FEAST OR FAMINE

Obesity is increasing across the globe and no country has managed to solve the problem. BBC News (May 29, 2014) reported on a global obesity study published in Lancet, in which researchers stated that the number of obese or overweight people rose from 875 million in 1980 to 2.1 billion in 2013. From the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in Washington DC, researchers from a cross-section of countries conducted a comprehensive study analyzing data from 1,769 publications and surveys, collecting data on age, sex, country, and year. Ranked in order, 671 million (more than half) of the world’s 2.1 billion obese people live in the following 10 countries: (1) United States of America, (2) China, (3) India, (4) Russia, (5) Brazil, (6) Mexico, (7) Egypt, (8) Germany, (9) Pakistan, and (10) Indonesia. Worldwide, said the IHME report, the proportion of adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 kg/m2 or greater increased from 28.8% in 1980 to 36.9% in 2013 in men,...

The preservation and conservation of the environment is critical to the natural wildlife and their habitat in Kenya. In November 2013, the Government of Kenya embarked on a national tree planting project (Sunday Nation, May 25, 2014) as an environmental initiative. The national native tree planting initiative will introduce 50 million new trees around the country from 2014 to 2017 to increase the forest coverage from 5.2% to 10% by 20130. The Kenya Forest Service will provide free tree seedlings for the initiative. The Kenya Scouts network will support the project through plantings conducted by primary and secondary school students, officials and community members, while the Scouts Rovers network will support the project in institutions of higher education, such as universities and colleges.

I am currently in Nairobi, working and visiting sites and museums around the city, but in the past week an estimated 900 tourists cut short their vacation to Kenya. With the recent incidents of violence in Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya, most recently on Friday May 16, some tourists have left early and some potential tourists have cancelled their holiday plans. The Kenya Tourism Foundation estimates that the tourism industry will lose over $50 million between May and October 2014 – the prime tourist season. Obviously the government is encouraging tourists to remain for their holiday and to continue with their travel plans in the region. Each year an estimated 1.5 million tourists come to Kenya, from the following main countries, according to the Sunday Nation (May 25, 2014): United Kingdom (200,000), America (107,800), Italy (87,790), Germany (63,000), and France (50,000). In addition 11,700 Chinese visitors arrived in Kenya in 2013 (2.8% of all arrivals) – an increasing m...

In the vast room accommodating the bird exhibits at the Nairobi National Museum are also a selection of nests and eggs. Nests of twigs, feathers, leaves, reeds, dung (manure), tree hollows, and vegetation accompany the stuffed birds and a map of their habitat in Kenya. Some look like saucers, while others look like cups; some are meticulously neat and trim, while others look like a random collection of twigs. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

It is estimated that 4-5,000 million birds migrate to Africa each year to avoid the northern winter. Most of the taxidermy birds are on display in a designated room at the Nairobi National Museum on Museum Hill. Some of the birds arrive in Kenya in August, although the majority arrive from September to December, and will return home in spring, around April, to take advantage of the increased insect populations, and abundance of breeding grounds. Some migratory birds cover up to 20,000 kilometres, return journey. Some are night migrating songbirds attracted by the game-viewing lights of the safari lodges under moonlight. They also avoid predation at night. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-E...

At the Nairobi National Museum is a section dedicated to birds of the region. It is the largest number of taxidermy birds in one room that I have ever seen. East Africa is one of the world’s richest regions in terms of bird species diversity, with a record of over 1,300 species. Most of them are identified in the exhibition at the Nairobi National Museum. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

The Sankara seven are miniature soapstone figurines of Kenyan animals. Housekeeping staff of the Sankara Hotel in Nairobi place a complimentary figurine in the room each night. A card with the figurine reveals an interesting fact about the animal and its Swahili name. The figurines feature the elephant, giraffe, hippopotamus, leopard, lion, rhinoceros, and zebra. Elephant (ndovu): an elephant’s trunk contains more than 40,000 muscles and tendons, making the tip very sensitive. The trunk is amazingly precise and can pick up an object the size of a coin from the floor. Giraffe (twiga): giraffes and humans have the same number of neck bones. They both have 7 bones, and the only difference is that the giraffe’s neck bones are longer. Hippopotamus (kiboko): a hippo is born and nursed under water – the mother helps her baby to the surface for its first breath. They have a single calf that can weigh 55 to 120 pounds. Leopard (chui): the most se...