Natural Post Office in a National Park

Tucked inside the Aberdare ranges is a stout giant fig tree (Mugumo) that, more than sixty years ago, was a post office. 

This tree, most likely, has most of the Kenya’s liberation secrets.

Kimathi Post Office is in Nyandarua Ranges, mostly known to us by its baptismal name, Aberdare National Park. This giant Mugumo (fig) tree acted as Mau Mau Post Office at the height of Mau Mau uprising.  Its deep natural crevices as acted as the pigeon holes or mail boxes where the fighters could place their messages. The commanders and fighters knew each others ‘mail box’ and could accurately exchange ‘letters’.

By then writing papers and pens were rare.  The messages were scribbled with charcoal or fresh blood on hide, softened by rubbing. Message had to be brief and coded. Sunset at 4! Bonfire at Gaaki!

The Mau Mau guerrilla movement adapted very well to the wild environment and their guerrilla tactics proved exceptionally successful in harassing the British troops. The Britons were ill equipped to combat such approach, especially since they were not used to the dense jungle, unpredictable terrain, extreme altitude and wildness of the Nyandarua ranges. 

According to Mau Mau veterans, various wild animals in the forest became their friends with exception of the rhinos, which they nicknamed ‘homeguards' because of their brutality, willingness and readiness to destroy human life. Other animals became accustomed to the fighters presence and smell and after few months they treated them as another form of animal life. In turn, the fighters also learned all the animals’ habits and calls. This proved extremely useful in detecting the presence or approach of strangers. 

The Mugumo tree and the wild animals played a key role in Kenya’s independence.  They were a silent listener and host to the revolutionary conversations among the fighters.

The Owl

A bird most hate with passion. One of the most feared bird.  Usually associated with bad omen. A bird with a cross looks when happy, how would it look when sad? Usually termed as a mysterious creature. 

Owls are regarded with superstition and fear. Believed they catch their prey so silently in complete darkness thus possess magical powers. Their staring eyes, looking directly forward make them look human. 

A group of owl is called a parliament!

Their weird calls, mostly heard at the dead of the night, coming from deserted or ruins buildings and dead trees are said to foretell disaster. They are sad to bring bad news, especially if their calls are hard during the day. 

Despite these supestitions and beliefs, owls are amazing birds, often associated with wisdom. They are very important in the ecosystem.

Unlike other birds, owls have a facial disc, a ring of feathers which surrounds the owl’s large, forward-facing eyes. This forward facing aspect of the eyes give the owl its ‘wise’ appearance. It also gives the owl a 3D dimensional sight and a binocular vision. 

The eyes are so well developed that they are not true eye balls but elongates tubes. They are held in place by bony structures in the skull called Sclerpotic rings. The owl thus cannot roll or move its eyes. It can only look straight ahead. Has to turn the head to see sideways.

To protect their eyes, owls have 3 eyelids. The normal upper eyelid closes when the owl blinks, the normal lower eyelid close when the owl is asleep. The third eyelid (nictitating membrane) closes diagonally across the eye from the inside to the outside. It cleans and protects the surface of the eye. Truly nocturnal owls use their third eyelid like sunglasses to protect them from the bright day light.

Owl can rotate their neck up to 270 degrees. A blood pooling system collects blood to power their brains and eyes when neck movement cuts off circulation. 

Many owl species have asymmetrical ears. They are unevenly placed in their heads.  One ear is higher or further back than the other. This helps them to judge exactly where the prey is, by listening to its movement in darkness. The ears, protected by a flap of skin, are very sensitive- so much that the sound of air rushing over owls’ feathers as it flies would interfere with its ability to hunt. The facial disc also helps to guide sound waves towards the ears enabling the owl to locate prey even in complete darkness.

When an owl hears a noise, it is able to tell the direction because of the tiny time difference in which the sound is perceived in the left and right year. For instance, if the sound comes from the right of the owl, the right ear would hear it before the left ear. Owls can detect a left/right time difference of about 30 millionths of a second (0.00003 seconds).

The soft fluffy plumage enables them to fly silently. They have soft fringes to their feathers so that air flows silently and they fly without sound.

According to anthropologists, owls are very old, they evolved long time ago! Fossils of owls have been found in rocks at the levels which also contain the bones of dinosaurs.

Natural breeding place of owls is in caves and hollow trees. With introduction of buildings and churches and abandoning them as ruins the owls have made them their homes. Their eerie, shrieking calls coming from dark corners of lonely old buildings have given rise to the ghostly stories. The fact that some owls glow in the dark, because of their feathers are covered with luminous bacteria from rotting wood in the hollow trees where they roost also add to this ghostly stories.

Spotted owls play important role in growth and maintenance of rain forests. The trees depend on fungi which grow round their roots, for their growth. The fungi produce underground fruits bodies called truffles. Small rodents like deer mice and flying squirrels eat truffles and distribute the spore of the fungi in their droppings.  The owls feed on the mice and squirrels. This food chain develops only in the forests where the trees are at least 200 years old. 

   

Ball-less Buffaloes of Aberdare National Park

Male buffaloes in Aberdare National Park, Kenya, have been losing their testicles and tails to the hungry and angry hyaenas. The hyaenas seems to have developed a liking of the buffalo’s balls and are biting them off at an alarming rate. It is very common to come across a tail-less and testicle-less buffalo in Aberdare.

Cooling the balls

This phenomenon has been linked to the lack of predators like lions within the park thus affecting the food chain which denies the hyaenas their scavenging role. The hyaenas are forced to be full time hunter instead of scavenging for leftovers that have been left by other predators. This forces them to hunt on easily available parts (low hanging fruits). Since they lack the power to strangle, they depend on biting off hanging parts for survival.

Timing the balls?

Young male buffaloes are the easiest targets as hyenas can easily creep under, biting off the testicles and tails especially at night.

This strange phenomenon has been going on since 2008 but, of late, has escalated, with hyaenas literally keeping their eyes on the balls. 

This however does not pose an immediate danger to the population of buffaloes within the park. According to the park management, one healthy buffalo with intact organs can still mate with 50 females and successfully sire.

Irregular horns

It has been hypothesized that losing of the testicles at an early age is affecting the development and growth of horns in male buffaloes. Some of the testicle-less buffaloes have irregular horns, complicating their lives further considering the park is forested.  With awkward facing horns, finding their way through the bushes is a tough task.

The Village that Sank

Simbi Nyaima Lake. The village that sank and formed a lake that you can smell forty (40) kilometers away!

The lake is found in 3 kilometers from Kendu Bay Town. 

The Lake has neither outlet nor inlet. The water at the lake is alkaline and has a foul smell. The locals (Jo-Karachuonyo) use the water to cure several skin ailments. The lake has no major waves or currents. The lake margin is characterized by whitish mineral locally known as bala, which is a salt mined for a variety of uses, including cattle feed. 

It is believed that Simbi Nyaima came into existence long before the arrival of the current occupant of the area -  Jo-Karachuonyo. The occupants of the area by then were a Luo sub-clan known as the Jo-Waswa, who are thought to have been the first occupants of the area. After Jo-Waswa then came the Jo-Wagwe who were later followed by Jo-Kagan. Other groups also occupied this area in successive settlements and passed to other places before Jo-Karachuoonyo eventually arrived and have been the occupants of the area up to date.

The origin of the lake is explained in two dimensions. A mythical traditional story explains the lake formed as a result of curse on merry making villagers who denied an old woman food and shelter.

The second explanation is that the lake is as a result of volcanic eruption leading to a caldera lake. 

The cultural explanation remains so strong and generally accepted.  

The myth holds that one cloudy afternoon, an old woman entered a village at Kolonde, which was located near the current Lake Simbi Nyaima. The villagers were in a celebration, making merry. Men were seriously indulging in traditional liquor and feasting on meat of cows and goats that had been slaughtered. Women were busy ensuring there was enough supply of both the beer and meat.  

An old woman entered the feasting arena and requested for food and shelter. The villagers did not grant her wishes but instead threw her out of the feast. She did not receive any food, which was abundant as the feast was just nearing its climax. 

As the old woman unhappily left that village, she took shelter in the next village where she was welcomed by a young woman with her children. The young woman gave her food which she ate and she warmed herself next to the fire place. 

After she had eaten, she asked the young woman if she was married. The young woman replied in the affirmative and said her husband was at a feast in the next village. The old woman requested the young woman to go to the feast to get her husband. She obediently left to go for her husband. 

Unfortunately, when her husband learnt that it was the same strange old woman whom they had thrown out of the feast who was the one calling him, he slapped his wife and sent her back home, refusing to go with her. On reaching her home, the young woman narrated her ordeal to the woman stating how her husband had beaten her up and refused to come with her. 

The strange woman then advised the young woman to take her children and leave the village as quickly as possible. The young woman complied, and left the village.  No sooner had they stepped out of the village than a heavy down pour with frightening lightening started. It continued raining for 24 hours and the whole area containing the two villages got flooded. 

