By John E Cooper 12th October 2022

I returned on Friday, 8th October from my visit to Kenya. Margaret and I were last in East Africa two-and-a-half years’ ago, just before the SARS- CoV- 2 (“Covid-19”) pandemic and lockdown.

For much of my “safari” in Kenya I was accompanied by our friend and colleague Professor Charles Foster, with whom we are writing our next book, on human-animal conflict.  On an initial up-country trip Charles and I visited – and discussed projects and a possible future workshop – at Mpala Research Centre, Laikipia Mpala – Science, Education and Conservation and Rajwera Farm, near Nakuru (the home of my godson Nigel Leakey and his family). We met two of our young veterinary colleagues, Drs Jessicah Kurere and Sharon Mulindi, who are working with pastoralists, and we passed books and other literature about animal health to them. 

On our second trip, this time to the Coast, we visited a tortoise collection in Mombasa and advised on the health of their charges. John went three times to Shamba Musa, our much-loved “base in the bush” at Golini, on the outskirts of Kwale, and there sadly bade “farewell/kwa heri” to the property and “asanteni na ya kuonana” to the Shamba Musa staff who for many years have served us and visitors so well. We have reluctantly sold Shamba Musa and thereby lost the small piece of Africa that we have cherished for fifteen years. One small consolation is that Shamba Musa is now enclosed in the Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary fence and, hopefully, will remain a beautiful place, a haven for wildlife, for many years to come.

In Nairobi, based at the United Kenya Club (UKC), we had meetings with colleagues at Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Institute of Primate Research (IPR). We paid a courtesy call to the Kenya Veterinary Board (KVB), where I was again reregistered as a veterinary surgeon.  In the evening, we hosted at the UKC a group of veterinary and wildlife students who are members of the Reptile Research Group {RSG Kenya} (“The Snake Charmers”). We presented to RSG Kenya Co-founder Jacinta Njeri books and teaching materials that we had brought out from England. The next day, following lunch with our long-term friend Paul Sayer, we had guests for dinner at the UKC – colleagues from the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and elsewhere with a shared interest in forensic science and medicine.

On my final day before leaving, I had an exceptionally busy programme, which included paying visits to NatureKenya and the Nairobi Snake Park at NMK and both the KVB and KVA at Kabete. I gave a seminar to staff at KSRIC, Kenya Snakebite Research and Intervention Centre, in Karen. See: https://www.primateresearch.org/kenya-snakebite-research-and-intervention-centre/

Throughout the trip we visited old and new Kenyan friends and colleagues and spent time with students who wanted to talk about their careers and projects.

I much enjoyed this short visit to Kenya. I had a very busy, but enjoyable, time – a welcome change after two-and-a-half years of hibernation in Britain on account of SARS-CoV-2 (“Covid-19”).

I must pay tribute to my wife, Margaret, who gallantly held the fort in Norfolk, England, and, often behind the scenes, helped ensure that all the arrangements worked to plan.

I must pay tribute to my wife, Margaret, who gallantly held the fort in Norfolk, England, and, often behind the scenes, helped ensure that all the arrangements worked to plan.

Best wishes na asanteni sana, wote

John E Cooper 12th October 2022