Dear Reader,

Welcome to this issue of the Menengai Holidays Safari e-bulletin

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Publisher:                   Menengai Holidays Ltd

Editor:                       Daniel Njaga

Feedback:                  bulletin@menengaiholidays.com

Website:                    http://www.menengaiholidays.com

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The Menengai Holidays Safari e-bulletin is a newsletter on topical highlights and snapshots on travel, wildlife and environment in East Africa.

This newsletter is distributed monthly to our past or prospective customers, business associates or friends.

In this edition, our destination item focuses on Meru National Park. One of Kenya's great wildernesses is finally emerging from the abyss. On Natural history, we focus on wildebeest migration currently taking place between Serengeti and Maasai Mara. What triggers the "take off?"

Good reading and wishing you an enlightened travel always.

                                         In this edition...                       

           Snap Shot: Monkey business in Parliament

           News: Uproar over Salt Project

           Destination: Meru Park glitters again

           Natural History: What triggers wildebeest migration?

SNAP SHOT

Monkey Business in Parliament

Are monkeys in Kiambu District affectionate to women? Kabete Member of Parliament (MP), Paul Muite, last week tickled the Kenyan Parliament when he pleaded with the Minister in charge of wildlife to deploy more rangers to his area to stem monkey menace. He regretted that monkeys ravaging crops are never afraid of women farmers but, instead, resort to gesturing towards them. "They have clearly shown they have no respect (for women). Once they see women, they point fingers to their heads and gleefully proceed to eat their crops" he told the house, noting that even old women are now forced to wear trousers to ward off the monkeys. On a point of order, Butula MP, Christine Mango, wondered whether it was in order for Paul Muite to suggest that monkeys have developed affection for women. Talk of monkey business in the house!!

On a serious note, all monkeys clearly distinguish between men and women and accord more deference to men whom they find more threatening. Women campers know this all too well as they often have to rely on men to chase monkeys away from their tents and picnics. In the same vein, males of some higher primates including baboons and chimpanzees noticeably exhibit some "emotional recognition" of human females. Whether that is affection for women is perhaps debatable.

NEWS WATCH

Salty Uproar over Flamingo's Nest

Fierce battle looms in East Africa pitting birds and environmentalists on one hand and Tanzania Government and an industrial firm on the other. Tata Chemicals, an industrial giant with vast commercial enterprises in East Africa, plans to set up a soda-ash plant on the shores of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania.

The project, as expected, has elicited sharp criticism from conservation fraternity who fear it could spell a death knell for the unique and most populous bird species, the lesser flamingo. The flamingos are highly gregarious and inhabit East Africa saline lakes where 90% of the world population lives. They have very stringent ecological requirements; hence they have no other known breeding ground except Lake Natron where more than 500,000 birds fly to nest, incubate and hatch every summer making Lake Natron a critical bottleneck to the bird's survival and for which it is a Ramsar Site.

Money or the Birds

The Tanzania Government has vowed to proceed with the project and dismissed its critics as "detractors" of the country's development, citing presence of such project on the Kenyan side at Lake Magadi. The impact assessment study of the project had identified potential positive impacts as increased business and employment for the local people and general economic benefit to the national economy.

But Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds warns that the plan highly threatens flamingo with extinction. Locally, the Lake Natron Consultative Group associated with African Conservation Centre has launched a campaign to petition Tanzania Government and Tata Chemicals against the project. "This campaign aims at sending a message to those concerned that the environment is more precious than corporate profits; that community livelihoods are more critical than token jobs" says group in their lobby packed with similar clichés.

Should this project go on or not; do we go for the money or the birds? Share with us your views: bulletin@menengaiholidays.com

DESTINATION - Meru National Park

Meru National Park - A Wilderness Reborn

The 870 square kilometres,Meru National Park straddles the equator in Central Kenya, 370 kilometres northeast of Nairobi. Along its western fringes rise the Nyambene Mountains, which serve as the source of the 13 permanent rivers that flow within the park. It is the presence of so much water in a predominantly arid ecosystem, together with dense swamps and riverine forests of fig trees, tamarinds and doum palms that make Meru such a unique and scenic park. 

Sometimes called a "secret Aden", more than 300 species of birds, among them rarities such as Peter's fin foot and Pell's fishing owl, have been recorded. Common mammals in the Park include large herds of elephant, endangered Grevy zebra, leopard, cheetah, buffalo, lion, hippo, Beisa Oryx, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk, lesser kudu, eland and others making it a haven for discerning visitor yearning for a true safari experience.

Sad History

In the late 1980s, insecurity flourished, turning Meru into a bandit territory which virtually annihilated wildlife populations. Rhinos were completely wiped out - only one survived in a 1989 massacre, in which the park's chief warden was also killed by poachers - while elephant numbers declined to about 250 in 1990.  An aerial survey conducted in June 1999, estimated elephant numbers at a paltry 306 elephants, about 10% of the population that existed in the 1960s.

Infrastructure too collapsed. Once an ideal tourist destination, Meru was a favourite for the fastidious traveller and local residents with over 40,000 tourists going through its gates per annum in the early 1970s.  However, with the illegal trade and civil disruption, Meru National Park was destroyed. Eventually, hospitality facilities closed and the park was totally bereft of visitors.

A New Beginning

In 2000, Kenya Wildlife Service embarked on a rehabilitation programme which has born fruit as Meru is alive again. Different wildlife species have been translocated to the park, to restock the park's biodiversity and restore the glory of the park as a leading safari destination. Endangered species that have been re-introduced include elephant, white rhino, Grevy zebra and bohor reedbuck.

