Saturday, November 23, 2013

Miss Tourism Narok County

Marley Sianto SikawaMarley Sianto Sikawa

Marley Sianto Sikawa managed to win the 2013 Narok county miss tourism contest.
A young Maasai lady that grew up in one of the most treasured wildlife viewing places
in the world #Masaimara.

A very hardworking graduate from Daystar University with a lot of passion towards
environmental conservation as well as a role model to the Maasai community and especially
girls to be inspired to pursue education and become ambassadors of wildlife conservation
Marley Sianto Sikawain the region.

Despite the recent news of some politics to stir controversy, she has managed to stay
Marley Sianto Sikawaaway from the political arena and focus even more on the important job ahead of her
and what she believes in and that's creating more awareness about the Maasai women
and the importance of environmental conservation.

She believes that women are the cornerstone to success in every society and that education
for Maasai girls is extremely important and the Maasai women of Narok county could
not have a better person to serve them with no political views but rather getting to work
right away and especially at this important moment of global climate change.





Wednesday, October 16, 2013

What Do You Know About Giraffes?


Tallest mammal on the planet and most people would probably
walk freely right underneath their belly.
They have the longest legs in the animal kingdom therefore
enabling them to walk faster than any other animal.

Whenever there is giraffes in the African savannah there is
bound to be smaller herbivores probably using their towering heads
as lookout for predators.

The anatomy of these animals is probably amongst the most interesting.
If you think about it having a head that is between six to seven feet
above your body would probably need lots of Tylenol just to keep
headaches from low blood pressure in control.
Fortunately, they don't need lots of Tylenol because their hearts have
been modified to perfectly fit their anatomy.

Most giraffes would only take short naps for around five minutes and
they can do that on their feet.
Rare moments you can find this beautiful creature on the ground
sitting because it takes them longer to stand up on their long feet and
very vulnerable to predators especially lions.




Thursday, October 3, 2013

BUFFALO SOLDIER




These guys are probably among the most exciting creatures nature ever provided.
They are built to withstand the most challenging environments in the world full
of predators and that's the African bush.

There is a reason why people came up with the word buffalo soldier.
If you ever watched predators in action like lions probably going after these
guys then am sure you know what am talking about.
They have probably killed more lions than any other creature in the wild
and on top of the list of most feared creatures by natives.

Their only downside is they have poor eyesight and unless there
is movement they depend on scent to pinpoint a threat.
From top to toe they are just pure muscle and even an adult cow can
easily flip a car.
Have always wondered why the cape buffalo probably runs slower when
being chased by a predator than when they are running after a threat.
They prefer to face a threat head on rather than run for their lives just like
a soldier.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Bees Turning Carnivorous.

Bees Turning Carnivorous.



Not sure if its just me but don't exactly know what's going on with these bees
this summer.
Every time am outdoors there's bees surrounding my head like they're trying
to bite my ears or something!
Their behavior is kind of unusual too.
I just saw a few weeks ago some bees flying around a dead bird and not only
that but a few days ago went on the porch and as I sat there with a cup of
coffee I noticed a bee attacking a little bug.

To me it looked like the bee was trying to kill the poor bug but didn't take
much time to see the end result because there seemed to be more bees
coming in and getting more interested with me.
Went back inside and as I sat there the dots started connecting from
what I had seen few weeks earlier and that's when it dawned on me that
maybe these bees here are slowly turning carnivorous!
Don't know if anyone else noticed bees behaving this way.

There could be a larger picture though behind all this as some scientists have
claimed.Their change in behavior or change in numbers could be a sign of
disastrous things to come like climate change or food shortage.
Most people probably think of bees as stinging and annoying little insects but
what we forget besides the honey is that 30% of all food produced on the planet is through the
help of bees pollinating the fields,so every time you put a crop product in
your mouth maybe you need to think of a bee!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Great Migration,Masai Mara.

buffalo


Every year for around three months the Mara becomes a host to the largest
population of wild animals on the planet,

starting around July and ending around September which is the approximate
time when they head back to the Serengeti.

The scene that approximately two million herbivores create on the African
savannah is nothing short of spectacular and sometimes its better to
see it to believe it.

The best time to visit the Mara if you would like to experience the migration,
definitely would be around August and September.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

THE GENTLE GIANTS.

Elephants


About thirty thousand African elephants are killed every year to supply the
insatiable demand for ivory products around the world and especially
the Chinese market.

The recent news about the U.S fish and wildlife planning to crush six tons
of illegally confiscated ivory is a major step and great news to the
never ending ivory wars that's pretty much ravaging the population
of this gentle giants.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Mara Governors Camp

Mara Governors Camp


The greatest thing about this camp is definitely its location.
Right on the bank of Mara river,where pretty much you have
the chance to see nile crocodiles and hippos as you hang
around the camp.

The other great thing about its location,is its close proximity
to probably the largest prides of lions in the mara,around the
Musiara area.

Even though at times this lion prides get scattered due to the constant
competition from rival males,it still remains as one of the places
in the entire mara that you are guaranteed to spot lions
no matter the season.

This camp is definitely at a hotspot for wildlife activity.

The camp has an air-strip as well,so if you don't feel like
taking a long road trip from Nairobi,you can always fly
from Wilson airport.

They have flights to and from Mombasa as well for anyone
planning to vacation at the Mombasa beaches too.



Sunday, September 8, 2013

Loita Plains Wildlife

Loita Plains Wildlife


Loita plains is a wide landscape northeast of the Masai Mara game reserve, that
the native Maasai used for centuries as grazing land for their cattle but
still had this mutual co-existence with wild animals.

Even though most of the land around the area is mostly privatized,
the number of wild animals still roaming this landscape
is staggering.

More than thirty thousand wild beasts and zebra still breed on this grounds
as they migrate locally between the plains and the conservation areas
north of the mara, particularly Mara Naboisho Conservancy.

Unfortunately, there are more investors than ever buying land from the
local Maasai and developing it, leaving wild animals pretty much to
fend themselves.

Obviously, the biggest threat to these poor animals is having their migratory
routes cut off by fences and eventually slowly diminished.
Am sure there are lots of investors out there that still care about wildlife
and hopefully, this area gets lucky in that sense to help conserve this
natural beauty.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Sunset in The African Savannah

Sunset in The African Savannah
Sunset in The African Savannah



Most people probably think of African wildlife as being the centerpiece
of its beauty and in many aspects that's true.
Africa has the biggest diversity of wild animals in the world and
especially in the savannah.

Nothing is like it, sitting on the African savannah, watching the sun go down
and wild animals posing in front of it.
Its almost like you are watching a little piece of heaven on earth!






Pacific Northwest Wilderness

Pacific Northwest Wilderness

When you think of the pacific northwest, what comes to mind is probably
lots of forest, lots of snow and lots of water and you are right.
Its incredible beauty with tall trees and lots of rivers flowing down
the snow-capped, forested mountains are nothing short of magnificent.

Its unique landscape has lots of camping areas for families or anyone and there's
nothing more fulfilling like sitting at a campsite, watching the awesomeness
of it unfold.

If you catch a glimpse of a bigfoot or maybe your camera does but
you never really noticed it till you got home, well don't be surprised,
this area has had more bigfoot sitings than anywhere else.

Personally, I haven't seen  a Bigfoot yet, but you never know and that's
the beauty of it all, its surprises never fail to amaze.


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Keekorok Lodge, Masai Mara

Keekorok Lodge

Keekorok is derived from a Maasai word meaning,'dark trees.'
Personally, obviously there are lots of lodges and camps in Masai Mara, that are great, but this happens
to be one of the oldest in the area, definitely with a long track record, providing services to its
customers and I can say this lodge definitely worn my heart, I love it.

Keekorok Lodge is definitely where I would recommend to anyone, and definitely where i
can visit over and over again without question.

Just to give you a little tour of what and why it wore my heart, starting from the main entrance, which
is spectacular to a very neatly arranged dining area, with a buffet style serving area, the food is really really good!

Outside of the dining area is a nice relaxing area and a little walk to the swimming pool, and there's a trail which is my most favorite of the entire lodge.
The wooden trail is raised above the forest floor,so you can pretty much see wild animals roaming in the distance or just close by and the trail keeps going all the way to a nice shed right by the hippo pool, where you can pretty much spend time, watching hippos and listening to the many birds singing
in the bushes.

The shed also has a small bar area where you can order drinks as you watch the amazing wilderness, I definitely would go to this place any day of the week if I could.