The village where the strange old woman was thrown out became sub-merged together with all people and animals. 

It is claimed that this old miraculous woman, is the very same one involved in the story of Nyamgondo Nyombare.

Kenya's National Bird

Did you know Kenya has a National Bird? Not the rooster.

It is this beautifully coloured bird. Lilac Breasted Roller.

The bird has about eight (8) colours. Boy child, the bird has even lilac and turquoise colours. 

This strong and swift bird has a robust body and a proportionately large, green head with a heavy black beak. It has a white chin and a white or yellow band above the eyes and beak. Its breast is a dark lilac that grows lighter towards the throat.

The abdomen and underside of the wings are turquoise, and the wings’ underside is also trimmed with dark blue. The upper part of the wings is reddish brown. Their forked tail, which is also turquoise, ends in black streamers.

These wide arrays of colours are supposed to represent the diversity in Kenya in terms of cultures, sceneries, attractions and the country’s uniqueness. The bird is also found in most regions of the country.

Unlike most other birds where the male is the most attractive, for Lilac Breasted Roller, both female and males are equally dazzling. You cannot tell the difference by the looks. They are not dimorphic. 

The bird owes it common name (roller) to its mating display, which consists of a lot of dives and swoops accompanied by loud and harsh cries. During a mating flight, a lilac-breasted roller will fly upwards for about ten meters (33 feet) and then swoop down with wings closed.

In another aerial stunt, the lilac-breasted roller will roll from side to side while flying very fast. If the aerial courtship is successful, the two birds will mate in the air.

Lilac-breasted rollers are believed to be monogamous and mate for life. 

This bird is known to be a fearless creature. They do not fear humans in the same way many other birds do. You can get quite close to a lilac-breasted roller without it flying off. A great thing when taking a picture. However, they are very quick and aggressive to defend their nests even against human beings. They also guard their favorite hunting grounds and will chase off intruders.

They are very ‘unique hunters’.  When they spot a prey, they will swoop down and batter the target with their wings. After beating their prey into submission, they will swallow it whole.

This bird is clever and bold enough to take advantage of brush fires. As the small animals and insects flee the flames, the lilac-breasted roller will swoop down on them. It is one of the few birds known to hunt near the edge of a fire.

The lilac breasted rollers are highly territorial. 

The species makes their nests in tree holes, as well as in termite mounds. They may also make use of unoccupied or abandoned woodpecker or kingfisher’s nest holes. Both males and females incubate the 2 – 4 eggs which are laid.

The lilac-breasted roller prefers to live in savannas and open woodlands where it has access to trees for perching and nesting. It thus avoids treeless areas. Although it does not fear humans, the lilac-breasted roller avoids environments that have been affected by humans, like cities and farms.

In many African cultures, the lilac-breasted roller symbolizes a deep connection between love and marriage.

The bird’s Swahili name is ‘Kambu’ or ‘Chole’

Hopefully next you are touring you will be able to see and identify the bird for the first time thus becoming your lifer. Hopefully too you won’t go twitching (travel far) to find the lilac breasted roller. 

Beards: Sign of Purity and Sense of Direction

The history and significance of beards goes back a long, long way. Beards means a great deal to most individuals, many cultures and religions. Some like them long, others short and some none at all.

Have you ever thought that some beards could be an indicator of the quality of air in a place? Better still; some beards also can help you locate the true north?

It is not human beards! It is the Usnea lichens better known as Old Man’s Beard or Methuselah Beards. 

Usnea, pronounced ooze-nee-ah is the elastic, yellow greenish lichen that grows from tree trunks and branches in forests. They usually grow on old or dead deciduous and conifers trees in a moist forest. 

               Old Man's Beards in Marsabit Forest

It is considered as the best natural bio indicator of level of pollution in an area. Where the air is unpolluted, they can grow up to 2 feet long! Where the air is polluted, they rarely grow.  They grow only in areas where the air is clean and of high quality. They are very sensitive to air pollution especially sulfur dioxide and acidic rain.

That is why you will rarely find them on roadsides but in plenty in some forests. In your endevours, if you come across the old man’s beard, be sure you are in a relatively clean and healthy environment.  However, lack of Usnea in a region does not necessarily mean the area is polluted. It may be because the habitat is too dry and sunny, since the lichen need some moist and shade to thrive. 

                    Usnea in Aberdare Park

How can you distinguish Usnea from other lichen? They are elastic while other lichens are not.  Hold a strand of the lichen in your fingers and gently pull on both ends. The outer green yellowish sheath will split, revealing white inner pith that will stretch before breaking. 

