Wildlife

Ah, you were probably expecting to see on this post some stunning photos of animals in Africa, ones you would see on a safari.

Sorry, folks. Here in the big city there aren't any.

Well, let me clarify that statement. In a month and a half, I have seen about a half dozen dogs, 3 cats, and 1 tiny lizard, none of which were photo-worthy.

What's the deal? First of all, in Rwanda animals are not viewed as pets, like in the developed world. Here, where survival is of paramount importance, anything that moves is fair game for the pot. But even in a big city such as Kigali, where you can find a wide variety of foods, that cultural mentality persists. So, there aren't very many animals of any type in the city.

Here in Kigali, the "wildlife" consists of people who frequent bars, where they play disco-like music, show European soccer matches on big TVs, and offer brochettes and beer. I know this--in case you were wondering--because there is a bar very close to where I live, and the music and noise from this place can be heard on Friday and Saturday nights until the wee hours of the morning. So I've kind of resigned myself to using the earplugs during those times.

Of course, the rest of Rwanda is known for its diversity of large mammals and birds. Even just outside Kigali there are farm animals, such as donkeys, horses, and cows. Rwandans love their cows. Not in the sense that Americans love their dogs and cats, but here in Rwanda people love beef and milk. (What did I say earlier about people's relationship with animals?)

One possible exception I have come across is this horse-riding farm outside the city. A brother in the congregation conducts a Bible study with the owner of this farm, which teaches people how to ride horses. He says that on Sunday mornings, Chinese people regularly come to take lessons. I can't make it there on Sunday mornings due to the distance and the fact that our meeting is in the morning, but I can't help wondering, why would the practical-minded Chinese need to ride a horse? Observations on this are welcome.

And what about the famed mountain gorilla, the pride of Rwanda? It's too bad I had to get a picture of a gorilla from the internet, because a photo of a real live one would be awesome. Unfortunately, the cost for foreigners to see the gorillas in the northern part of the country is prohibitive: about US$750 per person, to go gorilla tracking for one day. Ouch! (Rwandans pay a fraction of that.) There is not even a guarantee that you will run into any gorillas. You pays your money, you takes your chances.

Since that amount of money is a big chunk of a plane ticket from the U.S. to Rwanda, I guess seeing the gorillas is not in my immediate future, unless donations start pouring in. Ha!

But just so this post is not completely photo-less, here is an interesting picture of some people made up to look like gorillas. Enjoy!

Note to the disappointed: If you just have to see pictures of game animals, and gorillas in particular, check out my two pages of photos (taken from various sources), placed on the blog simultaneously with this post.