As an avid Africa freak I hope you have all been watching this stunning awe inspiring series: If not, shame on you!!! & even if you have seen it you need to go get the DVD when it comes out.
I have been going to / living in Africa for many years & have seen things that cannot be described in such a short space, stunning, amazing, mind boggling, unforgettable, sad, shocking, tragic, devastating. Words are not enough.
My biggest concern is the changes over such a short period, all bad & all caused by the human animal. Africa overall is growing its population at double the rest of the world.
The latest problem is the influence of the far east, China in particular is taking over Africa & "developing" (taking - stealing) all its resources; but that's another story.
This has opened up again the trade in animal parts, ivory, horns, skins, hands, feet, heads ...
… I don't need to go on but its horrendous, I've seen it.
You may have picked up on the TV & press news that ivory from Kenya, via the mafia crooks in Nigeria, was found in 10's of tons in raids in far east, & that's just what they have found, how much got through. Kenya is estimating it will have no elephants left in 20 years at the present loss rate.
Getting back to the BBC "Africa" series, last night was the last of the six programs & served as a summary & look into the future. One of the animals David featured was rhino & spoke about the poaching numbers for horn used in the far east kooky medicine trade.
He said the numbers of rhino killed daily on average is 1 per day
WRONG - WRONG - WRONG - BIG TIME WRONG
I'm a member of South Africa National Parks & get info on all kinds of stuff, they have just released the following:
South Africa lost 633 rhino in 2012
395 killed in the Kruger NP alone, the remainder from other reserves around KZN & Limpopo.
To rub salt into the wound - 3 rhino were killed in Kruger on 1st January - great start to the year.
It makes me very very angry & I do as much as I can with my tourist dollar & NP membership fee. I urge you to think about it & if you can do something like a tourist visit (a massive awesome experience for 1st timers) I urge you to do so.
I said to go buy the DVD, it might be the only way to see wild rhino one day.
Posted on: 07 February 2013 by Redmires
Mike
I'm currently reading Attenborough's book "Life on Air". He's an inspiring figure and a true hero of mine. His output speaks for itself and the vision of the man is immense. The chapters on his time in charge of BBC2 should be compulsory reading for TV execs everywhere. I don't know if you are aware but BBC 2 are re-running "Life on Earth" at the moment and there are plans to show more of his series. It's a pity though that they are not being shown on the BBC HD channel.
From 4pm, when live sport is not on air, BBC2 will broadcast series from the archive, kicking off in January with repeats of David Attenborough's natural history series, including Life on Earth, The Life of Plants and Blue Planet.
We haven't been to Africa for many years (excluding Egypt) but we have just booked a camping safari in Kenya & Tanzania. I can't wait to see my daughter's reaction as it will be her first trip. Her love of wildlife is leading her to study Zoology at university so this will be a trip of a lifetime. There's definitely something about the place that draws you back. I just hope that she will have chance to take her kids one day, if there's anything left to see, that is.
Posted on: 08 February 2013 by Hook
Hi Mike -
Thank you for your thoughtful post. I agree with everything you said. I don't think there was a choice - the Kruger fence between RSA and Mozambique had to come down. It made perfect sense, doubling the amount of land in the park, and restoring ancient migratory routes. But since then, the amount of poaching seems to have risen dramatically. It's just heartbreaking, and so frustrating that there is so little budget for security. As a world heritage site, it will the world's loss when all the elephant and rhino are gone.
We spent some time in Maputo a couple of years ago, and it has become quite the boom town. The only competition for the Chinese are the Indians. The number of large projects, including huge redevelopment of the port, was all being done by Chinese contractors. It looks like it will become the main route out of Africa for stolen resource. Nobody's watching the store!
Visiting again this April-May, and I am sure I will be amazed at the amount of new construction that's been done. Two years ago, the gigantic Chinese embassy in Pretoria was being rebuilt (along with half of the city, getting ready for the World Cup). I think their goal was to be bigger (and more gaudy) than the US compound, and from what I saw, they were succeeding!
ATB.
Hook
PS - We'll be spending a couple of nights in Lower Sabie. We've had great luck staying there in past years. Am looking forward as much to the birding as to spotting animals. A truly magical place!
Posted on: 09 February 2013 by Mike-B
Hey guys, this thread isn’t about the undoubted talents, with maybe more style & posing than is good for the subject, of Brain Cox.
