REFINERY

[refineri-blog]

[refineri-blog]

[refineri-blog]

In 1979, there were estimated to be 1.3 million elephants in Africa; ten years later, there were only about 600,000. In Kenya alone, the elephant population plummeted from 130,000 in 1973 to less than 20,000 in 1989, a loss of 85%. The reason for this catastrophic decline: the ivory trade. The combination of growing human populations and resulting loss of wildlife habitat has exacerbated wildlife-human conflict, creating yet another threat to the future of the elephant.

The elephant population in Amboseli National Park is one of the few that has been able to live a relatively undisturbed existence in natural conditions. This rare situation is primarily due to two factors – the presence of researchers and tourists in the park, and the support of the local Maasai people.

In the absence of poaching and culling, the Amboseli elephant population has been increasing slowly since the late 1970s. Amboseli is, therefore, one of the few places in Africa where the elephant age structure has not been drastically skewed and the population spans the whole range from newborn calves to old matriarchs in their 60s and, even more unusual, many large adult bulls in their 40s and 50s.

– Amboseli Trust for Elephants

[refineri-blog]

[refineri-blog]

[refineri-blog]

2° 38' 29" S, 37° 14' 53" E

[refineri-blog]

2° 38' 29" S, 37° 14' 53" E

[refineri-blog]

A continuous ice cap covering approximately 400 square kilometers (150 sq mi) covered Kilimanjaro during the last period of maximum glaciation, extending across the summits of Kibo and Mawenzi. (…)

An examination of ice cores taken from Kilimanjaro's northern ice field indicates that the glaciers there have a basal age of 11,700 years. Those glaciers survived a widespread drought during a three century period beginning around 2,200 BC.

Of the ice cover still present in 2000, almost 40 percent had disappeared by 2011. The glaciers are thinning in addition to losing areal coverage. While the current shrinking and thinning of Kilimanjaro's ice fields appears to be unique within its almost twelve millennium history, it is contemporaneous with widespread glacier retreat in mid-to-low latitudes across the globe. At the current rate, most of the ice on Kilimanjaro will disappear by 2040 and "it is highly unlikely that any ice body will remain after 2060".

A complete disappearance of the ice would be of only "negligible importance" to the water budget of the area around the mountain. The forests of Kilimanjaro, far below the ice fields, "are [the] essential water reservoirs for the local and regional populations".

– Wikipedia

[refineri-blog]

2° 38' 29" S, 37° 14' 53" E

[refineri-blog]

(…) Kilimanjaro is a large stratovolcano. Of its three peaks, Mawenzi and Shira are extinct, while Kibo, the highest, is dormant and could erupt again. The last major eruption has been dated to between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago.

Although dormant, Kibo has gas-emitting fumaroles in its crater. Several collapses and landslides have occurred on Kibo before, one creating the area known as the Western Breach.(…)

People who wish to trek to the summit of Kilimanjaro are advised to undertake appropriate research and ensure that they are both properly equipped and physically capable. Though the climb is technically not as challenging as when climbing the high peaks of the Himalayas or Andes, the high elevation, low temperature, and occasional high winds make this a difficult and dangerous trek.

Acclimatisation is essential, and even the most experienced trekkers suffer some degree of atitude sickness. Kilimanjaro summit is well above the altitude at which high altitude pulmonary edema or high altitude cerebral edema can occur. All trekkers will suffer considerable discomfort, typically shortage of breath, hypothermia, and headaches.

– Wikipedia

[refineri-blog]

[refineri-blog]

[refineri-blog]

[refineri-blog]

[refineri-blog]

[refineri-blog]

[refineri-blog]