Mom, can I get my ears pierced?

A couple weeks ago I got to witness a rhino being ear notched. Ear notching is a medical procedure where the vet makes an incision in the ear of the rhino, creating a permanent and unique pattern that is used by Lewa personnel to identify each individual. Once notched, the rhinos are more easily recognizable by the rangers, and thus more easily protected and monitored. Rhinos are notched according to their ID code, so that no two rhino can ever have the same pattern. Although it is an expensive operation, being able to recognize individual rhinos is critical to their protection and the gathering of pertinent biological data. From the research perspective, being confident about the breeding performance of individual rhinos is important for predicting overall population trends.

Finding the rhino in question and getting close enough to dart it was the most time consuming part of the process. For rhinos the vet does darting on foot. Elephants you can approach from a vehicle but rhinos usually run away. But HELLO: darting on foot is dangerous! Accompanied by an armed ranger, the vet must approach from downwind and hopefully once darted the rhino wont charge. I have heard stories of when rhinos did charge and the vets and the rangers all had to make a break for it, diving into trees, etc.

After the rhino had been darted it still had a lot of energy. It started running away, and had to be followed by a spotter plane in the air, that was shepherding the rhino away from areas of the conservancy that the vet wouldn’t be able to access once the rhino went down (i.e. thick forest or steep valleys). The rhino finally began to slow down in the perfect spot: a clear, wide, dried out watering hole. The rangers tied ropes around its ankles because they didn’t want it to fall over to one side, instead then wanted it to sort of just sit down with its body in an upright position. As all the people available pulled on the ropes to slow the rhino down, but it was so big and strong it just kept walking along as if nothing was happening, as if it didn’t even notice. Finally after the tranquilizer kicked in, the team got the rhino into the right position. They covered its eyes with a cool, wet towel and proceeded to carry out the operation.

It was a crowded scene because there was a film crew there doing a promotional piece on the conservancy, and the vet’s intern had her brother visiting. That’s the thing with veterinary outings: they’re exciting and everybody wants to go. I know I do!

Getting prepared:


Looking at the booklet to find out which pattern this rhino will have:


Out to the field to dart on foot, as a rhino bystander walks by:


Big, strong rhino doesn't care about the tiny people:





The towel makes the rhino stop walking around because it can't see:


Finally down, we have to be quick:


Marking the pattern:



Why am I standing a meter away? Because I am a scaredy-cat, that's why.


About to administer the reversal drug, everybody back to their vehicles!


Get up, stand up...


The vet car cleaning up as she wanders away:

Rhino Updates

Thursday, July 23rd.

The first work assignment I received here in my internship was to investigate, take photos and write up factsheets for all of Lewa’s programmes. Once I handed them over to Elodie for editing I started working on something we call Rhino Updates. Let me explain:

Lewa is a not-for-profit organization and one of the ways it gets funding is through the adopt/name a rhino programmes. For a certain amount of cashola one lucky donor can name their own rhino anything they want! What they get in return includes, but is not limited to, not one but two (2) electronic updates per year telling them all about their rhino. You’re probably wondering what in the world these updates could possibly say, and I am about to tell you. They offer information about where their rhino likes to hang out and with whom, what their rhino’s favourite pastimes are, all about the rhino’s personality, and anything else that makes the rhino in question unique or different from the other rhinos.

And where do we get thus info, you ask? We make it up – NOT! We go out to the field to take updated photos of the animals in question, and interview their rangers, of course… More specifically, I, “Kate the Marketing Intern”, go out in the field with a driver and a translator to talk to the rangers. What is more, we have started to also take portraits and interview the rangers about their own lives, what they have achieved since beginning to work at Lewa, and what they think/feel about the organization.

