The Giants of Ruaha
Ruaha is a landscape of ancient scale, defined by the massive, twisted forms of baobabs and “Swahili Time,” which is based on the 6:00 AM rise of the sun. My favorite days involved taking groups of ten local villagers on safari. For most, this was their first time ever entering the park although it was literally in their backyard. Each person was loaned a digital camera, and the vehicle would fill with a frantic, joyful energy as they documented everything from giraffes to the rare glimpse of a leopard. One day, our 4WD vehicle got stuck crossing a sandy riverbed. As we all piled out to push, a pride of eighteen lions watched us from 100 meters away. We collected sticks and grasses to stuff under the tires, and after a sweaty, determined effort, we managed to get our vehicle back to the bank. It was a visceral reminder that in Ruaha, the wild is always watching.
The heart of the project was the community. I spent my mornings interviewing villagers, some of whom were born inside the park before it was established in 1964. I listened to an 85 year old man describe his fears that if the wildlife wasn’t protected, his grandchildren would never see an elephant. We worked together to build 100 meter long beehive fences, digging seventeen holes in the hard soil with hoes and machetes. Because elephants have an instinctive fear of bees, these fences protect the farmer’s livelihood without violence and offer an alternative source of income.
By the time the blisters on my hands from the fencing work had healed, members of the local community had welcomed me in. I spent my final afternoons playing soccer with the Kimande village team, where the kids on the sidelines would yell “MZUNGU!” every time I touched the ball. I even ended my season by registering to play with them for the upcoming Cow Cup. I realized then that conservation is played on many fields. Sometimes it is a strategic management plan, sometimes a small community working together to build a fence, and sometimes it is a dust covered soccer match where the winning prize is a cow.