were found guilty of stealing coffee worth Sh1.2 million while in transit from Malaba to Mombasa. Muchiri had told the court that he had purchased the coffee for Sh380,000.

STATUTORY BODIES

In an effort to stem the smuggling, the Cabinet announced in February 1977 that all export and marketing of coffee, tea, cotton, and horticultural products must be carried out through statutory bodies.

The bodies were Coffee Board of Kenya, Tea Board, Horticultural Crops Development Authority, and Cotton Lint Marketing Board.

But nothing much changed. In fact, the smugglers started stealing coffee from local farmers.

On May 5, 1977, Kangema MP Joseph Kamotho asked the government to form an anti-coffee theft unit to crack down on the thieves.

Mr Kamotho said he had no quarrel with those who smuggled coffee at the border and sold it through their own ways because they brought the money back to the country.

“But I am worried about our farmers who at present are spending sleepless nights in fear that their hard-earned coffee might be stolen,” he said.

In June 1977, Attorney General Charles Njonjo told Parliament that customs and airport officials must be having deals with the black market racketeers.

CUSTOM OFFICERS

Mr Njonjo said that the thriving trade could not survive on such a large scale if the customs officers were strict. “Some of them must be in collusion with the racketeers,” he told Parliament.

Mr Njonjo noted that the black market in coffee was thriving, and that various commodities were being exported “tax free”.

He added: “Mysterious planes have been spotted at the airport. Where they have come from and what they do here nobody knows.

This is a serious matter because one day goods which could endanger the country’s security might be brought in without our knowledge.”

In June 1977, smugglers arrived at the Tanzania border town of Taveta looking for coffee. A report by the Kenya News Agency said that all available rooms in hotels and lodging houses were taken by “people never seen before in the area.”

Tanzania had in February that year closed her border with Kenya, leaving the country’s smugglers to transport the beans across the bush to Kenyan buyers.

“Transportation is done on people’s backs. They take it from Moshi area on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, an area where coffee grows quite well,” the report said.

NEW ROUTES

Kiambu police in November 1978 announced that coffee smugglers were using new routes to avoid roadblocks.

A senior police spokesman told the press that police would continue to deal with people found smuggling coffee from Uganda until smuggling was stamped out.

He said smugglers had been using some of the routes used by Safari Rally drivers by diverting from the Narok road to Kibiku, Kiserian, and Ongata Rongai via Ngong to Nairobi.

Then the bubble burst. Coffee prices fell sharply at the end of 1978. At the national level, Kenya used the boom to build a solid postal service, an airline, and railways.

The coffee boom had cushioned the country from the shock of the 1977 oil crisis.

Source: The Daily Nation

Whatever Might Be Said - Mugabe Won The Elections Fair and Square

2013-08-27T03:59:00.001-07:00

By all reliable accounts, Mr. Robert Mugabe won the recent presidential Zimbabwean elections free and fair. The 15-nation Southern African Development Community and African Union (AU) mission - both dismiss the complaints of fraud; they say the election was fair and free. But some Western powers, for their own selfish, ulterior reasons and motives do not want to accept the results. They keep on insisting otherwise. They are not doing this because they care much for Zimbabweans; those against Mugabe, are more interested in Zimbabwe's natural resources than how elections take place there. In fact, its natural resources are the prime interest and not Zimbabweans at all.

The criticisms and attacks, by the West, directed at Mugabe and his regime have very little to do with 'human rights' or 'democracy'. It's all to do with self interests and goals. Had Mugabe been serving the interests of those out of Zimbabwe now criticizing him, nothing much would have been said against him. He would have been pampered and courted. Note how the same people who are so vocal and aggressive against Mugabe, are very supportive of other dictators and autocrats in Africa; and how reluctant they are on doing any thing that would offend the present dictators in Egypt.

