In the jungle…the mighty jungle….the lion sleeps tonight….

I’ve spent the last 2.5 days in the Lewa maze with the rangers. It has been riddled with the kind of escapades that field stories are made of; the ones that generate a mutual understanding of what is wild. Traipsing through the African landscape behind the head field ranger, Nkoori, I know I’m lucky to be following his every move as he reads the world around us. I’ll try to explain…

Starting at the crack of dawn, its cold and damp from the morning dew. I’m freezing. I take off my toque – yes, I slept with it on – and get ready with a quick breakfast as I listen for the vehicle heading down the road to pick me up. No one else is awake, and I don’t blame them for there is no reason to shiver as I am and its really best to wait for the morning sun to start the day. As the sun slowly rises, I see the security guys and this morning it’s a little different as we communicate between our language barrier and I come to excitedly understand that I’ll be driving! It’s a land cruiser, 4x4 drive, and by now I know the road conditions are going to make this a lot of fun! It’s a standard transmission, and the steering is on the right…..I remind myself that if another vehicle comes down the road – stay to the left side.

The rangers tell me which roads to take, and I see we are on the government road that cuts through Lewa. Its about 6:45am and out of nowhere, I hear kids laughing and yelling something in Swahili. The rangers tell me “brake, brake”, and I stop. About 20 or so school kids jump in the back and its off to school we go! I’m driving, driving, driving….and I’m noticing that this is where the expression “I used to walk to school for 1.5 hours uphill each way…in the hail, etc.” comes from; this is pretty much exactly what these kids have to do. We drop them off and they giggle as they look in and realize it’s not who they expected that was driving the whole time.

I look at Nkoori for the next lag – since I pretty much have no idea where we are, nor where we are going. He gets on the radio to talk to the rhino monitors in the field and gives me a hand signal to go with speed. And we’re off again….

For two days we have been looking for a newborn rhino calf deep in the Ngare Ndare forest that marks the southern border of Lewa. This calf is less than a week old and the strategy is to push the mother out just enough to catch a glimpse of the little one. Some photos of the baby would ensure it’s a healthy individual….perhaps with high hopes for the rhino population of the world.

Just a day ago we were close, very close. Wearing some of the rangers camouflaged gear, I am very careful not to make a peep as Nkoori and I communicate with hand and eye signals only. We run from tree to tree as the mother is nearby, watching us, but we rely on the fact that she can’t see us very well. At this time, its hot. The Kenyan sun is beating down on us with fierce rays that I’m sure is stabbing through the heavy camo gear to give us sunburns. Nkoori signals to me to take a photo of the mother’s ears for id purposes. I snap away, but quickly realize what a mistake that was. The shutter on my camera is too loud and the mother is now upset with us.

This reminds me of just a few hours prior on this day, Nkoori thought it best I didn’t follow him to see a different rhino. The reason was the rhino was known to be aggressive and a little crazy – his words, not mine – and the landscape didn’t offer much cover, except to run up a very prickly acacia tree. I look around now as I hear the mother rhino huff and chuff and stomp around in anxiety at us at what seems to be a thunderous shutter on my camera. I feel terrible about this, and I look at Nkoori apologetically but it works out as the mother comes close to us and suddenly takes a 90 degree turn and bolts the other way. I thought polar bears were intimidating…but a large nervous female rhino within 50 ft of us is just as daunting…

Taking the opportunity of the mother’s absence, we scout out the area frantically looking for the baby rhino. Unfortunately, our efforts come up empty despite the signs of dung and other sure markings of its presence.

Back to the second attempt at finding the baby rhino in the wee hours of the morning, I sit next to the rangers high on a hill and we observe every tree and rock across the other side to see something, anything, which might indicate where the little one might be.

We do this for a good hour; the rangers get on the radio with rhino monitors on another hill and make a plan to head in anyways. We walk, and walk, up and down, across thorny bushes, in tick-ridden fields. The ticks are surprisingly not as annoying anymore and I find myself getting used to just picking them off and throwing them in touchdown-style. After doing this one time, I happened to look over at something that caught my eye. It moved the grasses. There is something there, something unexpected. I look closer….this is what I see….


Just another part of the African landscape. I look at the rangers, they smile and nod as I take a picture. And we move on. I watch the rangers and remark how similar they are at reading the landscape to the First Nations people of Canada. Its remarkable, using the same techniques to read the topography, while ensuring we are downwind of dangerous animals. Both cultures are adept at using all aspects of the natural world to protect us.

One thing that is remarkable here that I haven’t seen anywhere else is the ability of the rangers to go an entire day without food or water, or relief breaks. I try to match them in this so I don’t slow them down and it seems almost taboo to even say anything about hunger or thirst. I haven’t figured that part out quite yet but its impressive not needing anything during the day with all the hiking through difficult terrain under the spicy sun.

Its now the end of the day, almost dark and I know the day’s work is coming to an end since we can’t do much at night. Nkoori is back behind the wheel and I notice he is not heading back to headquarters. I think I am just lost and not reading the roads right, but something in me tells me my gut is right. We head into an area that I’m sure is not anywhere near home. I ask the rangers what might be happening, they tell me to look up and notice the vultures around. We are following them.

