Friends, I will be taking a short break starting tomorrow to attempt the third highest peak of Mt Kenya. It is the second highest mountain in Africa at 17,058 ft high and having done it 4 times before I know how thin the air is up there (and I was a fit young spring chicken back then!). It’s not unusual for people to get mountain sickness or mountain madness, finally I’ll have a good excuse for my crazy ways. I’m taking a different route this time, through the Sirimon trail and back down the Chogoria trail which is apparently stunningly beautiful. The purpose of course is to get to Pt. Lenana, 16,355 ft. This peak is named after a Masai Paramount chief. My itinerary for that day which comes after 4 days of climbing reads “Kick off at 3.am to reach pt Lenana 16,355 ft in time for the sun rise. Damn they have good marketers! It sounds so good - especially the log fire (poor trees) and ‘full breakfast’ … somehow I doubt a big meal will be quite as well appreciated as at lower altitudes, but my adrenalin is already flowing. You can read about adventures on Mt Kenya blogs here and here Mount Kenya is a spiritually important place in Kenya, and I feel massively compelled to climb. Part of me wants to witness what is happening on the mountain, it is a National Park, a National Forest and a World Heritage site that is very well protected. However, scientists say it is also horribly affected by climate change with the glaciers melting at fantastic rates, we have already lost 45% of our glaciers, and its predicted to be gone in 15 years. I want to see the snow again before it’s gone. As usual I’ll get you some photos and perhaps a podcast about the adventure. I’m meant to be on leave for that week long climb, and although I’m doing it for fun I’m sure there will be a huge amount of pain involved, I’ll probably need another break afterwards! Wish me luck! Oh, and finally, I’ll be up the mountain when the Stockholm Challenge results are announced. Please please monitor it and let me know if we win anything!
Greetings everyone. This morning I had to apply for my USA Visa - I had to wake up at 6 am to get to the visa center in time - 7 am. I got there early but there was already quite a crowd. After a body search and bag search I was allowed into the compound. Then I joined the queue, it started raining, luckily the path is covered, which wasn’t the case last year when I had to stand in the rain for an hour - you see if you miss your visa appointment its virtually impossible to get another one. The lady in front of me had an open basket and I could see a whole picnic in there! I teased her about it and she confirmed to me that she was anticipating a 4 hour wait in the queue! After an hour of slowly nudging forwards, I got to the window and then into a door - it’s like an obstacle course. There the search is repeated and my computer was wiped and tested chemically - to my horror the alarms went of in screeching bleeps. They tried another box of the wipes, same thing. They did something to the machine turned the machine and tried again. The alarms screamed. They started to look at me with great suspicion, ask questions, make phone calls, ‘had anyone else used my computer?’ they asked. No! The problem they said was that the machine was registering chemicals… I asked if they could be agricultural chemicals and they said ‘organophosphates” …bugger, I told them about the pot of Furadan on my desk which I bought and wrote about a few posts ago in our Stop Poisoning Wildlife campaign. I was told to step out of the building, and after a few more phone calls I was asked to take my computer away and come back without it! Luckily my car was nearby so I dropped it off, returned to the queue and there was no further drama, I submitted my documents and had my fingerprints taken, two and a half hours later and 150$ poorer I was back in the sunshine. I have to return tomorrow to pick up the passport. It felt like the longest morning although it was nothing compared to my last visit where I was rained on, insulted by guards and stood in queues for many hours. Actually, I’m not here to write and complain about the visa process (it’s truly miles better than last year) but to give you an update about the baby gorilla sales. Well, several people have tried calling and faxing, but nobody seems to be at the other end of that telephone number. However, Botha middle farm does exist and infact has a church and a school on it. I found several references to it on the interenet. It is in LImbe and very close to the Limbe sanctuary We have contacted the folks at Limbe as well as at LAGA the Last Great Ape Organization which is based in Cameroon. They are amazing and solve wildlife crimes by working with local authorities. They sent me this report. “The first two arrests of the week were of leopard and Caracal skin dealers in the North of Cameroon. The third succeeded just today, of an internet dealer. He was arrested following a complaint from Malaysia and caught with a falsified CITES permit for sulcata tortoises. He admitted regularly carrying these illegal activities, falsifying CITES permits for several protected animals including chimps for more than a year. He stated that he has many collaborators around the world, including a Cameroonian based in China , that sends him contacts and “blank” CITES permits to “fill in”. As Sone’s work gets us more and more Internet trade and fraud arrests, our strategies are improved. I renew my call for more collaboration - please forward us any relevant complaints.
All 3 dealers are locked behind bars after blocking several attempts of obstruction of justice. A forth case of this week was initiated by the Ministry asking for our legal support.