I am not supporting Mugabe's elections because I support the man or what has become of Zimbabwe's economy - in 2008, I sated on this site: Robert Mugabe is undoubtedly a bully and an autocrat; at times - a brutal dictator. There is no doubt too, that he has caused immense suffering and misery for his people. He has ruled for too long; and, even with his hairs dyed and a wife half his age, he is too old. But, still, very few (if any) African leaders can now stand up to the West's meddling and interference in African affairs when they feel matters, elections in particular, are not to their interests. Mugabe does that; without fear. For that, for standing up to neocolonialism - he wins my uttermost respect and admiration. And many other people's around Africa and the world.

Time for Africa to take on West over Mugabe: PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s landslide victory in Zimbabwe’s July 31 elections might have put the West in a spot, but it is Africa that has a hotter potato to handle. The US refuses to accept the result while the European Union (EU) remarked that the elections were "broadly peaceful" but did not go the full distance and accept them. A number of western countries, former British colonies Australia and Canada, took a harder line and denounced the elections. The African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) have endorsed the poll. Fortunately for the continent, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which ran against Mugabe and challenged the outcome, has withdrawn the objection it had lodged with the Zimbabwean high court.......Africa must show what it is made of if the EU and US refuse to recognise the new Mugabe government.

Postscript: I would like to make this clear - I do not condone or support any form of Mr. Mugabe's brutalities or racism. It doesn't mean that if one admires the way Hitler managed to conquer, swiftly and incredibly so fast, so much of Europe that would mean that, that person is an admirer of Hitler.

I do not like the way the West belittles African decisions or declarations - the African Union's in particular. I do not like the way the West likes to arm-twist Africa and its duplicity on the continent - supporting regimes that are similar or worst than Mugabe's because these regimes allow them to extract their resources. I admire the way Mr. Mugabe manages to stand up strongly against neocolonialism; not the way he manages or runs Zimbabwe - a country where I have many personal friends who suffer under his rule; and who are in fact mainly with the opposition. I abhor his brutality, but that aside - you have to salute the man for the way he has outmaneuvered his enemies who are mainly the West.

More on Zimbabwe:

+ Of Robert Mugabe
+ Morgan Tsvangirai sworn in as Prime Minister
+ While Zimbabweans starve........

Kenya's Elephants May Become Extinct Soon

2013-07-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

Kenya’s elephants could be wiped out by poaching in 10 years, unless urgent measures are taken to end the crisis, International wildlife conservationists warned here this week.

A demand for ivory and rhino horns in the lucrative Asian black market has attracted cartels to Africa that are presently carrying-out cold blood killings of the animals, the conservationists say. In Kenya, the situation is at its worst now, according to Richard Leakey, an internationally famed paleontologist and founder of WildlifeDirect, a conservation charity.

“There has never been such a level of killing as we are experiencing today. Unless we do something now elephants will be gone from the wild within the next decade,” says Dr. Leakey, speaking at a presentation in the Kenyan capital.
“I believe partnerships with private sectors are critical. We cannot afford any further delay and we have to be tough," Leakey added.

In 1979, when 1.2 million elephants roamed Africa, Kenya had 167,000, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Today, Africa has an estimated 300,000 pachyderms, representing about a 75 per cent loss since 1979, figures compiled by WildlifeDirect.

Between January and May of this year, 117 elephants and 21 rhinos have been killed by poachers. In 2012, 384 elephants were killed compared to 278 in 2011 and 178 in 2010, according to Kenyan figures and the British newspaper The Telegraph. The Kenyan agency says there are between 30,000 and 38,000 elephants now living in Kenya, although no physical count has been done. Some conservationists think this figure could be lower.

The warning came with the launch in Nairobi of a conservation partnership called Hands off our Elephants on July 24, that brings together government, private sector, activist and community groups and individuals. The initiative seeks to create awareness about poaching and demands an escalation of anti-poaching efforts.

Hilary Clinton, former US secretary of state, announced a similar initiative in the US, according to a WildlifeDirect statement.

John Heminway, an American filmmaker and writer, said the news about the decline of the large and intelligent mammals has been on the wall for at least a decade. But he argues the intensity of poaching has increased in recent months.

Mr. Heminway's film, "Battle for the Elephants," was set to premiere in Nairobi July 26. The film outlines an elaborate illegal trade in ivory trophies and other illicit ivory products through East African ports to Asian countries such as China.

