Mwamba's Other People (Act Two: Vertebrates)

Let us continue introducing some more of our neighbors. People are slightly more comfortable with these animals because we share one common characteristic with these species: a backbone. This characteristic is found in fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. Again, I realize that there are probably not many fan clubs, nor groupies for some of these animals but let me try again to shed some light on these misunderstood creatures.

Fish. Inhabitants of a world that is completely alien to us land-lubbers, even for those individuals that have spent a lifetime studying this water world. But especially for those of us coming from land-locked places (see July blog post, Being Tourists Pt. 1). Here is a group of animals that has the ability to breath underwater, extracting oxygen from water through gills! In general, fish are covered in scales, have fins and are "cold blooded" (meaning their body temperature is influenced by the outside environment), although there are exceptions to these generalizations. With over 31,500 species fish exhibit the greatest species of diversity among vertebrates, ranging from the tiny (a stout infantfish reaches 8mm in length when full grown) to the huge (the whale shark can reach 16m). The coral reefs around the Watamu and Malindi area are rich in fish and other aquatic species. 

I caught this little guy in the surf on the beach.
 I don't know what species, or if its an adult or young.
 But its freakin' see through!!

Reptiles. The average reptile probably causes much more concern than the average fish. Mainly because fish stay in the water while many reptiles find the same places we enjoy, just as enjoyable. Take a coastal area such as Watamu. People love this area because it is warm, has lots of sun and the food is pretty good too (especially with Italian pizza and gelato thrown in). Reptiles also enjoy "the beach" for exactly the same reasons. Life is relatively easy and reptiles thrive here.

The reptile most seen at Mwamba is the common house gecko. These nocturnal geckos can be found crawling all over the walls and roofs of buildings. They are especially fond of hanging out near lights since their insect prey are attracted by the hundreds. Sometimes up to ten geckos can be seen near a light source snapping up all sorts of insects.

Young geckos are quite small.

Like all other geckos they have the remarkable ability to cling to any surface through their unique toe pads. This species also has the ability to lose its tail to an attacking predator. Unfortunately for the gecko, its tail cannot grow back, so its a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Fairly easy to catch if they could be cornered.

They can squeeze between very narrow places and are a common source of electrical shortages. We have even found an entire family (adult, young and eggs) fried in a electrical switch box. I can imagine a gecko couple deciding that its a perfect place to raise a family until the kids discover "What does this wire do?" FZZZTT! We have also found them smashed between books and crushed under cushions and mattresses.

This gecko got squished between the door and the frame.
It survived but has some battle scars.

A White-throated Savannah Monitor Lizard

Our friendly neighbourhood Speckled Mouth Skink

Snakes are another fairly common but not seen reptile. Kenya has 127 species, with many found on the coast. Snakes love the coast for the same reasons that people do: its warm, there is lots of sun and the food is pretty good too (especially with Italian pizza and gelatto thrown in). Snakes have a poor reputation in Kenya because some species can and do, injure/kill people. Yet all snakes, especially the poisonous species, provide the invaluable and free service of pest control. Farmers scratch their heads in confusion after the local mambas and cobras are killed and rats begin eating through the maize crops because they don't understand this connection. If you want to learn more about snakes (especially the deadly ones) visit http://www.bio-ken.com/, we have visited Bio-Ken Snake Farm and found it quite interesting. During our time at Mwamba we saw a number of different species:

Stripe-bellied Sand Snake:

A fast moving snake, this is a member of the back-fanged snakes. Species of this family have varying degrees of toxicity but this particular species is not deadly to humans but can give a good bite (which it promptly did when caught by William, the local handyman/snake handler).

The Spotted Bush Snake:

A very beautifully coloured snake that is very thin and sleek. It is harmless to human beings but deadly to frogs and lizards.

And the definite highlight, a Green Mamba:

This is a snake you do not mess with. It probably ranks 3rd in terms of deadliest snake in Kenya behind the brown cobra and the black mamba. Its venom is a neurotoxin, that causes paralysis and eventual death. This one was caught on the property while it was hunting squirrels (more about this incident in a later post).

Other reptiles to be found include turtles and tortoises.

Interesting fact: The vertebrae of a tortoise is fused to the top of its shell!

Birds. Kenya is blessed with many bird species and at Mwamba there are a number of species commonly seen. Perhaps the most colourful to be found are the two species of kingfishers.

