Lewa shares its boundaries with three Community Conservancies: Ngare Ndare, Il Negwesi and Laparua. The Masaai are comfortably in control of Ngare Ndare and Il Negwesi. Laparua is another matter. It is a multi-cultural Conservancy that includes nearly equal numbers of Masaai, Samburu, Turkana, Borana and Somali. Most of the time, community elders are proud of their multi-ethnic success and committed to smoothing over long-standing cultural flash points; but not always.

For over three years there have been good rains in northern Kenya. Herd sizes are way up. The jutting hips and scrawny ribs typical of pastoralist cattle are softened by layers of fat. Semi-nomadic families have rooted, confident that their livestock can find fodder nearby. No one is starving.

This is about to change.

Cattle are plentiful and looking good.

For those interested, we have posted a few new bird photos on the Bird gallery.

A Genet Cat in our kitchen.

And when Anne walked into the kitchen this morning there was a Genet Cat there to greet her.

By Jed Downs

Lying in bed and pondering the effects of jet lag, I heard a snort. Celestia, John’s sister, clearing her nose or throat I thought. Nope, next morning on the way to breakfast there were glossy piles of what looked like fresh cow patties. Indoor plumbing had saved me from my first way to die in Lewa: a wee hour’s encounter with a bull Cape Buffalo.

A cape buffalo sizing me up

Robin, Anne and Celestia were on a game drive, safe in the protective bubble of a Toyota Land Cruiser. They learned two things: they could avoid dying from the bite of a puff adder if the puff adder is already half ensconced in the belly of a two-meter long black spitting cobra and that a spitting cobra can’t bite or spit venom if its mouth is already stuffed with puff adder

Two meter black spitting cobra and its prey, an even more poisonous buff adder

Close up lunch

Simon, the owner of Timaflor, and Mary Siboe, CFO of Lewa Conservancy looking at the roses grown on the farm.

Actually, they probably came from Colombia. But if you were in Europe there is a good chance that they were grown in Kenya. Kenya exported 123,511 tons of flowers in 2012. Most of them were roses sent to Amsterdam to be wrapped and passed on to florists all over Europe. Flowers are a major industry here. Starting at about 11,000 tons in 1988, it has grown considerably.

Tons of flowers exported from Kenya 1988 – 2012.

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