Wild Tobago

Faraaz Abdool goes on safari in the land where the concept originated. As he leads a photographic tour, he reflects on Kenya’s 50 year journey that has changed the connotation of the word “safari.” (All photos by Faraaz Abdool)   We are all familiar with the word “safari” – associated with the African continent and its wilderness experiences. Safari is a Swahili word which translates to “journey.” Swahili is the national language of Kenya, which is widely regarded as the birthplace of safari. It is easy to become caught in the trappings of the immediate context and neglect the consideration of the journey.   Our modern safari in Kenya is made possible by many factors falling into place. There must be a system suitably applied to safeguard tourists and wildlife, with the long-term preservation of both in mind. In Kenya, this was not always the case. With roots in exploration, the first forays into the African continent by Europeans were wholly extractive in intent. The ...

Not only humans use tools. Anjani Ganase looks at some marine animals that utilize objects in their environment to hide, hunt or eat. Tools are defined as objects derived from the environment, attached or unattached, used to complete tasks with greater efficiency or success. We often consider the use of tools as exclusive human practices and the reason for our advancement in technology. However, tool use is common in the animal kingdom and was first recorded by Dr Jane Goodall who highlighted tool use for feeding by the great apes and chimpanzees. The scope of tool use was widened to include animals with limbs, hands, tails etc. capable of holding objects. The concept of “holding” an object was broadened again as researchers observed birds, dolphins and an array of animals using tools for feeding, protection, camouflaging, even for parenting and mating. The types of tools ranged from the very simple to highly sophisticated. Here are some marine animals that utilise...

People are hard at work in vacation places. Fortunate are those who vacation and are allowed into other working lives, other enterprises. Pat Ganase visits Charlotteville, centre of the Northeast Tobago Man and the Biosphere Reserve. (All photos courtesy Anjani Ganase)   It is late August in Charlotteville. The rising sun lights up Campbleton. Rainbows from the misty horizon dance over Booby island. The sea is a pond, calm, clear to the bottom; its channels of sand shimmer between boulders and bouldering corals. This is our holiday place on the northwest coast of Tobago where the water is warm, the rainforest resplendent and the sunsets startling. Here is the heartland of the Northeast Tobago, as different as can be imagined from Southwest Tobago.   Walk along the beach from the Man-o-War Bay cottages to the village. Check the Heron keeping an eye on you while chasing a crab on the sand. Pass the end of Bay Road looking for what the sea washed up ove...

  Faraaz Abdool discusses how national parks and other protected areas bring benefit to people and communities. (Photos by Faraaz Abdool)   Parks, reserves, or sanctuaries are usually designated for conservation and for environmental awareness. Their effectiveness and continuity however might be best served if they are seen as tools to be used by the present for the benefit of future human populations.   National parks, forest reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries are used as a means of insurance: to safeguard biodiversity and ensure resilience against the ever-increasing effects of climate change.   Approximately half of all carbon emissions we produce is absorbed by the land and sea, despite forests only occupying 30% of terrestrial space. Reserving land for conservation may not have immediately discernible effects, as the geological time scale has a much slower pace than that of our own lifetimes. To wholly reap the rewards of a long-term project such a...