In China, an estimated 80 per cent of middle class families, those earning around $32,000 a year, have admitted purchasing ivory, according to Heminway. Of these, some 65 per cent are aware the purchases are of illegal ivory from poached elephants in Africa, he said.

Judi Wakhungu, Kenya’s presidential cabinet minister for the envirnment described the partnership as the beginning of the public awareness campaign to eradicate poaching and trade in ivory products.

“The security of elephants is a good indicator of the state of other species in our county,” said Dr. Wakhungu.

With increased poaching, Kenya has officially said that all poaching cases will be prosecuted as economic crimes. Kenya has also revised the punitive penalties upwards, with some as high as $62,5000 joined to prison time of up to 15 years.

Paula Kahumbu, executive head of WildlifeDirect Kenya, urged governments in Africa, Thailand, China and the USA to aid anti-poaching efforts by banning all sale of ivory, since legal markets were cover-ups for the illegal trade.

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

Rwanda still least corrupt country in Africa

2013-07-10T00:54:00.000-07:00

Transparency International has ranked Rwanda the least corrupt country on the African continent.

According to a report dubbed ‘The Global Corruption Barometer’ (TI GCB 2013), countries were put in clusters depending on the prevalence of corruption. Rwanda is in the group whose corruption incidence ranges between 10 and 14.9 per cent.
The report was released yesterday.

Rwanda’s bribery rate was put at 13 per cent.

No other African country appeared in this category. Sudan and Tunisia follow as the second least corrupt countries (between 15-19.9 per cent), while Madagascar is in the next category (20-29 per cent).
Rwanda stood out among East African partner states, most of them falling within the range of 50-74.9 per cent.

The corruption trends in East Africa show that Rwanda is the least bribery-prone country in the region with an aggregate index of 2.5 per cent.

Rwanda’s EAC partners Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda fall within the 50-74.9 per cent category. Globally, Rwanda is outside the two top categories (under 5 and 5.9.9 per cent) and is ranked 13th least corrupt country worldwide.

As far as institutions in individual countries are concerned, the East African region has the highest bribery rate in police, the report says.

In Rwanda, the police and Judiciary were on top at 2.1 and 2.0 scores out of 5 respectively.

The main motive that was given by the respondents for paying a bribe in the region, Rwanda inclusive, was “to speed things up.”

Thus, Paul Banoba, the regional coordinator, Transparency International for East and the Horn of Africa, cautioned; “this shows clearly that our countries have delays in service delivery; if we need to change corruption trends, we should take it into consideration.”

In other circumstances, it was proved that people give bribe as the only way to get a service or to get a cheaper service.

In some cases, bribes were given in the name of expression of gratitude.

Why Rwanda is leading

The GCB for 2012 and first quarter of 2013 is a survey on 114,000 people in 107 countries and it shows that corruption is widespread.

However, in the Rwandan context, there was a significant decline, despite the fact that the country’s corruption index has for years been comparatively low.

Almost all the respondents relate the decline to the political will, aided by the zeal by the Rwandan citizens to uproot the vice.

This political will is reflected on the government effectiveness which is the highest in Sub Saharan Africa, rated at 95 per cent, officials said.

At the release of the report yesterday, the Minister of Local Government James Musoni, attributed the decrease of corruption in the country to different mechanisms in place.

“We have a transparent, accountable and good governance system beside institutions and committees fighting corruption at different levels,” he said.

Among the institutions, he cited were Office of the Ombudsman, the anti-corruption committees and councils at all levels, among others.

Musoni, however, said, the country’s efforts to achieve zero corruption can never succeed without full participation of the citizens, and thus adding the government has always brought them on board.

The Executive Director of TI-Rwanda, Apollinaire Mupiganyi backed the minister, saying that without the citizens on board, bribery cannot be eliminated, or successfully fought in which ever form.

Police cleaning their closet

But the participants were worried that in Rwanda, police and judiciary are the most corrupt, yet they are supposed to be at the forefront of the fight against corruption.

