The Lost Wildlife Paradise of Uasin Gishu

By William Kiptoo

Did you know that Uasin Gishu was once a bustling wildlife paradise? This is why places in Uasin Gishu have names like Kipsoen (buffaloes) and Chemarmar (zebras).

Back in 1908, Cecil Hoey wrote about how the Uasin Gishu plateau was full of game that roamed freely from the Elgeyo escarpment to Mt. Elgon and Nandi.

Europeans like Hoey came to Uasin Gishu to hunt for ivory and skins/hides, making a fortune from hunting, while others like former American President Roosevelt did it just for fun.

When Boer farmers started growing crops on the plateau, they had to deal with animals eating their harvest. Hoey documents an episode where he witnessed colonial farmers once killing 200 Zebras in a single day in Karona area to protect their crops.

Not too long ago, the journey from Soy to Eldoret was a magical experience. Monkeys swung from tree to tree, putting on a show, while brown antelopes grazed peacefully in the grasslands. Maili Tisa was known as the home of giraffes, with hundreds of them munching on acacia trees. In the 1980s, a club called Nze Nzu was opened, decorated with giraffe motifs.

Sadly, Uasin Gishu no longer has a thriving wildlife population or animal park. The land has been divided up, with only a few private sanctuaries like Krugers and Poa Place in Eldoret protecting some animals.

Over the years, the wildlife in Uasin Gishu has disappeared completely. Now the county government must think about creating a park to safeguard the region's natural heritage.

No photo description available.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Lochab Bros family company, Eldoret

Early History of the Uasin Gishu

The Kapbrar Farm in Chembulet