The
future of wildlife is in our hands…
No
beating about the bush, today I start with exactly what I want to pass. The take
home message is: ‘the future of wildlife is in my hands’ tell yourself that.
Recite it as a mantra if you want, but keep it in mind.
I
borrowed this line from IFAW (International
Fund for Animal Welfare) and I completely agree with it. Because conservation
efforts are collective, both you and I need to take part. We cannot afford to
be spoilers… and yes by ‘spoilers’ I mean actually spoiling. We do not want to
spoil what we’ve had for years, we do not want to spoil for ourselves, and
neither do we want to spoil it for our children… think about that!
Last
week Kenya lost one of its most famous lions, Mohawk, who had wandered off the
Nairobi National Park into Isinya, Kajiado. Mohawk had been spotted strolling
in the morning hours when residents triggered and agitated him forcing him to
do what was best- protect himself. Unfortunately Mohawk attacked and injured a
27 year old man who had ignited his motorcycle commonly known as “boda boda”
hoping to flee from the raging animal. According to reports, the KWS team that
first arrived to the site had no tranquilizers, and since Mohawk was hostile
after being extremely agitated by the residents, he was left with no option but
to attack, prompting the KWS officials to shoot him down, at least 9 times.
Apparently, the second team from the KWS was only 3km away, and with them were
the tranquilizer shots, however the damage had been executed and the Mohawk’s
life terminated brutally. Only a few weeks ago did a lion named Cheru also find
his way out of the Nairobi National Park and strolled on Mombasa road, injuring
an elderly man. Also it’s within this same year, in February, when a group of stray
lions commonly nicknamed as the “Langata 6” believed to have wandered off the same
national park were seen strolling leisurely in Langata/Kibera area. However,
the KWS team arrived on site with materials in hand ready to safely return them
back to their habitat. Unfortunately for Mohawk, this was not the case as he met
an excruciating death, betrayed by those meant to be his protector. The manner in
which Mohawk died*, was extremely repugnant. I strongly detested the manner in
which he was killed as I believe better ways could have been employed to
address the situation. Just a few days after his killing, Lemek a younger lion
was found dead, speared behind a bush in Kitengela. Animal lovers, conservationists
and environmentalists (me included) have brought this grave matter to the Kenyan
and global headlines as we are envisioning destruction of communities and
species due to human-wildlife conflict, if necessary action is not taken. As
for Mohawk and Lamek, we organized a peaceful memorial for them, last Sunday, 3rd
April 2016, just outside the KWS Headquarters in Langata, Nairobi, whereby we paid
our tributes and expressed opinions on promoting conservation efforts. We also
took that chance to accentuate that the entire environment needs to be
conserved and protected, and highlighted the lack of awareness on animal behavior
including the lack of sensitization on conservation. It is also alarming that the number of lions in the Nairobi National Park now remains as 34, according to some reports on the state of the park. Other than that, lion population in Africa is greatly declining, and the king of the jungle is now listed as an endangered and vulnerable specie according to the Born Free Foundation, and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Personally,
I think that since 8% of Kenya’s total landmass is covered by sanctuaries, national
parks and reserves, conservation awareness is key for every citizen, as these
are the habitats to wildlife as well as major income-generators. And since it
is stated in the Kenya Constitution in Article 69 that every person has a duty
to cooperate in the protection and conservation of the environment, why don’t we
all take responsibility? How many of us recited the Loyalty Pledge? Who
remembers this line, ‘My life and strength in the task of our
nation’s building’? Isn’t conservation part of the nation’s building?
Honestly when I was in primary school I saw no sense in reciting this, I mean,
it did not even make sense, it’s something I did just for the sake. Something
to sing or recite to during parade and assembly. But for sure these words now
make sense, this is a symbol to pledge my loyalty as a Kenyan citizen, a
patriot, and I can only do that if I live to those words. There are many tasks
that we get involved in during our lifetime, but have you ever thought to
yourself, how these tasks affect others? Do these tasks contribute to the
nation’s building? What have I really done for my country? Many times I can’t
answer myself. Good thing is I can now take part in one task to redeem myself,
and this one thing is promoting conservation. I have been labelled ‘too
emotional’ about this of late, but oh well, this is what I call passion, and
yes it is emotional if we are losing our biodiversity, so I will hung in there,
and stand for what I believe in. I can help to protect the nation’s heritage…
and so can you.
As
we sing passionately to the national anthem… justice be our shield and defender, let us mean these words… and “Firm
may we stand to defend” … “Build this our nation together”, because
Kenyans need you as a fellow Kenyan, conservationists need you,
environmentalists need you… we all need each other, let’s practice what we
sing, hard as it may be, it is possible.
God
Bless Kenya
PS: You can watch the clip to
Mohawk’s killing on the below link:
#JusticeForMohawk
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| #JusticeForMohawk Memorial |
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| A picture of Mohawk (borrowed from the Internet) |
