2015,Not A Good Start for Lion Conservation!

STOP THE SERENGETI HIGHWAY

SPECIAL REPORT: NOT A GOOD START TO 2015
SERENGETI TEAM IN TANZANIA REPORT LION KILLINGS

While I had hoped to usher in the new year with a beautiful photo of the Serengeti, instead we are reporting on the killing of six lions outside of Tarangire National Park. Two of our Serengeti Watch team members happened onto the Maasai village where there was much chaos going on. When our team inquired it was learned that 6 lions had wandered out of Tarangire into a Maasai village and they were immediately killed. When one of our team went to the headquarters of the park to report it - he was told they already knew but had no intention of doing anything since the animals were outside of the park.

At the same time as I was getting the report from our team another team member pointed out that the following was posted on the TANZANIA FOR WILDLIFE page:

"New Years Day, Started with a SMS from my chair lady (TATO Conservation) Vesna Glamocanin Tibaijuka :informing me that Peter Lindstrom s Maasai Watchmen have told him about the Lion Killings that took place yesterday in Lake Burunge Area. Followed it up and the sad news is that 7 Lions have been killed related to Human/Wildlife conflict Area Lake Burunge
I have called a friend who works with Big Life in Sinya to get hold of the Chief Ranger in Burunge but could up date me on this issue Could not get hold of him but got his assistant and he has confirmed that 7 lions have been Killed by Maasai".

OP ED
So not only is Africa's wildlife threatened by cartel based mass poaching - but - also human/wildlife conflict. This will be something that the new president when elected in Tanzania in October will have to address. Humans living up to, and by some reports IN national parks is a huge problem which pushes the animals into contact with humans thus causing conflicts - whether it is a herder that has lost a cow - or a farmer that has had his crops trampled by elephants. Animals need protected corridors around the park so that humans are not living right up to the edges. Recently 7 lions were poisoned outside of the Serengeti.

Population BoomThe habitat wisely set aside for protection at independence was done when the population of Tanzania was only about 10 million people. Now the population is pushing 43 million, Should Tanzania's current population growth projection remain intact, the country's population will hit 51 million in 2016 straining the provision of basic services, new data shows. 

By definition, protected areas restrict access by people, while protecting wildlife. It is easy to see why these areas are now under threat – human population increasingly restricts wildlife habitat, and human needs put pressure on the government to justify the existence of protected areas.

We do not have a photo from this incident yet - the photo posted is from the 7 lions that were poisoned outside the Serengeti in early December.

We will report more information as soon as we have it and may issue a call to action for our fans. Keep tuned.

PHOTO CREDIT
Poisoned Lion:
Citizen article: PHOTO | ANTHONY MAYUNGA

African Lions Vs Asiatic Lions.

Did you know!

-That the East African lion is also called the masai lion.

-That the South African lion is also called the Transvaal lion or cape lion.
-That the West African lion is also called the Senegal lion.
-That the African lion is the second largest cat from the tiger.
-That a 550 pounds male African lion appears larger than a 600 pounds Siberian tiger due to its larger head with a mane.
-That a liger which is the largest existing cat is a cross-breed between a male lion and a female tiger.
-That lions in the wild have been recorded to take down the largest prey including elephant and  giraffes.
-That lions are the only social cats.
-That the lion is the loudest cat and its roar can be heard five miles away.

What more do u know about lions?

YUMMY BEEF STEAK!

The best beef steak is a combination of a lot of things:

1-Breed of steer.
2-Type of feed and grass fed is always better.
3-Age of steer,preferably not over 2 years old.
4-part of animal the steak gets extracted from and everyone knows it gotta be the ribeye steak,if you want the most tender piece of meat to grill.
5-Last but not least is the way it gets prepared before it lands on the dining table for your tastebuds to enjoy.

Before you buy the steak always check local ads and try buying it while on sale.
Get the following ingredients with the steak if you don't have them already at home:
-yellow and red bell pepper.
-paprika
-garlic pepper and salt.
-butter.

After all that take the steak and coat it really good with the above spices and you can always put other spices depending on preferance then let the steak absorb the spices as you dice up a little bit of each bell pepper as too much wouldn't be fun then put some butter on a hot pan followed by the diced bell peppers and let them sautee till they start changing color and filling the air with irresistible aroma.

Take the sauteed bell peppers and transfer them to a different container and throw the steak on the same hot pan and let both sides grill and kinda feel with a finger for firmness to avoid overcooking and depending on whether you like it medium rare or rare just use your best judgment and if you like well done my personal suggestion is get a thinly sliced steak that will cook through within a very short period of time and it's easier to avoid having a very tough piece of meat.

A couple of minutes before taking steak out throw the diced bell peppers back in and depending on whether you like them on top of steak or the starch you will have your steak with is upto you.
After you take your steak out you can serve it with white rice or potatoes and any choice of side veggies,mine is a green salad.
Enjoy!

Snow Falls After Christmas in Eastern Washington State.

It's a little sad that snow was nowhere to be seen around here on Christmas day when everyone was really hoping it would snow.

If it were to snow just once in a year am sure most people would wish that happens on Christmas eve all night and wake up the next day to a whole bunch of snow and unfortunately in eastern Washington state this year Christmas eve was mostly rainy and a little bit of snow that was pretty much overtaken by the rain.

So i guess this weekend after Christmas is a day to celebrate lots of snow that's still giving.

How to Make Crepes Recipe?

Learn to Make Crepes Recipe

A crepe is really a pancake in cuisines in some parts of the world.

Originated in France and now commonly made in India and East Africa and is mostly known there as a pancake.
The easiest recipe for crepes I believe is to first make sure you have the following ingredients:

1. All purpose wheat flour.
2. Eggs.
3. Sugar.
4. Whole milk.
5. Butter or vegetable oil.

Take about a cup of flour and mix it with about 1/4 cup of sugar and crack a couple of eggs then slowly stir the mixture as you add milk till you get the right consistency,a little runny,a bit more than you would when mixing cake mix and if you don't like to use milk you can replace it with water.

And you can also add blueberries if you like or other spices like cinnamon and nutmeg if you prefer.
Have the your pan hot then add a little oil or butter,then scoop about a 1/4 cup onto the hot pan and spread it around starting from the middle outwards till you get it as thin as possible and as soon as the bottom side turns brown then flip it and add more oil or butter and it's all done when the other side is brown as well.

Depending on how many you would like to make you can always use more flour and the rest of the ingredients too.