Mupiganyi responded that “the more interaction between the service provider and the client the more temptations to bribery; but there is a hope that it will keep decreasing since people still have trust in these institutions, which is very crucial”.

According to Sheikh Musa Fazil Harelimana, Minister of Internal Security, “the fight against corruption in police is ongoing”.

In a separate interview, he told The New Times, that they have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Office of Ombudsman to exchange information on corruption in the force.

“When a policeman is suspected and there is clear evidence of them taking a bribe, they are suspended even before court procedures,” he said.

Over the last year, Harelimana said 40 police personnel were dismissed over corruption-related offenses.

The minister added that corruption was most reported in traffic police and at the vehicle technical control centre, but these sections have been restructured and staff empowered to fight the vice.

All the continents, except Africa, are represented in the least corrupt countries in the world with less than 5 per cent bribery rate.

This bracket includes Australia, South Korea, Malaysia, Norway, Japan, Belgium, Maldives, Portugal, Uruguay, New Zealand, Spain, Georgia and Finland.

The United States and United Kingdom are in the second category of the least corrupt, within the 5-9.9 per cent category.

The two most corrupt countries in the world, the report says, are Liberia and Sierra Leone. The two are the only countries with corruption incidence above 75 per cent.

Source: The New Times
Reference: Transparency Intenational

Earth’s melting polar ice has been speaking to scientists and the message is terrifying

2013-06-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

In the seven years since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Box says that Earth’s melting polar ice has been speaking loudly and clearly to scientists—and the message is terrifying:

“If we’ve learned anything, it’s that we’re under-predicting the sensitivity of the cryosphere,” he says. “The ice is telling us that abrupt climate change is well underway. You’ll hear people say we’re going into uncharted territory, but that’s not correct. We are already in uncharted territory.”

Simply put, we’re melting the world’s ice-covered regions. And this extreme thaw is a problem for two big reasons. One, the excess water will cause sea levels to rise, thereby threatening countless coastal communities. And two, increasing amounts of water vapor in the atmosphere will effectively prime the pump for more and more extreme weather events.

In 2012, the Arctic ice cap shrank to a record low, with only 24 percent of the Arctic Ocean covered by ice, a 50 percent drop from 1979, when satellite observation began. And, since 1983, the Arctic has warmed more than any other place on the planet.

Even more alarming estimates predict that all of Greenland’s ice—both surface and subsurface—could vanish completely by 2100. And when this happens, residents around the globe will be displaced from their homes as sea levels rise.

“The polar areas used to be 90 percent frozen all summer; now, it’s 50 percent open ocean...”

Almost a quarter of the northern hemisphere is covered by permafrost. Entombed in this frozen ground is an awful lot of primordial organic material, mostly roots and leaves, which contains up to 1,700 gigatons of carbon—almost twice the quantity that’s currently in the atmosphere. Complicating matters, scientists aren’t yet sure of the gaseous form that the carbon in this prehistoric subterranean vault will take when the permafrost inevitably thaws.

Is there any body, politicians and leaders in particular, listening? Read more and take part here: What the Ice Is Telling Us.

Stand for a future in which people live in harmony with nature!

2013-06-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

We believe our future can, and should, be powered by nature.

The energy systems in place across the planet within the next four years will define the world’s climate change path for generations.

All countries have a right to develop, yet we need to invest money now in clean and renewable energy – to limit dangerous climate change, to reduce the risk to human health from fossil fuels, to fast-track access to energy, and to safeguard our collective future.

We call on financial institutions and governments worldwide to act immediately to invest more in sustainable energy powered by wind, water and the sun. They must phase out investments in coal, oil and gas and enable a just transition from the dirty and unsustainable energy of today.

The world needs investment in nature, and there are good reasons to do so now more than ever. We stand for a future in which people live in harmony with nature. Investing in fossil fuels threatens the natural world and the stability of communities and society. Investing in renewable energy will support a clean, sustainable future for all.

There must be no financial reward for environmental and human harm. We choose to invest in solutions rather than problems: join us.

