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.