CHINESE GETTING READY TO INVEST HEAVILY IN TANZANIA AND CHINESE TOURISM IS UP IN AFRICA :((((((((((((((((((((

Via – Notch the Lion-King of the Mara and His Five Sons

VOICE YOUR OPINION CHINA IS TRYING TO TAKE THE SEREGENTI MEANING EVEN NOTCH WONT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE,THE POOR RHINOS ELEPHANTS.I GUESS WE SHOULD KISS ALL BELOVED ANIMALS IN MARA SEREGENTI GOOD BYE

https://www.facebook.com/
/photo.php?fbid=554742804557487&set=a.125680667463705.14344.125601617471610&type=1&theater

 

CHINESE GETTING READY TO INVEST HEAVILY IN TANZANIA AND CHINESE TOURISM IS UP IN AFRICA

A Chinese millionaire with capital worth more than 700 million US dollars, Mr Zhou Yi has shown interest in building a luxurious accommodation facility in Serengeti National Park. Zhou declared his interest before a Tanzanian delegation that is on a visit to China. The delegation is looking for prospective investors in the tourism sector.

“I am now in the initial stages of applying for an investment site in the area. I expect to put up a modern accommodation facility to help increase the number of tourist beds,” he said.
~ Daily News

Tanzania’s tourism industry has always focused on low-impact nature travel rather than mass tourism.

The temptation will now be to look at maximizing tourism arrivals and revenue rather than staying with a long term strategy that will minimize environmental impact.
~Serengeti Watch.

OP ED
This is bad news on so many levels. The first is being seen right now in the Maasai Mara reserve in Kenya. 4000 beds in the Mara mean multitude of tourists with have a degradation effect on the environment, everything from noise and air pollution from the safari vehicles, to disturbance of the wildlife from illegal off road activities which (I have personally observed) are common among Chinese tourists who pressure their guides to break rules to allow them to get closer for photographs.

The other side of the coin is the Asian voracity for bush meat. “In China, for example, demand for wildlife meat, scales and exotic skins command cash prices in the order of US$150 to US$250 per kilogram, which, if compared to the average incomes of forest-dwelling households in Southeast Asia, allows for a better understanding of the monetary motivations behind this lucrative practice. Finally, the estimated global value of wildlife trade for consumption or recreational purposes is between 10 and 20 billions US dollars per year, according to local civil society groups.” ~ FAO Animal Production and health division.

While the tourists themselves may not indulge in dining on bush meat while on safari, there are many articles and anecdotal stories of Chinese contractors for road, port, or building/hotel construction being caught with large quantities of illegal bush meat, as well as ivory and rhino horn. One of our volunteers whose family owns property in Kenya told a story of catching Chinese who were building a near by road, on his families property – carrying in their hands and in bags on their shoulders were pythons, tortoises, pelicans, egrets, and flamingos.

READ MORE HERE:

SERENGETI WATCH:
TANZANIA SET TO WELCOME CHINESE TOURISTS, INVESTMENTS
http://www.savetheserengeti.org/uncategorized/chinese-touris/

DAILY NEWS:
SERENGETI WINS HEARTS OF CHINA
http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16418%3Aserengeti-wins-hearts-in-china&catid=97%3Alocal-news&Itemid=524

FAO (Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations):
ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH DIVISION
http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/empres/news_151010.html

PHOTO: Cover of Book “CHINA SAFARI: On The Trail of Beijing’s Expansion in Africa

 

African lions – the killer kings in mortal danger from man and sham medicine

Lion populations have fallen by 68% in just 50 years – from 100,000 to 35,000 today. What can be done to protect them?

