Safari Notes

In a report released this past week end by a research group based in Britain - the Happy Planet Index , which seeks countries with the happiest and most content people - the Central Latin American nation of Costa Rica comes on top. According to the research group, Costa Ricans report the highest life satisfaction in the world, have the second-highest average life expectancy of the Americas .......... and have an ecological footprint that means that the country only narrowly fails to achieve the goal of ‘one-planet living’: consuming its fair share of the Earth’s natural resources . It should be noted too, that: Costa Rica ranks high in many other International Rankings . For decades Costa Rica has stood out for its stability and has benefited from the most developed welfare system in the region. It has no standing army, and its citizens enjoy one of the highest life expectancy levels in the Western hemisphere and better living standards than their war-torn neighbours . More than any o...

I don't think so. I very much hope not so. The latest reports say the oil discoveries in Uganda are unquestionably the largest onshore discovery made in sub-Saharan Africa in at least 20 years, possibly ever . And that one might safely consider production in the order of 150,000 barrels a day over a period of 15, 20 or even up to 25 years. In terms of comparison.......Uganda (would) in the top 50 of oil producers in the world . And this is a report by Al Jazeera on the Ugandan oil: As exploration and work still continues in the oil fields, so much hope and expectations are being put by Ugandans on the oil discovery. As I said before , the focus now is on how Uganda can both benefit from oil and at the same time take care of its magical, natural wonders. The problem: most of the oil so far discovered in Uganda are in the very environmentally sensitive, Lake Albert region . The priority is that: Uganda, with oil, manages to take care and protect its real wealth : its land, its wat...

Wildlife crisis worse than economic crisis - that's the very sobering report from the IUCN. In relation to Africa, some of the very dire reports state: ...28 percent of all fishes in Eastern Africa are threatened.. The Sidamo Lark (Heteromirafra sidamoensis), from the Liben Plain of Ethiopia, has been moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered and is in danger of becoming mainland Africa’s first bird extinction due to changes in land use. “Across Africa, widespread birds of prey are also disappearing at an alarming rate, and emblematic species such as Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus) and Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) have been placed in a higher category of threat as a result," In Mauritius, the stunning Mauritius Fody (Foudia rubra) has been rescued from the brink of extinction after the translocation and establishment of a new population on a predator-free offshore island. It is now classified as Endangered, rather than Critically Endangered. The saddest and mos...

'Nandi'! That's how she is called. The ten year old rhino has just given birth. Due to instability and wars, for decades now, rhinos - which were completely wiped out in Uganda in the 70s - have never given birth in Uganda. Southern White rhinos that are now kept in sanctuaries in Uganda, were all imported from Kenya, South Africa and the United States; Nandi is one of those from the Sates. In 1968 more than 100 Northern White rhinos lived in Uganda, but as of the early 1980s, no white rhinos were seen. Originally, Eastern Black and Northern White rhinos were present in the Murchison Falls and Kidepo National Parks; a recent survey failed to locate the only known surviving population of about 4 remaining individuals of the Northern White rhinos in the Garamba National Park in the DR Congo. A few remaining Northern White rhinos, a total of maybe 8, are in captivity in the US and Europe. Rhinos , which are said to have existed on Earth - in Africa, Asia, Europe and North Am...

The Tanzanian government, like the Ugandan one, may soon allow dual citizenship for its people. If approved, this new law will not only benefit thousands of Tanzanians, especially those living abroad - mainly in the Middle East - but the new policy will allow too, Tanzania to benefit economically. The new law, if approved, will allow the many Tanzanians living abroad to invest their wealth, some of which is huge, in to Tanzania. And it will allow too, the free movement of many Tanzanians who were very much restricted by the previous policy. It's very disappointing and sad that, for many years, East African governments never allowed dual or multiple citizenship for their populace. This has always very much restricted the movement of East Africans living abroad; it has also made it very difficult for them, many of whom are wealthy, to invest back home into East Africa. Contrary to what many East African lawmakers have always believed in, the allowing of dual or multiple citizenship w...

The Seychelles Black Paradise Flycatcher or the Vev in Creole ( Terpsiphone corvina ) can never be found any where else on Earth in the wild, except in the Seychelles. Even in this stunningly, beautiful island nation, the bird which was once common in Praslin and other nearby islands, is now restricted to La Digue Island, especially in the Veuve Nature Reserve. This beautiful bird, is one of the world's rarest bird and is under immense threat; and although, great care has been taken by the Seychelles government to increase their numbers, human activity and animals like cats, still threaten the survival of this very rare bird.  More reading: Nature Seychelles , Arkive , Wildlife Vets International , Bird Watch Image: Birdlife