Living it up on Lukenya Hill

Above: Giraffes on top of Lukenya Hill. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published: 1 December 2018

We’re on the hill lurking in Nairobi’s south-eastern skyline where ancient humans lived. I’ve always been intrigued by Lukenya Hill, the flat-topped rocky outcrop emerging from the Athi-Kapiti plains. In my mind’s eye, l see our ancestor, the Homo erectus scanning the volcanic plains below to make a hunt. It’s simply surreal.

Lukenya Hill. Copyright Rupi Mangat
Lukenya Hill. Copyright Rupi Mangat

The Era of Stone Age Continue reading “Living it up on Lukenya Hill”

Mara Fast Five and the Talek Hyena Clan

Above: One of the Fast Five in Maasai Mara. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published: 24 November 2018

Within minutes of driving past the fenced lands of the Maasai and Sekanani gate, we’re in the great Mara. It’s phenomenal that the difference can be so stark. One side is people, cattle and fences where until a decade ago there were few.

IYoung giraffe in Maasai Mara. Copyright Rupi Mangat
Young giraffe with ox-peckers feeding on the ticks in Maasai Mara. Copyright Rupi Mangat

Continue reading “Mara Fast Five and the Talek Hyena Clan”

Watamu After the Whales

Published: The East African Nation 17 November 2018

With the Humpback whales now on their way back to the Antarctica with their babies in tow, my bucket list still has room for the gentle giants of the ocean because l missed seeing them. For decades nobody saw the whales on our side of the Kenyan coast since they had been hunted close to extinction.

Then one fine day in 2011 people out sailing beyond the reef in Watamu thought they were seeing things when they saw gigantic whales leaping out of the water and reported the sightings to Watamu Marine Association.  It was the start of whale-watching safaris organized by the Hemingways Hotel, a staunch supporter of the whale conservation. The whales only began to recover after the international ban on whaling in 1979.

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Humpback whale in Watamu, Kenya coast, Indian Ocean, doing its back flip Copyright Jane Spilsbury/Watamu Marine Association

Continue reading “Watamu After the Whales”

Karanja at the Nairobi Museum

Above:Karanja the black rhino – his skeleton next to a model of a white rhino – copyright Rupi Mangat

Pubished 17 November 2018

In keeping with his celebrity status, Karanja the black rhino charmed important dignitaries that included the ambassadors to Kenya from Italy, Ethiopia and Algeria, researchers, curious guests and all to his opening day on 31 October 2018 at the Nairobi National Museum.

Karanja the black rhino - his skeleton next to a model of a white rhino - copyright Rupi Mangat
Karanja the black rhino – his skeleton next to a model of a white rhino – copyright Rupi Mangat

Continue reading “Karanja at the Nairobi Museum”

Naretunoi Conservancy Neighbours Nairobi National Park

Above: The Wildlife Foundation Centre at Naretunoi Conservancy, Kitengela
Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published: 10 November 2018

“We have everything here,” says Moses Parmisa of The Wildlife Foundation. “If you had spent the night here you would have heard the lions and the hyenas.”

We’re chatting over a cuppa tea and cakes at The Wildlife Foundation Centre on a lawn dotted with wooden sculptures collected from different parts of Africa. On arrival we’ve been met by Impi the two-year-old female antelope whose mother was killed by a predator. The foal was found on the grounds and now thinks she’s a ‘people’.

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The Wildlife Foundation Centre at Naretunoi Conservancy, Kitengela Copyright Rupi Mangat

Continue reading “Naretunoi Conservancy Neighbours Nairobi National Park”