Nick Wadhams

Rhinos on the move

I was up near Mount Kenya this week to cover the relocation of four northern white rhinoceros to Kenya. Here are some pictures.

The plane arrives

Rhinos waiting to be put on trucks

Options. Options!

There are many things that confuse me. One of the big ones is why Kenya's supermarkets offer such a plethora of choices when it comes to cooking fat. In the U.S., Crisco has pretty much cornered the market. In Kenya, you've got Tily, Cowboy, Kasuku, Kimbo, Chipsy... I could go on.

Exclusive photographic evidence below, taken at Chandarana Supermarket in Lavington.

 

Then again, Kenya is home to the world's best product mascot, Biddy, an anthropomorphic dollop of margarine who loves to "spread the goodness." No disagreeing with that!

British army goes boom

Time.com just posted a wacky little story of mine: "In Kenya, Can War Games Coexist With Wildlife?"

It's pretty self-explanatory. For years, the British army has trained its troops in the Laikipia area, which has recently marketed itself as a premier wildlife-tourism destination. That marketing effort has coincided with the intensification of British army training exercises, as the UK beefs up its presence in Afghanistan. 

Can the two co-exist? Researchers are trying to figure out the effect of all those booms on wildlife. No results yet. But the army does seem surprisingly cooperative and flexible; so far, things seem to be working out (particularly for the landowners who make millions of dollars in rent).

Gorillas and the Myth

Like every other hack working in the gorilla-obsessed Africa journalism biz, I got in on the action after Congolese authorities arrested a senior national parks official on allegations that he may have been involved in a spate of gorilla killings last year.

Conservationists are saying this means that Congo is finally getting tough on the traders who are destroying Congo's forests to make charcoal. Upon reflection, I'm not so sure. Congo is so corrupt that any good deed ought to be viewed with skepticism. Another possibility is that he screwed with someone higher up the food chain.