Animals and humans

A couple of days ago I took a half day safari - just being driven into the Samburu game park by Tom Lolisoli, son of Rebecca Lolisoli who is running for parliament here; a daring thing to do in such a patriarchal country . . .but that is another story that I will tell later.

As we entered the park we were told about a lion who had attacked a calf just on the edge of the park. The pastoralist was was bringing the cattle back to his land after taking them to graze near the park. The conservationist were able to track the lion and shoot it with a dart to put it to sleep. They then moved it to a different location and placed beside it a recently killed gazelle (it had been badly injured and would not have survived so the conservationist euthanized it). When the lion woke up, it was able to feast on the beast. The calf was fine as the lion had been scared off in time and the pastoralist happy.

These lionesses are full after devouring an injured elephant, but that is wild against wild and there is not conflict here. The lionesses were helped by 21 crocodiles who took their turn and cautiously tore pieces off the elephant (now digested) when the lionesses were distracted by their own eating.

When women go to the river to fetch water, often they have been attacked by crocodiles. Many organizations now build water tanks in villages. Here one of the women in Umoja village carries a 25 kilo pail of water back to her village.