Elephant Trunk - Exceptionally Delicate yet Tremendously Strong

The most distinguishable and unique features of the elephant is its trunk. It is the elephant’s most conspicuous body part, and also the mostly used part of the elephant.  Strangely, if you were to look at the elephant’s skeleton, you would never realise elephant had a trunk since this massive appendage does not have a single bone!

      

The elephant’s trunk is a fusion of the nose and upper lip. It is the elephant's most versatile tool.  An adult African elephant's trunk is about 6 to 8 feet long (taller than most of us) and has a diameter of about 15 centimetres at the tip, with nostril diameter of 2 inches. 

The elephant's trunk contains over 40,000 muscles. The human body only contains 639 muscles!  The trunk is so delicate it is at times used to wipe or clean their eyes. On the other hand, the trunk is an extremely powerful tool that can pull out trees and lift up to 350 kg!

The trunks have "fingers" (finger-like appendages that act like opposable thumbs). African elephant have two fingers while Asian elephant have only one finger. That is why the African elephant is able to grasp objects by pinching the opposing tips of the trunk. The Asian elephant must wrap its trunk round objects like a boa constrictor (it holds objects against the underside of the trunk).

Using the fingers, the elephant is able to crack a peanut shell with its trunk, without breaking the nut.

The elephants use the trunks to snorkel. They are the only animals that can snorkel without aid. By holding the tips of their trunks above the water's surface, elephants can traverse rivers totally submerged.

The trunks give elephants an incredibly powerful sense of smell – twice as sensitive as a bloodhound! It can smell of food and water from incredibly long distances – almost 20 kilometres away. Key to this ability is millions of receptor cells housed in the trunk’s upper nasal cavity.

An adult elephant trunk can hold roughly 10 litres of water. Contrary to popular belief, elephants do not drink with their trunks; they suck water up into them and then spray it into their mouths. They also use the water to spray over themselves to cool off. 

Elephants use their trunks to show compassion or comfort to another elephant. They rub each other with their trunks  as an act of compassion. Unconditional love! 

The elephant trunk is a versatile tool used for breathing, smelling, touching, grasping, and producing sound. It's probably the most amazing body part in the animal kingdom!

Brutal Man Eaters of Tsavo

The Uganda Railway line was a key infrastructural development in East Africa. It was a major tuff of power during the First World War within East Africa. This lunatic line was constructed from 1895 to 1901.  Its cost was exorbitant. It literally claimed lives of 2,500 Indian workers, unknown number of Africans.  A staggering 5.5 million sterling pounds were used. By then annual British government expenditure was around 113 million pounds.

Section of the railway line in Tsavo

Thousands of Indian labourers, derogatorily then referred to as coolies, were shipped to Africa to lay the lunatic line across some of the most hostile territory in the world. The railway climbs from sea level at Mombasa through Taru desert, grass plains, mountain and forest to cross the equator at an altitude of 2,785 metres before descending to 1,520 metres on the humid shores of Lake Victoria. The collies laid 1.2 millions sleepers and more than 2000,000 rails. The complete line boasted of 43 stations, 35 viaducts and 1,280 bridges.

In 1898, as the line approached Tsavo, a horrifying story unfolded. Two man eating lions systematically devoured at least 28 collies and unknown number of locals. The maleness brutes were real daredevils.

                 A lion at night in Tsavo 

They caused panic and fear among the railway workers.  Imagine retiring to bed pretty sure that one of your colleague will be missing in the morning roll-call courtesy of these brutes?  At one time the coolies vowed to return to India stating categolically they had come from India on an agreement to work for the government, not to supply food for the lions.

For weeks the two lions tactfully avoided elaborate traps laid by Lt. Col. J.H. Patterson. For several nights, Patterson sat on top of trees, with his rifle cocked with a goat or donkey bait tethered nearby, only to hear agonizing scream from distant camp as one on the worker was dragged and mauled by the lions. With time, the lions grew bolder, forcing their ways through the thorn fences (bomas). The workers became so terrified to extent that they believe the lions were devils.  Many collies slept in holes dug in the floor of their tents. The lions changed tactics and started attacking in pair. Initially, only one lion attacked, while the other waited in the nearby bush. 

    The maneaters cave where the lions lived

The brutes would get into the camps (bomas) without making a noise, grab one of the man from the tent and devour him quite close to the camp. Patterson narrates how on one particular night, the brutes seized a man from the railway station and brought him close to Patterson’s camp to devour. Patterson could plainly hear the lions crunching the bones and the sound of the lions dreadful purring filled the air.  

