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INSIDE AFRICA
Around Africa by Bike; Protecting the Public; Big Find in the Congo
Aired August 30, 2008 - 12:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to INSIDE AFRICA, your weekly window to the continent. I'm Jim Clancy, in for Isha Sesay.
Now, on the show this week, beauty and danger on the great outdoors. Kenyan rangers trying to keep a tourist haven from becoming a poachers' paradise.
A big find in Congo, raising hopes for the survival of endangered gorillas.
And a South African adventurer paddling his way toward a very distant goal.
We're going to begin this week with one of the great wonders of the natural world. Each year, about 2 million wildebeests migrate between the Serengeti in Tanzania and the Masai Mara in Kenya. This spectacle is usually a huge draw for visitors, but not this year, and that's a problem. David McKenzie explains.
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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Massive wildebeests herds on the move on the unrelenting annual trek across the African savannah in search of grazing lands. Not even the mighty Mara River and its dangers will stop them.
Every year, over a million wildebeests migrate across this river. It's really one of the natural wonders of the world. Tourists have been flocking here for years, but this year, because of the political instability in Kenya, only 20 percent of the usual visitors have come here, and it could really hurt conservation efforts.
Each tourist pays for those efforts with a portion of the entrance fees to the Masai Mara used for managing the reserve. But that money has slowed to a trickle.
Joseph Kimunjino has worked here for 20 years, and he's never seen it this bad.
JOSEPH KIMUNJINO, HEAD OF TOURISM, MARA TRIANGLE: If we cannot run our operations as normal, then we see a lot poachers, mean (inaudible) the park, kill the animals, and then at the end of the day not have animals.
MCKENZIE: Their killing methods are brutal and indiscriminate. Wire snares said to capture wildebeests for bush meat, but they gouge anything in their path, even the mighty, felled by the deadly sealed traps.
Catching the poachers is a challengers. They follow the animals over fluid borders with no fences.
ALFONSE SARIF, RESERVE RANGER: (inaudible) missing because you have an international boundary, but that international boundary will not stop the animals from moving from one country to another.
MCKENZIE: As do the poachers. Rangers say that over 80 percent are from neighboring Tanzania. During the migrations, they follow the herds.
BRIAN HEATH, CEO, MARA CONSERVANCY: When the animals come into Kenya, there is this big influx of poachers, there's this sudden surge of poaching, unless we can control it. We're in danger of the number of animals being poached not being able to sustain that population.
MCKENZIE: So, the Mara conservancy takes on poachers with armed patrols.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the poachers' hideout.
MCKENZIE (on camera): It's their camp?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the camp of the poachers.
MCKENZIE: OK.
(voice over): The lack of funding, though, has meant fewer patrols and stuff, straining the effort to protect the reserve. The tourists have slowed because of this -- months of political and ethnic violence earlier this year rocked Kenya, and that image has lingered in the minds of potential visitors, leaving funding for anti-poaching near collapse.
The rangers haven't given up just yet, harnessing technology to help. Joseph has started a blog to appeal directly to the public. They have raised $60,000 so far, but it's not nearly enough to cover the monthly shortfall. They are determined to carry on with their work despite the odds.
KIMUNJINO: They don't do anti-poaching patrols. Poachers will (inaudible) far, and obviously the Mara will be destroyed.
MCKENZIE: Without a sustained revenue, their tireless efforts could come to naught, and the miracle of the Mara migration could be lost.
David McKenzie, CNN, Masai Mara.
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CLANCY: Well, the known population of western lowland gorillas just got a major boost thanks to a surprising discovery in the Republic of Congo. Coming up next, a gorilla expert tells us about the threats still facing this endangered species.
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CLANCY: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA.
Hopes for the survival of an endangered species recently got a major boost when researchers revealed they had found 125,000 western lowland gorillas in northern Congo. That's their best estimate.
Now, previously, wildlife experts had estimated there were only about 50,000 of these magnificent animals left in the world. Acting on a tip from hunters, teams from the U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Society made that discovery in a remote swamp forest where they conducted a survey, took place in 2006 and `7. One of the researchers said this group of gorillas is the densest population ever discovered.
Experts say the find is encouraging, but gorillas will probably remain endangered for some time to come. We met up with Clare Richardson of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, a group dedicated to trying to save the gorillas. I asked her about threats to their existence, and how this newly discovered population stayed hidden for so long.
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CLARE RICHARDSON, DIAN FOSSEY GORILLA FUND: For the first time in years, we've got a gorilla population that someone says is bigger than they thought it was. The fact that they found so many more is still real cause for hope. And the reason they haven't been found is they're in very isolated swampy bayous in the Republic of Congo. Very isolated, very hard to get to. That's why I think they've managed to find a new population.
The gorillas, the big great apes, gorillas and chimpanzees, really are icons for those habitats, because they're not there alone. There are numerous other species of monkeys. There are endemic beautiful species of birds. There are leopards and Nile crocodile. I mean, just wonderful biodiversity.
