Wildlife Census

Three times a year Amboseli National Park and the Kenya Wildlife service conducts a census of the wildlife of the National Park. This is a pretty large effort involving thirty or so people and eight vehicles. The census is coordinated by Dr. Shem here at the SFS Center and we were fortunate enough to have it fall exactly on our last day in Kenya.

Dr. Shem invited Jim and myself to participate in the census and we of course jumped at the opportunity. Rising bright and early we headed out to the park with several of the Center's staff. Following a brief orientation, we were each assigned a specific region of the park and we set out to do the census. I was in a car with two KWS staff, a Kenyan student in her third year of University studying tourism, and SFS intern Jenna. We were in Sector 3, which included a huge track of swampy area where many animals come to drink. It was pretty clear that we were going to have a busy day. We would drive for a hundred meters or so and then stop, scanning the area for any and ALL individuals we could see. By all, I mean all. We counted 187 Wildebeest in one herd, several of which of course were lying in the grass making them difficult to see. We had to divide animals into male/female and juvenile and sub-adult. In addition we were looking for several species of birds and elephant remains - which we found on several occasions.

What an amazing, exhusting experience. I saw several species I'd never seen before including Water Buck and Jackals. The census activity allowed us to drive the landrover off-road in order to get close to the high grass of the marsh. Vehicles are not allowed off-road in the park, so this was a unique experience and we spent several hours bouncing across some pretty inhospitable terrain. I kept waiting for a lion to stick its head out of the tall weeds, but we didn't see any predators on this trip. We did see lots and lots of elephants- including a randy one who's amorous advances were decidedly unwelcome by the much smaller female he was pursuing. Not to get too graphic here, but an elephant penis when deployed with intent is larger than you might imagine - we're talking "does that animal have five legs?" large. The entire event inspired a bit of comic relief from the endless counting.

After about six or seven hours in the field, we returned to the National Park headquarters for a meal. We were served in true Kenya style - boiled meat of some unidentified origin, boiled kale and ugali. Ugali is a staple of Kenya. It is made by taking finely ground corn meal and mixing it with water and then baking the plaster-of-paris thick paste. The result is a white block of material with the consistancy of bread dough. The meal is served without fork or spoon - instead you break off a piece of ugali, make a depression with your thumb and scoop it into the meat and vegitables. It's pretty messy and I'm not certain Miss Manners would approve.

We got back to the Center in the early evening and got the opportunity to head out for a couple of Tuskers (beers) for our last night in Kenya. The Center staff have been wonderful and welcoming and I am truly sorry to be leaving. This morning we saw the students off on their safari day and there were hugs all around. It's a nice group and we've felt very welcome in their community. We leave for the airport this morning and it's going to be a long couple of days travel till we get to San Diego. Jim and I have a nine-hour layover in London so we may go into the city to see the Olympic craziness.