THE VIEWFINDERNEWSLETTER: ISSUE NO 32, JUNE 2003 [Current Situation] [Kenya Wildlife Service] [Nairobi National Park] [Favourite Films 2003] Time seems to have flown since the September newsletter, but sadly not because we have been manically busy. Business picked up a little in August and September, but since then there have not been a lot of film crews beating their way to our door. The US government have still not lifted their travel advisory, so visitor numbers from that country remain at an all time low. Yet another terror warning in early December stated that two international hotels in downtown Nairobi were the target for another possible attack. The British High Commissioner's sensible response to that was to go on foot to one of the hotels (The Stanley) for breakfast, and then to the other (The Hilton) for coffee. Kenya has had enough of this bad press, and we would like to remind our clients that we live here, we go shopping, we go out for meals, we go to the cinema, and generally behave like pretty normal people. Nothing on earth would persuade us to visit New York, yet there is no travel advisory for that city. A new Director, Evans Mukolwe, was recently appointed, having previously been with the Meteorological Department. He has not been there long enough to make a deep impression, but we hope that he will prove to be an effective leader and will take KWS to new heights. Sad news is that Paula Kahumbu, Assistant Director in charge of National Parks, has resigned. Paula was a ball of fire, charismatic and capable, and always had the courage of her convictions. She will be missed. Paula's responsibilities for CITES have now been taken over by Patrick Omondi, who continues to be in charge of the elephant projects. A major translocation of elephants from the Narok area to Tsavo is scheduled to start in the New Year.
This photograph, taken by Sean Hartley, is of the elusive aquatic Sitatunga antelope. It occurs in the Saiwa Swamp in Western Kenya and a small group were moved to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy many years ago where they are thriving. Following the dramas in June of this year, the situation has now calmed down considerably, and there is dialogue between the Maasai living on the edge of the park and KWS. The lion population has increased to approximately 20 animals, and they are very busy breeding. Artificial feeding has ceased with the onset of the rains, as numbers of herbivores have once again entered the park. The small area that was subject to controlled burning has now regrown, and hopefully the exercise has replenished some of the minerals that some considered to be missing from the ecosystem. One day in early November Brian Finch and Itai Shanni recorded a number of migrant birdss, including Black stork, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Common Buzzard, Eurasian bee eaters, golden orioles, hoopoe, cuckoo, Red-tailed and Red-backed shrikes, and some house martins and sand martins. Raptors included many Steppe Eagles, some Lesser spotted eagles, two Booted eagles, a sub-adult Imperial eagle and also all four species of Harriers. Another rare sight was a Eurasian Thick-knee. Add an increasingly rare Verreaux's eagle, several cheetahs, dozens of black rhino and a lot of plains game, and you will understand that this little park within the city boundaries is not just about lions. This year, we are introducing a new section to our Christmas newsletter - we would like to share our most memorable films for the year. As we have said before, not all our crews have been working with wildlife, and we have therefore expanded our repertoire. We think our favourites were: Paladin Invision - for asking us to find two Chinamen, dress them in 14th century Ming costumes and film them leading a giraffe on a rope. Granada - for asking us to venture into the back-street markets of Nairobi and obtain sound bytes of curio sellers crucifying the English language. Chinese Television - whose crew of six expanded to 22 (only two of whom spoke English), and whose elusive accountant was a tour operator in Spain. Wark Clements - who introduced us to the delightful Marianne Kariuki, Kenya's finalist for Miss World 2002. And the regular favourites - Big Cat Diary, Martyn Colbeck filming Echo 3, Justine Evans living in a cave on Mt Elgon for weeks on end, Mark Deeble & Victoria Stone using this year's largest camera to film Kenya's smallest insect. We have made new friends from many countries, and somehow have scraped together a total of 65 crews for the year. We sincerely hope that many will return to Kenya in 2004, and that everyone will enjoy a peaceful and stress-free Christmas and New Year. |
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KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE