The Milgis Trust

Category: Forest Fires, Greater Kudu, Grevy's Zebra, Lesser Kudu, Livestock, Ndoto Mountains, elephants | Date: Nov 01 2008 | By: milgistrust

Sitting at Elkanto, Milgis base, with all all the trees in leaf, grass growing all round me!…AND looking out on to our 360 degrees view, to see greenery every where, wet Luggas.. It seems almost impossible to think that two weeks ago it was so dry, you looked out onto a brown horizon, dust, wind.. Now you can hardly see out, the trees have all thrown out long branches, the growth is extraordinary… … SO amazing!!

At the scouts meeting, every one talked about, how bad things had got in the drought, and the wildlife’s battle to get to water… Especially the elephants who are just innocently trying to get a drink but are described as these ‘giant dragons’, doing something wrong??..Again many of them pointing out the Grevys plight of searching for water…also alot of them looking thin…Also reports of ..Animals dieing… Beautiful old greater kudu male just couldn’t make it, many warthogs, all over, some falling into deep holes trying get at water. More lesser Kudu deaths reported, after the rain? Also interesting enough the samburu and Rendille lost alot of goats and sheep, before the rain came and after… The issue of over stocking has has come to light in a big way… Every one talked about how desperate these fires have been, and what can we do about this…[Will write more in my next blog..] Several reports of Grevys limping…Any one got any ideas of what could be affecting their feet… Looking more closely it seems that they have a swelling around the hoofs..especially at the back.. Another report of an Impala, that has moved in with a group of female gerenuks! Two reports of hyenas killing alot of goats, in two different bomas/manyattas.. It seems we need to help them improve the fences, even try and push live fences… [using cuttings from comifera trees, is very affective].. Another report of a bush pig, that has killed many cows.. but this is not new news, this pig is has a fetish for cows!!

The distressing news, and this was coming from the scout!! There are several projects in the area, where water is being piped out of the mountains down to places that people and there stock can get to easily… Yes.. its true… In stead of checking out the reason for the stem or lack in water flow, they just go above and bring the water down in a pipe… Can you imagine what this is doing to the environment..Its happening and its shocking.. The latest one being in Arsim, east of the Ndotos… a place the wildlife, used to beable to get at the water, now it has been dammed, and piped down to a tank… All the scout from that area were distressed with these latest developments…

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