28th February
by Dr Alannah Jensen
Today we all took a well deserved break from lectures and practicals after eleven days of a jam-packed schedule.
However, not wanting to miss a moment of wildlife, many of us chose to spend the day on safari. A pair roamed as far as Amboseli national park, hoping to set their eyes on Mount Kilimanjaro. Others journeyed to Ol Pejeta Conservancy to view the last two northern white rhinos left in the world. Myself and a group of 10 visited Lake Nakuru National Park for the day.
We set off at 6:30am to catch the animals at their most active. Though it was a long drive it was more than worth the trip as we saw some truly amazing wildlife! We quickly spotted the herds of zebra, impala and buffalo grazing in the park – but the first incredible sighting was two black rhinos having a fight, running around each other and attempting to charge. Thankfully the rangers helped to separate them, and they were both safe in the end. Next, we saw some adorable hippos lounging on the banks of the river, enjoying the morning sun. We were also very excited to see a “flamboyance” of flamingos on the lake, along with marabou stalk, spoonbills and cormorants. We continued on and couldn’t believe our luck when we spotted a pair of lions, one male and one female! As lovers of wildlife we also spent the day bird watching, referring to our bird reference app to make sure we could name them all.
After lunch, we saw a “tower” of Nubian giraffes, including a calf. The calf was a welcome sight, as the Nubian giraffe is critically endangered, with only ~2,000 left in the wild. We already felt very spoiled for the day, and so couldn’t believe our eyes as we headed back towards the park gate – we saw a spotted hyena! We watched as she wandered under a bush and took a nap, and affectionately named her Frida.
Overall our day off ended up being just as exciting as our program days, and we returned to the WRTI tired but very grateful to have seen such incredible wildlife in their natural habitat.