Join WWF and Seize your power.

Safari Notes: Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania

2013-06-09T06:13:00.001-07:00

Spectacular Selous Game Reserve

As a child, I and my family spent some years in Iringa, Tanzania and areas around it - Iringa is a town with beautiful surroundings and an excellent climate. Not far - South East of Iringa, is one of the most breathtaking, wonderful and pristine wilderness and game reserves in the world: the Selous Game Reserve. Selous (pronounced Seloo, is named after Englishman, Frederick Courtney Selous - conservationist, hunter, explorer and author) is the largest game reserve in Tanzania and due to its uniqueness, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reserve is approximately 55,000 square kilometers - about 21,236 square miles (that is four times the size of the Serengeti, more than three times the size of Swaziland and more than twice the size of Rwanda; almost five times the size of Qatar; larger than Costa Rica or Netherlands or Denmark or Bhutan or Switzerland; and more than twice the sizes of Massachusetts or Vermont or New Hampshire). I quote from UNESCO: large numbers of elephants, black rhinoceroses, cheetahs, giraffes, hippopotamuses and crocodiles live in this immense sanctuary. The park has a variety of vegetation zones, ranging from dense thickets to open wooded grasslands......it is amongst the largest protected areas in Africa and is relatively undisturbed by human impact. The property harbors one of the most significant concentrations of elephant, black rhinoceros, cheetah, giraffe, hippopotamus and crocodile, amongst many other species. The reserve also has an exceptionally high variety of habitats including Miombo woodlands, open grasslands, riverine forests and swamps, making it a valuable laboratory for on-going ecological and biological processes.

Selous: a remote, vast, absolutely wild and unspoiled wilderness is not easy to access. Traveling by road from the city of Dar es Salaam, via Kibiti to Mloka and the Selous Mbega Main Camp on the Rufiji River - takes 6 to 8 hour. Or from Morogoro to Kisaki and the Selous Mbega Camp, Kisaki Annex - will take you 4 to 5 hours. Or from Dar es Salaam via DSM Airport and Kisarawe to the Selous Mbega, Main Camp on the Rufiji River, but this can be very difficult when wet, and not many vehicles use this route. No route should be attempted without a 4WD vehicle. Or take the 5 to 6 hour trip by train from Dar es Salaam TAZARA (Tanzania Zambia Railroad) station, to the Kisaki station near the Selous Game Reserve where you can arrange to be picked up by a vehicle from the Selous Mbega Camp, Kisaki Annex. Or take the less than an hour daily scheduled flights from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar to the Selous Game Reserve; or use the more expensive charter flight from Dar es Salaam to Mtemere or Matmbwe airstrips which serve Selous. As roads are not easily accessible during the rainy season and the train ride is rather tedious, it is preferable to take a chartered flight if you can afford it (you can easily get flights but you have to arrange and book early). Note: there are special offers for backpackers with local bus services.

The best time to visit the reserve is during the dry season(June to November), as there is a much better opportunity of spotting more and a wider range of animals during this period. The reserve is very rarely crowded and is a habitat for some of the greatest concentrations of wildlife on the continent, including tens of thousands of elephants,cape buffaloes, black rhinos, giraffes, African hunting dogs, several big cats and over half a million antelopes including sable, kudu, eland, hartebeest and Nyassa wildebeest; and you can easily see cheetahs here. Hundreds of different species of birds and thousands of plant species (one of the largest faunal reserves in the world) inhabit its diverse and striking landscape.The largest river in Tanzania, the Rufiji, runs through the reserve and it is through this mighty river that you can take a boat safari and see hippos, crocodiles and the many birds along the river. A wide array of accommodation is available in Selous, ranging from budget tented camps to very expensive, super luxury lodges and camps.

