Monday, July 21, 2008

Ripped from the headlines...

Letter to the Editor in the Daily Nation on Monday, July 14th.

Save hippos at village dumpsite

What is this world coming to, if I may quote PP Mwai wa Githinji, the man who used to bring us that famous programme, "Yaliyomo"? A report from Manguo Village in Nyahururu indicates that residents have witnessed an increase in the number of hippos rummaging through garbage heaps for food. In the years that I have grown to appreciate all things wild, it has never occurred to me that a wild animal could be reduced to a chokora.

To my mind, a hippo is a dignified and solid animal. It is not a creature to be trifled with. But now, these graceful creatures have been reduced to looking for food in dumpsites. What should we expect next? Lions competing for left-overs in the dumpsites of Dandora? If KWS does not do something to restore these animals' dignity, someone at the Forestry and Wildlife ministry should step aside to pave way for investigations.

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