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Brian Keating at Kigelia Camp

afrikaafrikaowner — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 09:20:36 +0000

During this past month, we at Kigelia Camp had the honour of hosting a group of fourteen guests being guided by Brian Keating from Canada. Brian is a very well known broadcaster in Canada, hosting a weekly nature show with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Furthermore he often appears on the Discovery Channel, lectures at the University and fund raises passionately for Conservation.

He was a wonderful guide, very knowledgeable with a store of fascinating facts about every creature the group saw in the Ruaha National Park. During their short stay the group saw a total of 28 different mammals and 80 bird species.

He will be bringing another group later this month and we are really looking forward to having him in the camp again.

www.goingwild.org

Channelling Barry White on the plains of Africa

afrikaafrikaowner — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 04:58:38 +0000

Elephant for lunch? It wasn't on the Kigelia camp menu but that's Africa for you; always throwing up surprises. "Grab your plate and head into the tent if he comes any closer," said Rob Barbour, the camp owner, with a firm eye on the wild elephant standing four metres away from the outdoor dining table where we'd just sat down to eat. We were in Tanzania's Ruaha National Park, a reserve of baobab and acacia trees, dry river beds and shrub savannah, littered with wildlife. Kigelia was a bush camp of six or seven tents perched on the bank of a dry Great Ruaha River tributary, a natural thoroughfare for the larger animals and a great place to watch them go by. It also meant they sometimes dropped in. "This one often invites himself into camp, which is why we call him Samahani," Rob advised. "It means 'excuse me' in Swahili." The 20 year old elephant of around 5,000 kilograms didn't stay for long but it was enough to have us soon talking about what might come for tea. Lion? Surely not the pair I'd heard overnight. They'd be too exhausted. I first heard the roar just before dawn, and it sounded like the big cat was just outside my tent (as was the toilet – my full bladder would have to wait). In fact, there were two big cats, and the roar was one of pleasure, not pique or authority. It would start with gusto and wind down to a whimper. Someone at camp had said that lions mate every 15 minutes for seven days; that’s 674 times a week! On safari later that day in one of Rob’s open-air jeeps, we spotted what seemed to be an exhausted lioness and her mate resting in the shade of an acacia. They looked shattered. But no sooner had we pulled up for a closer look, than the male got to his paws and began rubbing himself against the lioness. Was he whispering in her ear? I was channelling American soul singer, Barry White. Uh-huh, right there, you like it like that? Closer, come here, closer, close, oh, baby, oh, baby… When finally he mounted his belle and did what they do on Discovery Channel, at the risk of being branded a voyeur, it was mesmerizing. The power and raw energy. Think James Brown. Whoa-oa-oa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now… To be honest, I felt slightly uncomfortable watching this mighty beast, the king of the jungle, in such a private act. But neither lion seemed to care. They were in the zone, although the whole thing didn’t last long. The roar promptly wound down to a final moan and before you could think of England, both lions were on their backs, legs in the air, grunting sighs of completion. My mind's eye had them reaching for cigarettes. And to think, in a quarter of an hour, they’d be at it again! I'm gonna love you, love you, love you just a little more, baby…For all my discomfort at watching two fellow mammals on the job, the spectacle had been a privilege.

I had the same sensation a few days earlier at Rob's camp in the Serengeti, the only Tanzanian bush camp north of the Mara River. We'd been scouring the open plain for cheetah when one of the ever-present hyena started running towards a destination out of sight. Others began to follow, so we too joined the rush. Something was obviously up. We arrived in time to witness the savage stripping of flesh from a Topi, a type of antelope, which we surmised had died naturally only minutes before. The hyenas poured in, squealing sinisterly, snatching at the warm meat, ripping it from the bones, fighting each other for some of the rapidly disappearing carcass. Vultures stood patiently nearby, waiting their turn. Within minutes, the Topi had been converted to little more than blood and manure-stained savannah grass. It was a breathtaking display of life and death on the African plain, and a stunning contrast to the vista of the Serengeti we'd enjoyed only moments before, where herds of different animals comingled in apparent harmony within metres of each other. Topi, Thomson’s gazelle, Grant’s gazelle, zebra, wildebeest, warthog and ostrich; even hyena and jackal were amongst the throng. Archaeologists fancy Mount Ararat in Turkey as the final resting place of Noah’s Ark but my money’s on the Serengeti. Yet, the friendly serenity quickly comes to an end at the sniff of death. Stunning; but that’s life, I guess.

This article was written by Tom Baddeley.

Nudibranchs of Mafia Island - report from Sea Point Diving

afrikaafrikaowner — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:40:32 +0000

" I am sure some of you have noticed down at the centre we are Nudibranch maniacs. We have decided to create an album dedicated to the different species found here. We invite you all to help us identify them as well as posting your own discoveries of nudi's here. We hope to compile a comprehensive internet 'nudi guide' of Mafian waters. "

To find out more about this dive centre.

Baobabs and Elephants

afrikaafrikaowner — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:23:00 +0000

Ruaha! Intoxicating, pristine, untouched! The grandeur of the Baobab and the wandering herds of elephants harmonzse perfectly with the magnificent landscapes - enormous trees and beasts in an equally expansive setting. Wherever Baobabs grow there were probably elephants, these two giants are linked together in the evolution of East Africa - the elephants shaping the life of the trees, and in some cases, the trees shaping the lives of the elephants.

An excerpt from a book by Sue Stolberger.