Female African lion resting with her cub, Okavango Delta, Botswana. Photograph: Beverly Joubert/NGS/Getty Images

http://m.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/25/lions-africa-endangered-species-medicine-habitat

Monday 25 February 2013 11.31 GMT

Jeremy Hance

In 2002, I spent 10 days in Kenya. I’ll never forget lying in a tent on the Maasai Mara trying to sleep against the awful, blood-curdling roar of lions hunting on the moonlit plains. I would wake every hour, swearing a beast was at my door. Seven years later, a trip to Botswana ended without seeing (or hearing) a single lion, and while the safari was magnificent, something powerful and fearsome was notably absent. It made me wonder: what would Africa be without lions?

It’s not a rhetorical question. The king of the beasts is on his deathbed. The great cats are vanishing across Africa. In fact, a study last year in Biodiversity Conservation estimated that lion populations have fallen by 68% in just 50 years: from 100,000 in 1960 to 35,000 today. Another report by the NGO LionAid, however, estimated even fewer: 15,000.

While even 15,000 may sound like a lot when compared to other threatened species, lion populations are spread over more than 20 countries, spanning a geographic area larger than south America. Today they survive in small, fragmented pockets. Looking at a map of historic versus current lion ranges is like viewing a continent submerged by rising seas: only scattered islands remain. The situation is most dire in Western and Central Africa where LionAid warns as few as 645 lions survive.

The story of the lion’s decline is similar to that of many big predators. Ever-expanding human populations have gobbled up lion habitat for agriculture, livestock, and cities, while numbers lion prey – from antelope to zebra – have fallen dramatically. And like many top predators, lions face an unceasing conflict with humans: they are killed as pests, for trophies, and even for sham medicine. In order to conserve the lion, we must first stop so many dying at human hands.

Lion-human conflict is as old as our origins on the African savannah. Lions do not shy away from killing livestock when they can, and they attack people with some regularity. Both trends may be worsened by prey decline. For millennia, pastoralists have fought back and speared the lions.

But now some have turned to poisoning lions en-masse. In East Africa, a dangerous pesticide known as Furadan (banned in the EU, Canada, and US) is sprinkled over lion-killed livestock. When the pride returns to feed, they perish agonizingly. Unlike spears, the neurotoxin kills scavengers too. It’s so deadly that in 2009 a 3-year-old boy died after ingesting Furadan, possibly mistaking the candy-blue pesticide for a treat

Another threat: taxidermy and trophy hunters who argue that by shelling out a lot of cash to shoot animals, they aid conservation efforts. This may be a legitimate argument for some species, but not for lions. Big-cat experts Dereck and Beverly Joubert with National Geographic told me that lion hunting often ends in a long trail of murder , as dramatic as any royal coup.

Hunters almost always target mature males—because of their manes—but by doing so, they unwittingly trigger a wholesale massacre. When a top male dies, a pride becomes vulnerable to challengers. If new males take over their first act is to kill any resisting females and all cubs. The Jouberts say that shooting one male can result in the deaths of over 24 lions.

Finally, there’s a new concern: the lion bone trade. Tigers have been killed for traditional Chinese medicine for millennia, some of whose practitioners consider their bones an aphrodisiac. But with wild tigers dwindling and demand rising, traders are turning to lions. Many of the lions involved are raised, much like tiger-farming, solely to be killed for their bones. In this case, trophy-hunters get to shoot a lion and the parts are shipped to China to make someone feel potent, even though there’s no medical evidence this works. But if the trade widens, conservationists fear that eventually wild lions will also face the gun.

Conservation must start with halting targeted killings. Lion hunting should be banned or at least better regulated. Working with local communities to mitigate lion conflict, compensate for livestock killed, and better protect both livestock and people should be a priority. Finally, the lion bone trade must be stopped before it gets out of control, like rhino horn and ivory.

This is not to say the lion is going extinct anytime soon. But I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple decades our king fell victim to the same fate as the tiger today: down to just a few thousand in protected areas, struggling even there to survive against the rising tide of humanity. We still have time to decide for lions: would we be satisfied with a token population, representing what once was, or do we want African ecosystems that are still ruled by kings? Where antelope bound in fear and zebra watch the horizon, where prides tussle with hyenas under a dark sky, and the king lounges in the morning light, belly full?

I say, long live the king.

 

Masai Mara Wildlife Updates: Big Cat Week in the Mara

With the wildebeests gone, the lions and other big cats in the Mara, are actively hunting any available game. We were able to see during our stay a few lion hunting warthogs. The Ridge pride with the help of Notch and his gang, brought down two hippos on different dates. Most of the prides too have very small cubs, which are still very playful and photogenic! We could spent hours or even a whole day watching them.

Cheetah sightings were also great. We saw 7 one day!, and all within one hour of our afternoon game drive. This is a recent records considering how rare they have been lately. Malaika and her son(whom we have named Lucky Boy) has been south of the Talek on the lower Burrungat plains, but have now crossed the river north to Rhino ridge. She is now even more than ever, jumping on the roofs of vehicles since the grass is now very tall. The mother of 3, who has for a long time been down at Lookout hill, has also moved into the same area as Malaika. We did see her hunt, though unsuccessfully a couple of times. There is also one female whom we thought is lactating. We saw her between Rekero camp and Rhino ridge. We hope if she has cubs that she will be able to bring them up successfully.

Our leopard sightings was great too. We saw only 3 different leopards on this trip. These were Olive, her daughter Saba and a young male at the pump house. Who gave us the most beautiful poses. We followed Olive yesterday into the bushes near Mara Explorer where i believe she is hiding her cubs.
Despite the tall grass, we were also able to see a few Serval cats, hunting in the grass, where we got great leaping shots. A couple of them were not shy of vehicles at all.

http://paul-kirui.blogspot.ca/2013/02/big-cat-week-in-mara.html

Masai Mara Wildlife Updates: Big Cat Week in the Mara

paul-kirui.blogspot.com

 

“NEW” Petition for Tumbo The Disabled Cheetah Cub of Kenya. Please Sign and Share!!!

 

	http://www.thepetitionsite.com/962/725/234/tumbo-this-disabled-cheetah-cub-of-kenya-cee4life/

 

• 

  Tumbo Petition 2 – This Disabled Cheetah Cub of Kenya – Cee4life – The Petition Site

  www.thepetitionsite.com

  Tumbo was found alone and crying, 5km from Lemartis camp, Kenya by a group of children herding…

 

This day was a cheetah day.

 

Isak Pretorius Wildlife Photography

http://www.facebook.com/isakpretorius.wildlifephotography

 

9 September 2012
Photo tour, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

This day was a cheetah day. We finished the last drive with the first group with a sighting of the cheetah mother and her four cubs waking up from the night’s rest, stretching

and then getting into a playful mood. After breakfast and saying goodbye at the airstrip the next group arrived. Our afternoon started with that same cheetah mother eating a recently caught gazelle. A storm approached and we made our way back to camp, photographing some landscapes with trees and zebras against a dramatic sky backdrop.

Lions of the Masai Mara – closer than ever before

Home > Wildlife Nature Photography > Lions of the Masai Mara – closer than ever before > Wildlife & Nature Photography > Lions of the Masai Mara – closer than ever before

http://www.discoverwildlife.com

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Male covered in flies

About the photographer

Will Burrard-Lucas is a professional wildlife photographer from the UK. He is known for his creative and innovative approach to wildlife photography.

In 2009 he created BeetleCam, a remote control buggy with a camera mounted on top.

He travelled to Tanzania and used it to take close-up, ground-level photographs of African wildlife including elephants, buffalo and lions. Unfortunately, one of his cameras was destroyed in an encounter with a lion.

Will recently returned to Africa with two new BeetleCams, one of which had a lion-proof carapace. Using the new BeetleCams he was able to take these photographs showing the lions of the Masai Mara.

Will is now building BeetleCams for photographers around the world. To find out more about the BeetleCam Project, please visit Burrard-Lucas Wildlife Photography. You can also follow Will’s work on Twitter and Facebook.