There is an old adage that ‘moss grows on the north side of the trees’. The old man’s beard may sometimes help you to locate the true north but will also equally deceive you if you are not keen. 

Usnea grows on the moist sides of trees, given that its primary source of moisture is from the air. In open forests, the moist side is most likely to be the shaded, north side. But in closed-canopy forests that hold moisture well, Usnea may grow on all sides of the trees. Several factors come into play. Key determinant is why is that part of the tree moist? Is the bark rough? Is the gradient shallow that rain water run slowly? Is the area direct near a water sources? Is the water dripping from overhanging branches? 

If you find a nearly vertical smooth surface that is not too close to water source and has old man’s beard, the only reason for the side staying moist is it is in shade in the middle of the day.

Hanging down from trunks and branches, Usnea resembles an upside-down version of underwater coral, another vulnerable barometer of pollution worldwide. 

                 Usnea in Mt. Kenya National Park

Next time you find yourself in the national park or a forest, keep an eye out for Usnea. As long as it is growing and healthy, take a deep breath and enjoy the high quality air. 

Wonders of th hie Spotted Hyena

Crocuta crocuta. Spotted Hyena. The laughing hyena. One of the highly prejudiced, stereotyped and disdained mammal. No wonder, many demeaning African folklores and symbolisms revolve around the infamous fisi. The dirty hyena. Hyena and witches. Hyena and revenge. But these seemingly good for nothing mammals have some of the most interesting and complex reproductive system and social structure.

Most of us believe the spotted hyena is a scavenger, eat dead animals and snatches kills from lions and cheetahs. Far from it.  They are super skilled predators who prefer fresh kills and hunt at least 50 percent of their meals, with an average hyena eating at least 14 kilograms of meat in each kill. They do not tolerate wastage. They chomp through every part of the prey. They consume even hooves, bones and teeth!

The spotted hyena have a linage of queens. The ladies dominate. The clans are matriarchies lead by alpha female. Even the lowest ranking female is dominant over the highest ranking male! After puberty, the male leave the clan into which they were born. On joining new clan, the ‘immigrant’ male hyena become the lowest ranking member. There are subordinate to all offsprings of that clan’s females, any native male and ‘immigrant’ males who joined the clan before them. Interestingly, ‘immigrant’ males get a perk that native males do not enjoy. Females prefer younger males and are more likely to mate with lower ranking ‘immigrants’. Diversifying the gene pool? Within their hierarchy, the passive and submissive male also tend to have greater success in courting female than aggressive males. 

The clan is a fission-fusion society and hierarchy is highly nepotistic. Offsprings of the dominant female tend to automatically out rank adult females subordinate to their mother. They are the only non-primates known to pass status from mother to daughter. The dominancy is not related to age or aggression but more on allies, networks and coalition. 

The physical appearance of the female spotted hyena genitalia is one of its kind. If you are lucky to see between a spotted lady’s back legs, you will find a thick phallic structure complete with false scrotum and testis. Their clitoris is shaped like penis and labia fused to form pseudoscrotum. The clitoris is enormously elongated to form a fully erectile pseudopenis. It is the only known

female mammal with no external vaginal opening. So unique that people have for long time assumed spotted hyenas are hermaphrodite. 

So what is this peculiar genitalia all about? No body, apart from may be the spotteds, who really seem to fully understand. It is however clear that it help in recognizing clan members during the “greeting ceremony” where they stand side-by-side, head-to-tail sniffing each other’s erected phallus.  It is also urged that this unique reproductive tract give the female lots of control over the father of her offspring. Mating is a laborious task for the male and the female have to be fully in consent. Strangely, the bladder also empties into the same channel thus it is practically possible for the female to ‘flush’ the inserted sperms if need be. Mating, urination and even giving birth is through the pseudopenis (clitoris).  Imagine giving birth to a one and half kilograms cub through the clit. The cubs are the largest carnivore young relative to their mothers’ weight. During parturition, the clitoris ruptures in order to facilitate passage and may take weeks to heal. The cubs are born with eyes open and erupted teeth. Siblicide (killing among siblings) is common with up to 25% death occurring within first month.

The spotteds are relatively intelligent and have far larger brain than their stripped and brown hyena cousins. They have a particularly enlarged forebrain-  the region of the brain that is involved with complex decision making. They have outperformed chimpanzees on cooperative problem solving! They are known to use deceptive behavior. They live in large clans of up to 120 individuals and they seem to be keen to know each other on individual levels.

Strange but true, they may be having more true friends than most of us.