Why a Petition?

As many of you may (or may not) know, I've started an online petition against the sale of lion meat by a U.S. company. The company in question is Czimers Game and Seafood in Homer Glen, Illinois. This company came under fire a few years ago when they were convicted of killing and selling exotic big cats. Here's the skinny on that:

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/10540/IL/US/

Now it appears that they're back at it again. Some people have asked me, "why start a petition? Do you really think it'll change anything?" My answer is how could I not start a petition? I can't just sit back and watch bad things happen and not try to do something ... anything. So, this petition may not go anywhere. It may fizzle out at 600 signatures; I don't know. But what I do know is that I have to try.  I love Africa and part of loving it comes with a certain amount of responsibility. A responsibility to try and protect its natural resources and the very thing that makes Africa what it is.  I can't in good conscience sit back and watch fellow humans continue to destroy something that I love. I have to speak up.

I think that one of the aspects of this company that bothers me the most is that they don't bother looking into where the lions come from, what happens to them, how did they get there. They bury their heads in the sand and say, "we don't interfere in their [the suppliers'] business and they don't interfere in ours." And that's the root of the problem. Not caring to delve deeper into the origins of meat you're selling or the history and current state of the species you're making a profit from is a big giant red flag waving in the wind.

If these "businessmen" don't care enough to learn these very basic details, what makes you think they care about the quality of their products, not to mention the fact that they're selling the meat of an endangered species? Look, I know humans by nature want to try new and "exotic" things. But instead of  thinking that you have to try lion meat because it's exotic, why don't you do some research into what it is you're contemplating eating? If you're going to eat something because it's an "experience" and you just get off on eating an exotic animal or an apex predator, then no need to read further because I doubt I'll be able to get through to you because your eating of this animal is all about ego. Your ego. Screw the endangered animals out there; I want to eat a Siberian tiger! You're beyond help.

However, if you actually care about the survival of a species, please think twice before ordering a lion steak just being it's a lion steak. Stop and think about it. This is the African lion we're talking about! A beautiful, noble, iconic, gorgeous creature! All I ask is that you think twice before ordering a lion steak just being it's a lion steak. Chances are you'll be just as happy with a beef steak. Or a tofu burger. Who knows. But know what you're eating.

When the African lion becomes extinct, I guess you can proudly say, "Yes, children, there are no more lions to be found in the world except a few zoos. You can see what they looked like by Googling them. Or actually pick up a book. But I sure did enjoy that lion steak I ate. Too bad it had to go extinct."

Good luck with that.

Male lion, photo taken by the author in the Masai Mara, 
August 2012.

One of the Marsh Pride lions, taken by the author in the Masai Mara, 
August 2012.

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Animals Matter. Lions Matter. They matter so much, in fact, that we don't need to eat them.

More Masai Mara Shots

A few shots from Masai Mara. I have yet to go through all my photos and videos, but I'll get there eventually and will post anything interesting here.

I watched this handsome male lion for a long time, wondering how he could stand all the flies that seemed to be a permanent fixture on his nose. Finally he yawned and I think you can even see the flies' wings as they buzzed around. I think a few ended up as lion lunch - you can see one or two on his tongue. The female lioness that he was with didn't seem to mind his fly breath at all.

There's a funny story behind this shot. Everyone in our group (mostly professional photographers) was trying to get a good close-up shot of a hippo when it surfaced. I was one of the more inexperienced photographers and definitely more lax in my approach. If I get a good shot, bonus.  I happened to be the only photographer in our group standing where I was and I was just taking in the sights, looking around, laughing at stuff. Then all of a sudden this hippo pops out of the water right in front of me - just a few feet away. I was able to get this shot but after that he became more elusive and wouldn't come as far out of the water as he did in this pic. Here's to quick reflexes and luck. I'm sure there are much better hippo-peeking-out-of-water shots, but I was happy with this one. I especially love that he has a sleepy/lazy look in his eye.

I think this guy is a Cape Griffon or Cape Vulture, but if I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me.

I was honestly amazed at the detail in this photo because I wasn't anticipating it to be a decent shot. These are the guys that we'd see swarming around carcasses. The hyenas were constantly trying to chase them off but these guys are pretty quick.

This mother cheetah was very protective of her young 'un and this pose perfectly displays that. 

This was the first time I had seen cheetahs in the wild so it was pretty damn cool for me. The cheetahs would perch on top of these termite mounds that appear all across the savannah so they can get better viewing of any game they want to hunt.

Ah, this big beautiful matriarch elephant was one of my favorite sights. I told our Maasai driver that he could just drop me off with the elephants. I'd hang with them all day and be perfectly happy. Elephants are my all time favorite; their sensitivity and intelligence are just amazing. Rumor has it they're telepathic.

This "cute" little hyena cracked me up because he reeked! Stink doesn't begin to describe it.

It was quite frankly like something out of Satan's ass. Or, what I'd expect something out of Satan's ass to smell like. After seeing the look on his face in this shot, it made it even funnier. It's as if he knew he reeked and was in on the joke.

Animals Matter. Even the stinky ones.

