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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE April 25, 2007
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| March 21, 2007 |
Mombasa, Kenya – Massacre in the Name of Trophies |
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| Participants on safari in Tsavo Wildlife Reserve |
Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya after its capital, Nairobi, is the largest port in East Africa, and where Peace Boat called on March 21. Kenya’s economic growth is driven by its tourism industry constituting 40 per cent of its annual income. In a survey conducted by the Kenyan Tourism Board, elephants are by far the most popular animals tourists come to see. Peace Boat organized a study programme to the East Africa Wildlife Society Elephant Orphanage to see how these elephants are protected through the dedication and perseverance of their keepers. |
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| Jackson Kingoo gives a lecture on wildlife conservation |
The orphanage program manager, Jackson Kingoo, explained how mature elephants are hunted and killed for their ivory tusks leaving behind generations of orphaned calves. At the orphanage, elephants voluntarily come to this compound daily to be fed and trained in survival skills for their eventual reintroduction into the wild. The elephant keepers play an important role as a surrogate mother, staying with an elephant for over a decade in order to create a stable environment to oversee and monitor their progress. The rehabilitation program has been such a success, Jackson Kingoo said, there are currently 22 elephants at the orphanage, and 75 have been released back into the wild. |
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| Participants watch the elephants at the orphanage prepare for feeding time |
Peace Boat participants had a chance to interact with the elephants during feeding time. “What beautiful animals!” many participants exclaimed, especially fond of the smaller, playful, younger elephants. “This orphanage is different to what I expected, I thought I could spend more time with the elephants but the keepers are busy with chores. I can see this orphanage was created with the wellbeing of the elephants in mind rather than a place for visiting tourists” said one university student. It was this commitment to the elephants rather than a creation of a tourist petting zoo that impressed participants, they felt privileged to have had this insight into the arduous work of a keeper. |
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| A collection of over 700 skulls that have been collected from the Tsavo Wildlife Reserve as a testament to the slain animals |
In addition to the orphanage site tour, participants listened to two talks, the first focused on elephant behavior and how similar elephants are to human beings. The second talk clearly traced the timeline of the illegal ivory trade throughout the last four decades, highlighting the fact that 95 per cent of the orphans in the Tsavo area were linked to human calamity. The Kenyan government has vowed to end this slaughtering and to protect the elephants by increasing funding for conservation programmes. Many difficult questions were asked in lectures such as “Who poaches elephants and why?” “If they can earn money from this, is feeding their family not more important?” not at the cost of elephants. Jackson Kingoo says “We must be ambassadors and advocates for these animals, to protect them from other men, to ensure their future for other generations, Take this challenge for ourselves.” |
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| Participants discuss in small groups what actions they can take to oppose the illegal ivory trade |
After spending a day at the orphanage and going on game drives in the wild, participants gathered to discuss the importance of preserving wildlife and ultimately our environment. Participants devised a list of pragmatic options they can implement to educate others about what they learned, one study group agreed “lack of knowledge leads to lack of activity.” Together participants produced a series of onboard workshops on combating this illegal ivory trade. A motto that resonated with participants was “Let’s dream of a day when only elephants wear ivory.” |
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| A herd of elephants spotted during a game drive |
David Sheldrick established this elephant orphanage in 1969 after he found a stray female elephant named Elena. His aim was to rehabilitate Elena so she could successfully be reintroduced into the wild. Once released, she established herself in a herd but she kept coming back to the orphanage of her own accord. Elena helped new orphans through their transition back into the wilderness by making her own community made up of orphaned elephants. |
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