Safari Notes

"I am the Congo, the Congo has made me. I am making the Congo." "History will one day have its say, but it will not be the history that Brussels, Paris, Washington, or the United Nations will teach, but that which they will teach in the countries emancipatied from colonialism and its puppets. Africa will write its own history, and it will be, to the north and to the south of the Sahara, a history of glory and dignity." Patrice Émery Lumumba (2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was an African anti-colonial leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after he helped to win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis. He was subsequently imprisoned and assassinated under controversial circumstances in January 1961. Patrice Lumumba continues to serve as a significant inspirational figure in the Congo as well as throughout Africa. Mo

They became extinct on mainland Australia hundreds of years ago. Now the can be found only in Tasmania. They are rather rather small - an adult is as the size of a small dog; but their sounds, so fierce, are intimidating and chilling. Hunted, trapped and poisoned; and with diseases sweeping and killing them regularly, this fearsome creature's existence is now in danger. They may become extinct in the wild.   More on the Tasmanian Devil: Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania , Devilsatcradle , Tassiedevil , Enchantedlearning , Tasmanian Devil Park , Australian Fauna , Brittanica , The Age , Thewebsiteforeverything , Monstuart , Nature Blog , Endangered Animals , WWF , National Geographic , Books , Scholar

Capital of Egypt, largest city in the Middle East and in Africa, Cairo knew settlements as long ago as 6,000 years. The roots of the modern city, however, date from A.D. 969, when Muslim invaders from Tunisia secured and enlarged the site. Major growth came in the 19th century with the opening of the Suez Canal, extending Cairo's dominant status as a hub of trade with Europe, Asia, and Africa. Although Cairo translates as "the victorious," Cairenes call it Misr, meaning "Egypt." Agriculture is the country's economic mainstay. Revenue flows from mining, industry, trade, finance, and tourism, which, despite concerns over political unrest, has substantially rebounded. In recent decades Cairo has seen extreme growth, and housing can be scarce. More than 350,000 people are born there yearly, and nearly 50 percent of the population is 19 years old or younger. But Cairo remains a great city for its size, traditions, learning, and culture. >>>>Read more:

While, each day, millions of people go without food or enough to eat; while millions of people are starving world wide - cod fish, worth thousands of kilos are being thrown back to the sea . That is - after the fish have been caught by fishermen in the North Sea, and most of the fish have already died or are dying. This is not only 'immoral', but an "absolute waste" to throw good quality fish back into the sea . And insane and 'obscene'. Cod fish, a fish that has been relentlessly fished for centuries, is an endangered species. Every means and all measures have to be taken to conserve cod; but for it to be fished, and then millions of tons thrown back in to the sea, while most are already dead, because of a fishing quota system created by the European Union - is pure insanity. Can't the European Union come up with a better, wiser and saner system than what it has now in place ? Incidentally, a few weeks ago, I read - ' Cod: A Biography of the Fish Tha

Even Black rhinos are not spared from the mess that has become of Zimbabwe! It has just been reported that three adult rhinos who were a part of a breeding programme in Zimbabwe, have been mercilessly killed. It becomes even more tragic and sad knowing that, the rhinos that were killed, one of which was pregnant, had been recently de-horned so as to avoid their being killed. But for no apparent reason, except - to destroy - the rhinos were butchered. For a country that promised so much 27 years ago, what a mess: When Zimbabwe became an independent country in 1980, it was a focal point for international optimism about Africa's future. Today, Zimbabwe is a basket case of a country. Over the past decade, the refusal of President Robert Mugabe and his ruling party to tolerate challenges to their power has led them to systematically dismantle the most effective workings of Zimbabwe's economic and political systems, replacing these with structures of corruption, blatant patronage an

Common Name : Black rhino, hook-lipped rhinoceros;Rhinocéros noir(Fr);Rinoceronte negro(Sp) Scientific Name :Diceros bicornis Habitat : Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands Location : Eastern, central, western and southern Africa Status : IUCN : Critically Endangered (CR A2abc) to Probably Extinct CITES : Appendix I Population : Approximately 3,725 individuals From: WWF More on the Black Rhino: IRF , BlackRhinoceros , SCZ , Botany UWC , IFAW , National Geographic , Bagheera , Animal Diversity , AnimalInfo , WildLifeAfrica , Save The Rhino , WWF ,  AWF

All the signs pointed towards Antigua. The island had warm, steady winds, a complex coastline of safe harbors, and a protective, nearly unbroken wall of coral reef. It would make a perfect place to hide a fleet. And so in 1784 the legendary Admiral Horatio Nelson sailed to Antigua and established Great Britain's most important Caribbean base. Little did he know that over 200 years later the same unique characteristics that attracted the Royal Navy would transform Antigua and Barbuda in one of the Caribbean's premier tourist destinations. The signs are still there, they just point to different things. The Trade Winds that once blew British men-of-war safely into English Harbour now fuel one of the world's foremost maritime events, Sailing Week . The expansive, winding coastline that made Antigua difficult for outsiders to navigate is where today's trekkers encounter a tremendous wealth of secluded, powdery soft beaches . The coral reefs, once the bane of marauding enem