FEATURE
oryx can effectively survive without water, and is therefore the national emblem of the desert country of Qatar. Gerenuks Bashir says, have evolved similar adaptations including nasal breathing, and eating whilst standing on their hind legs to reach leaves other antelope can’t. From the stables, we ride out on horse back. Dik-diks flit away from our track and watch from around bushes as the horses shake their manes. These cute, shy tiny antelopes, a mere snack for a big leopard, are very territorial, marking their territory with scent from the preorbital glands in the front of their eyes. They pair for life and breed prolifically, with a five month gestation. Bashir tells us that “Male dik-diks can kill each other.” On our drives we come across the delicious prickly pear, a cactus from South America that is growing in proliferation under trees and in great clumps in the savannah. Opuntia engelmannii has plenty of competition in its native environment but here, it has become invasive, snuffing out indigenous, slower growing plants. In Loisaba, they introduced the cochineal beetle, that feeds on the cactus and spreads a virus that would weaken the succulent; but it wasn’t fast enough.
30 | NDEGE NEWS MARCH - MAY 2020
Lioness in Loisaba; BOTTOM: Oryx and Thompson's Gazelles
Now it is being removed with hands and earth moving tractors. When its sticky thorns and fleshy leaves fall to the ground, new growths spring up. So, killing and burying the plant in very deep pits needs to be carefully monitored. Loisaba’s newest canvas roofs are tucked into the curved ridge of an escarpment, overlooking Lodo Springs. When we arrive, an elephant is taking a slow walk away from the watering hole up the other side of the valley. In the plains below, the red oat which is the sole reason for the mighty migration that
takes place in the south every year, is unusually high after unseasonal rainfall. This part of Kenya is prone to droughts, which follow failure of seasonal rains. 2010/2011 had seen the worst drought for 60 years. In 2013, on the north eastern boundary of the conservancy, the pastoralists were relaxed, awaiting the short rains. The sun was high in the sky and honey collectors were smoking out bees from their hives, heating up the midday, yet more. Something happened that