The Mangrove Kingfisher...

...and the Pygmy Kingfisher.

Finally the most amusing is the troop of Sykes monkeys that frequent the area. They can get into a lot of mischief and have been known to steal bread from the toaster, try to drive cars, use telephone lines as swings and muck about with tree nurseries.

Such inquisitive eyes.

A little back scratch.

The discovery of the trampoline!

Well there you have it. These are the neighbors in our neighborhood, in our neighborhood, in our neighborhood...

Mwamba's Other People (Act One: Invertebrates)

Here at Mwamba there are a lot of people. ARK itself employs almost twenty people. Being located in a high density tourist area, a lot of guests arrive in the high season and with school groups visiting, Mwamba can be a busy place. But there is another world to this place that I have been itching* to show. So in a two act performance I will reveal to you a world of the small, the creepy-crawling, the things that go bump in the night...or daylight.

To be politically correct, most of the animals that will be shown are beautiful in their own special way. True, for many of us the mollusks, insects, crustaceans, reptiles and birds found here at Mwamba are not the species that we tend to favour; these animals are not your giant panda, baby seal, elephant, or whale. Yet, these "others" are the species that really rule the world (Did you know that the world's ant population outweighs the entire human population). For these animals it takes a lot of effort for most people to move beyond their shells, scales and slime. The way they look, act and behave is so foreign to us but we (including myself) need to confront this prejudice because ants and their like really are quite amazing when one begins to learn about them.

So without further ado let me introduce to you...

A mollusk...

A Giant African Land Snail.

Their intriguing courtship behaviour between hermaphodic (meaning having both testes and ovaries) individuals involves petting heads for up to a half hour, and actual sex can last up to 2 hrs. Viable sperm can be stored in the body for 2 yrs!

Unusual to say the least...

The above sand formation is, I think, caused by another snail species. Why its formed this way or for what reason I don't know. Anyone out there have an idea?

A tiny cute transparent slug.

...and loads of insects...

Hmmmmm! Honey Flakes! Yes, all the black dots are ants.

I must start with ANTS! They are everywhere and in everything. There are these teeny, tiny ones that are addicted to sugar. Jam, honey, sugar in cereal, sugar coating on pills, anything with a hint of sucrose is devoured by these little guys.

Close up shot! Strawberry jam anyone?

If you like butterflies then come to Kenya. Over 800 species have been recorded (there is actually a butterfly season, a time of the year when many different species appear for a couple months).

Praying Mantis, the holiest of insects.

The many legged Milliped (not an insect).

This one looks like a leaf!

A pink and white moth.

Huge beetles!!

...and spiders (no, they are not insects but arachnids)...

Even spiders can be beautiful!
Stripes make anything look snazy!

Yeah...this guy was in our bedroom.

A wee baby scorpion, isn't it so adorable!

... and a couple of crusteceans.

A hermit crab in the dining room.

Ghost crabs cover the beach at night to forage.
They come into the dining room and office at night during high tide.

*Note: Some of these critters may cause you to itch, squirm, perspire, or make you feel generally uncomfortable.

Tune in next time for more of our neighbours...

Out on a Lark

In this post I will attempt to persuade everyone that birds are neat. No, that's not quite the right word....birds are cool, no....birds are interesting, yes, but not enough....birds are awesome! Yes, if you didn't know before how awesome birds are then you will now. I'll admit some of you will take some convincing (a.k.a. my sister Lisa) but I'm always up for the challenge.

Here at ARK bird ringing (or banding as its called back home) is a common activity that brings up-close and personal encounters between bird and human. ARK has a number of different research projects based on the ringing of birds. But I suppose the first natural question from the skeptic is "Why be interested in birds?" and secondly, "If someone could become interested in birds, why ring them?"

Paradise Flycatcher

Pygmy Kingfisher

Question # 1: There are many potential answers that have convinced many other skeptics in the past. The myriad of colours and songs possessed by birds has always been their main attraction to people all over the world. These features, along with some tasting mighty fine, has at times been extremely detrimental to particular species. I will admit that it has taken quite some time for me to accept the cold, hard, truth, that I'm a birder. Is my fascination with birds as extreme as keeping a Life List? No, but I'm sure the time is coming. Let me explain that while I'm still more excited to see a lion, one just does not see many lions, even in Kenya. Birds on the other hand are everywhere and their behaviour and physical ability is simply amazing. I recommend you watch BBC's Life of Birds narrated by David Attenborough and your relationship with birds will be radically altered. In fact, I'll lend my copy when we're back in Canada. Finally, if your still not convinced then you had better come to terms to the fact that Jesus was a birder (Matthew 13:32, Luke 12:6, Luke 12:24).  As Christians we have been taught to follow His teachings, so if you're still ticking off "good deeds" on your Road to Salvation List then its time to pick up birding.

Question # 2: Ringing involves the placement of a metal or plastic ring (or band) around the leg of a bird. There are rings for every size of bird and each one has an ID number and contact address that is completely unique. People have now been ringing birds for scientific reasons for well over a hundred years but why would anyone want to put a numbered metal band around the legs of eagles, ducks and hummingbirds. Initially it was to discover where birds went. A hundred years ago no one had the faintest idea where birds came from or where they went as seasons changed. It was even believed birds flew to the moon and back. But as ringing schemes developed people began to discover that birds made incredible journeys. An Arctic Tern ringed in Britain, was found to have flown all the way to Melbourne, Australia; a distance of over 22,000 km in only 3 months! The Bar-Tailed Godwit makes an astounding migration across the Pacific from New Zealand to Alaska in one non-stop flight covering 11,000 km in about 9 days!! The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, in all its tiny splendor, migrates straight across the Gulf of Mexico in about 20 hrs!!! Ringing birds can also tell scientists how old birds can become. A Max Shearwater is currently the oldest known living bird. It was banded in 1953 as an adult of at least 5 yrs of age. Retrapped in 2003, it turns out to be at least 55 yrs old! As well, scientists can also estimate populations size and structure all from attaching rings to bird legs.

But how does one go about catching birds that fly above our heads? It depends on species of course but one of the main ways is to use Mist Nets. These are very fine nets that become invisible to on-coming birds when stretched out between poles. Flying birds collide with the mesh of the net and fall into a specially designed pocket that then entraps the bird as it struggles to get out.

                      Setting up a mist net.                                           An entangled Golden Palm Weaver.

Then comes the difficult part of extracting the bird without hurting it or damaging feathers because the mesh snags on almost anything including sticks, leaves, clothing, even the wrinkles on fingers.

Extracting a Pygmy Kingfisher, interestingly their toes are fused together because they only use their feet to perch.

After various biometrics are recorded such as weight, length, and feather condition (the really good ornithologists can age a bird based on its feathers, looking at various characteristics such as old/new, juvenile/adult, and colour) the bird is ringed and released unharmed.

Taking head length...

...wing length...

...feather condition...

...weight...

...and no I don't love birds that much. I'm blowing the feathers apart to determine if the bird is molting.

Finally, the ring is secured on the leg...

...and the bird released unharmed.

Well I hope you are all now convinced that birds are awesome and if not, hopefully I've at least instilled a little bit more amazement, wonder and awe in creation that God saw as very good.

Lazy in Lamu

Lamu: "It's like Venice, but instead of canals it has open sewers and donkey poo." - Mary-

A side street in Lamu

So we set off on a weekend adventure to Lamu, the oldest city in Kenya.
Our trip started by catching a matatu (an 11 passenger van that's been retro- fitted to seat 15 but we've been in one with 20) to Malindi and from there took a bus. The first half of the trip was on nice roads. We were stopped in a small town by police who did a search through everyone's bag. Ted's got glanced at. My bags were searched. Upon seeing our books (one travel guide book, one novel and a Philip Yancey book on Prayer) the female officer said. "You have many books". I said, "Yes we like to read". Police officer, "Can I have one? You have so many." I contemplated if a Keyan would like a Kenyan travel book, an novel in old english or a theological book on prayer geared to white middle class Christians. So I answered, "Well I haven't finished reading them." Not realizing that the officer was asking for a bribe. Thankfully surrounded by witnesses I was not arrested for refusing to give a book. We all loaded the bus and started on our journey again. The last half of the journey was on very bumpy road but we arrived on the dock safely and quickly got on the public ferry which was cheap but heavily laden with people and parcels.

We arrived at Lamu and were met by Juma, a past A Rocha volunteer who is originally from Lamu and now works at a swanky hotel as security. It seemed that everyone in Lamu knew Juma. He was a really nice guy and helped us find a hotel. Their main hotel was full but they had a separate apartment we could rent that had a good view...of roofs. We decided to take it.