The birds lead us into thick shrubbery, and the scene of the crime is revealed. A lioness has taken down an eland and is resting with her cubs nearby. We approach slowly and I’m speechless. I snap away photos with my piercing camera, and come to the conclusion that there is no other place I would rather be then amongst the wilds of the African jungle.

Would you rather be a Plains or a Grevy's zebra?

Two kinds of zebras frequent the grounds of the Lewa Conservancy: the Plains and the Grevy’s. At first glance, the Grevy’s are way cuter than the Plains. Digging deeper into the characteristics of these royal animals, and I’m not so sure I would maintain my bias towards imaging the Grevy’s. I’ll let you decide…..

The Plains or Commons zebra is the one you most likely have the image of in your head. Wide black and white stripes right down to the tail, pointed ears, and stubby legs, this type of zebra is the one that story books are written about. In terms of population numbers, the Plains zebra is doing quite well and remains stable (phew!).



The Grevy’s zebra, by comparison, have much thinner stripes that more numerous across the body right down to the hooves but not to the base of the tail. Standing tall and proud, the Grevy’s is the largest species of zebra in terms of body size found in the world. With large curved ears that would make Mickey Mouse quite jealous, the Grevy’s zebra is surely listening to the frequency of the shutter speed on my camera. This zebra species is endangered, largely due to hunting for its skin and habitat loss.



Behaviourally speaking, the Grevy’s zebra seems to be closer to the donkey or ass – yes, this is an acceptable term as it is derived from the genus Asinus! Grevy’s like to mingle together and don’t display the social dominance found in the Plains. Adult Grevy’s will get together, mingle for a little while before the males head off on their own to roam around solo. In contrast, the Plains will form harems where the male will acquire females to his liking and will keep them for life.

So if you had to choose – which type would you be? The image-perfect seductive Plains or the charming ass-like Grevy’s in jeopardy? Either way - both zebra species feed on similar habitats and fall prey to predation from lions or hyenas– some of the zebras have lost part of their tails from this – ouch!!

Rhino reconnaissance

It is work day 2 and I’m still getting my feet wet with the projects I am working on. One of my small projects might be creating a pocket guide catalogue of the 65 black rhinos on the Lewa Conservancy for the rangers to cross reference for population monitoring.

In short, rhinos are endangered worldwide and Kenya has a long term vision of having 2000 black rhinos – the current number sits around 600 in the country. Lewa has a carrying capacity of about 70 black rhinos. White rhinos, also endangered, aren’t much of a focus on Lewa since they are an introduced species here.

Nature has an interesting way of balancing herself though, the vet, Matthew, today reported a black rhino dying in his presence of colic complications. He was distraught as he was recounting that he could not help the young sick rhino. Last Friday though, a newborn rhino was reported by one of the field monitors. It will be awhile before anyone can approach the mother and calf to check the newborn’s condition.

Doing rhino reconnaissance work involves heading out with the security guys to take photos left, right, and centre. Each rhino is given a unique ear notching pattern for easy and quick identification. And so Kate and I headed off with two rangers into the field, and picked up another ranger along the way.

Getting close enough to rhinos involves….well….challenges. A true off-roading experience in tall grasses can offer many surprises. And what is a true off-roading experience if you don’t get your vehicle stuck?! Twice!!!!!!!



And what is a true off-roading experience in Africa if you don’t get stuck between a herd of buffalo (dangerous animals as they can be aggressive when scared) and rhinos (can be unpredictable)?! Both times we were stuck involved calling in for assistance to pull us out.



As it happens, what better way to scope out the surrounding landscape when waiting for help to arrive. We watched the nearby herd of buffalo approach a water hole. Then we watched as this herd seemed to be scared off by something in the water. What could scare off a large herd of buffalo?

A quick glance and later drive by the water hole revealed an unexpected sight………….HIPPOS!!!!!

First animal encounters

My first few animal encounters have been...well...to say the least...interesting. During our first meal at our tent sites a curious monkey decided to try to venture into the tent that Kate and I are sharing. We followed it to save our items from being displayed across the African grasslands, and I "shoo-ed" it out to which it actually listened. Nimble little guy, I'm jealous of its tree climbing abilities!

The zebras common across the landscape are not like anything I've seen in any zoo enclosure. The zebras are strong and mighty. There are two kinds here that I need to learn to distinguish; the endangered Grevy's zebra, and the Plains zebra. So many stripes to look at which reminded me of a conversation I had with a close friend and PhD colleague (Josh - that's for you!) before leaving for Africa. In our simple academic fashion, we contemplated the purpose of stripes on a zebra....but a quick google scholar search revealed the secret!


My first rhino encounter involved a trek out with the Lewa vet and other Lewa staff and rangers. The vet needed to check out an injury on Lola, a little 3 year old rhino. "Little" is definitely relative only to rhinos (Lola is on the right in the picture)!!! The rangers allured Lola and her mother close to the vehicle with what I'm sure is rhino candy, a special grass that convinced the rhinos to ignore us and approach us within arm's reach. The vet wasn't too happy with what he saw as Lola's open wound under her ear wasn't healing well. A check up over the next few days will reveal his next approach to helping her.