                  A lion feasting on a zebra 

On December 9, Patterson was successful in killing one of the man-eaters. The second lion killed three weeks later, on December 28th.

The skulls of the two maneater lions of Tsavo are 'preserved' at Chicagos field museum (FMNH 23970 and  FMNH 23969).

Lovely Antelopes that Pair for Life

Dik dik

These tiny and adorable animals, barely large enough to prod their heads above the tall savannah grass, have some of the most unique traits. 

Their name, dik dik, is derived from the sound they make when alarmed, zik zik as they run in a zigzag. They make the sound by whistling through their noses.

They have an elongated snout. This snout is very useful in cooling. It is an advanced cooling mechanism that stops the dik dik from overheating, even in extreme temperatures of up to 40°C. The diks pant to pump blood through their elongated snouts, where airflow and evaporation cool the blood down before it is pumped to the rest of the body. These remarkable antelopes can also lower their metabolic rate and adjust their body temperature based on the conditions.

Dik-dik do not live in herds. For them it is perpetual intimate. It is till death do us part.  Extramarital affairs are unheard of.  They pair for life! If by bad luck, one of them dies due to any circumstance, the remaining one becomes suicidal. The remaining one can even surrender to a predator due to loneliness.

Mothers are responsible for telling their daughters to leave. The fathers on the other hand must chase off the males. This happens before the baby dik-dik has reached eight months of age!

Dik-dik marks their territory with tears.  They release a special eye secretion from a bare black spot below the inside corner of each eye (preorbital gland). This gland produces a dark, sticky secretion. Diks poke their eyes in grass stems and twigs to spread the secretion, scent-marking their territories.

Dik diks are peace loving. They rarely fight. Instead, they use faeces to show how powerful a couple is by building up sizeable heaps of dung. The higher the dung the more impressive the couple. Some cunning families look for head starts by depositing their faeces on top of buffalo or elephant dung. 

These toilet-trained champs keep their territory clean, by depositing their faeces all in one place.

Unlike other antelopes, where the male is bigger, for the diks the females are bigger

The diks are not water reliant. They receive adequate water from the foliages, shoots, fruits and berries they eat.   When they do drink, which is rare, they lap water like a cat. They have the most concentrated urine and driest faeces of any ungulate.

They have a much ritualized breeding behavior. When ready to mate, the female stands very straight, with her back curved and her tail upright, and allows the male to mount her for a brief mating.

In Swahili they are known as Digi digi or Suguya 

Unfortunately, man is the greatest threats to the diks. For some strange reason, some people use their skin to make gloves. One Dik-dik can only make one pair of gloves. Imagine taking a life to make a pair of glove?  Stressing the surviving partner to even contemplate suicide? Shame on us, humans. 

Elephants Maternity in Mt. Elgon

Mt. Elgon is unique is many ways. It is said to be the mountain with the largest volcanic base in the world - 4,000km2. It has caves that are visited by elephants for salt licking and has an elephant maternity. It is the oldest mountain in East Africa and it is claimed that long time ago, it was higher than Mt. Kilimanjaro but years of erosion have reduced its height to only 4,321 meters. The highest peak, Wagagai is located in Uganda. On Kenyan side, Koitoboss peak is the highest at 4,222meters. Sudek or Lower Elgon peak is 4,302meters, is at the boundary of Kenya and Uganda. 

                 Sosoi Rock in Mt. Elgon

Also known as Mountain of the Breast or mountain of Illusion, the bluffs of the enigmatic Elgon has been held sacred for ages. Its name originates from the Sabaot people who call it Ol Doinyo Iigoon, meaning the mountain resembling a human breast. The mountain is also known as Masaba, named after the legendary forefather of the Bamasaaba people. The forest is the home to the Bagisu, Sabiny and Ogiek who dwell deep within the forest.  

On the Kenyan side, Mt. Elgon has four caves within the National Park: Kitum, Making'eny Chepnyalil and Ngwarisha. Kitum and Making'eny caves are easily accessible. Kitum cave is visited by elephants, dubbed the troglodyte tuskers in search of salts and minerals. The elephants of Mt. Elgon are mountain elephants, which are smaller in size than the savannah elephants. 

