ULTIMATE AFRICA SAFARIS
Ultimate Africa travel and wildlife news archive February 2001 Kenya to Reinstate Tourist Visa Requirements, February 4 2001 Kenya will resume visa requirements for all tourists from March 1, 2001 scrapping visa waivers for tourists from a dozen European countries and the United States who stay in the country for no more than 30 days State Minister Marsden Madoka, who is in charge of internal security, announced last Friday that the measure would be adopted from February 1,2001 so as to ensure equal treatment of all tourists. But the minister's announcement aroused opposition from the tourist sector, which claimed the change in the visa policy could harm the tourism industry. In order to boost tourism, the Kenyan government exempted visa requirements on June 7, 1999 for tourists from 15 countries. US Traveler’s Warned against visiting Zanzibar, February 4 2001 Zanzibar, including Pemba Island, remains tense following elections in October 2000. In addition to a series of isolated explosions in Zanzibar following the elections, a group calling itself the "Freedom Fighters of Tanzania" issued a statement, printed in a weekly Zanzibar newspaper on January 11, threatening violence against the embassies of the United States and other western countries, and calling for the kidnapping of citizens of those countries. While the U.S. Government does not have any additional information regarding this group, the group's statement is cause for concern. U.S. citizens traveling to Zanzibar are strongly urged to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take the appropriate steps to reduce their vulnerability. Americans should maintain a low profile, vary routes and times for all required travel, and avoid political rallies and demonstrations. Britain Says Do Not Travel to Zanzibar, February 4 2001 The British Foreign Office have advised Britons not to travel to Zanzibar and told all those already there to keep a low profile. Police and opposition protesters fought running battles on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian islands last week. Up to nine people are feared dead. "The Foreign Office considers the current situation to be unstable and unpredictable and is therefore advising against all holiday and non-essential visits to Zanzibar," said a Foreign Office spokesman. The UK government official confirmed that police had blocked off Zanzibar's port, effectively trapping travelers and foreign tourists on the islands. He said people already there should stay indoors until the situation calms. Zanzibar's Shattered Peace, October 4 2001 Arriving in Zanzibar from the Tanzanian mainland, visitors quickly discover that the island regards its identity with some emotion. No matter that visitors and tourists have had their passports and visas examined and stamped in Dar es Salaam or Arusha; the ritual is repeated once again in Zanzibar. The minor inconvenience results in an exotic entry stamp, but indicates the strong feeling of separateness held by many on Zanzibar and Pemba. Julius Nyerere, the father and first president of modern Tanzania, succeeded in creating a nation with a strong sense of national identity. There may be 120 tribes in Tanzania, but unlike some other African states, citizens will describe themselves simply as "Tanzanians". But not in Zanzibar. They resolutely call themselves Zanzibaris despite the union with Tanganyika, which created the state of Tanzania in 1964. Zanzibar's historic capital Stonetown is feeling the tension following last week's clashes between police and supporters of the opposition CUF party in the archipelago. The number of dead and wounded remains a matter of dispute between the Tanzanian government and the opposition parties. Last weekend Stonetown changed character. The usual busy harbor was strangely silent and foreigners in seafront hotels were asked not to photograph the modest ship in port representing the Tanzanian navy. Tourists stayed in their hotels although a walk through the town revealed a few curious foreigners baffled by the sudden silence in the narrow winding streets. Virtually every shop was closed and thick wooden shutters were locked in place with oversized padlocks. Stray cats outnumbered the usual taxi touts who survive on the thriving tourist trade. It was unclear whether shopkeepers had taken the precaution to close their businesses in the face of expected demonstrations or were stopped from entering the town. Tourists who had planned to travel across the island to East Coast hotels had to wait several hours to secure passes to travel on the roads. Roadblocks manned by armed security forces were plentiful but traffic was not. After having their passes examined, visitors were waved through with a nod. Both backpackers and well-heeled travelers are drawn to Zanzibar's tropical atmosphere, an intriguing blend of Africa and the Middle East. The variety of pungent