So in a sense, we use these big primates as ambassadors, if you like, because people relate to them. People relate to gorillas. I mean, when you look into the eyes of a gorilla, especially a wild gorilla, you really -- you really feel that connection.
CLANCY: But let me ask you this -- to keep those ambassadors alive, to keep this population thriving, as big as we believe it is, what do you have to do with the government?
RICHARDSON: Well, the biggest threat, of course, I believe, is poverty. Because if you look at all of the items that we always delineate -- we say poaching, habitat encroachment, deforestation, all of that -- even the commercial bush meat, which is such a huge issue in Cameroon. All of those things, if you had populations leaving around these endangered species who had a better lifestyle, had more hope for the future for their children, then a lot of these issues would be minimized, certainly, or diminished.
CLANCY: These are all things that you watch for. I am just wondering -- these gorillas are what, 50 kilometers from the nearest road, as I understand it. But it's a mass of them. It's such a great number. Are there fears that as word gets out about this, more people will want to go, the risk will be hiking?
RICHARDSON: I think that's always a risk, especially if you have unscrupulous people who really want to take advantage. But 50 miles from the nearest road in those swampy forest situations usually means walking. I mean, that's why censuses are so difficult, thank goodness. The Wildlife Conservation Society is a very well endowed organizations. They are experts at these surveys. We need to do more of them. We need to do them in the areas in which we work; we need to do them in areas where other people work. They are very time intensive. They're very expensive. And we need to empower our African colleagues also, because they're the stewards of their own biodiversity.
CLANCY: This is news that's just coming to us. They kept their secret very well. What does it mean? These animals, these beautiful animals are listed as extreme, critically endangered. Does it change that at all?
RICHARDSON: No. The situation really across the world for primates in general and many other endangered species is bleak. It's bleak because of all of the conditions that we've talked about. I mean, the mountain gorillas are a success story because of those positive things that we just talked about, but they are tiny populations. Do we really want gorillas to be the canaries in the mine for the human population? I mean, what's next? I'm not willing to have a planet where my grandchildren will never see some of these amazing creatures in the wild. They see them here, we bring them all the time, and these are wonderful ambassadors of their cousins in the wild. But as you know, because you've been to Africa many times, it's an amazing continent. It has a natural resource that is yet to be counted, as we've seen with this latest news, and we just have to say that we have to put a value on a standing, intact forest. We have to give value to leaving a forest alone. And right now, apart from some carbon exchange programs, which mostly go to governments, I don't know that we've got there yet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: According to a recent report by Conservation International, almost 50 percent of the primates in the world are in danger of extension.
Well, a South African adventurer is charting a potentially dangerous course, and up next, he'll tell us why he's trying to paddle around the fourth largest island in the world.
Also coming up, Kenya's Olympians returning home to a much deserved heroes' welcome.
INSIDE AFRICA will be right back.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Making business news in Africa this week. Kenya is reportedly set to start importing oil from Sudan. A Sudanese official told Reuters the two countries signed a deal for Kenya to import 500,000 barrels of Sudanese crude each month. Eritrea and Ethiopia have similar arrangements to buy oil from Sudan.
South Africa's second largest drug company says it's ready to expand. Adcock Ingram's chief executive announced that the company will spend 850 million rand over the next three years to boost production. The century- old pharmaceutical giant also plans to acquire other companies to expand its product line. The announcement follows Adcock's return to the Johannesburg stock exchange after an eight-year absence. Adcock was recently spun out by parent company Tiger Brands.
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CLANCY: Welcome back, everyone. You're with INSIDE AFRICA, my favorite show on CNN.
You know, English mountaineer George Mallory once famously quipped that he intended to climb Mountain Everest because it's there. Well, South African adventurer Riaan Manser seems to apply a similar kind of logic to setting his goals. He first set out to make a name for himself back in 2005 by riding his bicycle around the entire continent of Africa. That's right, the entire continent, 37,000 kilometers on a bike.
Unlike Mallory, Manser survived to tell the tale. He chronicled the sometimes terrifying experience in a book appropriately entitled "Around Africa on My Bicycle."
Well, Manser, it seems, hasn't lost his penchant for circumnavigating large chunks of geography. At this very moment, he's attempting to become the first person to paddle a kayak alone and unaided around Madagascar. We had a chance to talk with him shortly before he embarked a few days ago. I couldn't resist the urge to remind him that a lot of people think he's nuts.
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RIAAN MANSER, SOUTH AFRICAN ADVENTURER: Yeah. You know, I got a little bit used to that, so that I was a little bit perturbed about it initially when -- on my Africa trip on a bicycle.
But, you know, now I love the challenge of meeting people and convincing them about who I am and my sincerity. And every night, my goal is to try and land and to try and find a place to put my tent. Some nights, I'll have to spend out at sea, you know, which is going to be another big challenge.
