Thread by @DrJoeAbah

My assignment in Nairobi, Kenya, is done. Na Baby Boying remain. I’m hanging with my Masai brothers at the 117 sqm Nairobi National Park. It’s smaller our the 534 sqm Kainji National Park but is only 10 minutes drive from town. It cost N20k to get in with car & driver. Thread..

The first thing that accosted me was the stunning sunrise over Nairobi. There was a baboon by the roadside but it scampered away before I could take a picture. We proceeded deeper into the park and went off the tarred road.

First thing I saw was a Giraffe. I didn’t know that giraffes have FOUR stomachs. They eat food into the first stomach and then brings it back up into its mouth to chew it again. Beautiful and elegant, their strongest weapon is their kick, which has been known to kill even a lion!

Kenya has taken a strong stand against poaching and hunting animals for their tusks. When they catch tusk dealers, they confiscate the tusks and burn them periodically. This mound is 105 tonnes of ivory. Imagine how many animals had to die to produce this! Chai!

I just couldn’t resist taking another shot of that sunrise. It is always a privilege to witness the rising of the sun in the morning and its setting in the evening. In the daily hustle and bustle, we often don’t stop to notice that no artist can paint as well as nature can.

Then there were a group of hippopotamuses chilling in the water. Apparently, they are nocturnal animals that stay in the water during the day and come out at night to eat. They kill a lot of humans but don’t eat them, as they are strictly herbivores.

Amos, my tour guide told me a local myth about hippos. They believe they were the last animal God created and, as He was running out of material, he used remnants of other animals to create them. They came out ugly and other animals used to laugh at them and taunt them.

They went to God & asked Him to allow them stay in the water during the day & come out only at night when other animals won’t see them to taunt them. God agreed but asked what will happen to His fish. They swore they wouldn’t eat them & that he could inspect their mouths often.😂

Then we were fortunate to see a Lion! Amos said “Today is a special day. You can do this tour several times and you wouldn’t get to see the King of the Jungle.” I replied “It is not everyday the King of Baby Boys comes visiting!” He laughed nervously as if he got it. I left him😂

The Lion stays apart. It’s role is to procreate and protect the pride. It’s also a lazy bugger. It doesn’t hunt. Only the Lioness hunts. For the pride to survive, the Lioness must hunt daily. But the Lion must eat first whenever the Lioness kills game. Remind you of anyone?😂.

The Lion spends most of his life sleeping. He will typically sleep for 16-20 hours every day! He protects the pride though. If another Lion attacks the pride and defeats the Lion , the new Lion will kill every young Lion below the age of 1. I don’t know how they know the ages.

Next, we saw some Rhinos. Mehn! These guys are big! Apparently, they are the second heaviest land animal, second only to the elephant. They are endangered because people hunt them for their tusks. Some Asians believe it is an aphrodisiac and is an essential ingredient in juju. 🙄

Next, we saw some Impalas. Only the male Impalas have horns. Can you notice him among the group? All the others are his babes. If another Impala fights and defeats him, the victor takes over the females and acquires the right to mate with all of them as he pleases.

The Impala belongs to the Antelope family. Within 5 minutes of being born, most Antelopes can already run very fast. No need to spend money on walkers or worry whether a human toddler will roll himself down the stairs while learning to walk. 😂

Before you ask, Yes. The Chinese are here. They are building an overhead rail line right through the park to go all the way to the port in Mombasa and to the border with Uganda. I am told it’s necessary but I couldn’t help but feel it was a bit of an intrusion in this environment

We now saw many more giraffes. The advantage they have is that there is little competition for their food as most animals cannot eat from high trees. Disadvantage is that it is hard to bend down to drink water. They have to spread their legs wide and are vulnerable then. Life!

Then we saw our 3rd animal of “The Big Five”: the Buffalo. Both males and females have horns. They are one of the most dangerous animals when it comes to attacking humans. It stared right at me and I stared right back, while making sure I don’t pee in my pants.😂

Next was a herd of Zebras. Two of them posed for us. These guys are beautiful, menh! Their stripes are like fingerprints. No two Zebras are the same. They blocked our path to make sure we noticed them. Show offs!😂Unlike donkeys, they are quite feisty and can’t be tamed.

Zebras don’t chew the cud and don’t have split hooves and, apparently, Orthodox Jews are forbidden from eating such animals. Then we saw an Elan, the biggest of the Antelope family. This one was as big as a cow! An Elan can jump up to 2 meters high and run very extremely fast!

We saw many more animals, including Ostriches & other birds. Ostriches are the biggest birds but can’t fly. We saw something called a “Secretary Bird.” I understand it is so called because of its stern and efficient look. You could imagine it wearing glasses. 😂

Of interest was the Oxpecker that gets a free ride on the Buffalo while helping it to eat any insects on its hide. Unfortunately, it flew away before I could get a picture. How nature organises these things is simply a marvel. There are pros and cons, checks and balances.

I came away from the Nairobi National Park after 4 hours, with a renewed belief in God. He is simply awesome! I was completely detached from the stresses of the world but had to get back to it. My Masai friends said I should “find them something.” I just smiled. The end!