spices for sale along the narrow lanes, restaurants set on the roofs of antique palaces, and white sand beaches seem to confirm to visitors that they are on a fabled island. The inexpensive bungalows on the north coast, complete with excellent scuba diving, and the pods of friendly dolphins on the southern tip have ensured the growing tourist trade. Zanzibar is a popular stopover for many visitors who have been on safari in East Africa. This perception of Zanzibar may have changed in recent days due to the violent demonstrations and travel advisories issued by a number of Western governments. Opposition parties have mooted further demonstrations on the archipelago and on the mainland. Many Zanzibaris are worried about the current rash of cancellation of bookings in the hotels and guesthouses. Zanzibar's income is now more dependent on tourism than spices. Do I Require a Yellow Fever Vaccination to Visit Tanzania?, February 11 2001 Many travelers to Tanzania are confused by the requirement to have a Yellow Fever vaccination. Tanzanian health officers ask travelers if they have a Yellow Fever vaccination card. Some travelers do and others do not. For those who do not, the health officers often lead traveler’s to believe that they cannot enter the country without such a certificate. They then ask for a bribe of between US $20 and US $40 cash to issue a Yellow Fever vaccination card to that traveler. It all depends on who is negotiating. Are travelers, or are they not, required to have Yellow Fever vaccination card? The answer is quite simple: If a traveler is not arriving from a Yellow Fever endemic zone including Angola, Brazil, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Peru, Sao Tome, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, south Mali, Sudan, Togo, Venezuela, Rwanda, Tanzania, and western Zambia (these are the areas where there is potential risk of yellow fever infection on account of the presence of vectors and animal reservoirs) you will require an International certificate of Vaccination against Yellow Fever. Example 1. If you come to Tanzania and you have been to the above said countries 10 days before your arrival, you are required to have a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate. 2. If you travel to Tanzania via Kenya, you are required to have a yellow fever vaccination certificate - even if you are only transiting through Kenya. 3. If you arrive from countries not listed as epidemic areas, you are not required to have a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate. If you are not required to have a Yellow Fever vaccination and therefore do not have a certificate, you should not give in to the Tanzanian Health officials’ attempts to coerce a bribe from you. Update on Botswana’s Okavango Delta, February 11 2001 Data indicates that this year’s flood arriving in the Okavango Delta will be lower than normal. There has been very little late rain in the African sub-continent and also relatively little falling within the Okavango. After the high floods of last year this is a real bonus for the guests travelling to the Okavango this year. There is still lots of water in the rivers and lagoons within the Okavango Delta so the new (albeit low floods) will top up the existing waters without totally flooding out areas and safari camps / lodges. This will mean that most camps will have extended game viewing areas to traverse compared to last year. This is especially good news for camps like Xigera, Jao, Kwetsani, Chitabe, Chitabe Trails, Duba Plains and both Vumbura and Little Vumbura. Their game drive areas will dramatically increase this year for the better. Botswana Government Spraying for Tsetse Fly, February 11 2001 Botswanan authorities have decided that they need to get rid of tsetse flies in northern Botswana. Originally they were going to spray the Delta aerially with a endosulphin. This is quite a powerful chemical, which would kill some of the smaller fish in the floodplains. Locally there was an environmental outcry and the authorities have now changed their minds and will now spray sequentially with a synthetic pyrethroid. This spray is similar to what is often used at safari camps/lodges. Pyrethroid has no side effects - unless you are a tsetse fly or a mosquito! Spraying will occur between May and August. The doses will be much less than one gets on an aircraft when the cabin crew sprays for insects within the aircraft or when one sprays one's room with insect killer. Botswana’s Mombo Camp Update, February 11 2001 Recently Wilderness Safaris’ owner Colin Bell visited Mombo Camp in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. He writes: "I have just had an incredible couple of days at Mombo! The camp is really cooking and the game viewing is truly stunning. I was there to work and hardly went on a wildlife viewing drive. Even so the game viewing was incredible! Just driving in from