Aberdare Archive
Wild Animals Aren’t Nice Anymore
Posted by jimheck in Aberdare, Animal Attacks, Big Game, Botswana, Kenya, Wildlife Management on November 9, 2012
Pepper spray, moats, blow horns, flashing lights … nothing seems to work. People around the world are getting fed up with wildlife. And it’s becoming frighteningly unclear if the benefits of tourism are greater than the disadvantages that local communities now believe they must bear to support that tourism. And which is more important: agriculture [...]
An African Movie Book
Posted by jimheck in "Modern" Africa, African Books, African Films on November 14, 2011
There are more African cocktail table books than of any other continent, and that’s neither a surprise nor news. So it’s no surprise either that one of the newest productions picture books is multi-media, employing every modern IT trick available. Is this the preview of all future picture books on Africa? The Kalahari Dream by [...]
Mue or Zoo to the Rescue?
Posted by jimheck in Aberdare, Big Game, Wildlife Management, Wildlife Research on August 24, 2010
Two beautiful African animals face extinction because wildlife officials and scientists can’t agree on how to reintroduce zoo-bred individuals. And interestingly, it’s now become something of a contest (battle?) between the American zoo-world, and the American museum-world. According to the IUCN, the mountain bongo and Rothschild giraffe face extinction in the wild if immediate efforts [...]
On Safari: Fabulous Aberdare!
The Aberdare has always been a favorite park of mine, and today it lived up to my highest expectations. Day 2 of the Cronan Family Safari: we left Nairobi early, around 730a, because I wanted to get to one of the waterfalls at the top of the park for lunch. The new Thika road helps, [...]
Misery in the Mau
Today a stream of now homeless farmers began leaving Kenya’s Mau Forest for fear they would be killed by security forces. The Mau Forest story is one of the most heart-wrenching in Africa. It has parallels to development stories throughout the world, including America’s Dust Bowl of 1930-39, and it is as somber and seemingly [...]
Aberdare Done!
Kenya’s Aberdare National Park is now encircled by an electric fence, protecting a precious 300 sq. miles of unique habitat in a sign of the future. The reason for the Aberdare fence, and the 20-year story of actually building, are both wonderful stories in their own right. First, the reason. The rectangular national park which [...]
Forest High
Posted by jimheck in Aberdare, Big Game, Planning Travel on June 14, 2009
The Aberdare Forest is the perfect way to begin an exciting safari. There is a lot of game and beautiful scenery. Most visitors to the Aberdare National Park travel only to one of the famous tree hotels, which we did on our second night. But our entire first day was spent deep in the park [...]
Driving on Safari
Posted by jimheck in Aberdare, Planning Travel, Weather on June 14, 2009
A flying safari with no overland experience isn’t a good enough travel experience. It’s become more and more popular, today, to fly from game lodge to game lodge in Africa and avoid the sometimes trying overland travel through Africa’s deteriorating cities and towns over some of its horrendous roads. That’s just as bad an idea [...]
Long Rains Begun?
Our fingers are crossed that the Long Rains have begun. Today we went deep into the Aberdare National Park. It was terribly dry. The November short rains failed. We aren’t certain yet if the long rains will, too. In this part of East Africa there are normally two rainy seasons: the short rains begin by [...]