I want to renew my appeal for financial assistance urgently needed in Congo . Our short mission in Congo can result in a sustainable impact if we use the momentum to set up a local structure. Project proposal is available for a structure that would be run by The Aspinall Foundation, financially audited by WCS and with technical support of LAGA.”
I told them about the baby gorilla and they promised to look into it. I also invited them to start blogging with us as I’m sure they have one or two great stories to tell. I’ll keep you posted on developments. In the meanwhile if you haven’t already done it, please take our online survey to help us with our strategic planning process. Just click here to start
We are numbed by news of human killings every day – Iraq, Gaza, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe,….frankly my I can’t understand it. But what we rarely hear about is the daily wildlife death toll. I’ve come across even more madness of the intelligent ape. In what may be the most memorable day of their lives, two boys in Sutter County California were convicted of a wildlife killing spree in which they slaughtered at least 13 deer a turkey and a vulture. They have just been sentenced to 40 and 50 hours of community services and of 2,400 and 2,000 each, and they won’t be able to hunt again until they turn 21. The news article doesn’t explain why these boys did it. Do you think their punishment was fair? I think they should be banned from hunting for life! In fact, I wish that we could use our intelligence to turn people around – rehabilitate them. Perhaps these boys should be put into a program that inspires them to care about nature? Ok if that was illogical, what about the use of rare and endangered species in Chinese diet and medicine? I’m all for culture, but not when it’s killing our environment. I don’t know how many wild animals die each year – but reading this and this made me extremely sad. How can we make a difference with this kind of appetite? Its not just the species but the cruelty that these animals endure that makes me feel positively depressed. Sky News did a special under cover story on it and Sir Paul McCartney says he’ll never perform again in China after seeing the film on cruelty. One real hero has emerged. Her name is Jill Robinson who has started a cause to rescue bears from bile farms through the Asia Animal Foundation And talking about China and animals, have you ever heard of the animal Olympics? And abuse that happens in zoos where shows include dog fights and lions attacking goats. What happened to humans that we can be so cruel? I know that animal cruelty happens everywhere, but somehow the scale in China seems deeper, they don’t have a law against animal cruelty, and some people are calling for an Olympic boycott based on this. I was planning a personal trip to China this year, but when I came across all of this information about animal cruelty there I cancelled those plans. I wish I could do something to change things, to make people more humane and caring. Any ideas out there? Before I go I’d like to invite all of you to help us with our strategic business planning for the next three years. Please help us by taking our user survey. It’s easy, just click on the box! Thanks a million. Paula
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Ok, I have an idea. Lets do some detective work. Could someone out there call these guys and let us know ifthis is genuine? This may require a French speaker to make the call. We need to find out how much the baby is going for, where it came from? Does anyone have any other ideas about how to get to the bottom of this? Where exactly is it located so that we can send the authorities after them.
On the BBC today I heard about a 19 year old genius who went to university at age 10 and is now a professor at age 19. But I’m delighted to report that genius is not restricted to humans. In the Telegraph yesterday I was discovered that genius also occurs amongst our ape cousins. “They use their colossal strength to thrust their spears into holes in trees where they suspect nocturnal bushbabies are sleeping. Anthropologist Jill Pruetz believes she has made a landmark discovery - a species other than humans learning - and passing on - the skills to make a lethal weapon” Is anyone out there SERIOUSLY surprised? I could have told you that practically all animals are smart and learn (especially when hungry) - ok, I take that back slightly, I sometimes wonder about slugs …..but certainly monkeys and apes are supersmart. I’ve been out competed by a baboon in a race for the kitchen before! However clever our research, we the smartest of all apes, seem to be considerably challenged when it comes to saving the subjects of our studies, and as a result, we are losing our closest relatives and many other exciting species. According to this article on Mongabey, the people of Cameroon also consider apes smart, so smart in fact that they are virtually humans and they wont eat them! (ok that never stopped cannibals in the past). The Cameroonian government has just created the first sanctuary for the world’s rarest type of ape: the Cross River gorilla. The Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary — created by Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni’s decree — covers 19.5 sq km in a mountainous region of Cameroon. According to WCS the area is home to only 20 of the world’s remaining 300 Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli). You can read about it this new refuge on National Geographic Of equal concern is that even the most common gorillas are at risk now. There are between 50,000 and 100,000 western lowland gorillas left in the wild, all of them in the forests of the Congo basin in central Africa. According to the IUCN, over the past 20 to 25 years, hunting and disease have reduced the numbers of western lowland gorilla by 60 percent! The other types of gorilla, which include the cross river gorilla, the mountain gorilla, and the eastern lowland gorilla, number only a few thousand, and are also found only in Africa. According to Fox News, An ebola vaccine is being developed for the lowland gorillas – I’m curious to see how it would be given to 100,000 gorillas that live deep in the rainforest.
