“Sing in me oh Muse!
And through me tell that story” – Homer “The Odyssey”
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Guns, Germs and Steel” , Author Jared Diamond writes that the animals in Africa are different from the rest of the animals on planet earth. Why? The animals in Africa evolved over millions of years alongside man and his distant ancestors. He goes on to write that the animals in Africa have learned to give man a wide berth. Very wise since every plaque that I saw at Nairobi Nation Gane Reserve spoke of how man has hunted many of these animals to near extinction. Take for example this gentle giant pictured below. There are only a few hundred Rothschild giraffes left in the wild. They have been hunted for meat beyond the ability of their species to replace.
There is not much more to add to this saga that countless travelogs, journals and biology texts have not already stated. I give here only my impressions and thoughts.
Only 2% of Kenya’s is covered in forest. While parts of Kenya are not naturally forested, this figure still remains appallingly low. With the disappearance of the forests come the disappearance of the animals that depend on the forests. From my observation, most of the wood is burned for cooking but I do not know this for certain. I'm sure that lumber companies have taken their fair share.
The Nairobi National Game Preserve does an excellent job trying to maintain very pleasant habitants for its inhabitants. Attached are a few scenes that I was able to capture. The animal are understandably elusive and I do not expect to be invited to join the National Geographic Wildlife photography team anytime soon!
Speaking with locals about the animals and the forests brings a whole new side of the subject to light. It is true that the Kenyan government is setting aside vast areas of game reserve land for the preservation of endangered species. Being a cynic of human nature, I of course smelled a rat in all of this national good will. As it turns out, my apparently psychic abilities regarding human nature were indeed true. Its seems that not only is the Kenyan government seizing by a sort of “imminent domain” native tribal lands but they are also doing it for the profit of foreign tourist dollars.
At the grassroots level, the Kenyan on the street has a very positive attitude about westerners in Kenya. They believe that the Kenyan government serves only itself. They believe that the ubiquitous Indian businessmen are insular and disrespectful of Kenyans and that the Chinese don’t want to get their hands dirty. I’ve had one even ask me why Indians smell funny.
Most of the Kenyan experience with Westerners has been with nongovernment agencies. Tourist are rarely seen mixing with the populace as they are picked up from the airport and quickly whisked away to game reserves. Kenyans see NGO groups as people who could make better money at home or are volunteering in order to make a better life for Kenyans. I’m not one of these but I don’t tell them that. The average Kenyan seems proud of the natural world that Kenya offers and is proud to talk about it and show it to westerners. It goes without saying that there are profit motives with Westerners also but profit with respect is far better than profit with derision and I can accept that with good grace.
And through me tell that story” – Homer “The Odyssey”
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Guns, Germs and Steel” , Author Jared Diamond writes that the animals in Africa are different from the rest of the animals on planet earth. Why? The animals in Africa evolved over millions of years alongside man and his distant ancestors. He goes on to write that the animals in Africa have learned to give man a wide berth. Very wise since every plaque that I saw at Nairobi Nation Gane Reserve spoke of how man has hunted many of these animals to near extinction. Take for example this gentle giant pictured below. There are only a few hundred Rothschild giraffes left in the wild. They have been hunted for meat beyond the ability of their species to replace.
There is not much more to add to this saga that countless travelogs, journals and biology texts have not already stated. I give here only my impressions and thoughts.
Only 2% of Kenya’s is covered in forest. While parts of Kenya are not naturally forested, this figure still remains appallingly low. With the disappearance of the forests come the disappearance of the animals that depend on the forests. From my observation, most of the wood is burned for cooking but I do not know this for certain. I'm sure that lumber companies have taken their fair share.
The Nairobi National Game Preserve does an excellent job trying to maintain very pleasant habitants for its inhabitants. Attached are a few scenes that I was able to capture. The animal are understandably elusive and I do not expect to be invited to join the National Geographic Wildlife photography team anytime soon!
Speaking with locals about the animals and the forests brings a whole new side of the subject to light. It is true that the Kenyan government is setting aside vast areas of game reserve land for the preservation of endangered species. Being a cynic of human nature, I of course smelled a rat in all of this national good will. As it turns out, my apparently psychic abilities regarding human nature were indeed true. Its seems that not only is the Kenyan government seizing by a sort of “imminent domain” native tribal lands but they are also doing it for the profit of foreign tourist dollars.
At the grassroots level, the Kenyan on the street has a very positive attitude about westerners in Kenya. They believe that the Kenyan government serves only itself. They believe that the ubiquitous Indian businessmen are insular and disrespectful of Kenyans and that the Chinese don’t want to get their hands dirty. I’ve had one even ask me why Indians smell funny.
Most of the Kenyan experience with Westerners has been with nongovernment agencies. Tourist are rarely seen mixing with the populace as they are picked up from the airport and quickly whisked away to game reserves. Kenyans see NGO groups as people who could make better money at home or are volunteering in order to make a better life for Kenyans. I’m not one of these but I don’t tell them that. The average Kenyan seems proud of the natural world that Kenya offers and is proud to talk about it and show it to westerners. It goes without saying that there are profit motives with Westerners also but profit with respect is far better than profit with derision and I can accept that with good grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment