 Zoo-ming out along
Moshi-Arusha road
By Valentine Marc Nkwame
Nowadays as you travel along the main Moshi-Arusha highway, you will see an
irregular shaped, brick wall fence, which encloses a rather large piece of land,
near the King’ori area.
Now, before rushing to conclude that another "Potential investor," has just
flown in from South Africa and bought the land, it is important to note that the
area is an extremely barren one, full of rocks and withering shrubs.
In other words, unless one can magically turn stones into bread, there could be
no logical reason for anybody to buy such an unproductive plot precisely at
King’ori.
Never mind, but it is suddenly becoming apparent that, the fenced plot is
actually set to become a Zoo in the very near future.
Well, I may not exactly be an expert in Biology, but the term Zoo should be
originating from the word, Zoology, the study of animal species in the range of
living organisms.
However, when it comes to Zoos, the issue is not about studying, but rather,
keeping of such animal species in see-through cages, for local Dim-wits to gaze
at ... That is to say, it is a polite way to say an Animal prison.
Mh! Imagine a Zoo at King’ori! What a fresh idea, just when we were starting to
think that Arusha had already exhausted its stock of derisive hoodwinks.
Still, the Zoo could be a great idea, mainly because the location is superb. All
one has to do is simply take a ride in bus and is guaranteed to watch each and
every animal species in the proposed Zoo, free of charge .... People normally
pay to get into a Zoo.
You see, the King’ori Zoo is located down a sloppy area, such that any person
standing outside it, will be having a much better view of the animals, than the
fellows who will be foolish enough to pay their way in.
In fact, one doesn’t even have to waste time and money in traveling the 35
kilometres to watch baboons, squirrels and a couple of snakes at the Zoo ....
That is if indeed it is going to be a Zoo.
Simply buy a Bus ticket to Moshi, Tanga or Dar es Salaam and the cost will cover
the special treat of Animal gazing en-route.
Mind you, the entire section of King’ori, way up to the Kilimanjaro
International Airport (KIA), is probably the hottest spot in the entire Northern
zone and I can guarantee you that the Zoo will not be an Air- conditioned one.
But gazing at the poor, caged animals, in the comfort of a moving bus, won’t be
such a bad idea. Besides, any respectable Lion, Cheetah or Python, should be
able to jump over such a low enclosure, in case of Hunger ... Or Anger!
When this happens, it is bound to be quite a thrilling, spectacular experience
but only if watched from a Bus, for it may turn out to be extremely dangerous
when observed from the Zoo itself.
Anyway, here is another crucial question. "Where exactly will the animals for
the proposed Zoo be coming from?" Certainly not from the Arusha National Park,
where John Wayne caught plenty of the early sixties.
And surely, nobody is thinking of capturing some species from Ngorongoro,
because right now it is the human beings who should be captured from the park
and be taken out, since their population there, is staggering.
So, will the animals be taken from Serengeti? Oh! And come to think of it, with
so much Game parks around, do we really need a Zoo at King’ori?
Last week I had a dream. It was about a fatal road accident between a Dar es
Salaam bound Coach which looked like the Mkwema Express and an Arusha bound
Coaster mini bus, closely resembling the Machame Safaris one.
It was a high speed, highway head-on collision, which means no passenger from
the Coaster came out alive.
Then two gigantic lions, a cheetah and a couple of leopards, jumped from a
nearby Zoo and ate up all the remaining survivors, from the large bus .... When
the police arrived later, scavenging hyenas, had finished off even the dead
corpses.
Which means, the accident must have occurred at King’ori area, not at the usual
‘Kwa Mrefu" section.
.... Zzzzz-zoo. I Slept on, despite the Nightmare.
Nkwame@cashette.com
|
