- Nairobi, Kenya
- Amboseli National Park, Kenya
- Meru National Park, Kenya
- Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya
- Masai Mara National Park, Kenya
- Zanzibar, Tanzania!
- Arusha, Tanzania
We have just finished two days at Amboseli National Park. While in Kenya, it sits on the edge of Tanzania. The word “Amboseli” means “dry” in Swahili and it is a very apt description . Traveling along the dirt trails and pathways, you are constantly overtaken by the dust. It is also a volcanic area with fields and fields of pumice rocks that were blown out when Mt. Kilimanjaro blew it’s top some 170,000 years ago. Kilimanjaro is topped with glaciers and seasonal snow, but both are declining rapidly. This is a problem because snowmelt provides the water for the wetlands and small ponds that are the watering holes (and hence the life) of this area for the myriad of animals that live or pass through here. And that is what this place is all about — migration — moving to and fro to drink and then elsewhere to rest and many to eat. I say “many” in that this refers to the browsers that feed on grasses, leaves, etc. But the waterholes are also the hunting grounds for the meat eating predators that wait for the prey to come and drink. While there are lots of different animals in each of the national parks, each is known for something. For Amboseli, it’s all about the elephants — over 1000 of them in matriarchal families. It is stunning to see lines of elephants that stretch as far as the eye can see.
By the way, you learn to classify the many animals here — predators, prey, and scavengers. There is a definite food chain pecking order here, but also some interesting defense mechanisms. While the lion is on the top of the food chain, some of the prey have adapted some interesting defenses. For instance, did you ever wonder why zebras have stripes? Well, at least in part, they play a part in a survival strategy. When a lion is present, the zebras tend to bunch together and move together tightly and randomly. Apparently, the movement of all the stripes visually disorients the lions, making their hunt less successful. Similarly, the water buck excretes a lanolin from their skin that makes them somewhat waterproof, but at the same time smells so terrible to the lions, it puts them off. This not just true of animals, however. One of the species of acacia trees that are browsed mercilessly by giraffes have some appetizing looking green pods amongst the branches. In reality they are ant nests. When the giraffe starts to browse on the leaves, the ants pour out all over the giraffe’s lips, thus causing him to lose interest in the tree!
The thing that struck me was how all of the prey animals (e.g., wildebeests, giraffes, gazelles, impalas) and the big guys (e.g. elephants, Cape buffalo, water bucks) all hang out together, all in relative peace. It kind of reminded me of the Garden of Eden. Of course the predators (e.g., lions, leopards) hang out on the fringes, taking their time to wait for their kill opportunities and then might sleep for 20 hours or so. And, as always, the scavengers (e.g., hyenas, buzzards) just hang out waiting for the leftovers.
Another interesting survival strategy has to do with reproductive control. Sometimes the environment can become quite harsh — the worst thing is drought. In 2009, there was an extreme drought and over 300 elephants died here. Animals like elephants and giraffes have developed a capability to slow down or even stop the progress of their pregnancies. In fact, an elephant can take gestation out to nearly two years when normal gestation is between 1-1.5 years. Nature is amazing!
We stayed at a wonderful camp called Tortilis. It is nestled in a grove of trees and the accommodations are raised tents on platforms. They were quite opulent for tents — the ultimate in “glamping!” While fenced, the compound is host to a number of critters and while walking back and forth from our tent, we saw a variety of different monkeys as well as a number of dik diks (look it up!). The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and were fun to get to know. They stay onsite and work two months on and three weeks off. Our routine was early morning game drives, back to camp for lunch and rest, then a late afternoon/evening game drive, and back to the camp for dinner and late night drinks with our group. We had two guides (Alex and Alli) who who very knowledgeable and had great personalities (not to mention wry senses of humor). During our game drives, we got to enjoy a bush breakfast, where the chef came out and made us a hot breakfast out in the middle of the Conservancy (a subset of the national park that is on Masai land and only people with permission can visit). We also enjoyed a “sundowner” (cocktails on top of a very high promontory while watching the sun go down).
One of the highlights for me was a visit to the Masai village. While the Masai tend to be nomadic, taking their cattle from place to place, this group established a permanent village in 2010 when the Tortilis lodge built them a lovely school house. While the Masai extend across both Kenya and Tanzania, this is considered the remotest of the villages. We were met by a few of the village elders (including our hosts Lenkii and Jonathan) who spoke amazingly good English. On one hand that isn’t a huge surprise in that most people in Kenya speak English, but being so remote and (until recently) nomadic, it was a surprise. Part of the reason is that some members of the tribe go beyond primary school — some going up through college. They then return to the village to take on important roles. Anyway, the entire community came out to dance with us and offer a welcome prayer. We then went into the village, which is a circle in a circle (the outer ring for protection from predators and the inner ring to house the cattle). They live very simple lives with most of their economy (and food) associated with their cattle. They are polygamous with men having up to four wives (based on their ability to care for their families). When the kids are old enough to go to secondary school (some 50 miles away), the individual wives take turns caring for all the wives’ children in the “city,” while the others care for the rest of the children and cattle. Everyday life is about raising cattle and goats, tending to the village, and making crafts to be sold to support the village. One of the interesting aspects of the Masai is their diet — they subsist primarily on milk and porridge. Vegetables are impossible to grow in the dry rocky soil. And they only eat meat for special celebrations, except for the warriors who eat meat on a regular basis. So how do they address their need for vital vitamins and minerals? The answer is blood from their cattle. For coming of age ceremonies, the new adults drink it directly from the artery in the neck of the cow whose artery is pierced, but quickly stanched after taking a safe amount. The rest of the time, they mix the blood with their milk. Once again, they only drink the blood a few times a month, but it keeps their dietary needs met. They also routinely go days without water. All in all, we had a pleasant visit with the Masai!
Today we flew north to Meru to visit the national park there. The surroundings and climate could not be more different than Amboseli — but that is for next time.
This entry was posted in Africa, Kenya, Travel
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