Stop the Sale of African Lion Meat

I interrupt my Masai Mara posts to bring you an important message. I just found out about a restaurant in Illinois that is selling African Lion meat! This is absolutely absurd and highly irresponsible. Please join me in protest by asking them to STOP the sale of lion meat.

I've created an online petition that you can sign here:

Petition to Stop the Sale of African Lion Meat

Want to help? You can pass this along to family and friends and ask them to sign. Post it to Facebook. Tweet it, email it. Raising awareness about this will put pressure on the restaurant to stop selling the meat of an endangered animal.

UPDATE: The owners of this restaurant were convicted in 2003 of killing and selling exotic big cats that included tigers and leopards. Apparently they didn't get the message because they're still selling this meat. 

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/10540/IL/US/

As an African lion conservationist and someone who cares about their future, I'm outraged that these four "men" have been convicted of these actions before and have gone right back to doing this. 

Please - if you care about the future of this iconic species and don't want to see the African lion become extinct, sign the petition and pass it along for others to sign. Call the restaurant and tell them to STOP selling African lion meat. It's simply not necessary and is contributing to the lion's extinction by creating a market for lions to be sold on the black market.

Thank you!

Animals Matter. Lions Matter. 

The First Wildebeest Sightings of The Great Migration 2012 in Kenya

The Great Migration of 2012 got off to a late start due to rains, but the wildebeest are already arriving in parts of Kenya.

Here's another blog post of the progress of the Megaherd.

The Great Migration

on Wednesday, 25 July 2012. Posted in Properties, Mara West Luxury Tents, Entumoto

THE MIGRATION IS NOT A SINGLE OCCURRENCE; IT IS A NEVER-ENDING CYCLE WHICH BEGINS FOR A WILDEBEEST WITH ITS BIRTH AND ENDS WITH ITS DEATH.

A little later than in recent years, the Great Migration of 2012 finally kicked off just over a week ago. Due to heavy rains in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem since early this year, the Plains grass has been long and has hampered the progress of the wildebeest, delaying their arrival north into Kenya.

However, as of 17^th July, the herds have been making steady progress into Kenya with the first reported arrival in the Mara of a group of around 10,000 Wildebeest on 17^th and 18^th July. From the Sand River area, isolated concentrations of Zebra and Wildebeest were observed congregating in the north of the Serengeti. According to sightings in the area, the current migrating herds have split into three distinct groups with one making its way up from Grumeti in the eastern Serengeti; another moving north from Bologonja (approximately 10 miles south of the Masai Mara in the northern Serengeti) towards the Sand River; and a third approaching from the eastern side of the Kuka Hills. This third group started trickling into the Mara on 17^th July. On 20^th July guests at Porini Lion Camp reported having seen several hundred wildebeest crossing the Mara River and on 24^th July thousands of Wildebeest were seen crossing the Sand River between Sala’s Camp and the Mara River South Bridge, very likely part of the group which had been coming up from Bologonja - so the action has most definitely started!

On a slightly disappointing note, anger and dissension was triggered a few days ago when Controlled Burning in northern Tanzania was falsely and maliciously reported in the local press as arson and an “attempt to stop the Migration” (yes, really!). This is emphatically not the case and Controlled Burning, or “Swailing” as it is also known, is a technique widely employed both here and indeed worldwide as a responsible method of not only preventing hotter and more dangerous fires later on but also, and equally importantly, clearing the way for the germination of fresh grass – thereby renewing the plains and actually helping, rather than hindering, our Game.

People Steal Meat From Lions

It's that time again! Spring has sprung and I'm ready to start daydreaming of Africa 2012. Now I'll shake off the dusty cobwebs and get back to the business of passing along African Lion conservation news, but first I have one more article I'd like to share with you.


I recently stumbled across this article from the Institute of Environmental Sciences  (Netherlands) and found it interesting primarily because it really surprised me that the Maasai would steal a pride of lions' kill. I guess everyone has to eat ...

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Researchers from the Institute of Environmental Sciences found in 2008 that people were stealing meat from lions in Benoue national Park, Cameroon. They published one of the first scientific accounts of this phenomenon in the African Journal of Ecology in 2009. At the time it was concluded that the stealing of meat from lions is much more common in Africa than believed and has been part of a strategy of ancient man to obtain animal protein already thousands of years ago.

Movie

The few scientific publications on this topic show how difficult it is to find evidence. Recently a film crew from the BBC has succeeded to film the stealing of meat by Maasai warrors from a group of lions feeding on an Afgrican buffalo in Kenya. The short film shows the maasai warriors walking shoulder by shoulder towards the feeding lions and scaring them away from their prey and subsequently taking the meat. CML has a joint project on lion livestock conflicts in Amboseli national parks since 2007 with Kenya Widlife Service and the Leo foundation.

Publication

Schoe, M. & Iongh, H.H., de & Croes, B.M. (2009)
Humans displacing lions and stealing their food in Bénoué National Park, North Cameroon. African Journal of Ecology, 47 (3), pp. 445-447. 

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Thank you for caring about the iconic - and vanishing - African Lion.

Animals Matter.

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