BY ANTONY GITONGA
For years, Sarah Higgins has been a member and the honorary secretary to the Lake Naivasha Riparian Association (LNRA).
Her efforts to save the lake were recognised in 1999, when the association won the wetland conservation award from Ramsar Convention.
During the campaign to fence off the Aberdare National Park under the Rhino Ark Trust, Higgins and her late husband, Mike Higgins, raised over Sh40m for the project.
Every year, they headed to the Rhino charge venue with their Lada Niva Car No. 22 nicknamed Goaby, would drive in the wilderness, past boulders and riverbeds. In the 19 years that they used the Goaby, the Higgins’ contributions rose from Sh1m in 1996 to Sh5.2m in 2007.
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In good company: Sarah Higgins with one of the many owls in her compound. [Photo: ANTONY GITONGA] |
"This was a fundraising event where we raised money from our friends, which would go towards fencing the Aberdare forest," Higgins explains.
The project has now been completed and conservationists have set their eyes on fencing the endangered Eburru forest.
During the fencing period Higgins was involved in the production of the plastic poles from waste polythene papers.
A trained pilot, Sarah is now comfortable dealing with owls, saving their lives and giving them a fighting chance in the wild.
The owls come in many colours and sizes and are to be found in nearly all parts of the world. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions such as the Northern Hawk Owl.
They hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialise in hunting fish.
Owls have large forward-facing eyes and ear-holes, hawk-like beak, a flat face, and usually a conspicuous circle of feathers and a facial disc around each eye.
Most birds of prey sport eyes on the sides of their heads, but the nature of the owl’s forward-facing eyes permits a greater sense of depth perception necessary for low-light hunting.
Although owls have binocular vision, their large eyes are fixed in their sockets, as with other birds, and they must turn their entire head to change views.
