Day four a journey to Talek for elephants

Day Four. I am waking up from my tent after enjoying the night with hyenas chasing zebra, I am not used to this kind of life after spending 17 years camping and studying elephants in thick forest and getting lost when the GPS freezes from cold weather. As per our schedule I am meant to be in three churches in Talek and after the breakfast we are now ready to take off and catch up with our program, I did not know that this will not happen until I met my old colleague Mr. Ekiru who arrived in the night when every one had slept and ordered a goat for us and we have to feast before we leave. Since the inception of this campaign walk I have learnt to be patient and to adjust to the program, after consulting from KWS team we all agreed and requested my team to do “ fatigue” as it commonly known in military training ‘ this is washing your clothes, checking our equipment’s and mending our torn clothes or shoes if any as we wait for the goat.

After two hours of fatigue and feasting we are now ready to drive for a section of 15 km before walking in Talek town with a bang! It’s Sunday and there was a message in all the churches about our coming all shops almost closed and every one gawking at the moving crowd with music coming from my escort vehicle. This is the place I would make a second historic meeting that is well attended and people would universally agree to conserve wildlife and by lifting their hands and walking sticks an act that is respected in Maasai community.

I promised people that there will be video show at 7pm so they should all come and learn more, my technical team reported to me the following morning that Talek town was a no go zone men, women, youths and children had gathered in the market place up to 8.30pm following up on the film “ Elephant in Peril” produced by African Environmental Film Foundation showing how elephants are killed and their number fading in Tsavo conservation area a replica to other elephant ranges in Africa and in Kenya.