The other day I saw an interesting cartoon in the local daily newspaper of Queen Elizabeth shaking hands with an Aids victim for the first time in Uganda. What was interesting was the cartoon putting emphasis on her hands where she wore black gloves as she shook the person’s hand. I think the subtle message that was being passed in the cartoon was that she did not want to “contaminate” her hands.

The gloves might have been fashion accessories to complement her outfit but for some people they might have interpreted it differently. Queen Elizabeth was in Uganda to attend the Commonwealth heads of Government meeting. You can read the news item of her visit in Uganda here

Share This

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my Africa travel news feed. I regularly post weired and interesting news articles from Africa!

According to a report I’ve just read from the BBC website released by conservation groups, nearly one third of the primates existing worldwide might face extinction due to destruction of their habitats.

The report, compiled by a team of 60 experts and presented at at the International Primatological Society (IPS) on the Chinese island of Hainan, reveals that Apes, Monkeys and primates are being pushed from their natural habitats or killed for food and medicines.

Read more on the world primates report here on the BBC site. This report made me reflect on our mountain gorillas in Africa commonly found in Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The animals are classified as being critically endangered species and they get killed as a result of poaching, habitat loss and diseases.

Share This

I was watching the news yesterday evening (11th Oct) and their was one item that caught my attention. The reporter said that it was feared that over 15,000 wildebeest died as they tried to cross the crocodile infested Mara river during the annual migration. I did some research on the the internet and National Geographic and Time also claim over 10,000 of the animals died.

To verify this I called Kenya Wildlife Service, http://www.kws.org and i had an interesting chat on cellphone with the PR guy handling this matter and he said the figures being reported were over inflated. He said the actual figures on the ground were about 3,000 drownings. He further added that every year they lose about 2,000 animals but this year it rose to 3,000.

He said the probable cause was due to heavy rainfalls experienced over the country which caused the river to be swollen which resulted in the increased number of deaths in the river.

3,000 and 10,000..that a huge difference if you ask me

The annual Great Wildebeest Migration was named as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in November 2006 by a panel of experts in America

Share This