The Milgis Trust

Category: Cheetahs | Date: Jan 31 2009 | By: milgistrust

Its shocking news to all of us and I’m afraid I am having a hard time telling you all, this bit of news, because it was the happiest young animal, and his beautiful little life was cut short by a snake…. We never left him alone, there was somebody always with it… He/she, we never worked it out!, but had many discussions about it!,was playing in the grass below the mess and ‘booum’ he met this snake, we have absolutely no idea what kind of snake but it had a lot of poison in those fangs… The little cub was dead in ten minutes bleeding from his foot, and nose…. It was very quick… What I presume happened is.. when the cheetah got hurt, he used to get very very angry and go for what ever hurt it, so I think he was bitten more than once… WE ARE ALL VERY VERY SAD.. That cub had a character larger than an elephant, the bravery of a lion, the vocabulary to beat any human… The only time it was silent was when it was sleeping!… Even the warriors [See picture below] had come round to thinking … This is a very special animal… and kept on asking me… Is this a dog or a cat!??.. Remember in my original blog about the arrival of this cub, I was warned not to leave it in the care of the warriors!!… But in the end they even had a way of calling it and it would come running from where ever.. He went with them every where… Oh well… What this little cheetah can say.. is it did alot in its short sweet life… amongst other things survived an attack by dogs, a ride on a motor bike, a little high speed ‘flight’ off a cliff, about 15 feet high, he did hurt his leg, but it didn’t stop him…. And for sure who ever had the pleasure of meeting him was charmed!!…

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Category: Cheetahs, Conservation Awareness, Education, Leopards, Lions, Livestock, Northern Frontier District, Samburu | Date: Jan 19 2009 | By: milgistrust

Its a difficult one when you tell the nomadic people… Do not kill the predators…. For them, if there was no predators life would be so much simpler!!… They could just send the goats/cows off and round them up when they are ready! They would not need to make such good bomas [thorn fences] around their homes, in fact life would be a lot easier with out them…They wouldn’t get into the perpetual trouble they get into because they have to cut trees down to make a decent fence!… OF COURSE THIS IS NOT EVEN A THINKABLE OPTION!!… SO ..What is the solution??!! Imagine a world with out the king of the jungle, cheetahs, leopards, Hyenas… and all the other unbelievably beautiful carnivores on this earth… We at Elkanto are experiencing the incredibleness of these animals with our cheetah… He never ceases to amaze all of us… Its a tough little critter… VERY clever, so aware, tough as nails… Despite its sweet ‘look’ !! Luckily the Samburu have to have lions, because they CANNOT have a ceremony with out a piece of lion skin!… Also If there was no predators then there would too much competition with the stock for grass, with the herbivores… And finally if there was no predators who would get rid of the rotting carcases… So really the answer is to find ways of living with them!!… Dogs and Live fences being two answers…??

A dog that is well looked after is one of the best answers.. Their acute sense of smell, and hearing can pick up predators from far, and warn the manyatta… Or when the stock are out grazing/browsing the dogs can warn the Shepperd’s when there is trouble up front…Every manyatta has a dog, or many, but most of them are desperately thin, worms and being erratically fed is the reason.. Samburu have this terrible fear of rabies, and this is why this poor dog was killed.. story below.. Also when there is a batch of puppies, the females are almost always left to die, only because they later will produce puppies…

Yesterday a Samburu man, somebody I know well, came to see me with his 4 year old daughter… She had a little scratch on her side, from his dog… She had picked up the after birth of a goat to give to him and he had snatched it off her, and scratched her on her side.. The father immediately killed the dog..bludgeoned him to death… His favourite dog… So sad and so stupid… Because now who is going to look after the manyatta??

So we would like to do a “get the dogs in better shape campaign” to help the people live with the predators… This would mean castrating and spaying dogs, worming and giving rabies injections… And giving a little’pep’ talk on how to look after them…To as many dogs in the area… It would be an ongoing thing as its vast… Is any vet out there ready to gain some pretty exciting experience!! .. It won’t be dogs only you treat!!.. Any thing from an Elephant to a squirrel!! , Camel to a goat! as well… We also need to find a way to fund it …..ANY IDEAS?

5 responses so far

Category: Cheetahs, Grevy's Zebra, Matthews range, Ndoto Mountains | Date: Jan 07 2009 | By: milgistrust

All the very best to you all for the new year!… I do apologise for disappearing off the face of the earth… We have been busy over Christmas and new year with camel safaris, and the computer battery went flat after a couple of days!, and I forgot to take the charging lead..Oh well it was good to have a holiday!, from the blogging, it takes alot out of me, to write a good one!! …But don’t worry the scouts have been busy, and Pete and I have been able to meet up with quite a few of them and to check on their areas… We did alot of walking in the magnificent Ndoto mountains where sadly the November rains were not good, which will put a strain again on the wildlife..Unfortunately the worst to suffer will be the Grevy Zebra, that rely on the water, on the east side…..We have alerted the scouts to try to make sure the water available to these animals that walk so far to have a drink.. In the last week there have been a few signs that it may rain in the next few days… maybe at full moon?? lets hope.. Today we were in Ngurnit, and it was pretty cloudy.. Other wise, thank goodness the Matthews Range has had good rains, most of the rivers are flowing still…