Just to clarify, Lewa has 150 personnel on their security team and this includes highly trained rhino monitoring rangers. They work in pairs and patrol a 2.5 kilometre block every day looking for the individual rhinos that wander that territory, as well as any other animals who could be injured, unusual occurrences, and of course signs of poachers etc. These guys are trained and are excellent trackers who can spot things that even when they point to it and say “30 metres to the left of that tree, behind that rock…” I am still amazed that they saw whatever it is they’re pointing to. I tell you, seeing the way they look at the ground and at tree branches or poop or whatever, it’s just like the Prince Humperdink in the Princess Bride, or more recently Aragon in the Lord of the Rings (talk nerdy to me, baby!). If a rhino isn’t found within 5 days back-up teams are called in, and sometimes even aerial surveillance! I mean, to put things in perspective, there are 68 black rhinos living on Lewa, and that is more than 10% of Kenya’s entire black rhino population. These animals are critically endangered.

The black rhino are super kali (aggressive) and when they charge the rangers have to climb a tree at the speed of sound. The hitch is that the trees are covered in these wicked sharp long thorns. By the way a black rhino can grow up to 1.5 tonnes, and a white rhino can grow up to 2.5 tonnes and they can gain quite a speed too! In other words a charging rhino is no joke. These animals have bad eyesight, but good hearing and an excellent sense of smell. Being downwind is paramount.

Anyway, to make a long story a little bit bearably shorter, the rangers are awesome. And the stories they tell me are so interesting. I have learned LOTS (as you can see) about wildlife. Some of it is really unexpected too, like one day we came across these two white rhinos lying together in the grass. The female sort of got up and rubbed her head against the neck of the male. We drove a little closer so I could get a better angle but they were startled and stood up… And whadaya know? The male had the old fifth leg hanging out like nobody’s business! Yes, rhino foreplay! Minutes later we met with Naahashon Karimba who is the ranger in those parts, and he told us that these two are always together, and they are young but are learning how to mate. By the way did you know that rhinos average about 45 minutes for a session of lovemaking? That’s right, I said lovemaking.

SO here I am. I get to go out in the field and see beautiful things and talk to interesting people and take their portraits. I am truly happy.

Assignment # 3

To change or not to change? What a fabulous question. Actually Larissa has excellent timing, because I was literally considering this very question the other day. I was pondering all the changes I have made being here in a wildlife conservancy in northern Kenya.

First of all, for all my fellow-hippy-chicks out there, unfortunately Unless you want ticks to acquire squatters’ rights on your calves, or anywhere else (heaven forbid – fa reals!), you gotta shave. That’s right. It’s not natural! they cry, It’s not fair! Well nature isn’t fair. It’s a dog eat dog out here. Or rather a tick eat mammal, or a spider eat fly, or a lion eat everything, Eee Tee See, as they say.

So I have started shaving my legs to ease the unending search for ticks. And the worst part is that once a cool breeze passes and you get goose bumps and your hair starts to grow back, it’s itchier than if you really did have ticks. It’s as itchy as the flea-bites that actually do cover my legs. Those, by the way are thanks to the adorable monkeys who play on line where my laundry dries. I am literally being eaten alive. It’s HOT!!!
That’s change number one in my books.
Secondly, I no longer see any spiders. I believe that once you emotionally accept them into your life, they just go away. Anyway when I do see one it’s like, not even a big deal. I’m very proud of myself.

But what about the deep emotional changes that Larissa is looking for in assignment number three? Something she mentioned a couple times was gender roles.

Now. Let me just say one day I was walking along Harbourfront in Toronto with Rudo, and I asked him to name my hobbies, which he did with the accuracy that only a dearly loved one can muster, and one of the items on Rudo’s list was “arguing with people about feminism”. After laughing my head off, I said with some satisfaction It’s True. So it comes as no surprise to say that I have had many a conversation with different people, man and woman, about the gender roles in Kenya, women and men’s social positions, expectations, dress, etc. or Eee Tee See I should say.

The thing is, the exceptional thing is, because I am a white woman many of those expectations do not fall on my shoulders. I can dress how I want, and act as I choose, and people, especially here where everyone is trying to act professionally, or at least within the bounds of the social norms of the organization, people just say “well that’s different, she’s a mzungu.”