Due to it being protected by UNESCO, Selous has retained most of its wilderness, but it won't be long before all that, very sadly, change. Poaching, of elephants in particular, has intensified in the reserve in the last few years, and there is talk of some mining to start in the south; that will be no good for one of the greatest game wonders of the world. The reserve has also been able to maintain its uniqueness and remain unscathed due to the way it is managed: nine tenths of it, south of the Rufiji River, are set aside for hunting - leased out as private concessions where rich Russians, Americans, Arabs, Europeans. Japanese, Chinese and others come and pay hefty prices to shoot big game - this means that very few people ever set foot on this 90% of the reserve; and in the south, one tenth is set aside for photographic safaris - this is where most people go to.

The reserves landscape varies from rolling grassy woodlands and plains, to rocky outcrops intersected by the Rufiji River - the lifeblood of the reserve, whose tributaries form a network of lakes, lagoons and channels. There are even volcanic hot springs in some places. The Rufiji, by boat, offers a superb method of game viewing especially during the dry season when animals congregate. Very, very few tourists (the very lucky ones) get to see this scenic, extraordinary and spectacular part of Tanzania - the Selous; in fact - due to the remoteness of Selous and the expenses required, very, very few tourists can afford to come here. If you are fit and don't mind the discomfort, you can go to the reserve by road or rail, and then stay at one of the tented camps. Make sure to take and use drugs for malaria prophylaxis. To go to and experience the Selous Game Reserve, is a safari like no other and is comparable to no wildlife seeing adventure you have ever taken.

+ Tanzania Tourist Board
+ For more photos of Selous Game Reserve go to Flickr
+ Tanzania on Google Maps
+ Selous on Google Maps
+ More on Selous here, here and here
+ Wikitravel guide

Facts And Things You Should Know About Snow Leopards

2013-06-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

The Snow Leopard. They scale the great, steep slopes of mountains in Central Asia with ease, blending into the landscape. They are known for their beautiful, thick fur, with white, yellowish or soft gray coat and ringed spots of black on brown - which help camouflage them from prey. Here are some basic facts about these beautiful cats:

There are endangered and are believed to be fewer than 7,000 snow leopards in the wild and about 600 to 700 in zoos around the world.

They are solitary and elusive nature.

They are found at altitudes between 9,800 and 17,000 feet in the high, rugged mountains of Central Asia. Their range spans from Afghanistan to Kazakhstan and Russia in the north to India and China in the east. China contains about 60% of snow leopard habitat. They have already disappeared from certain parts of Mongolia, which is part of their historic range.

Humans are the sole predator of snow leopards, just as we are the sole predators of most endangered animals on Earth. Head and body length is 47-59 inches, while the long, thick tail is 31-39 inches long. They use it for balance when moving and extra warmth at rest, when it’s wrapped around the body and face.

Snow leopards have very large paws that act as snowshoes and keep them from sinking into the snow. Their paws are also completely fur-covered, protecting them from the cold.

They prefer to inhabit steep cliff areas, rocky outcrops and ravines. They can spring from a distance of 20 - 50 feet when stalking their prey. Their prey include blue sheep (bharal) of Tibet and the Himalaya, as well as the mountain ibex found over most of the rest of their range. Though these powerful predators can kill animals three times their weight, they also eat smaller fare, such as marmots, hares, and game birds.

One Indian snow leopard, protected and observed in a national park, is reported to have consumed five blue sheep, nine Tibetan woolly hares, twenty-five marmots, five domestic goats, one domestic sheep, and fifteen birds in a single year. The habitat of the snow leopard continues to decline as increased grazing and human settlements fragment the historic range of the species.

Survival Threats: Poaching for the fur trade, loss of habitat caused by deforestation and dam projects, and loss of food sources caused by similar environmental pressures.

Mostly active at dawn and dusk, snow leopards are rarely seen in the wild. Unlike other big cats, snow leopards are unable to roar. Solitary in nature, they pair only during the breeding season.

Reproduction: Mating Season -Between January and mid-March. Gestation: period 3-3 ½ months. Litter size: 2-3 cubs.

Fast Facts: Height - About 2 feet (.6m) at shoulders. Length - 6-7.5 feet (1.8-2.3m) (includes 40-inch (1m) tail length). Weight - 77-120 lbs (35-55 kg). Female snow leopards are about 30% smaller than males. Lifespan - Their reclusive nature makes it hard to determine snow leopard lifespan in the wild. They have, however, been known to live for as long as 21 years in captivity.