Warm Welcome

Visitation has grown steadily since 1999 with tourist numbers exceeding ten thousand annually, up from barely 300 in 1993 when the park was all but dead.  Meru Park now warmly welcomes to savour its natural grandeur.

Lodges in the park are:

Elsa Kopje - It is named after the lioness that was made famous by George and Joy Adamson in "Born Free". It comprises nine en-suite open-plan cottages. Every cottage is uniquely designed and crafted from the natural features of the hill. The main lodge also has its own pool with a view of the Meru Plains. Elsa is a real gem for the slightly upmarket travellers.

Leopard Rock Lodge - It is a fabulous safari lodge built on 3.5km² of river frontage. Accommodation comprises of 15 romantic cottages overlooking a river and the Bisanadi Reserve. There is also a honeymoon cottage and five family cottages.

For the budget travellers, there are six new campsites which have been opened up, bringing to 13 the total number of existing campsites. In addition, two sets of self-catering bandas managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) are operational. Sky, it seems, is now the limit for Meru, which is steadily marching to full recovery.

Around and About

Associated destinations to Meru Park include Mt. Kenya National Park, Samburu Game Reserve, Lewa Downs and Sweet Waters, etc.

Contact us for travel arrangements to Meru - Kenya's last remaining wilderness, and the neighbouring Samburu/Laikipia region: info@menengaiholidays.com

SAFARI BOOKINGS - Maasai Mara Safari

Bookings to the Mara are on going every month subject to vacancy in hotels and camps. Migration of animals from Serengeti into the Mara has started and is expected to continue flowing for the next one and half month. Inquiries and bookings welcome. 

See also our special offer below:

Contact us through: info@menengaiholidays.com

NATURAL HISTORY

Migration: Why does the Wildebeest Cross the River?

Maasai Mara Game Reserve is a small part of a wider ecosystem constituting mainly of Tanzania's Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania between Ngorongoro Crater and the shores of Lake Victoria. This ecosystem marks the limits of the annual wildebeest migration, one of the most magnificent wildlife spectacles of our planet today and which is unfolding yet again in Mara and is expected to continue for the rest of the year when animals move back to Serengeti.

Every year, more than 1.5 million wildebeests, 600,000 zebras and 300,000 gazelles moving in a sprawling and fascinatingly gigantic herds migrate from the southeast of Serengeti to the greener pastures in Mara and return again to the south in a clockwise circle. Indeed, USA Today and American Broadcasting Company last year teamed up to pick the Seven New Wonders of the World and Mara/Serengeti plains was the only African wonder that made it to the list.

"The marching penguins of Antarctica and homing swallows of Capistrano, California, are dwarfed by the thunderous herds of wildebeests and zebras that make their twice yearly migration across the East African plains" said the report explaining the panel's choice.

As of last week, hundreds of wildebeests were streaming into Maasai Mara and the areas around Sand and Mara rivers were recording large herds of this highly migratory mammal.

The animal herds congregate during the wettest parts of the year in the short grass plains of Serengeti where they feed and give birth. Early in the dry season, the wildebeest stream en masse through the longer grass plains towards the Mara following the same general pattern year in year out.

Of we go!

The first arrivals in Mara are usually recorded between in June and July and mostly remain there until late October and early November, slowly at first, then with increasing momentum. The incoming momentum is slowly building as of last week and is expected to peak in September. A visitor to the Mara currently will notice very tall grasses especially in the northern parts of the park. This is what awaits the wildebeests and zebra and the whole area will be grazed to the ground in the next two months before the animals move back to Serengeti until this time around next year.

In the footsteps

In their thousands, the animals travel in long moving columns that may extend up to 40km in some parts, crossing dangerous rivers, tramping for many kilometres and grunting in clouds of dust.

Following behind are packs of wild dogs and hyenas, cheetahs and lions all in lusty pursuit of the marching herbivores. Above the noisy processions are circling vultures and other scavenging and hunting birds which feast on casualties of this natural caravan. Truly a natural wonder that "takes your breath away"!!

When and where

How comes the animals seem to know precisely when and where to go? No one knows for sure what triggers the migration. The movement pattern is thought to have been implanted in the animals' instinct through hundreds of years of evolution and the species adaptation to the ecosystem. Hence the animals are primed to move to greener pastures at the right time of the year and to give birth when season is ideal. In a word, the direction and timing is in the genes, while the actual "time to go" is thought to be triggered by pheromones when the populations builds up beyond a standard threshold.

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Mara Safari

Interested in a "migration safari" this year? We know how you can do it.

Accommodation in Mara range from simple to complex as it were. However, most facilities are full mark during the season and one would be advised to be less choosy. Bookings are subject to availability.

 Drop us a note: info@menengaiholidays.com

ECO BITS

·         Did you know Mara is Maasai word for "spotted?" This is in reference to the patchy mosaic of bushes and trees on the plains that characterise the expansive Maasai Mara Game Reserve;

·         Did also know that we have two species or types of wildebeest. The Common Wildebeest, Connochaetes taurinus, is the most widely distributed in East Africa, while the Black Wildebeest, Connochaetes gnou, is confined to Southern Africa in small vulnerable populations;

·         Ever heard them describe the wildebeest as a collection of "spare parts?" Its design is said to be the least original: the head resembles a cow's - some say a grasshopper!; the tail and hind quarters resemble that of a horse; while the body gait is like that of a hyena!!

Send us your comments on wildebeest, migration or Maasai Mara at:

bulletin@menengaiholidays.com

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