the airfield we saw lions on a kill, elephant, buffalo, etc!! There are not many places in the world where one can be standing in one's outdoor shower at 6 in the morning, looking down at 50 buffalo, a couple of hundred lechwe, zebra, wildebeest, warthogs and listening to lions roaring close by!!" Mombo Camp is the ultimate year round wildlife viewing destination in Africa! Simply trying to photograph the camp from out front is hazardous as one has to tiptoe amongst all the buffalo, the lions and the elephants. Paul Augustinus has written a report on his recent 14 day visit which sums up the green season game viewing at Mombo. Paul is a world renowned wildlife artist and author who spent 10 years living in the parks of Botswana in the '80s accumulating material for his paintings and books. His paintings now hang in many of the world's top art collections. He wrote: "That was FANTASTIC. Mombo is simply superb and the new camp is beyond anything I could have imagined. Really, we don't know how to put it, but we are absolutely overwhelmed that we had the opportunity to see and experience the new camp and the spectacular wildlife. I have no way to state how impressed I am with everything and everybody associated with that unbelievable operation. I am waiting for my slides to be processed and they will be back on Sat. I know that I will have some pictures that you might be interested in as the sun was in a cloudless sky for our entire stay. Perfect photography weather. I have pictures of guests watching elephants only 2 meters from the boardwalk, lots of different angles, leopards in trees, unbelievable blackmaned lions that have migrated up from Chief’s Island, and so on. I wish I had been warned how good the boardwalk was for wildlife watching and photo ops. Not knowing this I left my powerful flash equipment for night shots at home knowing that there was no night drives. I mention this as I was in the ghastly position of watching 2 leopards mate, twice, from the boardwalk without any equipment to photograph them with. If I had had my 135 f2 lens and Metz flash gear I would have had some unique pics. I boobed big time!!!!! Anyway, over a twenty minute period of time they mated on either side of the board walk, crossing over it at the low point at the trading store walking almost underneath your sign! We were only ten to fifteen meters away from them and they ignored us completely. I could have had spectacular shots had I had my flash equipment!!!!!!!! Some advice here - if you send up any photographers to Mombo - tell them about the boardwalk opportunity and advise them to keep cameras and flash equipment grafted permanently to their sides after the sun goes down. Certainly if I ever get the opportunity to go back there I would go totally laden with flash gear, trip sensors, remote cameras etc and stay up all night long. The game viewing from the camp was obscenely good. One day a group of guests arrived at midday. Linda was giving them their orientation chat in the lounge as they sipped their frosty drinks. They could hardly concentrate as in front of the lodge 2 elephants walked by, a group of buffalo were sitting in the shade of one of the trees and in the distance two male lions walked down and drank from the marsh lagoon. One of the buffalo then rushed the lions and chased them off. The guests hadn't been in Mombo for more than ten minutes and they had seen lion elephant and buffalo plus interaction! They were impressed no end - heck, I was impressed even more than they were. The views from the tents are better than Treetops in Kenya - when it was at its very best. From our own sala in Tent 7 we saw lions and lionesses at midday on six of the fourteen days we were there - it was hard to lie back and rest, there was so much going on. Who knows what happened on that floodplain when we were out on drives in the mornings and evenings? Frankly I did not want to know as on several occasions we came back to find buffalo, elephant, lion, lechwe an bushbuck in front of the camp right next to the main deck - but the good light for photography was gone. It was tricky deciding whether to go out for game drives or staying in camp!!!!!!! Also, I have never been to any place else that has the potential that Mombo Camp has for unique, mind blowing, set-up, wildlife/camp/guest combination photographs - especially so as the camp itself is very photogenic. It's a work of art in its own right and I don't know who was responsible for the overall design but they did a great job. Superb in fact. The only problem was that even 14 days is not enough to appreciate all the different design and furnishing touches that make the place so peaceful, artistic, and tasteful. The only problem was that one has to go home eventually - a real tragedy that! Even the behind the scenes mechanics of the camp are a wonder - I refer to your water system! And your electricity generators!!!! No