A beauty in distress

At 5.45am last Tuesday, I found myself at the Nairobi National Park’s main entrance. True, I love interacting with nature but still, this was way too early.

I have been to the park numerous times. Still, every opportunity has given me a chance to appreciate one of the country’s magical gems that the rest of the world looks at with envy.

There is the obvious cliché about the park – It is the only wildlife conservation area in the world boasting ferocious animals next to a capital city. Yet, my visit to the park was special for two reasons.

A man and his camera

First, I was in the company of one of Kenya’s avid wildlife photographers Paras Chandaria. His name may not ring an instant bell but in the world of nature photographers, it is a household name. His award-winning images have propelled the park to global fame and are currently under exhibition in Austria.

Paras was raised in Mombasa but developed a love for the wild at an early age. He has a long-term pass for the park and knows every nook and cranny of the park. He knows where any of the Big Five (except the elephant) can be found. Word around is that a mere sighting of a leopard in the park, which I am told is a rarity, is enough to make him abandon a business meeting and get right into the park.

Fierce Cheru

Ten minutes after we entered the park, we were rewarded with a close up view of Cheru, one of the oldest lions in the park. He was resting on the roadside, scanning the horizon for intruders. Cheru let out a deafening roar, then another, and another. Each roar sent cold chills in our already cold spines. Few would like to start their day locking eyes with a roaring lion standing a few metres away.

Perhaps he was calling his brother, Sam. But Sam could not answer. As we found out a few minutes later, Sam was busy on the other side of Mokoyeti Ridge with his new bride. The park can do with more cubs.

Cheru is short for Cheruiyot, a former park warden. Cheru is short tempered and has been accused of running other lions out of town. Remember Mohawk? Wildlife authorities claim he was running away from his half-brother when he met his death after a confrontation with residents of Kitengela. By the way, Cheru was the lion that was seen loitering along Mombasa Road two years ago where he attacked a man who was later hospitalised.

Not far from Cheru was a herd of buffaloes while three rhinos grazed several metres to our right. In less than 15 minutes of entering the park, we had seen three of the Big Five against the city’s backdrop.

Park under siege

My second reason for visiting the park might be a sad one. I wanted to take stock of how humans are threatening the survival of the park. The assault comes from all directions. First came the Southern By-pass that sliced a good chunk of the park. Nature lovers protested but work went on.

Then plans to build a railway through the park were mooted. Again, environmentalists, including Paras, protested. Their images graced front pages of local newspapers in vain. Giant concrete pillars where the rails will rest are now an ungainly sight in the middle of the park.

Plans to construct yet another road from the Inland Container Depot to join the southern bypass are at an advanced stage. The expanding town of Kitengela as well as private homes have already blocked the dispersal corridor to the south. The beautiful park has weathered many storms in the past but its current battle to survive is the biggest one yet. Take the trip to the park and enjoy the remaining ones of the big herds.