Africa and Elephants

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

"Africa and Elephants" - a slightly odd subject for a knitting blog, I know - but I also know that knitters are caring, thoughtful and intelligent people so I'm going to digress from knitting and walking and life in Cornwall for this one blog entry.  Please stay with me ... what I'm going to talk about is way, way more important than knitting (and I love my knitting, remember!).

Matt and I are fortunate enough to count Mark Deeble and Vicky Stone as good friends - they make wildlife films in Africa and they're very good at it!  Matt was born and brought up in Tanzania in East Africa and we were lucky enough to travel there together for three months when we were first married and we've taken our boys to Kenya and Tanzania twice where we've met up with Mark and Vicky; the first time we stayed in their camp over Christmas when they were filming The Queen of Trees - eating Christmas dinner (barbecued goat) under African stars with hippos grunting not too far away is a truly unforgettable experience.

Mark and Vicky are currently in Kenya filming elephants - or perhaps that should be - trying to film elephants.  Elephant and rhino poaching is such a huge problem now that, if it continues at the current rate, there will be no elephants left in East Africa in 10-15 years.

For the mega-wealthy Chinese their drink of choice currently is wine with rhino horn ground up into it.  Why?  Because they have some warped idea that rhino horn will cure them of all manner of ills.

Mark has just started writing a very powerful blog about what they are currently seeing out in Africa.  It's not easy reading but - if you care about Africa, its wildlife and, especially, elephants I would ask you to read it, follow it, share it and get everyone to start talking about what's happening to these magnificent animals.

The Passing Of A Giant

Why We Won't Miss Elephants When They Are Gone

Thank you.

My next blog will be about knitting, promise!