Luca Pozzi at Kisampa to study the bushbabies...

afrikaafrikaowner — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:34:00 +0000

Luca Pozzi is a PhD student in Physical Anthropology at NYU. He graduated in Biology from University of Torino (Italy) and finished a Master in Animal Biodiversity and Conservation (curriculum Evolutionary Biology) in 2006. He is most interested in evolutionary biology, molecular phylogenetics and evolution, biogeography and primate behavior, especially in Strepsirrhines. During his master thesis he worked in the reconstruction of lemur phylogeny using a multidisciplinary approach (molecular and bioacoustic) and he developed a computational system to recognize vocal signals using Artificial Neural Networks.

His dissertation work will be focused on exploring mechanisms of speciation in nocturnal cryptic primates, such as bushbabies. His research involves an integration of morphological, bioacoustic, and genetic data to test species boundaries within this cryptic complex and to estimate the amount of ongoing gene flow between recently diverged species. The main goal of this project is to contribute to a better understanding of mechanisms of speciation and isolation between cryptic species and to better clarify the systematics and phylogeny of these poorly known primates. In a broader perspective, his work will provide new information about the biodiversity within these primates, with obvious consequences for conservation.

Luca came to Kisampa this June to trap and perform a varitry of tests on the bush babies which live there. With great pleasure we helped him as much as possible to ensure that his time with us was fruitful. For more info on Luca .

World Sea Turtle Day

afrikaafrikaowner — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 16:21:00 +0000

Saturday 16th June was WORLD SEA TURTLE DAY - and the Tanzanian NGO Sea Sense - whose endevours we very much support - hosted a community event in Juani on Mafia Island to celebrate.

The event included a variety of activities including football and netball matches, fun races and challenges, drama displays, music and dancing and opportunities to purchase handicrafts made by the womens group in Juani. Groups from several villages in Mafia took part to enjoy the fun and to raise awareness of the plight of sea turtles and the wider marine environment. We do hope this lovely event helped to raise the profile of Sea Sense and their sea turtle conservation work on Mafia.

Want to adopt your very own sea turtle nest? or support the cause and go watch a sea turtle nest hatch...

The amazing lion feast - Opening of Kigelia Camp for the season

afrikaafrikaowner — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:09:00 +0000

In early June I went down to our Kigelia Camp to celebrate the opening of another season at our lovely mobile camp. During the very first game drive of the season we were incredibly lucky to spot a fresh giraffe kill by a group of what we eventually counted to being 2 large males and 6 females. We were able to park our car only meters away, with our mugs of morning coffee in our hands and hot water bottles in our laps.... we savoured the moment all on our own for several hours. Anna Jonsson. Marketing Manager

New mangers at Chole Mjini Lodge opens the doors for a new season

afrikaafrikaowner — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 14:14:00 +0000

Through the love of diving, Elena was introduced to East Africa. Having been brought up in Austria, Elena did her first dives in the Adricatic Sea of Croatia. Seeking warmer waters, she moved to work in Nungwi, Zanzibar and acheived her PADI Divemaster certification. Then in 2012, she went on to become a PADI SCUBA Instructor in Mombasa, Kenya, where while working she met Calvin. Calvin was born and raised in Mombasa, and grew up in and around the Indian Ocean. Calvin became a dive instructor in 2007 and has worked in the industry in Zanzibar, Grand Cayman, and finally Mafia. Needless to say, these two beach goers felt right at home in the Marine Park of Chole Bay.

My baby squirrel

afrikaafrikaowner — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:14:00 +0000

I found my baby squirrel on the 17th of February 2012. He was about 5 weeks old and very small. He was about 16 centimeters long including the tail. I should tell you how it all started.

My mom had just come home from a ride on her bike. She was listening to music when we heard the alarm call of a squirrel. I thought nothing of it until i went into the bathroom to drink some water. When I was walking out I saw a strange thing sitting on the floor very still. I thought it was one of my brother’s toys and walked straight passed it. Then something caught my eye because it was wriggling its whiskers. I walked back to it and took a closer look. Then it clicked and I shouted to mom that there was a baby squirrel on the floor.

We caught it and calmed it down. We looked everywhere for the mom but we couldn’t find it. Then I remembered that the day before a squirrel had been taken by a bird and guessed that that was its mom and that it had been abandoned. I took it in and looked after it. Not knowing what a baby squirrel eats I went onto the internet and looked it up. I found a milk recipe and how to feed it. We fed it with a syringe which had the needle removed and put a bit of small pipe on the end to let it suckle it. It worked like a charm. We started feeding him other stuff like banana, carrot in small pieces, and brand flakes. He loved all those things.

After three or four day we decided he would be ok. We named him Tiger because his colors where like a tiger’s. He has been very happy with us and is growing up fast. He is now 7 weeks old and still going. When he is hungry he gets all frisky and runs around and when he has had his milk he goes straight to sleep. He sleeps in a box with a scarf in it. I put it at the end of my bed so that I know when he is making a noise or awake and hungry. He needs plenty of play time because he gets very bored. He loves it when you scratch his tummy. In school he always sits on my lap. My dad says he is very proud of me.

Sarah Barbour, Kisampa

Gongo Village has a water system

afrikaafrikaowner — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:55:00 +0000

With the help of a very generous donation from friends in Ireland, our charity - Tuende Pamoja - has now change the lives of the people of Gongo village, near Matipwili in the Bagamoyo District. This little village is totally landlocked with no water supply at all, until now when we have been able to install a pump and a generator so that water is now available to everyone in Gongo.

No longer do they have to walk or cycle 6 kilometres to a marshy puddle to get water for drinking, washing clothes and bathing....they now go to the pump and merely turn on a tap to fill their buckets!!

The community are to be congratulated and can be really proud of their achievement....they designed the project and have built it without exceeding their budget...and the project is a success....water is available in quantity for all to enjoy for a small payment per bucket.