Gender roles are very strict here in Kenya. I have not mentioned them in my blog, because, frankly, I have spent very much time discussing this with people, and feel I could write a whole book on the topic. It’s simply too much to even begin to deal with. What I will say is that I am an outsider to the max here in Lewa, and while (black) female colleagues were instructed to dress more appropriately after complaints were received in the office because they showed their calves, I have literally seen a [white] woman rocking the “butt cleavage” (aka plumber butt) and spaghetti straps, to no avail.

Here’s a story: if a woman in Nairobi were to wear a short skirt people wouldn’t be surprised if a man ripped it right off of her in public, with the thought that if you’re going to wear hardly anything, just wear nothing at all; or the old if you’re going to dress like a _ then you deserve to be treated like a _ (?!)

Needless to say some women I have met say the modern Kenyan woman is finding it difficult to make changes in this society.

Different Strokes for Different Folks is the rule as I keep noticing.

But let me tell you, gender relations are complex. First of all the roles for men and women, strictly stratified, do vary between tribes and generations. Examples include the usual: men go out and work, come home and sit until dinner is ready. Eat, go to bed, etc. Women look after all the cooking, collecting firewood, collecting water, shopping, cleaning, laundry, childcare-related activities… even if they also work a full time job. The first to get up in the morning, the last to go to bed, the plain treatment of wives here embodies the saying “women are the slaves of slaves.” Any given [Sunday] evening you see men idling on the corners. I ask my (male) acquaintance “What are all those men doing?” “Idling.” “But where are the women?” “They’re inside the house working.” “Why don’t the women come out and idle too?” “They’re too busy.” “So if they’re so busy why don’t the men go in and help them” “No, there’s nothing for the men to do. They’re not that busy.” That last answer was interrupted by another (female) friend listening to my questions, with “Because our country isn’t FAIR!”

Other traditions that I find interesting include the fact that hard labour and heavy lifting is considered women’s work. Carrying water and large bundles of wood – women’s work baby!

Then there’s the whole husband and wife thing. Divorce is highly frowned upon here, as people are 100% religious. At the same time it is kinda generally accepted that men are “cheaters” (quoted from chick-lit reading in the national newspaper, ok? Might I add that the article basically encouraged women to accept it and move on… And I got the feeling it was considered a relatively progressive article). In fact the only person I have met who is divorced (and not white) is one young man who did it because his wife cheated on him, and all of a sudden it was okay to get divorced.

I digress. I think at first all I could do was cringe. But after talking with many people, and seeing how men and women relate, I started to realize that people do what is normal. And in this whole wide world there’s no such thing as normal, is there? I told one friend that in Canada it is illegal to beat your wife. He was shocked, and said “But even if she does something to deserve a beating?” And this is a young man who is friendly and normal and fine.

The understanding I struggle with is not acceptance of things I disagree with inherently such as domestic violence. It is a learning process that is expanding my whole view of life and human relationships.

I have done the same exploration of this stratified and racialized system. I suddenly realized that my chef Fridah takes pride in her work, and maybe the guilt I take on over my white privilege is more demeaning than the privilege itself. For example, so I don’t want her to have to eat a separate meal – but would I expect a professional waitress or chef at home to sit and eat with me, their client/customer? Would they even want to? Please!

I am trying to look at the bigger picture here. Trying to change the habit of judgment. My TA Mohsen once told us that a thought is worth a thousand judgments. So here I am in Kenya trying not to judge. Trying to make a change.

Canadians!

Monday, July 20th

I didn’t mention enough about all of my fellow Canadians that are here at the moment. First of all, Suzanne and Marc from York University are here studying elephant diet preferences in order to help develop a corridor for wildlife migration all throughout the northern and mountain region (if I’m not wrong). This means that they are working towards reducing human-wildlife conflict so that elephants can return to their original migratory range, without tearing up peoples’ gardens etc. Suzanne was in my internship interview and made sure that I met Marc, one of her students, before I came here so that when they arrived I would know people.

A BIG thanks goes out to these two for picking up all the stuff Rudo sent me, and also bringing me more chocolate than I can shake a stick at (as well as other goodies!). On Sunday I spent the day hanging out with these two lovely peeps. They are staying at Ngiri house. It’s not a lodge for tourists that come here, but where working-visitors often stay. And in my view it’s fabulous, and it has a pool. So of course I showed up in my inappropriately teeny bikini (I would like to note here that it has become inappropriately teeny due to all the good food depicted in an earlier post), and went for a dip!

