Rhinos and Baboons

These photos are from my archives and were taken in Nakuru, Kenya, East Africa. 

The first photo  was taken from the north side of Lake Nakuru on a return trip to see the Menengai Crater.  You get a glorious view of the lake as you approach the city from the north.  I will try to share photos of my visit to the crater in another post. Today's post is about Lake Nakuru and the wildlife park situated there.

 

The next view of the lake is from Baboon Cliff Point in Lake Nakuru Provincial Park.  The point is situated on the western side of Lake Nakuru and the views from the top are fantastic.  It's one of my favourite spots in the park.  The name derives from the fact that so many baboons are living in this particular area of the park.

I'm only sharing two of the photos of the baboons. There were so many baboons and they are quite mischievous. They will enter your car and take things if you are not keeping a close watch.  The monkeys do the same.

Here you can see baboons climbing all over the parked cars.

The rhinos in the next two photos were an awesome site. These rhinos are called black rhinos though the colour can range from brown to grey.  The World Wildlife Fund for Nature Kenya  has been working with the government and other organizations and people of goodwill, to save the black rhinos from poaching and loss of habitat and so the population has more than doubled over the past 25 years.  You can read more about black rhino conservation needs and efforts here. Sadl, the Northern White Rhino is virtually extinct. Just over a year ago, Kenya harvested the eggs of the two last white female rhinos in the northern part of the country.  They are hoping to fertilize them with the sperm of the last male white rhino that died in Sudan in March 2018.  You can read more about white rhinos here.

I took a little time to see many wild animals both in zoos and in their natural habitat while I've been on missions trips to the very poor in Kenya.  I feel so very fortunate to have had the opportunity to see many of these wonderful creatures in their natural habitat.  My hope is that through the good will and good work of people in Kenya and around the globe, these majestic creatures will not go extinct while we can still do something to save them. The largest threats to their survival are poaching and loss of habitat.  If you love wild animals please consider a gift to those that work in conservation.  If, like me, you are interested in alleviating the suffering of the very poor who barely eke out a living, kindly read more at the various links on the side bar and consider being a change maker along with me. During this global pandemic they are suffering even  more than usual.

I hope you enjoyed this brief post on Kenyan wildlife. I'm joining up with Eileen's, Saturday's Critters meme today.  Please come and visit this space again soon.

Enjoy your weekend and stay safe.

Wildlife of Kenya

Horned wildlife in Kenya.

Impala bucks

Water Buffalo of Kenya. In the background are pink flamingos and pelicans.

These photos were taken some years back on a trip to the Lake Nakuru National Park.

I'm signing off with a very heartwarming video about unlikely friendships between animals.
I hope you enjoy it.
Watching it I was reminded of how the animals one lived lived together in peace with all other animals and with early humans in the Garden of Eden.
I believe that one day the animals will be able to live like that again.

Joining up with Eileen

at 

Saturday's Critters

Have an awesome week ahead.

Baboons in the Park

Baboons are fascinating creatures. 

They are curious too. If you leave your car doors or windows open they will get inside and take things just as the monkeys do.

In fact, baboons are Old World Monkeys.

These photos were taken at Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya. I took many photos but at the moment I can only find a few to share.

  

I especially enjoy watching the baby baboons. Understandably the baby baboon likes to stick close by mama baboon.  Most often you will see the baby being carried around on the mama's back or belly.

 This particular baby seemed to be having lots of fun by himself on the picnic table with his mama close at hand.

I hope you enjoyed these photos.

I'm linking up with our host Eileen at Saturday's Critters.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers reading this.
You deserve a big hug. xx

Counting Zebras

I've been posting a lot of wild birds critters this past few weeks. The wildlife photos were all taken in Kenya, East Africa. 

You might be interested in having a look at the other posts

here 

here 

here 

here 

here 

here 

and

here

 

Aren't these zebras real beauties?

I managed to see all the ones in these photos at Lake Nakuru National Park located on the southern end of the City of Nakuru. On my day there it looked like many locals were enjoying the park.

How wonderful that this park is virtually located in city limits and yet there is a wonderful array of wildlife.

Check in with Eileen at Saturday's Critters for more awesome critters.

Rhinos in the Park

These huge rhinos live in Lake Nakuru National Park, in Nakuru, Kenya.

The park is best know for it's thousands, sometimes millions of flamingos. I've posted pictures of flamingos on this blog but my photos do not really do justice to the sheer  number of flamingos in the park. The sight of all the pink birds is just spectacular.

But there are many spectacular things to see in the park and one of them is rhinos. The park is home to about 25 black rhinos and about 70 white rhinos (these numbers are a bit outdated but the population likely hasn't increased all the much).  There are many predators in the park including lions, cheetahs and leopards. When I was there I was lucky enough to see a lion but no cheetah or leopards. Leopards are very difficult to spot no matter where you go. I have been fortunate enough to see cheetahs in the wild but not at Lake Nakuru National Park.

Lake Nakuru is a small, shallow, alkaline body of water which is located on the southern edge of Nakuru.  The waters levels of the lake have been changing quite dramatically in wet and dry seasons in recent times. The reasons are likely multiple:  watershed land conversion to intensive crop production, urban development, industrial waste dumping and climate changes. This is having a negative effect on the flamingo population and no doubt other animals too. This area is heavily dependent on the tourism that the wildlife brings and parks like Lake Nakuru National Park are vital to the protection of animal stocks that are in decline.

Shockingly in 2014, blatant rhino poaching in the park resulted in 5 rhino deaths. Twenty (20) park rangers and several key staff were reassigned for failure to protect the rhinos. It is pity these staff were simply reassigned rather than suspended and investigated. Sadly, I think it is a symptom of a much larger problem in Kenya.

If you appreciate wild animals and want to see them preserved for generations, please give generously to a Rhino conservation fund near you. 

 Joining in with Mosaic Monday this week.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you!