Drought in Kenya

News about climate change is nothing new. The weather has been playing tricks on us all around the world and regardless of whether or not you believe global warming is to blame, there is no doubt that things are not as they used to be.

The latest area to be especially hard hit by the fickle ways of Mother Nature is Kenya, where a fierce drought has been slowly killing off crops, cattle and now elephants. People, of course, are equally at risk and according to the United Nations' World Food program, 3.8 million Kenyans need emergency food aid.

Elephants, which are a big drawing card for tourists, are also at risk since the huge beasts need as much as 52 gallons of water a day to survive. They also need 660 pounds of grass and twigs, all of which are in short supply. The shortage has hit the young and old especially hard.

Zoologist, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who founded Save the Elephants thought the drought was the worse he had seen in twelve years. "When they do not have enough food, they also seem to be vulnerable to disease, their immune system weakens and they catch all kinds of disease," he observed.

At the moment, one of the only sources of food is the tall limbs of trees (see photo above), which are, of course, too tall for the youngest elephants to reach. While there are 23,000 elephants in Kenya, and so far fewer than 100 have died from the drought, experts still remain concerned especially as competition for the remaining forage grows even more competitive.

If you are so inclined, send your rain vibes to Kenya (and away from my basement, please) with hopes that the seasonal rains expected in October and November will remain true to form.