Secondly, there are a couple of teachers, named Craig and Mark, from the UCC in Toronto. UCC is a private, boys-only high school that has a connection with one of the schools that Lewa supports called Ntugi. These guys are working on a most interesting project bringing laptops and wireless internet to the Kenyan school, and creating a joint curriculum where Canadian and Kenyan high school students can chat and blog online and learn together – it’s cool!
They were staying in the tents next to me, but this week Craig has gone to live with a teacher from Ntugi, and is experiencing the local flavour outside of Lewa’s gates.
Will keep you updated!

Don't mess with the Momma

July 17th.

Today is Friday.
Actually the week flew by because it was exciting and fun. On Tuesday Elodie and Joanne decided to come out with me in the vet car. It was around 4:30 in the afternoon and we were looking for a hartebeest that was either not well at all, or we were looking for hartebeest bones. We drove around and basically decided that this was much more like a game drive than an action-packed vet-adventure. The three ladies were sitting in the back and the vet and his driver in the front. In the research car was another driver, a ranger and two local university students doing internships in wildlife research.

Well after 5pm Elodie decided that it was time for beer, and zipped back to her cottage to pick up her handy padded cooler full of Tuskers and a bottle of white wine. So we all sat on a hill and drank until the sun dipped below the horizon, talking and laughing to our hearts content. The students had to catch their matatu at the gate (Kenyan “public” transit – I don’t quite understand it so you’ll have to google it). But then I remembered that Mark, a Canadian staying at my neighbouring tent these days had arrived with a 25 of Tuskers, and I thought it only natural (this is after I accidentally smashed a wine glass, but I swear it was due to an unfortunate badly-timed hair toss and high winds, not drunkenness) that I should invite everyone back to the tents to drink Mark’s beer.
Upon arriving and greeting Mark, thankfully he seemed happy about this!
So we chatted and drank and had dinner and finally went our separate ways to bed.




Wednesday morning I was feeling fine. The vet invited us out again to watch this time the collaring of an elephant. Radio collars help researchers track elephants with a GPS system in order to learn their migration routes and help avoid human-wildlife conflict. I got in a truck and when we got to the site there were several other spectators, including two other guests from Canada. Because the ele was the head of a family a number of vehicles were required to help push the family away to a safe distance until the procedure was finished. This is essential because apparently if they aren’t far enough away when the ele goes down they circle her and don’t leave, so that we literally can’t operate and can’t give the reversal drug, having to wait however long for the anesthetic to wear off.

By the way, the head f elephant families are female. These creatures live to about 70 years old, have good memories, and are matriachal. Once the young males reach a certain age they have to leave the group and can only come back to mate. (Just as a side note) - continue:

We took some minutes getting into our initial positions. I was bummed not to be in the vet car this time, but hoped I would get a few decent shots anyway. The dart was fired and went in. But it was closer to the front this time and she The elephant) felt around with her trunk, pulled it out, inspected it a bit, and threw it on the ground.

Then we waited. The family had been around a watering hole and started to walk away down the hill. In order to separate the Mother from the family, once the positioning seemed right, the vet car drove between her and the rest of the herd. They didn’t stop, just slowed her down and turned as they passed. She took a few steps towards the car and paused. W were all watching and waiting. For the drugs to work, for the family to walk away, for something. Suddenly the elephant charged. She took a run at the vet car. They started driving. I think someone in our vehicle said “Oh look, she’s charging.” At that point, all I know is that several people including myself said “Oh Shit.” As I looked I saw the huge animal running FAST and the land rover bumping through the field as FAST as they could go. She was right behind them. From a side view she was about a foot away. Did you know that elephants are fast? You wouldn’t guess it because their big longs steps look so slow. But Mateas used to say if you are trying to keep up with an elephant you’ll find yourself running.

