It’s all nature, Miton likes to say. When we set out on a game drive whether it’s 6 am or 4 pm, what we see is dependent on what nature has to say. Knowing the habits and habitats of the animals is Miton’s strength, not to mention his incredible eyesight. (He can spot big animals more than three kilometers away.) But still, he says it’s all nature. On my last morning at the Big Cat program in Maasai Mara while…
As my time in Kenya comes to an end, I’ve been thinking increasingly about my friend and mentor Kurt Luedtke. It’s not solely because this is the location of “Out of Africa.” It’s because if it were not for Kurt, I likely wouldn’t be here. Laura Berman called Kurt the provocateur. I’m not speaking out of turn because she said so in one of her Detroit News columns of the time. When I met Kurt, weeks before he won his…
When we arrived at Wildlife Tourism College (WTC) we were treated to a burst of color and music and dance in the outdoor arena. Young girls and boys, students from nearby schools were rehearsing an elaborate welcome performance for President William Ruto. He was scheduled to come to WTC the following Saturday, five days away, for the college’s formal dedication. (Unfortunately, he postponed to a date later in March.) Though I will miss the official celebration marking WTC’s opening, the…
If yesterday was quiet on the plains, today returned us to heart-thumping wildlife adventure that you’d expect in Africa. Queen Elizabeth and Kofi Annan are two healthy adult southern white rhinos living in a sanctuary in the Maasai Mara. Sanctuaries are not uncommon in the rhino-care world. In fact, some conservation organizations credit them with bringing back southern white rhinos and back rhinos from near extinction in Africa. But you can read the stats as you’re so inclined and support…
Maasai Mara, Kenya It was a quiet day on the savannah. The animals went about their business without excitement. No hysterical hyenas. No gazelles running for their lives. No lions fighting to protect their kill. No kills. At least none that we saw. No worries, no troubles. It truly was a hakuna matata kind of day. (No groaning, you knew this was coming.) And the colors. An orangier sunrise I can’t imagine. And find one with a tower of giraffes…