noise at all - a gold medal there. Nandi was our guide and what a superb guide he was. Sophisticated, responsible, consistent, confident, incredibly knowledgeable, amusing and charming all rolled into one. If all your other guides are as good as he is then your operation is one hell of a successful example of building capacity. Congratulations! The camp staff were really outstanding as well - Charles, Linda, Peter, Jo-Anne, Maggie, Thys, BK and Greg - all of them incredibly charming hosts at a camp that seemed to run as smoothly and efficiently as a Swiss watch. Please send my compliments to all of them for a wonderful stay. I had forgotten what a fantastic place Botswana is. It made me think a lot about the whirlwind passage of the last few years. I am going to have to make some changes - possibly move back to Botswana on a more permanent basis for a few months of each year at least". Paul Augustinus - www.paulaugustinus.com Improved Flight Connection between Namibia and Botswana, February 11 2001 The new Air Botswana "winter" timetable is just about out and it looks like there will be three Air Botswana flights a week between Maun and Windhoek - on Wed, Fri and Sundays! Public outcry Expected as Tahr Culling is set to Continue, February 11 2001 South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced that it intends resuming its program to remove exotic Himalayan mountain tahrs from Table Mountain in Cape Town. This step will most likely rekindle fierce opposition in some quarters, but SANParks is set to go ahead with culling and hopes to have removed all the remaining tahrs within a year. The controversial tahr culling program was temporarily halted in July last year by agreement between SANParks and the Public Protector's office, following complaints by some Capetonians, led by the newly established Friends of the Tahr group. Although there allegedly was some disagreement over the nature of the moratorium, SANParks now clearly believes it has satisfied its obligations to the Public Protector. SA National Parks reportedly also referred the issue to its independent "ethics committee" - technically, the Animal Use and Care Committee - for review. Cape Peninsula National Park manager Howard Langley is quoted as saying that "SA National Parks has a mandate to preserve South Africa's biodiversity, and here in the Cape Peninsula National Park we have a particularly important natural system that has been incredibly abused by years of neglect." Carnival in South Africa, February 11 2001 On December 15 and 16, Gauteng, South Africa will explode in a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds when it hosts the second annual Carnival in Africa. So successful when it first hit the streets of Durban for millennium celebrations in December 1999 it was hailed by the New York Times as one of the world's ten best millennium events. It has therefore, say organizers, already made a firm beginning in creating a similar Carnival culture for South Africa. Set to now become an annual tradition along the same lines as Rio de Janeiro's Carnival and New Orleans' Mardi Gras, the event is being publicized as a 'must attend' festival not only for all South Africans but for international tourists as well. South Africa has a similar melting pot of cultures and traditions to those regions that already hold these world-famous street shows and one of the main objectives of Carnival in Africa will be to bring its people together in a spectacular ensemble of events and festivities. The Carnival will incorporate Gauteng's three major centers namely Johannesburg, Midrand and Pretoria, in all activities. These will include street parades and festive activities at the Carnival Event site adjacent to the Ben Schoeman highway in Midrand. On Saturday, December 15, the parade - consisting of at least 20 massive floats accompanied by characters dressed in lavish themed costumes - will start from the Civic Center in Johannesburg and proceed to the Newtown area. There will be a free concert at Newtown, after which the floats and revelers will move to the Carnival Event site for the evening's entertainment. At the event site, four main stages will be erected to provide entertainment including stand- up comedians, fashion shows, jazz and rock bands. On December 16, the events of the previous day will be duplicated in Pretoria, the early afternoon concert being held at Church Square, and the evening's entertainment again at the Carnival arena culminating in the celebration of Reconciliation Day. Carnival in Africa will also incorporate similar events such as the Durban Reed Dance, the Johannesburg Gay Parade and the Cape Minstrel's Carnival. Prestigious Recognition for CCAfrica, February 11 2001 Readers of Conde Nast Traveler, have voted CCAfrica's Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp in Kenya and South Africa's Londolozi Private Game Reserve in South Africa onto its 2001 annual gold list of the world's choicest travel destinations. The magazine asked 26,000 subscribers to vote in the Readers' Choice Poll, from which they culled the highest rated hotels and resorts in the world. To gain credibility for its survey, Conde Nast Traveler reporters also interviewed readers and to record their first-hand experiences. Note that Ultimate Africa consultants strongly disagree that CCAfrica’s Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp should be on the Gold List as this tented camp is enormous (far too many rooms!) and impersonal…We can only figure that as CCAfrica markets itself widely it has received more exposure than several FAR BETTER tented camps in the Masai Mara area – Little Governor’s being one example. In addition, the UK's Town & Country
magazine has, in its January edition, listed a number of the editor's favorite properties
in a number of categories including, under the heading Best Hotel for Wildlife
Enthusiasts, CCAfrica's Phinda Private Game Rare Insect Species Found in Malawi, February 11 2001 A group of insect researchers have found that Malawi has a wide range of rare insect species, some of which are not known to the scientific world. The researchers, led by Raymond Murphy, reportedly said that the country has more species, especially the beetle type, than those kept in the British Museum. Some of the species, Murphy said, need to be sent to Belgium so that scientists could identify them. The research team has collected numerous cicada, bee and wasp species, some of which need further expert identification. The insects will be displayed in a national collection to be set up in Malawi's former colonial capital, Zomba, 68kilometers north-east of the commercial capital. Yellow Fever Inoculation Alert, February 18 2001 The Association of South African Travel Agents (ASATA), says "Officials have the authority to decide either to keep such travelers under observation for a minimum of six days at their own cost, or to vaccinate them against yellow fever at their own cost." Information concerning countries where yellow fever vaccination is required can be obtained by visiting the Center for Disease Control on the internet at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/yelfever.htm Rare Plant Found in South Africa’s Cape, February 18 2001 A rare plant that managed to evade scientists for nearly 200 years, has been discovered in South Africa’s Cape region. The plant is as tall as an adult and looks like a giant celery crowned with an array of savage thorns. The plant (peucedanum pungens) is one of the biggest of the 30 mountain celery species and is the only of the 300 wild members of the carrot family in South Africa that has thorns. Ever since legendary German plant collector Johann Drège recorded the plant for the first time in the Overberg in the 1830s and collected a specimen, it has evaded all searches. The only proof of the plant's existence was Drège’s dried specimen in the Stockholm herbarium. That was until an unknown plant caught the eye of a young Cape botanist, Nick Helme, in October last year during a plant survey on a farm north of the Bot River. He collected branches and flowers of the plant but his find was overshadowed by another rare find - a new Freylinia with beautiful funnel-shaped white flowers, which he immediately identified as a new species. Helme was contacted by Professor Ben-Erik van Wyk, a Rand Afrikaans University taxonomist who informed him that the 20 plants Helme had discovered on a fragment of rhenosterveld, were in fact a "lost" plant that has fascinated him for many years. Helme's two exciting finds form part of a research project conducted by the Botanical Society (BotSoc) among low-lying fynbos habitats. Kristal Maze of the BotSoc reportedly said the aim of the project was to determine the exact locations of these rare plants and to find ways of encouraging farmers to preserve them. South African Hunters implicated in Ivory Scam, February 18 2001 South African hunters have been implicated in a scam involving the alleged smuggling of ivory into South Africa from Zimbabwe, to be entered in hunting trophy competitions. High-ranking members of the South African Hunters' and Game Conservation Association as well as one of Zimbabwe's oldest professional hunting outfits have been implicated in the scam. The scam has been exposed as a result of questions raised about a pair of tusks entered in a trophy competition by an executive committee member of the South African Hunters' and Game Conservation Association. The member has not produced valid permits for the tusks, and documents reportedly show the export stamps on the ivory are registered to a British hunter for an entirely different pair of tusks. The hunting association reportedly said it would hold an internal disciplinary inquiry into the allegations. Nuclear Cargo Passes the Cape, February 18 2001 Greenpeace has reported that two ships transporting a cargo of deadly plutonium fuel have rounded South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. The vessels, which the South African government has asked to stay out of its economic exclusion zone, are expected to head across to Japan after leaving from France. African Environmental Ministers Receive Golden Ark Award, February 18 2001 His Royal Highness, Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands, has bestowed the order of the Golden Ark Award on the ministers responsible for environment of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The ceremony took place in Skukuza in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. The Order of the Golden Ark is an Honorary Order, established in 1971 by His Royal Highness, Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands. Its aim is to recognize individuals dedicated to the conservation of nature. The award was made to his Excellency Helder Muteio, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mozambique, Valli Moosa, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism of South Africa, and the Honourable Minister Francis Nhema, Minister of Environment & Tourism of Zimbabwe for their enormous contribution towards the development and establishment of the Gaza/Kruger/Gonarezhou (GKG) Transfrontier Park and Transfrontier Conservation Area. A historical International Agreement for the development of the GKG Transfrontier Park and Transfrontier Area was signed by these Ministers on November 10, 2000 to pave the way for the establishment of this Transfrontier Park. Wildlife Rangers Discuss African Conservation, February 18 2001 The International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) reports that African wildlife rangers will come closer to their dream of a continental strategy for conservation when they meet at the World Heritage Site of St Lucia. Leading conservationists from Kenya, Ivory Coast, Benin, Nigeria, Egypt and Cameroon - chosen to represent their peers from the five regions of Africa (North, South, East, West and Central) when they signed a memorandum of African Continental Understanding at last year's meeting of the International Rangers Federation (IRF) - will meet for a second time at the Game Rangers Association of Africa (GRAA) seminar. New Calf for Elephant Group Airlifted to Angola, February 18 2001 Laurette Kruger, a spokesperson for the Kissama Foundation, reports that the first family group of elephants that were airlifted to Angola last year have a new addition to the family – a healthy calf of 4 weeks. The birth of the calf, the first elephant to be born in the Quiçama National Park in almost three decades, has come as a welcome sign of the elephants' adaptation to their new home. "This is one small step for a baby elephant, but a giant leap for Angolan wildlife conservation," says Professor Wouter van Hoven, president of the Kissama Foundation. The elephants were relocated to the Quiçama National Park from Madikwe Game Reserve during September 2000. Their relocation caused great excitement amongst the people of Angola as well as the international conservation community. The relocation forms part of a project of the Kissama Foundation named "Operation Noah's Ark". The project involves the relocation of elephant, rhino, various antelope species and eventually predators to the Quiçama National Park. This massive relocation will span over the next four years and animals will be transported to the park by air as well as by sea. The Kissama Foundation has been mandated by the Angolan government to rehabilitate the country's national parks, with the Quiçama National Park receiving first priority. Giant Sable Spotted in Angola, February 18 2001 Angolan authorities have spotted twenty-five giant sable antelope, a species, which has been fighting for survival during the 25-year civil war ravaging the country. Two army helicopters were used in the search for the animals, which were located late last year in the Cangandala area in the northern province of Malange. Zimbabwe’s Wild Geese Lodge Sold, February 18 2001 Zimbabwe’s Wild Geese Lodge has been sold to Nigel Searle. His son and daughter in-law are hotel trained and will become the new management couple with immediate effect. All the staff will remain, as will the decor and furnishings. "Complete Africa" Safari Guests will Witness Eclipse, February 25 2001 For those of you interested in viewing the June 21, 2001 total solar eclipse in southern Africa there is still space on our Complete Africa Safari. This 30 day overland camping safari departs Johannesburg on June 13, 2001 and ends in Nairobi on July 12, 2001. Guests will be canoeing on the lower Zambezi within the path of totality during the eclipse. The Complete Africa safari costs US $2,195 per person and highlights include: the Great Zimbabwe ruins, incredible wildlife reserves, wildlife viewing walks, wildlife viewing from open 4x4 vehicles, the Victoria Falls, canoeing on the lower Zambezi River, beaches of Lake Malawi, the spice island of Zanzibar, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti, and African culture. To view the full itinerary click here Botswana Government Bans Lion Hunting, February 25 2001 The Botswana government has passed a law - effective February 1, 2001 - that bans the hunting of all lions anywhere in Botswana for a period of twelve months. Kilimanjaro's Snows Disappearing, February 25 2001 Scientists say that 82% of the ice field on Mount Kilimanjaro’s peak has melted since 1912 (over 33 in the past 12 years alone) and rivers and streams fed by the mountain's snowmelt have already dried up. According to researchers the snow could be gone in 14 years with one scientist noting "At this rate, all of the ice will be gone between the years 2010 and 2020. And that is probably a conservative estimate" Tanzanian officials worry that the loss of the ice cap atop Kilimanjaro will be devastating to the thriving tourist trade that brings thousands of people to the mountain each year. Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest peak towering over 19,000 feet above the tropical rainforest of Tanzania near the equator. Made famous in Ernest Hemingway's short story "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" the snow-capped peak is one of east Africa’s most recognizable landmarks. Namibia's Vulture Population on Verge of Extinction, February 25 2001 There are only eight Cape vultures left in Namibia. According to Liz Komen of the Namibia Animals Rehabilitation Research and Education Center (Narrec), the use of the poison strychnine has wiped out much of the scavenger's population. She said that the vultures died after eating the poisoned carcasses of wild animals left by farmers in an attempt to kill predators that attack their livestock. In the 1960s there were five known colonies of Cape Vultures in Namibia. Komen said that in 1996 a single farmer killed 10% of the Namibian lappet-faced vulture population after the birds fed on poisoned carcasses left in a bid to kill predators. It is not only scavengers who are dying from eating poisoned carcasses but also animals like the aardwolf, Cape fox and bat-eared fox. Komen said that in Namibia, 55% to 73% of recorded deaths of scavenging raptors were caused by poison. Elephants Face Extinction in West Africa, February 25 2001 Elephants are seen as a fundamental part of West Africa's cultural heritage, but their numbers have dwindled so fast that they risk soon being consigned to memory. Conservationists from 12 West African countries made a strong call for an all-out offensive against elephant poaching as they wound up a recent three-day conference. Ibrahim Thiaw, the regional representative in West Africa for the World Conservation Union is quoted as saying that the situation is considered to be extremely serious, since according to estimates, 90% of the elephant population in the region has vanished during the last quarter of the 20th century. According to the World Conservation Union, West Africa is currently home to just over 6,000 elephants - only about 2% of their total population in the continent as a whole. Poaching remains the greatest threat to the elephant population. The meeting ended with pledges to put in place patrols in areas where elephants are endangered, aerial surveillance and modern methods of communication to step up the fight against poachers. Kenya to Protect Aberdare Mountains, February 25 2001 The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is set to give priority to the conservation of the country's vast Aberdare ranges as a vital water catchment area. KWS chairman Charles Njonjo is quoted as saying that the Aberdare range is the source of five of Kenya's seven largest rivers and the only source of Nairobi's water supply, hence its vital importance. A 113-km fence is reportedly under construction as part of the Aberdare Mountain Fence Project, which is funded by the Rhino Ark. Mr Njonjo reportedly said an envisaged 320km of fence is to be built to completely encircle the Aberdares, making it "the longest wildlife and human protection fence in East Africa." The fencing posts were being made from plastic waste, rather than wood. The fence will prevent illegal logging in the forests and will protect the wildlife inside its borders. The project is in its pilot stage and required additional funding to facilitate accelerated manufacture of the plastic posts. Zimbabwe may Hold Early Elections, February 25 2000 Rumors are circulating that Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe could possibly step down from power in August of this year and call for early presidential elections at that time. Zimbabwe’s next presidential election is set to take place in April 2002. Return to Weekly Update Archive |
