A conservationist, environmental journalist and blogger, Samuel writes about wildlife and environment. Currently Communications Consultant at Kijani Media.
Latest posts by Samuel Maina
Kenya: Massive Flooding in Samburu as Ewaso Nyiro River Bursts its Banks
At dawn on Thursday, 4 March 2010, a massive flash flood hit Samburu in northern Kenya destroying 6 tourist lodges, some wildlife research camps and leaving thousands marooned on roof tops and on trees. This wave of rushing water came from the Ewaso Nyiro River which has burst it's banks following...
Opposition Mounts over Tanzania and Zambia Ivory Proposals to CITES
Opposition is mounting against Zambia's and Tanzania's proposals to be allowed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to sell their government held ivory stockpiles.
Kenya: Waiting for El Niño
Kenyans are waiting for the El Niño rains anticipated between now and December with mixed feelings. Although in it's ‘moderate' form El Niño is expected to displace at least 100,000 people, most Kenyans actually want this El Niño.
Kenya: CEO of Wildlife Blogging Site Named Pop!Tech 2009 Fellow
Pop!Tech is coming again this October and on 9 September they issued a release announcing the 2009 Social Innovation Fellows which was also blogged about by Pop!Tech's Kristen Taylor. Pop!Tech is a conference set in Camden Maine, where every year scientist, artists and innovators meet to discuss ideas and world...
Kenya: Lion-saving Art Takes Shape
The pride of Kenya Campaign, being touted as the biggest event in Kenya's conservation calendar this year, has been picking pace and excitement has been building. The Pride of Kenya is a campaign – coordinated by the Born Free Foundation – to raise awareness about the plight of the declining...
Kenya: Fibreglass Lions to go ‘Wild’ in Nairobi
As Kenya's lions continue to face persecution and the population continues to dwindle, a campaign to raise funds and awareness about the lions was launched on 17 June 2009 in Nairobi.
Kenya: Devastating Drought Worsens Human-Wildlife Conflict
Kenya is experiencing the worst drought in more than a decade according to the country's meteorological department. This drought has been felt throughout the country, but it is more visible among the Maasai community who's primary source of livelihood is cattle. Faced by the danger of loosing their valued livestock,...
Kenyans Race to Get Furadan Banned
Kenyan conservationists are making gains in their push to have Furadan, a carbofuran-based pesticide that has so far caused the death of 76 lions, banned in the country. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Naivasha Constituency, Honourable John Mututho, has now joined the call for a total ban on this...
Kenya: World Renowned Elephant Matriarch Dies in Amboseli
World renowned Amboseli National Park elephant matriarch, Echo, has died from what the Amboseli Trust for Elephants (ATE) believes to be a combination of old age and the long 3-year drought that has left this southern Kenya wildlife preserve dry and with little to offer in terms of food. Echo...
DR Congo: Baby Gorilla Rescued in Trafficking Bust
On Sunday, 26 April 2009, ICCN Rangers, led by the Virunga National Park Director – a former WildlifeDirect CEO – Emmanuel de Merode arrested a suspected gorilla trafficker and recovered a concealed baby eastern lowland gorilla. The suspect was accosted and arrested as he disembarked from a plane at Goma...
FMC Meets with Conservationists in Nairobi over Furadan
On Wednesday, 15 April 2009, two representatives FMC, the Philadelphia-based manufacturer of the controversial pesticide that is at the centre of lion poisoning in Kenya, Furadan, met with conservationists that WildlifeDirect had gathered for that purpose. The conservationists had high hopes following FMC's announcement that they had withdrawn the deadly...
Lion Poisoning causes FMC to Withdraw Furadan from Kenya Market
The American chemical manufacturer, FMC, has withdrawn the pesticide, Furadan, from the Kenyan market after CBS News aired a documentary on '60 Minutes’. The documentary depicts how Furadan has become the preferred product for herders who poison lions suspected of killing livestock in and around the Masai Mara National Reserve....
D.R. Congo: Chimps are Not Pets
The mainstream media is abuzz with news of a 15-year old 200 pound (90kg) chimpanzee that attacked a woman in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. The Ape, which had starred in TV commercials and films had attacked and left the woman, a friend of his owner, in a ‘very serious’ state. Biologists...
Kenya: Urgent Translocation of the Lelwel Hartebeest
At the close of 2008, squatters who had been evicted from the Mount Kenya and Aberdare forests about two decades ago in Kenya were allocated plots a section, Sector D, of the expansive Solio Ranch in Laikipia. The 15,500 acres Sector D is, however, home to 480 Lelwel hartebeest ;...
What does Krill Fishing and Sandalwood Harvesting Have in Common?
At first glance, there is no way Krill and Sandalwood could have anything in common: one is a sea animal and the other is a land plant. If you examine the plight of both species of biodiversity, then there are some similarities. World renowned Kenyan conservationist, Dr Richard Leakey, who...
DRC:Virunga Gorilla Population Has Grown
On Tuesday, 27 January 2009, D.R of Congo's Virunga National Park authorities issued a press release declaring that the population of habituated – or human tolerant – mountain gorillas in the Park had increased by 12.5% in the last 18 months (from August 2007 to January 2009) despite the fierce...
Uganda: Mountain Gorilla Population May Have Declined
We have always known that there are around 700 Mountain Gorillas still alive in the wild today – 336 of which are in Uganda - but a new study published in the journal New Scientist indicates that that might be a little optimistic. The 336 individuals said to be resident...
Conservation Through People
The core of conservation is the people who live adjacent to or inside conservation areas. It has therefore always been the goal of forward thinking conservationists to involve the local communities that surround the conservation areas that are under their charge. In Lubumbashi, DR of Congo, a chimpanzee rescue center,...
The Killing Continues in DR Congo's Wildlife Parks
Reportedly, the fighting in North Kivu province of DR Congo has quieted down a little. Sporadic fighting however continues to claim lives. On WildlifeDirect blogs, there are reports of two incidents inside DR Congo's wildlife Parks in which people have been killed. Paula Kahumbu gives an analysis of various (mainstream)...
Wildlife Tragedies and Happenings at WildlifeDirect Blogs
Attempts to flush out Uganda's Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group's leader, Joseph Kony, have not been very successful. Instead, the civilian casualties continue to pile up. One devastating tragedy for wildlife conservation, as reported on the conservation blog Baraza, was the attack on Garamba National Park rangers by the...