How could you doubt the intelligence of this mountain gorilla? Meanwhile the Brits are worried about a new Bill that could allow for the creation of Humanzees – YES, the breeding of humans and Chimps – it sounds unlikely and disgusting, but would we actually be able to tell a hairy big headed strong armed human from a humanzee? Pro lifers are up in arms, but I wonder if banning it would hardly stop people from experimenting now that the stupid idea is out there. In fact, could it explain some bizarre behaviours out there? I’m not even going to begin suggesting who is more chimp like but I have a few world leaders in mind. Having said all that, I just wish we humans would focus our incredible intelligence on doing really clever things, like dealing with global poverty and sustainable protection of the planet.
I spent the long weekend examining a potential WildlifeDirect partner and blogger- William Kimosop, the chief game warden of the local authority of Baringo Keiyo, Kiotabek and Marakwet. This photo essay hardly does the trip justice….. I am privelaged to have been invited on the pineering expedition across the Mid Rift Section of the Great Rift Valley which comprises of the Tugen Hills ranges of Koibatek and Baringo. The plan is to manage this vast area as one conservation unit which includes the famous freshwater Lakes Baringo and the alkaline Bogoria with it’s flaming shores of flamingoes and steaming geysers. I had to see it and experience it to believe in what William has committed his life to.
We met at the equator at a place called Mogotio - it is the gateway to the region. William is the third from right. He is and has always been a big dreamer, to prepare for his big opening of the mid rift tourism circuit, he’s building a center at Mogotio, a one stop shop for all visitors. He invited a group of us to participate in this pioneering safari with a simple instruction – “meet me at the equator”. So the ten of us left Nairobi in 4 different cars most of us didn’t know each other. Someone was supposed to have done the food shopping…I wasn’t disappointed, we had a chef in the group, an ecologist, an anthropologist, a film producer, three photographers, an entomologist, and two young boys! While we stretched our legs at the equator we were greeted by laughing ladies all offering us their local craft - creative soap stone carvings. This set just the right tone.
The drive onwards was into the Tugen Hills which rise from the bottom of the rift valley ( 2700ft asl) to a over 9,185ft at Kapkut peak. This landscape presents some of the most dramatic landscapes in Kenya, with views of both sides of the rift valley from these hills that rise in the middle. The drive through these hills was on amazingly good roads – I should not have been surprised this is the home of the former president of Kenya, Mr. Daniel Arap Moi. The winding roads through the hills revealed how this fertile land is carefully cultivated on terraced slopes.
If drive was spectacular arriving at our camp was amazing. We immediately set up our tents and from mine I could see Lake Baringo, flamingo fringed Lake Bogoria and it’s steaming jets, and the Eastern escarpment of the Rift Valley about 25 km away. Just a short walk across the back of the hill and one can see the western escarpment of the rift valley – another 25 kilometers away. A short walk from camp was a clearing with the most incredible view, this spot was perfect for sundowners (read wine or gin and tonics), is called Gods Window.
This is a view from Gods Window! I’m so jealous that William grew up here. He said that he had always believed that the two escarpments represented the edges of the world, and he felt enormously lucky to be in the center of the world atop of the Tugen hills! His dream is to establish walking trails across the rift valley taking advantage of traditional trading tracks and moving between protected areas, through communities and over dramatic landscapes. Within minutes of arriving we found this lovely fellow - according to my book he’s an Albertine rift tree frog - that’s weird, if it’s true he’s in completely the wrong rift valley! I’ll have to ask herpetologist Bob Drews of the Biodiversity race blog and Kim Howell of Dar es Salaam University.
Possibly (hopefully) a new species of frog! ( I thought it was a toad at first until I looked at some pictures of the Albertine frog) Our camp is particularly special– it is the site that was set up for the Queen of England during her 1952 tour of Kenya. She was a princess a that time, but her trip was cut short when her father, the King, died. She arrived in Kenya a princess and left a queen. It comprised a simple clearing in the forest where trees had been left untouched, only the undergrowth cleared creating a lovely grassy shaded area. The view from the camp is awesome.
Sunrise over Mt. Kenya. What the queen missed! Sadly, she didn’t visit any of the camps that had been set up especially for her. So Williams plan was that we do the tour for her - and so her official flag came everywhere with us!
William was so pleased that we took the Queens official flag on the front of one of the cars! Nobody recalls how we came to have this flag! Over the four day stay we visited several of the 38 forest patches that have been set aside for conservation. These are interspersed with human settlements many of the people have preserved an old way of life amongst these forests. The plants were lovely.
We were told of three plants used for paint-this little thing looks green until you rub it on your palm - it’ turns bright orange! Another plant locally called lipstic tree - is used by young girls to paint their lips bright red.
…and this montane aloe turns deep purple when damaged. It’s a beautiful colour that is used to dye the local wool and for baskets.