Roof top view

Inside bedroom - not rat proof

Outside bedroom - even less rat proof

A little boy teaching me to "drive" his wire ring outside our hotel.

Juma and his friend Joseph, a Masai living in Lamu, took us on a tour of the city. Glad we had them with us. Like Venice it is very easy to get lost in the tiny, winding streets. The streets are often no wider than a metre or two, with a little open sewer and donkey poo of varying consistencies. Lamu is like no other place that's for sure. With no cars most everything is carried around by the 2000-3000 odd donkeys that wander the streets. Because they carry such heavy loads some have health problems. There is an actually donkey hospital. Ok, I kind of lied, there are actually 3 vehicles in Lamu. One is on the water front and owned by the water company, the second is a Tuk-tuk converted into an ambulance and the third is the donkey ambulance you see below.

Donkey Hospital

Juma took us for cinnamon tea in the centre of town where we meet the infamous Ali Hippie. Ted was warned about Ali Hippie by Juma but I had not heard anything about this guy except what I vaguely remembered from the Lonely Planet. Dressed in a white robe, colourful pants and twirling a cane Ali has a strong sales pitch.  With dramatic flare he says "Hello my name is Ali Hippie. You might have read about me in your Lonely Planet guide...many people have said 'Ali your fish is F#@*ing good', don't I know English well...Come to my house and have a wonderful fresh meal." He invited us to his shamba (house plot) for dinner and local swahili entertainment by his family for about the same price as you'd pay at a restaurant. Juma had warned Ted that the music is horrible but in my ignorance I thought it sounded good. After all the Lonely Planet can't be wrong, right? At 6pm we and 3 med students (coincedently) from Canada (including one from Edmonton), as well as, an American and a German were met by Ali and brought to his house. We all felt a bit sheepish and a bit dumb for all get roped in. We sat on the ground on mats, shared a good meal and then suffered through horrible Kswahili music accompanied by a electric keyboard (note: Kswahili style music is not horrible...just Ali Hippie's). We all left as quickly as possible to one of the few establishments that serve alcohol for a beer and to watch some football (soccer). As it turned out the original Ali Hippi died some years back. Not a complete rip off...just a learning experience.

Ali Hippie rocking out the Kswahili music with four fingers. No idea why I'm smiling.

That night in bed I woke Ted up. "Ted I hear something"..."Hmmmm, what?" There was a long pause as he tried remain in obvilion. "Ted wake-up there is something in the room!"......"Ted where is the flashlight?"........"Ahhhh it's a rat...it's eating our bread!". Yes we were robbed. The rat ate the side of our loaf of bread and half our granola bar.

Evidence of night time rat visitor.

After finally falling back asleep and having dreams filled with rats we were woken the next morning at 5am by loudspeakers calling muslims to prayer...it turns out that we were surrounded by many mosques. Thank goodness for earplugs (My not so secret travel companions). We wondered how a religion can be so popular if you have to get out of bed for prayers at 5am? Thank you Jesus for letting us sleep in once and a while.

The counterbalance to keep the boat steady

Never regaining sleepful bliss we met up with Joseph (Juma had to work) in the morning to catch a Dhow (wooden boat) that took us on a tour of the mangroves and to fish for our lunch. We had read that some of the boats are manned by less than professional seamen so when ours almost capsized a few times we came up with a plan how to save our camera and Ted (the great rock imitator) from sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Thankfully we didn't sink and eventually after a few unsuccessful attempts began catching fish. I caught 2 small fish that looked like they should be released so they could grow a bit more but was assured they were full grown. Ted only caught one fish (but he argues that since it was much bigger it also counts as two) with poisonous spins, but once cooked was no longer dangerous (see the captain looking nervous behind Ted as he posed with the poisonous fish). Joseph, the Masai, who had never fished or eaten fish, caught 3 fish and ate one. He said he enjoyed it and will eat fish again. The crew cooked the fish right on the wooden boat...dangerous perhaps but delicious. Best meal of the weekend.

A dhow at full speed

Joseph catches his first fish

Ted's "The BIG one"

New Fisherwoman

Cooked right on the boat

We left Lamu the next morning. We had a great time but it is nice to be back home...in our rat proof room...with no mosque within ear-shot for miles.

 

Tune in next time for: I Dream of Africa