It is a struggle to watch animals under stress. It happens every day at Lewa. Cars drive by every day and you see gazelles running and leaping frantically in all directions. The zebra, the elephants, water bucks, and warthogs. All of them have this insane ability to communicate with their eyes exactly what they are feeling. Terrifying.
The other day I went on zebra foal patrol with Edwin Kisio and Mary Mwololo, heads at the Research Office. That day we stumbled upon a heard of Grevy’s Zebras and amongst them a zebra that had been brutally attacked by a lion. She stood by herself, a survivor, unable to move and tremendous scars running down her hind legs. She was pregnant, or so we thought. She retreated to the Ngare Ndare forest that same day to go back for her 1-week old foal. She had hid him in the forest where it would be safe… clever girl. The following day we went back to the field, with Ian Craig (a.k.a. Chuck Norris/ Kenyan Cowboy Extraordinaire) to treat her injuries. Yes! he is darting and driving at the same time! Again, the chase for the zebra was mortifying, the way mother and foal panicked, the way she ran, injuries and all. The way animals fight the darts that send them into oblivion is unnerving. But at the end of the day it is a necessary fear that we most impose on these animals, even though we are trying to do them a service. Imagine, if these animals lost their fear of humans. Disaster. We’ve been here 3 months and poaching incidents are all too common. But animals are amazing. Elephants, almost always the victims of poaching, regard Lewa as a safe-haven a place to retreat and come to for help and treatment. They travel great distances to reach Lewa if they have been injured outside the conservancy boundaries. Amazing.
It’s interesting too, to watch the mosaic of things that Lewa is to so many people and creatures alike. For the Manyangalo population estimated at 6,500 Lewa is their salvation. The simplest of lives are lived here and Lewa provides land for cattle to graze, funding for water projects, healthcare and education. Then to some 12,000 people per year, Lewa is a get-away safari tourist destination. Unabashed luxury sharply contrasts the small clay settlements of the local communities. It makes me question myself and the image I present and it’s hard not to feel a little ashamed for all the gluttony and commodities I seem to take for granted. 2.5 months down the line and I admit to mocking the tourists that come by on a three-day excursion, the safari boots, the khakis, the liters of sun-block smeared across their gawking faces. I cringe at the sound of the smallest complain. But that’s the tourists. To some 350 people it is the work place. Researchers, marketers, businessmen, rangers... It’s all here. You know you’re at Lewa when you see a smartly dressed man chatting, sharing jokes with an armed ranger in full camo gear and an AK-47 hanging loosely off his shoulder. They’re all here for one reason: to protect endangered species- even the tourists, annoying though they are. I’ve seen some pretty amazing things since being here. The collective structure, knowledge and organization of Lewa are a marvel. Last day at Lewa, I wonder what more surprises Africa will offer!