“To those who have always wondered how they might best serve the wider world, wildlife conservation is, at its core, one of the purest forms of giving..!”-Thomas Kaplan
Conservation is the need of the hour, many species are on the verge of extinction and many more are getting endangered. There is always a limit to the expense a government can incur towards this agenda. Come on, as harsh as it sounds, there are many more challenges a government faces apart from conserving the area under forest. This why all helping hands are welcomed. Kenya has its law which allows private ownerships of lands or leased lands on which one can maintain wild animals after meeting certain specific criteria. This is quite unheard of in India, where the government shoulders the sole responsibility.
There is one such private reserve called Sweetwater Game Reserve. The reserves houses each of Africa’s BIG 5, namely, rhinoceros, lion, leopard, elephant and cape buffalo. One might feel that most of the private reserve has the said diversity, afteral maintenance costs can go off the roofs and income from tourist is the prima facie source of revenue; One needs to maintain such exquisite diversity to attract the flocking European and American tourists as they bring the much appreciated Euro and Dollar with them. Everything said, the thing that sets the sweetwater reserve is that, it has dedicated a portion of it area just to facilitate rehabilitation of wounded and abandoned animals.
Sadly licensed hunting is allowed in Kenya and many a times the hunters leave their prey wounded. The reserve takes such cases under its wing and sees to that the rehabilitation is done thereby giving them a new lease of life.
Once you enter the main gate, you can see the wild animals wandering. One has to drive through the forest area before arriving to the tents which are in middle of the reserve with an overlooking lake. there is minimal electrified barbed wire fences around the camp to ward off the invasion of the inquisitive animals.
There is nothing special about the safari as such because it’s an enclosed area and one is bound to come across and have sightings. I will write about the sightings which take place at Masai Mara which has a captivating charm f its own. So what is unique about this place? Well one can spend the night on the bank of the lake lying in wait for the wild animals to come and quench their thirst or simply watch the birds. If you are poetic or in a romantic mood, take a glass of wine and stare at the moon!! Yes one more thing the restaurant is an open area and be ready to share the food with unwelcome guests!!
Well Its time for the main attraction, the reserve adopted a blind rhino and made sure that all the medical needs are taken care. They named the rhino Baraka and guess what they allow the visitors to feed him.!! I was so excited when i came to know that I would get the chance to feed an actual rhino. It was adrenaline rush as I felt both excited and scared. As the guide handed me the foliage, I still remember trembling and going towards the ramp and waiting for Baraka to come and have his meal. When the rhino came closer, fear disappeared and was replaced by ecstasy. In excitement i did the thing which the guide had requested not to do. As Baraka opened his mouth, I shoved in my hand and then in split second realised the grave mistake i had committed! Baraka was going to close his mouth, with my hand inside and i was waiting for doom. The death sound and feel of those forceful teeth slamming against my hand and fracturing this. The ecstasy turned to grief within a matter of micro seconds and as Baraka closed his mouth….NOTHING happened!! I just learnt the biggest animal fact of my life, one i am never going to forget and take it to my grave, that was, rhinos dont have teeth in the front part of their mouth!! What a relief and nerve wracking experience it was !!
As they rightly say..Expect the unexpected in Africa!!
The Enigmatic Pen 