Africa Inside

Mamma Africa

lori — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:55:15 +0000

Happy Mothers Day Africa – the Mother of all Mothers, the cradle of mankind.

And, my best teacher of traits I am most proud of in myself: living simply, gratitude for what is, humility, and a love for the natural world that permeates every cell in my body and fills my heart and soul.

Happy Mothers Day Mamma!

Lions Escape

lori — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:01:54 +0000

“There are some lions roaming around the suburbs,” my host, Mickey told me in February when I stayed in his house in Karen, a posh suburb outside of Nairobi.

How thrilling, I thought when I heard the news. It’s the same thought I always have back home in California when someone tells me they saw a mountain lion in their garden– the lions are free and wandering like all wild animals should be. But these stories rarely end well.

“What will happen to them?” I asked, thinking about the depredation permits (license to kill) given to anyone in my home state who deems a mountain lion a threat to livestock, humans, or a domesticated pet.

“They’ve escaped from Nairobi National Park. They’re smart. They somehow got through the fence of the park, and so far have alluded the seven traps set by the KWS (Kenyan Wildlife Services),” Mickey says. The neighborhoods near Nairobi National Park were full of fear because no one knew where the lions would show up next. Turns out, most of the people living in Africa have never even seen a real lion (or elephant, cheetah, chimpanzee …) and fear of predators is universal.

Flash forward to today. One of the lioness’ is dead, killed when it reacted aggressively (of course) to rangers trying for hours to dart it; the four cubs of their now dead mother have been captured and sent to the Nairobi Animal Orphanage. Spending the rest of their lives in captivity seems like unnecessarily cruel punishment for instinctively following their mother around. Why not move them to a national park, where the KWS is considering putting a second roaming lioness that was successfully captured and is being held at the KWS’s Veterinary Laboratory while they decide?

I would love to hear from you on your ideas about what should be done with the cubs and the other lioness? You can write to me in the reply box at the end of this story. And for more stories in the future, don’t forget to subscribe and become part of the growing tribe at AfricaInside. Photo credit: Thank you Gene Tremblay.

Chimpanzee

lori — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:22:03 +0000

Twenty-one countries (all in Africa) still have wild chimp populations. But, due to bush meat, poaching, wild animal trade, and habitat destruction their numbers are dwindling and many are orphaned.

One sanctuary in Uganda gives the orphans a new home. Read about my experience there in the story, WHO IS NANI.

They will make a birder out of me yet!

lori — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:33:53 +0000

If you read my story, Lilac Breasted Roller (also titled Giving Dad the Bird), you will know that I was always in competition with birds for my father’s attention. This gorgeous photo was taken by Lyle Wood during Henry Holdsworth’s photo safari last month in Tanzania. How many different colors are on this bird? At different times I’ve been told 7, 9 and 12. Does anyone know for sure?

Please let us know, if you have any ideas on how many colors there are.

Peabody School

lori — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 06:01:50 +0000

Thank you to Mrs. Margerum’s 3rd graders for collecting so many totes, and to the 6th graders and Mrs. Zuchowicz for writing notes to Africa. You all are the best. Here are some photos from my visit today to give you your notes from your penpals in Africa.

Long Rains

lori — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 21:13:50 +0000

In East Africa there is no Fall, Winter, Summer or Spring. Just rain, or no rain. Right now, March – May is the ‘long rains’ season. Many roads are impassable and there is a higher risk for malaria so there are less tourists. I love imagining the wildlife having the parks to themselves without vehicles and tourists. This photo was taken last month by Gene Tremblay who was a participant on the photo safari I designed for the Jackson Hole, WY photographer Henry Holdsworth. It was one of the first rains of the season in Tanzania.

Washington School Notes ‘N Totes

lori — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:04:28 +0000

Thank you Washington school 5th & 6th graders and their teachers, Mrs. Bluestein and Mr. Riley for participating in the Notes ‘N Totes project. You guys are awesome. Here are some photos.

Los Olivos School

lori — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 04:23:53 +0000

Thanks to Los Olivos 7th graders and their teacher Mrs. Squires for participating in the Notes ‘N Totes project.

Notes ‘n Totes update

lori — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:00:52 +0000

The Notes ‘n Totes was a HUGE success. 600 kids at 10 different schools in California and Arusha, Tanzania. Ages 11 – 17. The children in Africa were thrilled to receive their tote from America, and to have a new pen pal.
There were some things that I did not anticipate due to cultural differences. For instance the kids in Africa could not figure out their pen pals gender from reading the name of the US student. The names in Africa are so different from our names. The kids in Africa got a huge giggle from one letter giving the names of the boys pet chickens. In Africa chickens are not pets. They loved the notes that had photos and or drawings attached. Their classrooms had no books, or colored papers or any materials available for them to use in creating their notes as compared to the classrooms in California that are creative hubs of activity. Many of the boys wanted to be penpals with girls in the US and many of the girls in Africa wanted boys for penpals. That surprised me. All the students in Africa felt acknowledged for their caring for the environment and were very curious to learn the different ways in which their pen pal was working for a better world too. Next I will take the letters from the African kids to their pen pals in Santa Barbara. I will give another update once that is done. A video is being made about the project but will not be finished for about a month. Thank you again for all the teachers and students and others who collected totes, organized their classes to write notes, and donated money to make this project such a success. I plan to repeat the project on my next trip in August.

WanderWomen Winner

lori — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 02:27:34 +0000

My story about being on safari with my birder father is the 2011 Adventure Category Winner for the WanderWomen Write Travel Writing Contest! I am thrilled.

The story is posted here if you would like to check it out:

http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/wander-tales/africa/lilac-breasted-roller/