+ World Wildlife Fund
+ Defenders
+ National Geographic
+ More Detailed Facts: Snow Leopard Trust
+ Arkive
+ BBC Nature
+ Google Images
+ Google Videos

Six Of The Biggest Myths About Using Renewable Energy In South Africa (and Africa) Blown Away

2013-06-06T06:43:00.000-07:00

The evidence is in: Renewable energy is viable, reliable, and ready to go – all that’s missing is the political will to kick start an energy revolution in South Africa and the rest of Africa. Here are some of the most common myths about renewable energy - just that – myths that don’t stand up to reality. Not only for South Africa, but for the rest of the African countries - the facts are overwhelmingly in favor of using renewable, sustainable, clean energy:

Right now, renewable energy is actually already cheaper than coal and nuclear power at every step.
Renewables technology is ready to go, and is working reliably in countries around the world.
The key to getting a constant supply of electricity from renewable energy is to have a mix of sources: solar and wind power, natural gas, and anaerobic digestion plants. By having a mix of sources which are spread over a wide area, we ensure there will always be a supply of energy.
The reality is that South Africa’s and other African countries' grids – the systems that connect power stations to consumers – need to be improved or replaced regardless of the power source they use. It would be far more efficient to upgrade to new smart grid systems than waste money on old systems that will continue having problems down the line. It’s similar to the the choice between repairing an old VCR or buying a new DVD player.
Birds and bats: A common argument against wind farms is that they kill birds and bats. However, if environmental impact assessments are conducted and migratory patterns are assessed before construction, this is avoided completely. It is vital that these assessments are made to ensure the safety of birds and bats, as with any development project.
The Energy [R]evolution is about a gradual transition to renewable energy. It’s a blueprint for how South Africa and other countries in Africa can decrease their reliance on coal, nuclear and other non-renewable energy over time, while investing increasingly in renewables.

Now, let’s get going! Read the full article on Greenpeace Africa which is on South Africa, but the same can be said and applied to the rest of Africa: Renewable Energy Myths.

How to enable the new Gmail Inbox

2013-06-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

Anyone using Gmail can have the new brand inbox Gmail look which allows you to 'select the tabs you want from all five to none, drag-and-drop to move messages between tabs, set certain senders to always appear in a particular tab and star messages so that they also appear in the Primary tab.' To have the new look - sign in to your Gmail, (as shown above) and on the right hand corner, click 'Settings', click 'Configure inbox' and enable the new look by clicking 'OK' as shown below.

You will have the new look as shown below.

I believe, by now, everyone - by clicking on 'Settings', and clicking on the 'Configure inbox' option in the drop down - can now have the new look. If you still don't have the option to change to the new inbox look, keep on checking; you will have the option soon. The changes are available for Android and iOS users. 'If the new inbox isn't quite your style, you can simply switch off all optional tabs to go back to classic view, or switch to any of your other favorite inbox types.'

The Kakapo Parrot: is the World's Most Favorite Species

2013-05-27T02:50:00.002-07:00

The Kakapo Parrot

If asked to choose which animal is their most favorite, most people's choice would be an animal that is common and known to most people. My choice is the elephant; of all animals, for many reasons - I like and love elephants. ARkive, a charitable non-profit organization, recently asked people around the world to vote on and say what their World's Favourite Species is, and the result is surprising but very encouraging. Furthest from my thoughts, was a creature that very few people know of or have heard of; and even fewer, have seen: a critically endangered, flightless, heavy parrot found in the wild only in New Zealand. The Kakapo - scientific name Strigops habroptila.

The magnificent kakapo stole 9% of the total votes. It’s a beautiful bird that cannot fly and is only found in New Zealand. But from the many thousands of creatures with which we share our precious planet, what made the kakapo stand out from the crowd? For most of you, tragically, it was the kakapo’s Critically Endangered status. We hope the title of World’s Favourite Species will bring it the attention it deserves. Know more of the World's Top 10 favorite species...