I couldn’t believe it. She was close enough to overturn the vehicle and she knew it. She bent forward and scooped upwards with her long tusks but the vehicle was accelerating. So was the elephant. She scooped once again. She was right on top of them. But Methenge a driver known seriously for his awesomeness in driving off-road was ploughing forward as hard as the vehicle could go.

For a split second a million thoughts passed through my head. I just had a sundowner with those guys Yesterday. And now I am going to see them die. I felt like crying. I said Oh shit.
Suddenly I realized that maybe I should take pictures. In case they didn’t die. I snapped a few without even looking through the viewfinder. I just held the camera up and snapped, but I couldn’t peel my eyes away and I thought to myself if they die I will never show or tell anyone that I took pictures. Shame on me.

Which means that? The next thing I knew the elephant was down. The charge had got that tranquilizer pumping through the her veins and just like that she was lying on the ground. Shit someone else said. Before I knew what was happening our vehicle was blasting forward towards the family. They took off running in front of us. Ok, we were off road so you can imagine blasting and running isn’t super fast and it is definitely not smooth.
But then they were going and we were stopped. I looked around and everyone was alive, the family had slowed to a walk and were heading down the hill to wait elsewhere, the vet was out with his crew, and so was I.

They quickly did what they had come to do. Another vehicle was watching the family. Soon it was time for the reversal, which worked after a few minutes, and the eephant was up once again, tentatively feeling the collar around her neck, but still glaring at all of us and looking generally pissed off to the max. Naturally. I mean, wouldn’t you be?

Once the elephant finally turned and walked towards her family the vet car left. They had places to go. People to see. We were doing I don’t know what, but I know that by the time we were almost at the road, guess who was blocking the road and looking like she hated all four-wheel drive vehicles with a passion? That’s right. Our friend.

We went off road to go around the family of elephants, and found ourselves in a hole. Now someone with field experience could definitely tell you what animal makes these holes, but not me. They are huge. Passengers had been shuffled around and only Joanne and I were left in the [open] back of this truck. I looked over my right shoulder, leaning forward to see past the canvas covering and saw the elephant. She was there. Standing with her back to her family, looking at us. Far enough away, to be sure. But close enough that I still told people later I saw the whites of her eyes. The driver and the unarmed ranger with us were whispering up front. The quietly got out and started searching for big rocks to put under the front tire. I looked again. She’s there. I said. She’s looking at us, I told Joanne. She looked. We both scooted to the left side of the truck, not that it would help If.

Ironically, we had just been talking about the charge, saying things like “I honestly thought they were going to die – ha ha ha – and I thought if they go into a hole, that armed ranger standing up through the roof – he’s going to die – hardy har (nervous laughter) wow that was funny…” Seriously that’s what we had been saying before we went into a hole. I went to look again and Joanne grabbed my arm. “DON’T LOOK!” She whispered harshly. We sat in silence. Not looking. Not talking. The guys sneaked back to the car. We radioed the others, they said. The other truck came back and without needing instructions we all jumped in and started to finally drive away. I looked at Joanne as the guys began describing what had happened to the others. “Let’s not talk about anything ever again” I said to her, not even wanting to risk a jinx.
We decided to take the long way home. After a valley and a hill, we looked out over the plains through the binoculars and saw that the whole family of elephants were around the truck.

And that was just the morning.

Luckily the afternoon was easy going. I went out in the field and took pictures of rhino from AFAR. I interviewed rangers and took some portraits. I got to see valleys and hills in Lewa that I didn’t even know existed. I saw cheetahs and took pictures of them and was blown away by their beauty and stealthy grace.

That night I went to bed and a thought occurred to me. I was so glad they did have room for me in that car. Those guys didn’t even know how close they were to death’s door. Only from other vantage points could we see. That and the guard who had been standing out of the roof. The elephant was too close to shoot anyway, not that he tried. I asked him later if he was scared. “You get used.” He said. They don’t say “to it” here, but that’s what he was saying. “I wasn’t scared, It was fine. It was fun.” Ha! I looked at him. He was older than some of the other rangers I have met. I could see he meant it. I guess I’m green. Take it for what you want.