Sankara seven: figurines of Kenya's animals

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 secretive and elusive of the large carnivores (meat eaters) is the leopard, and it is also the shrewdest. Pound for pound, it is the strongest climber of the large cats, and is capable of killing prey larger than itself.

Lion (simba): a lion can’t roar until it is two years old, but once it does the roar has enough force to raise a cloud of dust, and can be heard up to five miles away.

Rhinoceros (kifaru): the black rhino’s prehensile upper lip cannot only pick up a small leaf from a twig, but it can also open gates and vehicle doors.

Zebra (punda milia): each zebra has its own variation of stripes, so the striping pattern is as unique as human fingerprints.

The animals can be purchased as a boxed set. Each animal is also a soft handmade toy – made by the Baba Dogo Women’s Initiative – that can be purchased. The BDWI were taught income generating skills for sustainable community development.

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