The Kakapo is very rare, critically endangered and very cuddly. Though I did not vote for it, I applaud and congratulate all those who did. This media exposure might, in a way, help in saving from extinction in the wild, this strange, greenish, nocturnal bird. How many people know or have heard of or are aware of this amazing bird? Very, very very few indeed. Just as very, very few people have knowledge or are aware of the many creatures that share this Planet with us; with an extensive and huge data and information, ARkive's website can help you know many of these creatures.

+ ARkive: Facts and Photos of the Kakapo
+ BBC: on the Kakapo
+ Kakapo Recovery
+ National Geographic
+ Kiwi Conservation Club
+ A-Z Of Animals
+ New Zealand Government
+ The Fabulous Kakapo
+ News About the Kakapo
+ Images of the Kakapo Parrot

What Can You Do To Celebrate And To Support World Penguin Day?

2013-04-26T02:10:00.000-07:00

Do you love penguins? Most of us do. And can there be a better way to express that love and support than helping in saving these very adorable creatures? Right now there is an opportunity to protect these amazing animals by helping establish the world’s two largest sanctuaries at sea around Antarctica. Adding your voice will help protect countless penguins, whales, seals and nearly 10,000 other incredible species.

*Despite the best efforts of the Happy Feet penguins, the Southern Ocean is not yet protected. That’s why Greenpeace is working with the Antarctic Oceans Alliance, and lobbying governments to come together to protect areas like the Ross Sea, which are vital for many penguins.

You can help Greepeace, and the penguins, by joining their call for ocean sanctuaries around Antarctica, and by spreading the word about World Penguin Day.

Learn more | Sign the petition

+ Facts About Penguins: Defenders, World Wildlife Fund, World Conservation Society and Livescience

Kenya and Uganda: students can rate Performance of lecturers and report corruption

2013-04-23T03:01:00.000-07:00

Not In My Country

Of all places, no where else is corruption as abhorrent as when it happens in institutions of learning and education. Any one who knows the workings of East African secondary and high schools, colleges and universities - would most likely know, too, how corrupt those working in them can be. Headmasters, principals and heads of colleges and universities are known to take bribes or ask for other forms of favours which can be: financial, material or even sexual. Many know how some one was admitted in a certain educational institution because he/she gave bribes or provided some form of favour Many, too, know of favors being given to teachers or instructors or lecturers for the benefit of a student.

I recall, years ago, while in a boys' boarding school of hundreds of students - there was this fat matron who used certain of us sexually for her to give us some favour or extra stuff. She would either aggressively cajole or bully and get her way. Then, I thought it was fun and helpful, but years later when thinking of this - I have been so disgusted and so overwhelmed with repugnance that I some times vomit. I become so angered at times that this hippo of a woman, who was more than twice our age, had such a large choice of boys to choose from (she was the one who decided who she would use and she made sure that none of us reported her or knew that she was sexually abusing others). Such sexual abuses happen in many educational institutions. Men working in such institutions, in particular, are known to use their powers to get sexual favours from female students or teachers.

Now, for those in universities in Kenya and Uganda, there is a way of reporting such corrupt, irresponsible and abusive people working in many of these institutions. Not In My Country is an Internet, online site started by some very clever, anonymous people for reporting indecent activities by university lecturers and administrative personnel. Through the website, students can anonymously and securely rate the job performance of their lecturers and administrators, report corruption committed by these individuals, and also view and participate in performance rankings of academic staff and departments....read more here.

I have been wondering: had I such a tool years ago - would I have reported that fat woman? Browsing through the Not In My Country website, I see that very, very few students are using it to rate or report. The only way that this very useful tool can properly work, is if most students use it. University students should know that by using the website, they would be very much helping in ending corrupt and abusive behaviours and serving society. At the same time, the website can also be used maliciously, to intentionally and wrongly malign or spoil lecturers' or other university personnel's names. Any student or anyone who uses this website in such a negative and cruel, is as bad as those taking bribes or abusing their offices.