Giraffes are quite the sight to see. A morning drive out yesterday revealed their uniqueness; majestic animals that in a strange way put the image of a long necked dinosaur in my head!

This morning drive, however, took an unexpected turn of events. The drive started when we finished breakfast and Michael (another "guest"/employee staying at the tent site) offered a ride. Three of us jumped at the opportunity and hopped in the vehicle. Murphy's law has it that if you forget your cell phone - something is bound to happen! What was supposed to be a quick drive to check out game animals resulted in a lengthy adventure when we ran out of gas in the middle of...well, nowhere! Murphy's law also has it that it will be a hot sunny morning when you are stuck without sunscreen or water. Luckily, help was relatively nearby as another vehicle stopped by and gave us a lift to what they call the workshop - a maintenance garage on site at Lewa headquaters. We grabbed a jerry can of diesel and returned only to realize we didn't have a spout to pour. Again, luckily the Craig's (the founders of Lewa) house was nearby and we were able to borrow a makeshift funnel. And so in conclusion of all this...Murphy - I curse you, and who are you anyways?

The trek - Toronto to Lewa via Dubai

The trek to Lewa consisted of the following steps:

1) A great flight aboard the giant A380 plane. Contrary to my initial thoughts that the plane would be empty (I was swayed when choosing my seat and noticing that I had a plethora of choices - I guess not everyone takes advantage of the online booking systems!), the plane was full to the max (about 800!!).

2) A night in Dubai with dinner sans alcohol at Arabian nights, and a day exploring a very hot Dubai.

3) A terrible flight from Dubai to Nairobi, which consisted of a back twisting seat and odd tasting food, and curious entertainment (including a drunk passenger demanding more alcohol!). However, the desert scene below was something to see...sand dunes and ridges were just amazing to fly over!

4) A night in Nairobi at the Mvuli House Bed and Breakfast, with fantastic coffee.

5) A 7 hour journey from Nairobi to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. This 7 hour journey only covered about 200 km!

As I write this blog, I count 13 monkeys scratching, staring (mostly at me and this computer) and 2 now just started playing. Now I see why my dad used to call my sister and I "little monkeys" - sorry Sheila - but we really do resemble them! Darn!!

About Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

To do Lewa full justice, their website is www.lewa.org. This is where I'm headed for the 3 months in Kenya!

In short, Lewa Widlife Conservancy is a unique place originally established as a wildlife sanctuary, but today is much more in terms of community involvement and organization. Hence this is how its possible to send 5 adventurous, crazy, (insert other adjective of your liking here) students with different roles to the same place.

Questions I have received so far about Lewa include:

"where/how are you living?"

"do you know the other people?"

"are you scared?"

"are there snakes?"

"are there rats?"

Answers to those questions that I have come up with include:

"I'll be living in a tent!"

"I have met the other interns - pretty cool bunch of people if I do say so myself!!!"

"Hmmm scared...that's a relative term - to which I can only reply 'no' based on the one time in my life when I think I was truly scared. That one time was when I was in the Philippines doing some underwater (via scuba) work checking out seahorse habitat in a marine protected area. There were dynamite fishers at the boundary of the marine protected area. They were blasting the area to kill the fish - its a quick and dirty collection method. I felt these blasts as if they were right beside me. At one point, I thought the fishermen were targeting my bubbles on the surface, as if I was a giant fish below. By the way - dynamite fishing is illegal, yet along with cyanide fishing (using cyanide to paralyze the animals), its still quite popular in some tropical regions."

"Snakes!!!! I hope so!!!"

"Rats!!!!!!!! As long as they are not the ones I see on the Toronto subway system!!"

"

Welcome!!

Blogging - this is new to me and I hope to make the most of it, or in other words, entertain my readers/followers to the fullest extent!!

If you are reading this, you are probably familiar with my latest project that I am soon, so very soon, about to embark on!! T-minus three days and I will be boarding the A380 outbound for Nairobi, via Dubai. Once in Nairobi, its off again on a 4 hour drive to the wonderful Lewa Wildlife Conservancy where I'll be spending the next three months.

The usual reply from friends and family when I tell them I'm off to Africa for 3 months - is:

"umm, Sandra, you do know there aren't any bears in Africa right?"

(I often wonder - do people actually think I've gone bonkers?).

And I reply: "well not anymore...but...there are rhinos!!".

This usually results in a: "whaaat?" from said inquirer!

In a nutshell (since no one has time for lengthy readings these days and/or I'll lose your attention quickly!)......I am off to Lewa for rhino research and monitoring. I am one of 5 "lucky" (this is debatable?!) students from York University selected to spend 3 months at Lewa, each with our own unique role. From what I understand (things change on the fly in the wildlife world - no pun intended...!!), I'll be spending my time doing various tasks with rhino population and monitoring and hopefully other animals/insects/ and other cool aspects of the natural world! Stay tuned to the blob as things unfold as I get there....! :)