----------------------------------------------------
Hook, this is more about politics, but first the less political stuff:
The removal of the Kruger fence was good for animals, but in reality it was nothing to a human with wire cutters & it was full of holes anyhow with Mozambicans crossing the border for years to seek a better life in SA. It was running the risk of lion & even across the shortest section to the western park border where most tried it, leftover lion snacks were found from time to time.
Problem is under the cover of the Chinese “developments”, far eastern criminals, & business people looking to make a fast buck, the demand for rhino horn has not just grown, its exploded.
The army are now patrolling the boarder roads to help out the rangers; helicopters are now a frequent sight. But when SA vets are also involved in poaching; yes veterinaries, animal doctors & white ones, what hope.! ! !
The government are doing nothing, lots of noise, but as long as the totally inept donkey Zuma is leading & the incompetent jobs for the boys bribery & corruption ANC party remain, there is even less hope. And the chances of ANC ever becoming voted out ?? pigs will fly first. The tribal culture means they will remain ad infinitum & blame everyone else for the mess.
Kenya is as bad, they are making all sorts of moves to tighten up around Mombasa port but are leaving the back door wide open with nothing done on the road border crossings to Uganda & other places that eventually end up in Nigeria. A few thousand Shillings will get the truck through the border no questions or papers required – 8000KES ($US91) is a month’s salary for an average Kenyan.
Elections in March might change something, but I am not holding my breath.
Mozambique is a basket case.
Enjoy Lower Sabie, one of my favourite areas is around there. That whole area across to Pretoriuskop, Berg-en-Dahl & up to Skukuza is probably the best rhino country in the NP. Last time I was there I had a great viewing of a Black Rhino, yes BLACK. I first spotted him just off the Skukuza – Lower Sabie road, he crossed the road & thru the bush & started munching along the edge of the Sabie River. We spend best part of 15 minutes with him before a safari truck arrived that was full of Japanese noise & he got spooked. Then same afternoon, just getting dusk, wild dog running the S30 dirt road near the bridge. MAGIC.
I am returning in March to CPT only on business, but a vacation trip that includes Kruger in September. Enjoy your time there.
Posted on: 09 February 2013 by Hook
Originally Posted by Mike-B:
...
Enjoy Lower Sabie, one of my favourite areas is around there. That whole area across to Pretoriuskop, Berg-en-Dahl & up to Skukuza is probably the best rhino country in the NP. Last time I was there I had a great viewing of a Black Rhino, yes BLACK. I first spotted him just off the Skukuza – Lower Sabie road, he crossed the road & thru the bush & started munching along the edge of the Sabie River. We spend best part of 15 minutes with him before a safari truck arrived that was full of Japanese noise & he got spooked. Then same afternoon, just getting dusk, wild dog running the S30 dirt road near the bridge. MAGIC.
I am returning in March to CPT only on business, but a vacation trip that includes Kruger in September. Enjoy your time there.
Now I really am getting excited Mike -- your post brought back some wonderful memories!
Have only seen black rhino once, and yes, it was in the south. It was hunkered down in some pretty dense bush, so we parked and waited for a good 30-45 minutes, hoping it would stir. Actually, we couldn't tell if he was black or white at that point. But when it finally stood up, and walked straight towards us, there was no mistaking the narrow mouth! Score!
Ditto for wild dogs -- have only seen them once. We were in a rental Toyota Venture, and could see a pack of 9 or 10 coming straight down the road towards us, about a quarter mile away. This was in the north -- we had entered through the Phalaborwa gate. I stopped the SUV and we waited. 2 dogs stopped and sat in front, and the rest split in two groups and circled around us. Next thing I knew, we heard a loud crunching sound. My 9 year old niece who was sitting in back shrieked "the hond is biting our bumper"! Not wanting to pay Avis for damages, I hit the horn, they scattered, and we drove on. About 5 minutes later, my niece said "I think we should name that one Chewey"...
For many years thereafter, I got a lot of mileage out of my tale of being hunted by a pack of wild dogs in deepest, darkest! :-)
More than anyplace else in the world that I've been lucky enough to visit, the Kruger and the surrounding lowveld has gotten under my skin. If I only had time to take one last trip...it would be there. You said it right Mike -- it's an ancient, magical place.
ATB.
Hook
