9/7 Ol Pejeta Park Conservancy has black rhinos (largest population) and others of the Big Five which could be seen on the AM game drive. Then visit Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary. The town of Nanijuki is known for its colorful rugs,wall hangings and shawls. Local weavers will shear, spin, dye and weave sheep’s wool by hand. Dinner will be served in the dining room.
Ave low58/high 77. Staying at the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club Ol Pejeta Park Conservancy has black rhinos (largest population) and others of the Big Five which could be seen on the AM game drive. Some animals unique to the Conservancy are reticulated giraffes and Grevy’s zebra. We’ll also be looking for black and white rhinos. Then visit Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary.
Today we saw a wide variety of animals. Warthog, zebras (Grevy’s and regular), giraffes, rhinos, elephants, water buffalo, cows, jackal, jaguar, flamingos and other birds. When we were at the Chimpanzee Sanctuary I learned that chimps eat 3 times per day. They live in a big house and sleep in separate spaces. There are eighteen on one side and twelve on the other side. Both groups are lead by an alpha male. Chimpanzees are 95% human. Sadly, they get all the human diseases. These chimpanzees cannot be released back into the wild. Trafficking is a danger. In the Congo, rescued chimpanzees live in a natural habitat. Africa has sixteen sanctuaries.
Ol Pejeta Park Conservancy has the largest population of black rhinos. There are less than one thousand black rhinos in Africa. The black rhinos are more skittish and aggressive and territorial. Black rhinos have a hooked lip that helps them munch leaves from trees and bushes. They will be found eating in dense brush. The white rhinos keep their heads down to the ground in order to graze. White rhinos will be found in grasslands and fields. Their square mouths are wide and flat to facilitate grazing. The white rhinos have a longer skull, a less defined forehead and a more obvious shoulder hump. The conservancy is completely fenced in. Both black and white rhinos are gray in color and live about 40 years.
Black rhinos are considered critically endangered. White rhinos have two subspecies, southern and northern. There are only two female northern white rhinos living. White rhinos are the second-largest land mammal after the elephant. The southern white rhino is considered an overwhelming success story. “Save the Rhino” reports there are between 17,000 and 19,000. Adult males can weigh 8000 pounds and reach six feet tall. White rhinos tend to be significantly larger than black rhinos. White rhinos have poor vision and the head points to the ground. White rhino’s ears are tubular and long to keep them aware of their surroundings. Black rhinos have better eye-sight and the ears are smaller and rounded. The two horns of the black rhinos are shorter than white rhinos.
Female giraffes are smaller than males. The Masai Giraffe has unusual spots with jagged edges (irregular patterns) and are the darkest ones. The reticulated giraffe’s spots are clearly defined network of brownish-orange patches. It has bright chestnut colored spots and white spaces.
My iPhone and iPad are finally communicating. Since I am in a new hotel, I am thinking it’s the quality of the Wi-Fi.
Jackal
There were a lot of cows in the Conservancy.
I need to find out this animals name, it is like a topu but a lighter color.
We had lunch outside today at a lovely resort. There was a watering hole for the animals and a lot of giraffes
stopped by for a drink.
We stopped at the official equator site today after lunch.
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