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Kenya Wildlife Festival |
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Ever since the 3rd of March was declared the World Wildlife Day, Kenya has joined the rest of the world in commemorating this important aspect of our earth. We were not left behind this year as a weeklong Wildlife Festival was put in place running from the 28th of February to the 7th of March. The week was marked with several different events focusing on various species, various regions with the aim of raising conservation awareness and educating the masses while having a good time. Kicking it off was the Ndovu Zetu concert on the 28th. Ndovu zetu is Swahili for ?our elephants? and as it implies, the event was meant to raise awareness on the high rates of elephant and rhino poaching taking place in our country and the East African region as a result of the ivory trade. The event was open to the public and drew a large crowd making it successful in the raising awareness bit. Proceeds from the event are to be used in funding ongoing and future conservation projects.
The 1st and 2nd of March were marked by a Great Zebra and Giraffe Count at the Nairobi National Park. This was an event where researchers liaised with the public in a procedure dubbed ?Citizen Science?. Members of the public took game drives through the park taking pictures of the zebras and giraffes they saw and the Scientists used pattern identification software to distinguish the different stripes and marks on the different animals. The data was then used to get an average number and find out the stability of both the species. More information on the process can be found here. They used the opportunity to educate the civilians on the importance of conservation and dangers wildlife face such as the zebra photographed below which the photographer thought had escaped a predator but had in fact been injured in a snare. The wildlife services dispatched a unit to attend to the wounded animal. This date was also marked with a road show through the city to inform the people on the event that would be taking place on the next day.
On Wildlife day, the Kenyan President, H.E Uhuru Kenyatta made a loud statement to the world on his stand against poaching when he set ablaze 15 tonnes of ivory confiscated from poachers. His actions mirrored those of his predecessors former president Mwai Kibaki who set 5 tonnes on fire in June 2011 and even earlier in July 1989 where then president Daniel Moi set 12 tonnes of ivory on fire. It was a wonderful way to commemorate World Wildlife Day, African Environment Day and Wangari Maathai Day (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate on her conservation efforts).
The rest of the week was marked with bird walks on the 4th, outreach programmes to schools by relevant authorities on the 5th, sports events on the 6th and an elephant naming ceremony at Amboseli National park on the 7th. The festival was planned and run by a number of organizations such as Kenya Wildlife Service Nature Kenya and Stand Up Shout Out among others. It was a great success in terms of raising awareness, involving the masses, raising funds and showing our intolerance for destruction of our wildlife. On to the next one? Photo Credits: Stand up Shout Out
Event Details: Nature Kenya |
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11 Comments
15 Ton of Ivory Burned! This is commendable & responsible action considering so much illegal ivory trade happening.
It is goo to know the photos helped authorities to take care of the wounded Zebra.
Kenya wildlife festival was indeed successful, Aness.
Posted 15-03-2015 19:48
Thank you for the warm comments. It's refreshing to know there's so much positive support from other regions.
Posted 13-03-2015 14:55
Thanks for these wonderful work,it is really awesome and we hope for a change in future.
Posted 12-03-2015 07:34
Nice report Aneesh...It reminded me my Kenya trip in 2010 which is a everlasting experience of wildlife in Masaimara and Nakuru...Poaching is a big issue every where around the world...Thx for the vivid report..
Posted 11-03-2015 23:30
Thank you for the wonderful introduction on the Wildlife Festival.
Burning ivory is really impressive. I could feel how Kenyans cherish their wildlife.
I wish to see no more poaching. I want all wildlife get restored and be flourish in Kenya.
It's a brilliant report on the wildlife in Kenya, thank you Aness! :D
Posted 11-03-2015 11:46
Glad to know that Kenya celebrated Wildlife festival for a week with different activities , aiming to draw public's attention towards anti-poaching drive.
Seeing wounded zebra is very disturbing to my eyes, hope he gets well soon.
Thanks for the detailed report , Aness.
Posted 10-03-2015 11:51
When I was a child, I often watch video about wildlife in africa and I love it so much. Now, I see that the animals in wildlife are endangered. I feel bad with the zebra. I also feel bad for the elephant cause I see that people hunt its tusk. I hope the festival has raised people awareness about wildlife.
Posted 10-03-2015 10:31
Well Done ! Agnes for featuring Kenya Wildlife Week event with fellow Eco-Gen Team .A lot needs to be done especially on discouraging ivory trade throughout the world and this is one of the ways .Keep it Up :-)
Posted 10-03-2015 02:46
Dear Aness, thank you for sharing the events of Kenya wildlife festival with us. I just wish the injured zebra gets well soon. More happy to know proceeds from the Ndovu Zetu concert are to be used in funding ongoing and future conservation projects.
Keep sharing, Cheers :)
Posted 09-03-2015 23:56
Great to know about Kenya Wildlife Festival and thanks for the such great videos.
It must have been an awesome weeks.
Posted 09-03-2015 22:05
Thanks for sharing about the Kenya wildlife festival, way to raise awareness about conservation indeed, Zebra and Giraffe count sounds great, Nairobi National park is the place I would love to visit in future, Pattern identification software like google glass has been used in Nepal also, dispatching crew for wounded animals, road show, ahah!!
With grand success of this festival let's hope for the good news of no poaching and destruction to come from Kenya :) :)
Posted 09-03-2015 12:42