Over the years, elephants have established a maternity within Mt. Elgon forest. Each year, usually in the months of August to December, families of elephants with expectant mothers pay pilgrimage to Lolwoot cave, their major maternity ward, in Chesamo. The elephants arrive in droves, some travelling for more than 100kms to the maternity

After a period of 680 days, the mother elephant gives birth while standing to an almost 3 feet tall calf weighing about 160kgs. The entire family circles around the delivering mother as they protect her from all sides. As the calf is born, usually head and forelegs first, the grandmothers, aunts, sisters and female cousins give their unique ululation by trumpeting, stamping their feet and wave their trunks to welcome the new born. 

The mothers safely give birth within the cave. The cave has several rooms - calves room, areas for salt licking, bedroom and even ‘washroom’ where the elephants relieve themselves.  The salty rocks of the caves contain necessary minerals for the lactating mothers. The mothers and the calves stay in the caves until the calves are strong enough to travel for longer distances. 

Beast of the Wild?

The wildebeest is quite famous for its migration. In East Africa, we have the blue wildebeest. They are referred to as blue because in the sunshine, their glossy skins sparkle a shade of blue. The blue wildebeests are sometimes referred to as the brindled gnu. In southern Africa they have the black wildebeest as well as the blue wildebeest. Unlike the famous blue wildebeests, the black wildebeests do not migrate; instead they tend to occupy particular territories. 

The wildebeest is nicknamed gnu (pronounced “g-new” or simply “new”). It is claimed the word gnu originates from the Khoikhoi peoples name for wildebeests, which is t'gnu. Another theory claim the name originates from the San peoples name for black wildebeest, !nu. Others claim the name is an onomatopoeic mimic of the sound they make.

The gnu has a frightening appearance presented by its large head, shaggy mane, pointed beard, and sharp, curved horns. Local myth says that a wildebeest looks the way it does because its front legs originated from an ox, its back legs from an antelope, its tale and mane from a horse. The body of a wildebeest appears disproportionate, with a bulky front, slender hindquarters, and gangling legs. No wonder, it is one of the ‘ugly five’ animals of Africa. The gnu is a heavy build antelope (yes) with disproportionately large forequarters that makes it look more of a cattle.

Wildebeests prefer the dense bush lands, open grasslands and woodland floodplains of the savannas. They are strictly grazers, preferring sweet, stocky grasses. They are picky eaters, they are selective grazers. They only feed on the shorter parts of the grass. Luckily for them, their partners Zebras are bulk grazers who as act as lawn mowers, cropping the grass and making it palatable for the gnus. They begin grazing at dawn, rest briefly at midday, and continue feeding until dusk. When water is available, they drink daily though they can survive for five days without drinking water.

The blue gnus are great walkers, akin to the long distance traders. They are constantly moving throughout day and night, in search of water and preferred grasses. They tend to migrate in lengthy, single-file lines, covering long distances at an easy gallop. 

Each year, wildebeest in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem travel in a migratory route of more than 1,500 km. After over half a million calves are born in January and February, the migration begins in the south-eastern part of Serengeti. The gnus traverse across the short-grass plains, approaching Lake Victoria to the west. They then head toward open woodland, and curve north towards Maasai Mara. Lastly, they take a turn to the south back to Serengeti. 

During the migration, the gnus are accompanied by zebras. The migrating wildebeests seem to have no matriarch or patriarch leaders. Zebras have a great memory which helps them recall safe migration routes, which come in handy for directing the sometimes seemingly aimless wildebeests. Wildebeests, on the other hand, have a fantastic sense of smell and can detect water even in dry savannahs. 

The wildebeests’ mating season, known as rut, is connected to the full moon. Territorial males are constantly prepared to mate. Throughout the mating season, breeding clusters or herds of around 150 wildebeest are formed. 

When a bull comes into contact with another wildebeest, they acknowledge one another by moving at a rocking gallop. If they are greeting a cow, the bull will attempt to mount. If the cow is calm, the bull will repeatedly mate with her about two times per minute. If her herd is mobile, a cow may come across several dozen bulls a day. If she is in full heat, a bull will always be close to her side. An aroused bull will try to mount as many cows as possible, and will not sleep or eat for excitement if a female is nearby. 

During the mating season, wildebeest are quite a bit more angry and easily irritated -herding, fighting, and calling to each other frequently. 

Cows are extremely fertile, conceiving at a quite high rate. Wildebeest are unique in that they calve within the same short span of time, during the month before or start of peak rainy season.

