Dung beetle

Chasing them …..playing with them….singing for them for they  can fly……and sometimes watering their underground homes……..was our daily chores when were young  boys .A daily event when at the grazing fields .Beetle make up the largest order in the whole animal kingdom, approximately 300,000 species have been discovered. Dung beetle belongs to the family scarabaeidae together with rhino beetles. In Africa there are about 2000 species of dung beetles.
Dung beetles were associated with resurrection in ancient Egypt, due to their behavior of burying dung and themselves and reemerging a couple of months later. Symbols of dung beetle were therefore placed in tombs in the belief that the deceased will be resurrected. Males carry horns, which serve the function of impressing females. The front part of the tooth is toothless; this serrated edge is used to cut out dung. The front arms are toothed and used as digging instruments.

The thorax is well developed to aid in flying and digging. Dung beetle have antennae, which are covered with sensory organs, these are fanned out are used by beetle to smell the air for dung. The mount parts are highly adapted to feeding on dung, they act like a filtering brush when feeding, discarding the unwanted bits. The hind legs are bowed and longer for ball rolling.Males usually initiate ball rolling in the ball rolling type. After cutting the ball away, he moves away from the pile of dung and secrets a pheromone to attract the female.

Once a female have been attracted by the scent ,she will make some adjustments to the dung ball and then either follow the  follow the male, or perch on top of the ball.  In doing so the female, conserves much needed energy for the brood stage .a suitable site is located, often under a bush and the dung ball is buried. At this stage, mating takes places over a period of two to three days. The male then abandons the brood and then returns to normal activities. The females takes the ball apart and removes the sticks ,stones ,etc and rebuilds it, leaving  a chimney in the top of the ball vents for the larvae, which digs down into the ball and breathe through  the event .larvae emerges and remain  in the dung ball for four to five months until the dung beetle finally emerges.
The female’s feeds on fungus growing on the dung ball, this serves to clean the ball. The larvae do not defecate in the ball, they store their feaces in a fermentation chamber and use the fermented dung to plaster their ball as it begins to show signs of weakness.Next time when you go for a safari in kenya savannah remember to have a look at them.

Join us in the next episode as we share more about these beautiful creature....for now 'Kwaheri".....bye bye

JBA- Safari in Kenya

People of Kenya

The 42 tribes of the people of Kenya enjoy diversity ,unity and harmony .They comprise the Cushitic, the bantu, the nilotes, as well as the non –Africans(Asians, Europeans and Arabs)Although the local language strongly exist, Kiswahili is the national language while English is the official language. Interaction with the friendly people in their habitats leaves a most memorable impression.

Masai People,Kenya

At the cost, one will be proudly pleased to visit the Mijikenda hut that looks exactly like half a coconut fruit with a small door. Mijikenda literally means 9 homes or villages, (Miji is homes; Kenda is 9) and the huts may have been designed to cover the nine tribes that constitutes the mijikenda tribes o=f Giriama, Digo, Chonyi, Duruma, Jibana, Kambe, Kauma, Rabai, and Ribe. It is said that mijikenda are the best cooks in the world. Their music ranges from the soothing Taarab to the more vibrant chakachaka. The word Swahili is derived from the Arabic word sawahil, an Arabic word that means coast.

Further inland, and mainly in central Kenya, there is dominance of the Bantu tribes comprising mainly of the kikuyu, Meru, Kamba, and Embu. One begins to experience the diversity in culture, seen in the mode of house construction, dress and food. Traditional house took the shape of the grass thatched roof with smoothened mud walls and earth floor. The arrangements of house within the home stead were defined by strict traditional and cultural rules.

The rift valley and its environs are mainly inhabited by the masai and the Kalejin communities. These tribes are traditionally pastoralists who depend on their animals for food. On interaction with these communities, one immediately notices the strict adherence to traditional culture by way of dress and behavior.

Western Kenya is the home to mainly the Luhya and the luo. There is dramatic change in culture and way of life, method of dress, food, music and dance.

HSK- Kenya Safari

Masai Mara Wildebeest Migration

… The wildebeest are here once again!Although these is just the start of the most dramatic wildlife pilgrim on earth, the early start means there is a lot to be anticipated with more dramatic episodes expected to unfold as the migration continues. Trailing the noisy gnus from the expansive plains of Serengeti as they cross Talek, Mara and Sand River has never been this exciting. Sightings of the first plunge have been witnessed at the Sand River by those in the ongoing Kenya safari. 

Cheetah in Masai mara

In the recent years, we have witnessed the most historical, dramatic, exciting and sometimes interestingly frustrating episodes due to the effects of adversely changed weather patterns both in Mara and Serengeti. For instance; apart from the early stop of the rains in Serengeti, the un-seasonal weather of the last month has caused the wildebeest to continue moving in a rather abnormal patterns.Zebras as usual mark the genesis of this gyratory exodus, in fact, the moment their hooves touch the waters of the Mara river, it marks the official instigate of undoubted endless annual pilgrim.

Tradition documents that the migratory herds usually separate into two divergent groups - one in north-east Serengeti and northern Loliondo region and the other one in the Western Corridor/Grumeti area. The western heard has always had their first plunge into the Mara – but it’s not a guarantee.Whilst some wildebeest are, as we would normally expect at this time of year, in the Western Corridor area, other herds can be found as far north as Bologonja up near the Mara River.

In just a few days after crossing the Sand River, the wildebeest together with Zebras and other ungulates are expected to move on to spread over the Keekorok region towards the Mara Bridge – surprisingly covering an estimated 25 kilometers.Due to the rains in Mara, the herds are unlikely to speed up their march towards Mara River and Ol Keju Ronkai River in search of waterholes as it has been the case in the last few years when most of the waterholes in the Mara are dry. This also means the real thrilling river crossings might not start sooner than earlier anticipated.

Lions are still being sighted in good numbers and even the prides are beginning to split into smaller groups. The arrival of the migration means food will be easy to find and therefore, staying as a large pride may make it difficult to hunt as it is easy to be spotted by the prey.

JBA- Kenya Safari

Kenya Safari

Unlike any other destination on earth, Kenya is the essence of diversity. It is here that can you find the ‘safari capital of the world’, and some of the finest beaches on the Indian ocean; where you can enjoy the entire spectrum of luxury hotels, tented safari camps, Indian ocean resorts and Eco lodges. Here too, where you can be surely you will encounter a firmly established tourism infrastructure and one of the most welcoming people in the world. Unlike anywhere in the planet, in Kenya you will find savagely beautiful wilderness and ethereally snow-capped peaks: crater studded valleys and wildlife –teeming plains; flamingo frosted lake and tropical rainforests. 

Maasi mara

The last true Eden Kenya is home to the longest rift in the earths crust and its youngest volcanoes; riotous blooms and parched bush; superb birds and awesome unique butterfly. Kenya is the only land in which you can visit the ‘cradle of mankind’, sail a Swahili dhow past a 16^th century Portuguese fort, and meet Masai warrior, his lifestyle unchanged since the dawn of time. The only destination that allows you to encounter over forty ethnic groups, speaking 80 different dialects .each wit its own distinctive heritage ,music, dance, art and costumes. 

The ultimate action venue only in Kenya can you find some of the finest championship golf courses in the world, and the most highly rated dive destinations. Only here can you climb Africa’s second highest mountain, fly balloon and trek on a camel in your Kenya Walking Safari. Only here too, can you find one of the most beautiful racecourses in the world, and some of its finest sea and fresh water fishing. And if all of that is not enough, you should know that Kenya excels in the delivery of quality time for the family and un-bashed romance; unrivaled conference facilities and un- matched incentives.

Within the sanctuaries of her 56 national parks and reserves, Kenya shelters some of the most ancient, fragile and diverse wildlife on earth. The Eden of the planet, her plains and forests offer refuge to the last of the big cats, the world largest herds of elephants, the endangered white and black rhino, and a number of endemic species that occur nowhere else on earth. The custodian of over 80 species of mammal, across her golden savannah gallop the largest herds of migrating plains game ever  seen ;while in the cool depths of her forest live giant hogs that are rarely seen. High in the snows of mount Kenya hunts the elusive golden cat; out in the plains is enacted the endless pageant of life and the death that represents wildlife’s survival of the fittest ;and across the parched painted deserts of the northern frontier lumber leopard tortoises whose ancestry stretches back 245 million years.

HSK- Kenya Safari