Pursuing praxis

I have decided to attempt the humanly impossible over the remaining 5.5 weeks in Kenya. Scouring my travel book and two field guides, I realized that I can see all the tragelaphines save nyala (South Africa, and on my radar), mountain nyala (Ethiopia; I’ll pass, thanks), and Derby’s eland (Chad, Sudan; I’ll definitely pass). But they’ve got sitatunga on easy viewing at the Saiwa Swamps (has the sun reversed its orbit?), greater kudu are breeding like rabbits over at Lake Boringo, lesser kudu east at the huge Tsavo National Park, eland all over the place, and bongo in the Aberdares, Mt. Kenya, and the Mau Escarpment (though apparently some wildlife enthusiasts have seen Santa Claus more frequently than bongos). Bushbuck aren’t flash enough to be mentioned in my guidebook, and too widespread to merit mentions at particular localities in the field guides. But I get the impression that their shyness makes them exceedingly hard to spot, and they’ve got them in the Aberdares at least.

As for gazelles, I’m gunning to get my fill of both Grant’s and Thomson’s without setting foot in or near the Maasai-Mara NP. I hear it’s like Disneyland down there, and I’ve had my fill of elephants and giraffes and lions for the time being. Plus it’s a long drive, with exceedingly crappy terrain and a high probability of needing to be towed out, especially as it’s the rainy season. No bueno. So, I’m thinking perhaps Hell’s Gate park this weekend for some on-foot, sans-predator, 360-degree bovid awesomeness, then Tsavo next weekend, then a mighty 9 day jaunt to the Aberdares, Mt. Kenya, and Laurence Frank’s place on the Laikipia Plateau (two thumbs up for Laurence, he’s so easy going about all this) with my own wheels, nursing my budding career as a bovid paparazzo.

I plan to talk to Risky (mammalogy dept.; godsend) tomorrow about tips, tricks, advice, and words of wisdom for heading out into the field and seeing the critters I want to see, and coming back in one piece to do work at 8am each Monday. If I am exceedingly fortunate, someone from the museum will want to join me on one or more treks, and help with negotiating Nairobi traffic and streets, navigating the roads and culture of the smaller towns, sharing costs, and helping me in my quest to see bovids. But, that may be pie in the sky, and I’ll clunk through unglamorously and more expensively with hired guides and perhaps a hired driver (sounds glamorous, but the motivation is strictly practical). The good news is that it’s relatively cheap here (save the research permits, which amount to about two weeks’ total expenses plus weekend excursions), and I’ve got several lines of advice pouring in from people who live here (Kenyan and American), and top-rated national travel agency on speed dial.