But I'm pretty good with people, Jim. And I am going to try convince them that, you know, I come with good intentions, and I think the education probably is the same as what I did on Africa trip, is to take the relationships and the people that I meet on the way and bring that story back to people like yourself across oceans, across -- and time zones -- to be able to teach people a little bit more about Africa and my continent.
A lot of guys call themselves adventurers, and they get out there, and they get on their bicycle, even a pogo stick, you know, and call themselves adventurers, going across countries and towns.
Now I just sort of differentiate myself and create a little bit of a brand, you know. And I meet a lot of people from the United Nations, especially UNHCR, which -- which are very, very active in a lot of the countries in Africa. So for sure, I'm really open to chat (ph) with people so I can do better charity.
CLANCY: How do you prepare for something this big? This challenge?
MANSER: Well, yeah, just (inaudible) obviously physically. You know, you need to get paddling on a bicycle, you know, I tell people like I really got into the swing of things maybe after 3,000 or 4,000 kilometers. Paddling with a loaded kayak is very, very different from just kayaking, so it's sort of just what I was focusing on. And time in the morning just to be able to (inaudible) very close to the sea, so it's just basically a kilometer away to drag my kayak down to the beach.
But very different from the cycling trip -- you know, we've all ridden bicycles. You know, and I like to go and test myself in the elements. I can paddle, that's pretty easy for me, but it was the changes in the conditions that I (inaudible) really, really training, and that's sort of what I focused on.
A lot of good paddlers come from South Africa. We've got some world champions (inaudible) paddling, and I've paddled with a lot of those guys. Experience, as they will tell you, is the key to everything. I think I need to give myself a month to really get into the conditions in Madagascar. The coast is very, very -- from long stretches of beaches to rocky outcrops, so I'm hoping that that experience will stand in good stead after a month.
But preparation always, Jim, comes down to the mental attitude. If I leave with the attitude that I couldn't make this, I don't think I'm going to make it. I leave with the right attitude, an attitude that no matter what comes my way, I will finish this journey.
CLANCY: When you went around Africa, you got the experience of meeting different people, different cultures, different languages. What holds everybody together? What are the lessons you can share from your experience, and an amazing one?
MANSER: Hey, Jim, we're all the same, hey. If there's one thing that I can guarantee you, if you ask me of these countries I've passed through at 20 kilometers an hour, eyeball to eyeball with every single village on that 37,000 kilometers.
Jim, we're all the same, from the Muslim guys, from the radical guys up north. It's education and understanding each other. We're all the same.
I was like everybody, just after 9/11, you know, I was leaving in 2003, hitting through the northern parts of Africa. The situation in Iraq had -- was just developing. I was under pressure. One of the lessons I learned about maybe Islam was that, you know, I could actually have things in common with the guys up north. That was one of the things, but Africa has got potential, man. I'm just in love with my continent. And I know sometimes the media find it difficult to actually put the good news stories on the front pages, but gee, Jim, I know day after day after day, I meet such incredible, incredible African people who want to improve their lives, and in a good way.
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CLANCY: Now, here is something fun for you. You can stay up to date on Manser's adventurers by going to his Web site -- africa365.co.za -- 365.co.za. There, you can track his progress all around Madagascar, read his trip log, too. Manser expects the journey is going to take him about 10 months, an impressive feat if he pulls it off, and we're betting he does.
Kenya's Olympians certainly pulled off some impressive feats in Beijing. Coming up next, the team comes home to a heroes' welcome.
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CLANCY: Welcome back, everyone, to INSIDE AFRICA.
You know, Kenya's Olympic team is basking in the glory of its impressive performance in Beijing. Team CNN was there at the airport in Nairobi when team Kenya's athletes came home.
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MCKENZIE: I'm standing here at Jomo Kenyatta airport in Nairobi, where the Olympic team from Kenya is just about to arrive. They'll come back to a heroes' welcome home. They had particularly successful games in Beijing. They won five gold medals, 14 medals in total.
All in all, African athletes won almost 40 medals, the same amount practically that they won in the Athens Olympics.
The athletes are saying that they want more money, more support from government to develop sports on the continent, so they can increase that medal haul.
Of particular importance to Kenyans is Samuel Wansiru. He won the gold for the marathon. Though Kenyans rule the marathon field in most major marathon events in the world, they haven't won the gold at the Olympics, until now. And it's an especially proud moment for Wansiru and Kenyans.
David McKenzie, CNN, Nairobi.
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CLANCY: Wow. Quite an accomplishment for Wansiru, and the entire Kenyan team.
You know, before we go, we have a programming note for all of you out there that are with team INSIDE AFRICA. You're going to be able to watch this program on Tuesdays now, at 8:30 GMT, and on Wednesdays at 3:00. That's in addition to the times that we already air.
For a full list of times, check out our website at cnn.com/insideAfrica.
Want to leave you now and show you some more of the pictures of the western lowland gorillas, featured a bit earlier in the program. We'd like to thank Zoo Atlanta and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund for giving us access. Thanks for being with us.
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