The mountain protea was a joy to see as well… but
it was the giant ancient giant podo trees that we found most humbling. We gave this one a group hug.
In the middle of the hug we realised that this tree was colonized by an interesting and very well camouflaged day gecko. Funnily (or not) this gecko looks suspiciously unlike any other gecko in the book! Two new species in one day (I hope) - not bad hey?
We saw 9 leopard tortoises on the roads, one had been hit by a car and was dead - so we rescued any that we found on the road.
When he wasn’t rescuing tortoises, Dino was catching bugs. He told us fascinating stories about how the male carpenter bees ride on the females while mating - he hold on with specialised arms a that completely cover her eyes. In this position he can direct her flight while mating. Talk about multitasking! Everything was weird and wonderful. Look at this spiderweb - built by a communal species - we saw more than 20 of these massive creatures in there -and the best part was having Dino Martins, Kenya’s top entomologist and author of Dudu diaries blog (everything about insects) with us to give us the inside stories about these critters.
We only had time for one proper hike to the top of Morop hill, a local peak. On arrival at the base the entire village arrived to greet us – it turns out that our safari was rather special, the first of it’s kind in decades. They had prepared a walking stick for each of us to help us up the steep rocky peak.
Though poor the people of this area are not suffering - they are successful farmers and only produce what they need. We struggled up the winding path to the peak and any sense of achievement was killed, the barefoot kids had raced us up and were there with their dogs waiting with slightly amused expressions on their faces. It’s no wonder that in these hills grew some of the worlds most famous athletes Paul Tergat, Ishmael Chelanga and others.
Local boys found us fascinating
Children ran like mountain goats up the rocky slopes completely bare footed Apart from an attack of a rather nasty stomach bug (picture witheld!), the only other drama was the rescue of a tiny puppy that was surely going to die. We named the tiny terrified pup Morop after the hill and Anderson, our guide took him home to Bogoria.
Not exactly handsome, Morop was thin, scared, tired and desperate for love when we took him. Dogs in this region are extremely stunted and may even represent a new breed.
Tiny Morop with his new dad Anderson, an amazing guide and bird expert, and a wonderful dog lover. Local legend says that nobody can climb Morop hill only once …I can’t wait to go back and to continue the tour with William, Anderson and Nicholas - and this time to explore caves, fossil sites, seasonal forest pools, hidden waterfalls and other peaks and view points.
While in the USA I attended a conference on Rewards for Ecosystem Services at the Land Tenure Center at Madison University titled Designing pro-poor rewards for ecosystem services What are rewards for ecosystem services? Well it’s a new field that tries to reward those who are protecting the environment and to pay them for the services generated. You can read about it here We’re all used to the idea of carbon credits, this idea goes a little further and provides mechanisms for payments for biodiversity, clean water, air and aesthetic values. Payment for Ecosystem Services is the new buzz word in conservation and everyone is trying to take credit for leading in this field including WWF Katoomba is probably the most talked about site – it is a really creative ecosystem services marketplace Everything I knew about climate change and fossil fuels were thrown in the bin. Professor Jonathan Foley the founder of the Center for sustainability and Global Environment at Madison University (SAGE) presented the most compelling evidence that the main cause of climate change is in fact land use change – something that we tend not to think about. You can download his presenatation here
Land use change is happening everywhere. Consider these facts
Not surprisingly he concludes, global land use and agriculture produce ore green house gasses than any other activity.
You can download this image at the World Resources Institute website here Professor Foley fears that land conversion from diverse ecosystems to simple monocultures is one of the greatest threats to the survival of humans on earth. In this illustration he shows how this leads to a collapse of ecosystem services.
I can relate to this directly. In Kenya organic farming is becoming not only fashionable but the cheap alternative – which is critical now that world food prices are shooting through the roof (prices have gone up by 85% in the last 18 months). When my sister Su started an organic company called Green Dreams none of us expected it to make money in Kenya. Surprisingly there is a good market for healthy food. She lost her farm in the post election crisis but this has not stopped her. She now trains and promotes local organic farmers and promotes the cultivation of a diverse array of traditional crops as one important way of achieving sustainability. Predicting that the election crisis would lead to a food shortage as people fled their farms, she initiated a program to distribute seeds to displaced families so that they could plant on tiny areas - even IDP camps. Recently she discovered a new need in Africa’s biggest slum – the famous Kibera, which is on our doorstep of Nairobi. This is where she is now doing something very exciting, she’s training ex convicts to reclaim garbage heaps for farming.
Here they are creating a worm farm to generate organic fertilizer. I encouraged Su to start a blog because it is so fascinating and her discoveries are so useful - everything she is doing can be replicated elsewhere in Africa. I’m so pleased that she followed my advice, you can now follow the story of this unconventional organic farmer and the conversion of a garbage dump in Kibera to a productive garden here.
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