We spent the day today visiting a chimpanzee sanctuary and learning more about the conservation efforts in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. We had fun with chimps, and saw lots of animals today, including two very sleepy lions!
We woke up quite early, in time for the sunrise, and had quite a good view of Mount Kenya. It was a beautiful clear, sunny morning. We both had slept well, falling asleep wondering what animals were making all the various noises we could hear. Before I fell asleep though, as I was putting my down I brushed against something that moved, on the side of the bed. I used the light from my reader to illuminate it, and it was a good sized, light coloured spider. Anyone who knows me knows I am arachnophobe, so I flew out of bed in the opposite direction (first hopping around on the bed and waking up Susan). I cowered in the bathroom area as Susan removed it from our tent. Well, I had out to unzip and hold open the flaps for her. Then she noticed a very large beetle in the bathroom (it didnt bother me like the spider
did), but she removed it too. It took me awhile to fall asleep after that. The spider was very close to my face on the side of the bed, OMG!
Anyway, this morning we had a nice breakfast (I sampled various items at the buffet), and then we headed out at 8 am for our morning game drive and excursions. We saw various animals including Southern White Rhinos (Kifaru in Swahili), Burchells (common) zebras (Punda Milia), reticulated giraffes (Twiga), elephants (Tembo), Eland (Pefu), Cape Buffalo (Nyati), Jackals (Mbweha), Impala (Swala Pala), Thompsons Gazelle (Swala Tomi), and lions (Simba). And probably various others Ive forgotten. We also saw some incredible birds including the Crowned Crane.
We visited the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, which is a sanctuary for profoundly damaged chimpanzees rescued from captivity across Africa, and also home to some chimps who were born at the sanctuary. The sanctuary takes steps to stop the animals from breeding, but occasionally there are births (by mistake the guide says). There are two separate family groups, in two very large enclosures separated by the Ewaso Ngiro River. We couldnt get as close to
them as you previously could, to protect the chimps from Covid. We had to wear masks while we were there, to protect the chimps.
Kenya is quite strict about and hand washing/sanitizing. We have had to wear masks at the places weve visited, and to wash or sanitize our hands before we go in. Sometimes our temperature is taken also. We wear masks in indoor areas of the camps too. Kenya has quite a low covid rate, due to the lockdowns and restrictions that the government has implemented, including a curfew only recently lifted. They also have quite a good vaccination rate (people who work in the tourist/hospitality industry were vaccinated first).
Susan asked the guide at the chimp sanctuary about vaccinations for the chimps, and he said that the chimps would be vaccinated in the future. Im not sure if there is a covid vaccination for chimps currently available. We walked around the sanctuary and saw quite a few chimps. At the first enclosure we just saw two behind the fencing, but they didnt really want out. We walked over to the river to the other enclosure, and after awhile numerous chimps came
out to visit. The keepers dont interact closely with the chimps at all, because of the traumatic experiences with humans they have had. They now have peaceful, safe lives at the sanctuary.
Later we drove past the Endangered Species Enclosure, which is a 283 hectare enclosure, home to the last two remaining Northern White Rhinos. They were sleeping under a tree so we couldnt see them, but well try again on our afternoon game drive. They live with a Southern White Rhino, who acted as their teacher, instructing them on how to live in the wild (since they both came from a zoo in the Czech Republic).
