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Granny 103 year old Orca

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103 year old Orca GrannyGranny, the 103 year old Orca, also known as J2, is the oldest known orca, or killer whale, alive. The average lifespan of a wild female orca is 60 – 90 yrs.

Granny, along with her pod, made her annual return to her home waters in British Columbia just in time for Mother’s Day this year. It was the first time that the pod of resident whales had been spotted in the area this spring. The pod normally spends the summers in the waters between the mainland and Vancouver Island now known as the Salish Sea.

As the oldest known orca, Granny is used in arguments against keeping whales in captivity, due to the reduced lifespan of whales in captivity. The average lifespan for captured orca is 20 to 30 years.

Stories such as travelling 800 miles in a week are used to counter arguments by sea parks that whales do not need a large area to swim in.According to animal welfare advocates, long-distance swimming is integral to orcas’ psychological health and well-being. Certain aquariums are known to give misinformation to visitors, to justify what they do.

I had the privilege of seeing Granny 2 years ago, when she was escorting her 6 week old great (great) grandchild. It was thrilling! There are many whale watching companies in BC, and I seem to always use Steveston Seabreeze Adventures.

Volunteering In Africa

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volunteer in Africa
Africa volunteering

While volunteering in Africa, at a preschool, I was wandering down the village road on my second day there, when about 12 kids adopted me. They took me into their mud house and showed me all of their possessions, consisting of a water barrel, 3 filthy beds for 7 children and a chair. They all sang songs for me, even the toddlers, taking turns and singing together. They were so sweet. One song was called “We are happy to see you today” and I really had to blink back the tears. It was just what I needed at that moment. My volunteer job was at a preschool for orphans. If you ever want to feel needed, go visit a preschool in Uganda.

Every day when I arrived at the school, the kids would all come running to greet me, grabbing my hands and climbing all over me. I usually had 4 or 5 kids hanging on each arm at a time. Sometimes they would fall asleep with their heads in my lap. I taught them nursery rhymes and songs and helped the teachers with correcting letters and numbers etc. I quickly found out that teaching kids is much different from teaching adults; you must repeat yourself dozens of times. The kids were taught in their local language, Lusoga, and English. They called me Madam “Sinseeah” or “Finfiya”.

I normally walked to work, 35 minutes along the main road that passed many villages. The people were very friendly, especially the kids. The adults would often ask me who I was and what was I doing there. They were very appreciative when I told them that I was helping out at a school. I have never shaken hands so much in my life. Our school had one classroom outside; the other two rooms had a dividing wall them that was open at the top so you could always hear the other classes. It got very noisy, especially when it rained on the tin roof.

The teachers are ecstatic when a visitor brings books, pens or just anything. Only 2 or 3 of the kids had shoes, a few wore flipflops and the rest were barefoot. It was so muddy when I first arrived, as it was the rainy season, so red mud got tracked everywhere, including my clothes. There was no running water at the school, so the kids drank from a jerry can and shared 2 cups. Occasionally, they were given toys to play with for an hour or so. The toys consisted of a few balls, grass dolls, broken plastic trucks, some bits of playdough, and some stuffed animals, all covered in dirt. The kids are so thrilled to have something other than the usual empty water bottles that they normally play with.

One little girl that I noticed, an AIDS orphan, was very bright and it broke my heart that her grandmother would likely not be able to afford to even send her on to primary school. Her eyes would follow me all day long, as she smiled shyly. Everyday she wore the same ragged blue t-shirt. Education is basically free for primary grades 1 through 7; however, the kids must buy a uniform and their own exercise books and pencils. For some families, those expenses are prohibitive.

A typical primary school has over 1500 children, and many classes are jammed packed with 100 – 150 kids. Some kids board at the schools, and their rooms are often just a bare cement floor with a thatch mat on the floor to sleep on. Every morning, when I arrived at school, I made a point of shaking hands and greeting the teachers. We would ask each other how was the night, how’s the family, how is “there” and how are the crops, chickens, or goats. We would also shake hands again when I left for the day, wishing each other a good day. The headmistress would thank me profusely every day and about once a week would say to me “Cynseeah, thank-you for loving us”.

Gorilla Tracking in Uganda

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gorilla

Gorilla Tracking in Uganda

It seems impossible to me but after all the build-up in expectations the gorilla experience surpassed everything on the safari by far. I had supposed that although the gorillas would be close to us that they would not be fully visible. The reality was simply amazing. The 18 animals in the family we were tracking we’re literally all around us. We kept about a 20 foot distance but at times the gorillas violated the rules. At one point a female came from behind me and passed less than a meter from me. I was so surprised that I have no pictures of her.

The hike to find this family was a cake walk. We walked for 2 hr and gained about 200 m (1500 to 1700 m). We would have been much quicker if we did not have to wait for a woman in another group who was a smoker (age about 65) and probably had very compromised lungs. The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest did not live up to its name and was quite open and easy to walk through even when we left the trail to get to the gorillas. The terrain was not particularly challenging.

The tracking process is painless for the paid guests as there is team in the forest with GPS devices to tell our guides exactly where to go. The scouts are in eye contact with the gorillas before we enter the forest.

When we arrived, the gorillas were all in trees (they were eating fruit we were told) and hard to see. No problem says the guide, they will come down shortly. Sure enough in about 5 minutes the Silverback came down from about a 2 ft diameter tree. He looked like King Kong. It was hard to imagine an animal that big (300 kg or so) up in a tree. After the Silverback came down all the rest came down. One little guy rode a sapling down as a kid would (and just like kid he got a nasty surprise when near the ground the sapling broke and he fell the last 8 ft or so – he showed no sign of injury as he got up and scampered off).