On arrival at Elkanto, we were delighted find the young Cheetah in tremendous form, and it recognised me strait away as I walked in… It is doing very well indeed, its grown quite alot, and is very playful…Very aware, talkative, has a big vocabulary, and quite ferocious for his size!!… He looks even more like the ever fierce Honey badger…He is complexly free, but seems to like human company, and the dogs tip toe around him!.. At least hes stopped calling and searching for his mother, which was quite heart rendering…

This was a picture taken on the 23rd December

I was told that I should be careful not to leave him in the hands of the Samburu Warriors as they may kill it… But I certainly am not worried now, they all love it, are fascinated by him, and can’t keep away!!

5 responses so far

Category: Cheetahs | Date: Dec 16 2008 | By: milgistrust

Oh but its already been through a lot, poor little thing… There was 5 cubs and this one couldn’t keep up with the family, and was found by some children, as I said before things are looking up!!… In the past they would have killed it, but attitudes are changing, and they picked it up and took it to there father, who killed a goat to feed it!!…. Incredible.. Then sent a runner to tell us to pick it up… The Manager went with a young lad on the motor bike, with a box, but the poor little cheetah, it must be about a month old, if it didn’t have the black tear lines, you would say its a honey badger…Which is a ferocious beast! Very clever trick of nature…She could not handle the box, so eventually they chucked the box and held the cheetah in their arms…Would have been a good picture! Then the next problem arrives… a puncture, not so far away from our new radio hill, which I have climbed up earlier in the day, I kept on asking myself, who’s idea was this!! it is 1600 feet above the Parsaloi Lugga… Anyway they decided they needed to get this little cheetah to me as soon as possible.. We had slaughtered a goat, to open the hill, and to have fresh meat for our new guest!… They left the bike, and started climbing the hill… It became impossible, it was too hot… It arrived a little desperate, and over heated… We settled it down, it was crying for its mother all the time, an incredibly loud squeak, … then it started getting fits, and falling to the ground, on its side.. too sad, and it wouldn’t eat at all… But this morning it is fine, and hungry.. In the after noon I walked back down back to Elkanto, with it in my arms, and kept it out of the sun, and kept it cool… Shes eaten well today… and we ALL want it to live… Shes soooo beautiful.. I am off on safari tomorrow, it breaks my heart to leave her, but I will leave her in good hands…

The radio is up and working brilliantly, each scout is asking whats going on, I can hear you so well!! .. This is exactly what we need… Our scouts are scattered over a big distance , and reception, up to now has not been the best… Good job done… Worth the climb after all… Not to mention the view of all views from the top, I slept on a rock, with my little black dog by my side… In fact I didn’t sleep, it would have been a waste of a beautiful night… plus ‘Ndoto’ was worried about the leopard!!

3 responses so far

Category: Cheetahs, Forest, Matthews range | Date: Dec 14 2008 | By: milgistrust

I am back in the Milgis… and firstly would like to thank you all of you…Especially to Karen P, Laurens H, and Anna M… So much thanks for the donations…greatly appreciated… We appreciate every penny, and also every one that gives us encouragement in words is invaluable… …

In the mean time Moses Lesoloyia has travelled back up to the Ngeng valley to try and meet up with ‘the now famous Luca’!! as we have heard that he is in the country… Moses will give us a report on his trip, but what I gather in a short conversation, that Luca was extremely apologetic on many issues, was very pleased to see our contingency of scouts, and has assured us that no more trees will be cut down.. This was our stance from the beginning…as “What has been done can not be undone.”.. In our opinion now that the trees are down/dead,/gone he may as well get on with his research…And hopefully give something BIG back to this area??…We will also be following up on various things like the plastic streamers, tags, in the forest… whether the research money will go to saving the Matthews forest or will disappear into the system, and any other issues that have come up through this saga…

Other sweet news to the Milgis Trust is a young cheetah was found lost and hungry at Rairariti, and what would have happened before … it would have been killed , but not this time… the old man has killed one of his goats to feed it, and he has asked us to come and collect it… Moses Lesoloyia, will leave early tomorrow morning to collect it.. Tomorrow we are going to take the radio, up to the new hill, and will slaughter a goat up there as there has been such politics about our radio moving there… Only because the new councillor thought there was big money for his pockets!! All is sorted out now, and our new found friend, the baby cheetah will start his new life on the radio hill!… Then we will have to think how best we can bring it up, so as not to let it get used to eating goats!!

Also in an other area a baby gerenuk was found, and it is doing well with two goat foster mothers… We are keeping a close eye on it but hopefully it can go back to his herd!, or it will think its a goat..

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