Trey and I returned to Burkina Faso at the end of May to pick up Heidi & KJ from their US trip. We stayed a few days for them to recover from jetlag and for Trey to get some fun social time with other expat kids. One day we joined a homeschool co-op’s field trip to a place south of Ouaga called Jardin de Gomtoaga.
The center rescues wild animals and attempts to repopulate some of the species that have become endangered. Unfortunately, it’s a very difficult task they have undertaken and I came away not very optimistic about the future of these endangered and threatened animals.
Nonetheless, I applaud their efforts and thanks to them we were able to see some incredible creatures, such as:
- African Spurred Tortoises (Centrochelys sulcata) which are the largest mainland tortoise species in the world. They can live up to 150 years in the wild and weigh over 200lbs!
- The last known living Red-Necked Ostrich in Burkina Faso. The subspecies is considered Critically Endangered and now only exists in 6 of the 18 African countries it used to roam. This particular male was relocated from Niger along with two females in hopes of breeding and repopulating Burkina’s national parks but the two females died in captivity.
- A Caracal (often called the African Lynx). In ancient times, these large cats were tamed and used for hunting.
- Crested Porcupines (Hystrix Cristata) which are bred for their meat which is supposedly quite delicious. Also, contrary to what I had thought, they can’t shoot their quills but instead defend themselves from attackers by running backwards and stabbing their predator. They’ve been know to kill lions and even humans that way!
Here’s a short video clip Trey shot of the kids with a python: