KENYA: Food Vendors Want Ban On Game Meat Lifted

Kenya is seeking to reintroduce selling of game meat at restaurants and hotels to boost competitiveness of the facilities on the global culinary landscape.

Tourism secretary for tourism Najib Balala said his ministry will undertake research over the next year on farming of game ahead of the re-introduction.

We must benefit from game resource, my team is working on it and definitely we will encourage the farming of wildlife and then we will have availability of game meat being sold in our restaurants and our hotels, he said during the opening of Tamarind Tree Hotel in Nairobi.

Restaurants, including the Carnivore, have been lobbying the government to allow for the re-introduction since the 2004 ban, which only allows for sale of ostrich and crocodile.

Carnivore had been selling game meat since it was established in the early 1980s, but what it had been associated with for over two decades stopped abruptly, cutting out game meat enthusiasts from its customer base.

It has now become more of an events-hosting entertainment facility rather than the game meat haven it was famed for.

Killing of wildlife for sport was introduced in Kenya in 1910, but was banned in 1977 when the number of certain species fell drastically.

The poaching concern led to the ban on the sale or import of game meat despite constant lobbying by restaurants.

Since then, visitors expecting to sample game meat of antelopes, gazelles, zebras, wildebeests among other wild animals have had to bear with whetting their appetites with ostrich and crocodile.

Wildlife species that have significantly declined and are critically threatened in Kenya include elephants, rhinos, Grevy Zebra, bongos, lions and cheetahs, among others. Some are hunted in conflict, for game meat and trophies.

There are only 30 Sable antelopes in Kenya currently, 3,765 Grevy zebras and less than 2,000 lions, according to KWS data submitted to Parliament.

The numbers are set to keep dropping if these animals are not protected.

Licensed game meat sellers in Kenya are rethinking their business models following a continued sales ban and refusal by the government to allow imports from South Africa.

A restaurant such as the Carnivore which has been selling game meat since the early 1980s has now become more of an events-hosting entertainment facility rather than a game meat haven it has been known for.

Sale of any game meat was banned in Kenya in 2004 because of concerns over poaching, forcing game meat outlets to restrict themselves to selling crocodile and ostrich meat whose sale remains open.

“Our customers have become disappointed over the last few years because the government won’t even allow us to import game meat from South Africa,” said Martin Dunford, the chairman of the Tamarind Group, which owns the Carnivore Restaurant.

Carnivore has been selling game meat since it was established in the early 1980s, but what is has been associated with for over two decades stopped abruptly, cutting out game meat enthusiasts from its customer base.

Since then, visitors expecting to sample game meat of antelopes, gazelles, zebras, wildebeests among other wild animals have to bear with the only two types on offer ; the ostrich and the crocodile.

“We shall continue lobbying the government to lift the ban or allow us to import from South Africa because it is an added advantage to the restaurant and the tourism industry,” said Mr Dunford, whose company also operated a game meat restaurant in South Africa.

“Our business has been under severe attack because we have specialised and associated with the game meat for many years.”

Kenya currently cannot sell game meat as one of the delicacies visitors can find in the country, letting the opportunity slip to South Africa, where game meat industry thrives.

Statistics indicate that South Africa has 11,000 private game ranches that supply to the game meat outlets across the country. Kenya has 17 private and group game ranches.

The ban has also affected ranchers like the Delamare, which supplied game meat outlets.

The trade offered them alternative income stream from culling the animals in their ranches.

Forestry and Wildlife Minister Noah Wekesa said that despite requests from game meat sellers, the ban will stay in place to check on poaching, a crime that has been rising in the country.

“I have said the ban will stay to safeguard the wildlife,” said the minister, without giving indications whether the lifting of the ban for game meaty sellers will be considered.

Game meat sellers urge that allowing controlled sale of the delicacy helps to put more value to animals in an addition to the value derived from tourism, as long as that animal is not classified as an endangered species.

Because more than 50 per cent of wildlife in Kenya live in unprotected areas, it is argued the policy of restricting consumption of game meat by the hosts mostly farmers and pastoralists, worsens the human-wildlife conflict to the detriment of the animals.

Despite the ban on sale of game meat, trends of poaching in Kenya over the last three years have been rising, with the number of elephant deaths in that period growing by five times.

Data from various sources show that while 47 elephants died in 2007 due to poaching, the number rose to 145 in 2008 and to 216 in 2009.

Bonaventure Ebayi, the director of the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF), a regional anti-poaching initiative, said poachers are using technology to increase attacks against food and non-food wildlife.


Tourism Observer

CONSERVATION: The Dik Dik

A dik-dik is the name for any of four species of small antelope in the genus Madoqua that live in the bushlands of eastern and southern Africa.

Dik-diks stand about 30–40 centimetres (12–15.5 in) at the shoulder, are 50–70 cm (19.5–27.5 in) long, weigh 3–6 kilograms (6.6–13.2 lb) and can live for up to 10 years.

Dik-diks are named for the alarm calls of the females. In addition to the females' alarm call, both the male and female make a shrill, whistling sound. These calls may alert other animals to predators.

The name dik-dik comes from an onomatopoeia of the repetitive dik sound female dik-diks whistle through their long, tubular snouts when they feel threatened.

Female dik-diks are somewhat larger than males. The males have horns, which are small, about 7.6 centimetres or 3 in, slanted backwards and longitudinally grooved.

The hair on the crown forms an upright tuft that sometimes partially conceals the short, ribbed horns of the male.

The upper body is gray-brown, while the lower parts of the body, including the legs, belly, crest, and flanks, are tan.

A bare black spot below the inside corner of each eye contains a preorbital gland that produces a dark, sticky secretion. Dik-diks insert grass stems and twigs into the gland to scent-mark their territories.

Apparently to prevent overheating, dik-diks have elongated snouts with bellows-like muscles through which blood is pumped.

Airflow and subsequent evaporation cools this blood before it is recirculated to the body. However, this panting is only implemented in extreme conditions; dik-diks can tolerate air temperatures of up to 40 °C (104 °F).

Dik-diks live in shrublands and savannas of eastern Africa. Dik-diks seek habitats with a plentiful supply of edible plants such as shrubs.

Dik-diks may live in places as varied as dense forest or open plain, but they require good cover and not too much tall grass.

They usually live in pairs in territories of about 5 hectares (12 acres). The territories are often in low, shrubby bushes sometimes along dry, rocky streambeds with plenty of cover.

Dik-diks, with their dusty colored coat, are able to blend in with their surroundings.

Dik-diks have an established series of runways through and around the borders of their territories that are used when they feel threatened.

Dik-diks are herbivores. Their diet mainly consists of foliage, shoots, fruit and berries, but little or no grass. They receive sufficient amounts of water from their food, which makes drinking unnecessary.

Like all even-toed ungulates, they digest their food with the aid of micro-organisms in their four-chambered stomachs.

After initial digestion, the food is repeatedly eructated and rechewed, a process known also as rumination, or chewing the cud.

Dik-diks' tapering heads may help them eat the leaves between the spines on the acacia trees, and feed while still keeping their head high to detect predators.

Dik-diks are monogamous, and conflicts between territorial neighbors are rare. When they occur, the males from each territory dash at each other, stop short, vigorously nod their heads and turn around.

They will repeat this process, increasing the distance each time until one stops. Males mark their territories with dung piles, and cover the females' dung with their own.

Monogamy in dik-diks may be an evolutionary response to predation; surrounded by predators, it is dangerous to explore, looking for new partners.

Pairs spend about 64% of their time together. Males, but not females, will attempt to obtain extra-pair mating when the opportunity arises.

Females are sexually mature at six months and males at 12 months. The female gestates for 169 to 174 days and bears a single offspring.

This happens up to twice a year at the start and finish of the rainy season. Unlike other ruminants, the dik-dik is born with its forelegs laid back alongside its body, instead of them being stretched forward.

Females weigh about 560 to 680 g (1.23 to 1.50 lb) at birth, while males weigh 725 to 795 g (1.598 to 1.753 lb).

The mother lactates for six weeks, feeding her fawn for no longer than a few minutes at a time. The survival rate for young dik-diks is 50%.

The young stay concealed for a time after birth, but grow quickly and reach full size by seven months. At that age, the young are forced to leave their parents' territory.

The fathers run the sons off the territory and the mothers run off the daughters.

Dik-diks are hunted primarily by leopards, caracals, lions, hyenas, wild dogs and humans.

Other predators include monitor lizards, cheetahs, jackals, baboons, eagles, hawks and pythons.

Dik-diks' adaptations to predation include excellent eyesight and the ability to reach speeds up to 42 km/h (26 mph).

People are the dik-diks’ biggest threat and have long hunted them, setting snares along their paths.

Small bones from their legs and feet are used in traditional jewelry. Their skins are often made into suede for gloves.

With the strategic support of African Wildlife Foundation, the Entonet/Elerai Masaai community opened Satao Elerai, a luxury lodge situated on 5,000 acres of land in Southern Kenya.

Revenue from the lodge is reinvested into supporting the community and conserving wildlife such as the dik-dik.

Dikdiks need you.

With your help, AWF can work on projects like supporting conservation businesses in places where dikdiks live as well as helping park rangers and wardens with technology to monitor parks and keep the dikdiks safe from poachers.

Donate for a cause that will help with wildlife conservation and ensure dikdiks never become an endangered species.



Tourism Observer

MALAWI: Cheetahs Translocated From South Africa To Liwonde National Park In Malawi

Cheetahs translocated from South Africa to Liwonde National Park in Malawi, returning the threatened species to the country.

A small founder population of cheetahs has been successfully relocated to Liwonde National Park in Malawi, restoring the severely threatened species at least twenty years after its extinction in the country.

Led by African Parks, a conservation non-profit that manages national parks and protected areas on behalf of governments across the continent, in partnership with the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), the translocation of four cheetahs to Liwonde on May 17th formed a national milestone as the first big cats made their return to the flourishing park.

Although 20 years since occurring in Malawi, it has been close to a century since cheetahs were documented in Liwonde National Park. Lions and leopards were also historically common, but disappeared in recent years due to poaching.

Decades of habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and poaching severely reduced the nation’s predator populations, entirely eradicating cheetahs, a species threatened with extinction in Africa.

Large predators like cheetahs play pivotal roles in African ecosystems, but they are in troubling decline across the continent said Liwonde National Park Manager Craig Reid.

Malawi has made progressive commitments to conserve wildlife. The reintroduction of the cheetah is historic for the country and a new era for the park, where the return of large predators holds great optimism for the restoration of the natural system and the conservation of this highly vulnerable species.

On May 17th, African Parks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust oversaw the successful translocation of four cheetahs, which made the journey by plane from South Africa and arrived safely in Liwonde National Park, thanks to the support provided by Ulendo Airlink and Robin Pope Safaris for the transportation.

They were released into specially-built bomas to allow for close supervision during a period of adjustment, until being released into the wider park.

The animals are all in good health and are expected to do well in Liwonde, where habitat and prey conditions are optimal and measures are in place to ensure their ongoing conservation and protection.

African Parks assumed management of Liwonde National Park in partnership with the DNPW in 2015, and since then has completely overhauled law enforcement to secure the park, making significant progress in revitalising habitat and wildlife populations through the reduction of poaching and mitigating human-wildlife conflict.

The reintroduction of the cheetah forms part of the collective vision of African Parks and the Malawian government to restore the country’s parks, rehabilitate wildlife populations, and increase tourism, creating highly-valued assets for the country and its people.

Managing and restoring key species also positions Liwonde as a globally significant wildlife tourism destination, with benefits flowing to local communities.

The reintroduction of cheetahs to Liwonde National Park is another extraordinary story of progressive and optimistic wildlife conservation in Malawi. On the heels of the historic “500 Elephants” initiative which will see 500 elephants being moved from Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve to Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve (all three parks are managed by African Parks with DNPW), the cheetah’s homecoming marks the historic return of the threatened species to the nation at least 20 years after its local extinction.

This opens a hopeful new chapter for large predator conservation in the park. Liwonde has welcomed back its first big cat, a profound milestone for the ongoing restoration of this valuable protected area.

Cheetahs & EWT

The cheetahs were carefully sourced through EWT’s Cheetah Metapopulation Project, which was established in 2011 with the aim of creating safe spaces for cheetahs in South Africa and managing the existing population in a number of reserves to ensure genetic diversity.

The project now operates in 54 reserves, and in 2016, began investigating opportunities for reintroduction outside of South Africa.

This partnership was deemed ideal, as African Parks has secured safe spaces for a myriad of species in the reserves it manages. Phinda and Welgevonden Private Game Reserves made a male cheetah available, while Mountain Zebra National Park and Amakhala Private Game Reserve made a female cheetah available for this reintroduction into Malawi.

These are considered to be some of the top cheetah reserves in South Africa, all having contributed substantially to cheetah conservation efforts in the country.

Eradicated from 90 percent of their historical range in Africa, cheetahs are listed as Vulnerable with as few as 6,700 estimated to remain in the wild. Reintroduction to safe and fenced protected areas is one way to protect the future of the species on the continent” said EWT Cheetah Metapopulation Coordinator Vincent van der Merwe.

This collaborative undertaking represents a highly valuable opportunity for both the park and cheetah conservation in light of the need for urgent action to address their decline.

Since assuming management of Liwonde, African Parks has constructed a reliable perimeter fence, removed thousands of snare traps, significantly reduced poaching, and is working with local communities to ensure the long-term success of conservation in the area.

African Parks Completes Malawi

African Parks is a non-profit organisation that takes on total responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks and protected areas in partnership with governments and local communities.

Since 2003 African Parks has, in partnership with the Malawi government, managed Majete Wildlife Reserve, a partnership that has seen the reserve restored and restocked with an initial 2,500 animals including the Big Five.

Majete has been a great success and is now one of Malawi’s premier wildlife sanctuaries, conserving and protecting more than 7,500 animals.

With the addition of Liwonde National Park and Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve in 2015, African Parks now manages 3 of Malawi’s 9 protected areas and with goals to match all that has been achieved in Majete, African Parks are transforming the wildlife of the country.

If Malawi had a perceived weakness in tourism terms, it was that some of its neighbours offered a ‘better’ safari experience. But these developments are resulting in a total transformation of Malawi’s wildlife and safaris.

Malawi is fast becoming one of the most complete destinations in Africa - Lake, Landscape, Culture and now Wildlife experiences of the very highest quality. Warm, welcoming and unspoilt, Malawi really is just waiting to be discovered.

UNITED KINGDOM: Hamerton Zoo Park Tiger Kills 33-year-old Rosa King.

A zoo-keeper who died after a tiger entered an enclosure at a wildlife park in Cambridgeshire has been named as 33-year-old Rosa King.

The death happened at Hamerton Zoo Park, near Huntingdon, at about 11:15 BST on Monday.

Friend Garry Chisholm, a wildlife photographer in his spare time, said she was the "focal point" and "shining light" of the wildlife park.

The zoo said it was a freak accident, and police said it was not suspicious.

Mr Chisholm, 59, of Irchester, Northamptonshire, said the wildlife park revolved around the zoo-keeper.

Rosa wasn't just a keeper at Hamerton Zoo - she was Hamerton Zoo, he said.

She was the absolute central point of it, the focal point of it. She was the shining light of it.

Her passion for the animals in her care was exceptional though her favourites were undoubtedly the cheetahs which she would refer to as her pride and joy.

She will be greatly missed, not just by me, but by everyone who came to know her.

The only consolation I can take from today's tragic events is that Rosa is now reunited with her beloved Ares the cheetah, and Blizzard and Ladybelle, her beloved tigers.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said,a tiger had entered an enclosure with a keeper. Sadly the female zoo keeper died at the scene.

Visitors were led away from the zoo. At no time did the animal escape from the enclosure, said police.

Officers investigating the death said it was "not believed to be suspicious, and that the tiger involved was believed to be fine.

Hamerton Zoo Park said in a statement: This appears to have been a freak accident.

At no point during the incident did any animals escape their enclosures and at no point was public safety affected in any way.

All our thoughts and sympathies are with our colleagues, friends and families at this dreadful time.

The park will be closed from tomorrow, 30 May, and we will give more information as soon as we can.

The wildlife park said an investigation was under way.

A visitor to the zoo, who did not wish to be named, said We got to the zoo at opening time, around 11:45.

We were close to the tiger enclosure when a member of staff shouted for everyone to leave the park quickly and immediately.

The wildlife park opened in June 1990 and covers 25 acres.

It includes enclosures for Malaysian tigers, Bengal tigers, cheetahs, wolves, corsac foxes, kangaroos as well as a variety of birds, reptiles and domestic animals.

The zoo opened a new enclosure for its Malaysian tigers in July last year.

In October 2008 a cheetah which escaped from the park was found by a nine-year-old boy in the back garden of his family home.

TANZANIA: Lake Manyara National Park

Plains zebras in Lake Manyara National Park

Lake Manyara National Park is a Tanzanian national park located both in Arusha Region and Manyara Region, Tanzania. The two administrative regions have no jurisdiction over the parks. The park is governed by the Tanzania National Parks Authority. The majority of the land area of the park is a narrow strip running between the Gregory Rift wall to the west and Lake Manyara, an alkaline or soda-lake, to the east.

The park consists of 330 km2 (130 sq mi) of arid land, forest, and a soda-lake which covers as much as 200 km2 (77 sq mi) of land during the wet season but is nearly nonexistent during the dry season.

Lake Manyara National Park is known for the flamingos that inhabit the lake. During the wet season they inhabit the edges of the lake in flocks of thousands but they are not so present during the dry season.

More than 400 species of birds inhabit the park and many remain throughout the year. Because of this Lake Manyara National Park is a good spot for bird watching. Visitors to the park can expect to see upwards of 100 different species of bird on any day.

Leopards, Masai lions, cheetahs, elephants, blue monkeys, dik-dik, gazelles, hippopotami, Masai giraffe, impala, zebras and many more wild animals inhabit this park and many can be seen throughout the year. There is a hippo pond at one end of the park where visitors can get out of their cars and observe from a safe distance. The leopards and lions are both known to lounge in the trees while not hunting for prey.

Lake Manyara National Park is located 126 km (78 mi) south west of Arusha and can be reached by car in an hour and a half. The park can also be reached easily from Babati the capital of Manyara Region. The park is also very close to Tarangire National Park There is also an airport, Lake Manyara Airport (LKY), located at the top of the rift wall.

KENYA: 107 Wildlife Face Extinction

Up to 107 of Kenya’s wildlife species are slowly edging towards extinction with their numbers having more than halved in the past three decades, a new report says.

The report, which was compiled by Parliament’s Environment and Natural Resources committee, says wildlife populations of different species have declined by between 30-90 per cent since 1977 and warns that some animals could disappear in the next few decades if the trend is allowed to continue.

“The wildlife species that have significantly declined and are critically threatened include elephants, rhinos, Grevy’s zebra, roan and stable antelopes, hirolas, bongos, lions and cheetahs, among others,” the committee chaired by Nominated MP Amina Abdalla says.

Besides poaching, the committee found that habitat loss due to increasing human settlement and developments, human-wildlife conflict, bush meat hunting, climate change and diseases is also contributing to the dwindling numbers.

“Trade in wildlife bush meat was widespread and went on unabated, reaching a commercial scale where meat is sold openly in markets such as Burma in Nairobi,” the committee said.

The MPs found that although much of the publicity on loss of wildlife has focused on elephants and rhinos, other species are facing similar or even higher levels of threat to their survival.

Kenya has a total of 8,654 known wildlife species, according to the report which further states that the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 witnessed the highest levels of poaching since the crisis began in the 1980s.