Female wildebeest give birth to one calf in the centre of the herd. Unlike other antelopes, the gnus do not look for isolated places for giving birth. Their birthing sems to be synchoronised and about 80% of the female in a herd calving within a period of two to three weeks. The overabundance of calves allows for more of them to survive predation in the first vulnerable weeks of their lives. Once a calf is delivered, the mother begins to lick it. After six minutes, the yellowish-brown calf is able to stand on its feet and attempts to be nursed.  A calf suckles mother for at least four months, though it begins eating grass after about ten days. A calf will stay with its mother, even after it is weaned, until the next year’s newborn arrives. Young females usually remain in the same herds as their mothers, while males are sent away. 

Snakes - Known to All, Feared by Most

Ophidiophobia, fear of snakes, is one of the most common phobias.  

Snakes are found all over the world, apart from Antarctica and some oceanic islands. In East Africa, snakes are almost everywhere from the arid areas, savanna grassland, woodland, forests and moorlands, with some species found in the ocean. East Africa has some 198 species of snakes, both venomous (not poisonous) and non-venomous. Out this number, only 47 species are dangerously venomous, plus the two large pythons capable of killing through constriction.

Harmless Battersby's Green Snake (Philothamnus battersbyi) at Nairobi National Park

Snakes have no eyelids. They smell with their forked tongues that retract into a sheath. They have no external ears. Most snakes have only one lung, the right side lung. They eat sparingly; some exist on about twelve good meals a year. A meal per month!

Most snakes lay eggs in a warm damp place. Some species however, give birth (viviparous).  Examples include Sand boa, slug eater, Mole snake and most vipers. 

The Rhino Viper (Bitis nasicornis), in Kakamega Forest. This one gives birth. It has a horn like a rhino

Snakes inject the venom through the fangs when they bite. Snakes are either front fanged (fangs located at the front of the mouth) or back /rear fanged (fang located at the back of the mouth).  Some of the front fanged snakes have fangs that can be folded up against the roof of the mouth when they are not in use. Such species have some of the longest fangs, up to 2 inches.

There are three key types of venoms.  

Haemotoxin venom that affects the blood cells. 

Cytotoxin venom that affects the body cells including soft tissues and blood vessel walls.

Neurotoxin venom that has a more marked effect on nerves tissues than other body tissues. 

The most dangerous snakes, also known as the big five snakes, in Kenya are; Black mamba, Puff adder (Kenya’s most dangerous snake), Boomslang, Cobra and African rock python. 

Ever heard of milking the snakes? This is done by the snake experts. It involves getting the venom from the snakes’ fangs. The venom is used to make antivemon (antidote used treat those bitten by such snakes). Researchers have found out that some venom like that of black mamba can be vital component in drugs used to regenerate damaged nerves in amputated limbs.  

Eastern Forest Cobra, Naja subfulva. Big, fast-moving dangerous elapid of Kenya's wooded lands. It has a powerful neurotoxic venom

 

Snakes play an important role in the ecosystem and food web. Wholesale destruction of snakes will upset the ecological balance. They play a major role in the control of disease carrying pests and crop raiders like rats, mice, bats and birds. The harmless brown house snake for example is a useful friend in the war against rodents around the home. Same with the beautiful harmless Mole Snake.

The Magic of Sunrise

Watching the day break is so amazing.  The sunrise is a very unique time of the day. It is a new beginning.  It is the magical hour. A refreshing moment.  The earth is waking up - the animals, the birds, plants and even the sceneries. All life seems start at sunrise, safe from the nocturnal animals. 

Though the actual sunrise lasts for only two minutes, capturing the moments starts about twenty minutes before the sun rise above the horizon and continues for almost the next twenty minutes after the sun is above the horizon. This is the golden hour. 

Rising with the nature elevates your energy levels and keep your mind and body well grounded and motivated throughout the day. 

The sunrise light is very pleasing to the eyes and incredibly cinematic. It is said that looking at the sunrise light is good to the eyes. When the first sunlight hit the eyes, our third eye, the pineal gland, gets activated. 

At sunrise the sun gives energy of peace. A new beginning. A new day with new opportunities and chances. 

The sunrise is a beauty to behold. Watching the sunrays filter through clouds is magical. We enjoy the longer wave length lays colours- yellow, orange and red.  

Watching sunrises can give you energy to start to vibrate at higher frequencies, attracting the right things, right people and the right opportunities

   

It offers great beauty and peace. Watching it is a great source of joy and works as an antidepressant. It inspires new ideas and enhances creativity.

Catching the sunrise mean you wake up early especially around the equator. This will help you keep the body clock (circadian rhythm) of your body health. Breathing the morning fresh air is so revitalizing. The early morning quietude is also very refreshing. So peaceful and cool.