Nairobi News

BY ROSE ODENGO

This young man’s beginning is a humble one. Born and raised in Kibera, the only place Fredrick knew was this place, which has become synonymous with poverty. Fredrick’s father worked for the Nairobi City Council, and was determined to see that his son did something with his life.

“My father always told me to not just sit there, that I should do something constructive with my life.”

Fredrick gives a lot of credit  to numerous people who took a chance on him. He admits to constantly second guessing himself and not feeling worthy of opportunity early in his career, a factor he attributes to a sense of inferiority, brought about by a sense of shame of where he was raised, as well as  inability to express himself well at the time.

How did you get into this profession?

I did my Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams in 2004. The following year, as I waited for my results, I saw an advertisement in the newspaper by the Kenya Wildlife Service, who were looking to recruit park rangers. I was not quite sure what park rangers do, but I applied anyway.

To my surprise, I was shortlisted, and sent to the KWS Law Enforcement Academy in Manyani for training. The training was in a hardship environment, and involved paramilitary, endurance and survival skills training for six months. There was lots of grueling physical work outs as well, carried out in inhospitable environments, such as in mud, rain and cold. We slept for only three hours a day, hiked in mountains, and would take turns to keep watch over the camp for a whole night, thankfully, I survived.

My first posting after training was in Isiolo, at the Shaba National Reserve. My colleagues and I would rotate postings though, so I got to work in Sibiloi, Lodwar and Maralal National Parks and Reserves as well.

The larger part of our job involved patrolling on foot, walking 40km on average daily, tracking poachers. Luckily, I have never came across a rogue animal or been attacked by one, though one of my colleagues was once charged by buffalos. There were successes though. Once, we followed the tracks of poachers from around 6am. At around 6pm, we came upon the village where they were hiding and arrested them, seized their weapons, as well as the ivory they had with them.

A year into my job as a ranger, I received my admission letter to the University of Nairobi to study Veterinary medicine. My first choice had been actuarial science, my third veterinary medicine. I deferred my studies for a year to work. I ended up working for two years in the KWS Wildlife Protection department.

Thereafter, I got a transfer to Nairobi National Park. In 2006, I joined UoN. I would work the night shift and then study during the day. I took a loan at work, and bought a bicycle, with which I would cycle from work to University of Nairobi’s Chiromo Campus.

I would get to class drenched in sweat, and my classmates would be like, ‘who is this?’

It must have been tough, juggling work and school…

That first year was difficult. I suffered from an inferiority complex, so I was unable to express myself well, was always late for class due to all the distance I had to cycle to get to school, and to make it worse, would sometimes miss practical sessions. There were so many battles in my mind. There I was, studying veterinary medicine, which I never thought would be possible, yet there was no guarantee that I would graduate, by the way things were going.

A Veterinary Medicine degree should take five years – it took me six years because I failed my first year. If you fail, you take supplementary courses, and if you fail three units, that’s the end of your studies. That is when my eyes opened; I was in a battle for my destiny. I had to re-strategise my commitment to the course and my work schedule. I became a very serious student after repeating First Year. For the next five years, I worked in the night shift, thanks to my colleagues, who were very understanding.

I graduated in 2012; and was attached to one of the wildlife veterinary clinics in the Maasai Mara for one year. It was practical field experience where I learnt how to handle wild animals, sedate and treat them. After this, I registered with the Kenya Veterinary Board and got my license to practice.

In 2013, I got an opportunity to travel to Switzerland for an exchange programme. Here, I was exposed to automation and new technologies in tracking wildlife.

I was also inspired by the diligence and dedication of the scientists and vets there. When I came back, I was upgraded from job grade 13 to six, which I was very grateful for because I could finally afford to accomplish several goals that had been on standby for a long time.

Is this career rewarding?

From where I stand, I would say that veterinary medicine is a rewarding and lucrative career. I have been able to invest in a piece of land, invest in my child’s education, and live in a spacious house. Beyond this, I am in a career that I enjoy, a career that gives me fulfilment, a job I look forward to going to every morning.

What qualifications does one need to become a wildlife vet?

To begin with, you need a degree in veterinary medicine and then experience working with wildlife.

That experience can only be found as an apprentice – you need to learn from a skilled wildlife vet for at least a year. Besides knowledge on how to treat injured or sick animals, you also need to know how to handle yourself around them in the wild, since they get stressed around human beings – they are nothing like domestic cats or dogs.

Where can you work as a wildlife vet?

All wildlife reserves, sanctuaries and parks need my kind of expertise.

What is your day at work like?

My office is in the wild – if I were to describe it in one word, that word would be erratic. My work can only be done during the day, so I normally report to work by 5am, and then call it a day at 6pm. When I get to work, I first check my emails for any case that needs to be responded to immediately. Generally, my job involves tracking injured animals in the park, sedating them, and then treating them on site. Wildlife rangers on patrol notify me of any animal in need of treatment. We also get calls from communities around the park, or even tour operators in case they spot an injured animal. I am accompanied by at least two rangers with tranquilizer guns to help me track the animal.

After sedation, the rangers help me to secure the animal. I need to be sure that the terrain is safe, for instance, that the animal will not slide off a hillside, or fall in a position that might lead to suffocation or more injury. I also offer support to the curator of the Animal Orphanage. I ensure that the animals are healthy, well-fed, and that their enclosures are clean.

What next for you?

Right now, I am studying for a masters degree in international animal health with the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. I don’t want to be an ordinary wildlife vet all my life.

My intention is to learn new best practices so that I can improve the quality of my work. I hope to learn all that there is in treating wildlife. I want to do something extraordinary, I want to stand out in my field. I definitely want to go into research later and perhaps teach. Success, I believe, not only comes from continuous learning, but also from discipline, prayer and focus.”

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WINS IN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

FEBRUARY 2016

Tracking devices for elephants and rhinos in Maasai Mara

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers and the Narok County government started a joint operation to install tracking devices on elephants and rhinos in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve amid growing concern over poaching. The new effort is meant to protect the endangered species and help in research on movement of the wild animals.

FEBRUARY, 2015

President burns 15 tonnes of elephant tusks and rhino horns

President Uhuru Kenyatta set ablaze 15 tonnes of elephant tusks and rhino horns, a pile that was three metres high, at the Nairobi National Park in a move to protect the country’s wildlife. African elephants are endangered, with about 470,000 left in the wild in 37 countries, according to the African Wildlife Foundation.

MAY 2015

A wildlife forensics laboratory is set up

The laboratory is expected to be instrumental in providing evidence in poaching cases by linking impounded products such as ivory, rhino horn and meat to the carcasses. Prosecutors will now have no problem producing evidence proving the source of the impounded trophies.

AUGUST 2015

Two sentenced to life for dealing in wildlife trophies

Two men found in possession of six pieces of ivory weighing 18kgs were given the option of paying a Sh100 million fine each or life imprisonment. Tiapukei Kuyoni and Munyao Nzusyo were charged with three counts of retention, possession and dealing with wildlife trophies. They were found guilty of being in possession of the game trophies valued at Sh1.8 million.

JUNE 2014

Africa surpasses Asia in ivory seizures

Several African countries have made great strides in clamping down on ivory smuggling, with large seizures for the first time exceeding those made in prime destination Asia, UN wildlife regulator CITES. Until recently, seizures of half a tonne or more of ivory were rarely if ever made before the illegal, precious material left Africa.

-Compiled by Faith Oneya