As we were standing around watching the gorillas come down the guide had us move a few feet as there was a female gorilla immediately above us and she would have touched me as she came down.

Once the gorillas were down they spread out a bit and the big guy sat on the ground with his back to us for a while. The Silverback began eating in a few minutes but did not really get into it. The females seemed much more intent on interacting with the 2 babies and the two smaller youths (the youths are about 4 years old I think). The youths were into various rough house games that looked like wrestling.

The gorillas were all around us and as they moved, the guide allowed us to move also to a distance of 7 meters. At the end of the allotted hour, the animals seemed to declare that the interaction was over and moved with much more purpose, disappearing into the undergrowth. This will rate as the high point of my trip and an experience of a lifetime.

by Pat McGill (client) March 2012

Mountain Gorilla Tracking in Uganda

Mountain Gorilla Tracking in Rwanda

Contact us for information on African Safaris or worldwide tours. 

Wildlife Sanctuary donations

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conservationIf you are wondering what to give a loved one, why not donate to a wildlife sanctuary on their behalf? It is truly a gift that keeps on giving as you help to feed and house rescued animals. Following are some to consider:

Elephants – David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust – Born from one family’s passion for Kenya and its wilderness, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is today the most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world and one of the pioneering conservation organizations for wildlife and habitat protection in East Africa. http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/index.asp

Chimpanzees – Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Uganda – Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust (CSWCT), an NGO, is responsible for all aspects of the sanctuary at Ngamba Island. Deeply committed to and involved in the conservation education of local communities, CSWCT also works with the Ugandan government and wildlife authorities in their rescue operations of orphaned and confiscated chimps. http://ngambaisland.com/

Mountain Gorillas – Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Rwanda – Gorilla protection in Africa, through anti-poaching and daily monitoring, is central to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International’s historic mission. The many ways we protect gorillas have helped to stabilize the mountain gorilla population in Rwanda. http://gorillafund.org/page.aspx?pid=233

Rhinos, Chimps, and other wildlife – Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya – The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization situated in Kenya’s Laikipia County adjacent to Nanyuki town. Ol Pejeta is East Africa’s largest Black Rhino Sanctuary, the only place in Kenya to see chimpanzees and holds some of the highest predator densities in Kenya. http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/about

Orangutans, Indonesia – Help prevent the extinction of the Sumatran Orangutan. They endeavour to contribute to the long-term protection of wild Sumatran orangutan populations and safeguard their habitat. Orangutans are threatened with extinction due to palm oil plantations replacing their forest habitat. http://www.sumatranorangutan.org/

Rhino Conservation in Kenya

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rhino conservationRhino conservation is alive and well in Kenya. The birth of the 100th black rhino on Ol Pejeta Conservancy makes them the only black rhino sanctuary in East Africa and one of only eight sanctuaries throughout Africa to have reached this amazing milestone. Rhinos are facing the worst poaching crisis in decades but with concerted conservation efforts their population can increase and the species saved.

The population of black rhino in Africa plummeted from an estimated 65,000 to around 10,000 in the early 1980s. By 2001, the total African population was estimated at 3,100. In Kenya alone, the population dropped from 20,000 to less than 300 due to illegal killing for rhino horn. This represents a loss of 4.5 rhinos a day for 10 years.

At present, there are an estimated 620 black rhino in Kenya, and 100 of them live on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Kenya is the stronghold of the last remaining population of eastern sub-species (Diceros bicornis michaeli), holding 88% of the world’s remaining population. In response to the drastic reduction in rhino numbers through poaching, Kenya decided to set up specially protected and fenced sanctuaries for rhino conservation. The creation of these sanctuaries was designed to maximize breeding potential, using surplus animals to re-stock any new areas. Ol Pejeta is one such sanctuary.

Ol Pejeta is located in the Laikipia region of Kenya, near Mount Kenya and Nanyuki. http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/about

Uganda Girls Scholarship Foundation

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Uganda ScholarshipUganda Girls Scholarship Foundation Christmas Giving 2013 Campaign – this is a Registered Canadian Charity. Give the gift of education. www.ugsfund.com. Girls who have been educated are likely to marry later, to have smaller and healthier families. Educated women can recognize the importance of health care and know how to seek it for themselves and their children. Education helps girls and women to know their rights and to gain confidence to claim them. (UNESCO)

The Ugandan Girls Scholarship Foundation was established in 2005. To date 16 girls have been assisted with full scholarships to secondary boarding school. These 16 girls are merely a sampling of the intelligent and talented young women in the Budondo sub county. Many of those girls will not continue past elementary school because their family can’t afford school fees. Without funding for school the girls will return to their family home and remain dependent on their family for their well being. Often they will marry young, live in abject poverty, have many children and continue the cycle of poverty. With your support, UGSF can change the lives of even more young women. Ultimately, they hope to have broader effect on the community as a whole as these girls will eventually be in a better position to give back to their community.

UGSF philosophy: As global citizens, we have an obligation to make a difference. We have chosen this project because it matches our personal values and beliefs. With your help, we are in a position to effect change. We are also pleased to be doing our part toward the accomplishment of the UN Millennium Development Goals. www.ugsfund.com