Aidan Hartley

Aiden Hartley is the Spectator's Wild Life columnist.

Jubilant greetings to you, Celestino! How is the atmospheric pressure in your corner? 

15 February 2014 9:00 am

 Laikipia ‘I am old and cannot work again,’ said Celestino. ‘But you are 46 and we have many years to…

Wild life

13 February 2014 3:00 pm

 Laikipia ‘I am old and cannot work again,’ said Celestino. ‘But you are 46 and we have many years to…

I don't love money, but I love the risks it makes me take

18 January 2014 9:00 am

On the flight into Kinshasa, I sat next to an elderly Englishman who was pallid with fear. He revealed that…

Wild life

16 January 2014 3:00 pm

On the flight into Kinshasa, I sat next to an elderly Englishman who was pallid with fear. He revealed that…

Aidan Hartley: If Santa Claus tried to make a delivery, he’d be shot before he reached the chimney

14 December 2013 9:00 am

Laikipia In the cattle rustlers’ camp, I know as I write this that the warriors are sharpening their blades, staring…

Wild Life

12 December 2013 3:00 pm

Laikipia In the cattle rustlers’ camp, I know as I write this that the warriors are sharpening their blades, staring…

Aidan Hartley: Kenya is special like no other African nation

16 November 2013 9:00 am

As I write this, my hands are seared and bruised from holding a hot iron after branding our cattle. We…

Wild life

14 November 2013 3:00 pm

As I write this, my hands are seared and bruised from holding a hot iron after branding our cattle. We…

The only people thriving in post-revolution Egypt — tomb raiders

9 November 2013 9:00 am

In Egypt’s turmoil, many ancient sites are being looted

Aidan Hartley: How Muslim militants and Western jihadis wrecked enchanting Somalia

19 October 2013 9:00 am

Wizards inland from the little Somali port of Barawe bewitched a person to come to them by banging a nail…

Wild life

17 October 2013 2:00 pm

Wizards inland from the little Somali port of Barawe bewitched a person to come to them by banging a nail…

How we survived terror at Nairobi's Westgate mall

28 September 2013 9:00 am

What it was like at the Westgate mall, from two of those who survived

Al-Qa'eda targeted Kenya not because it's a banana republic, but because it's a symbol of African success

28 September 2013 9:00 am

If Al-Shabaab was behind the terrorist attack in Nairobi, then the group has come a long way since its foundation…

Aidan Hartley: I have been shot at and bombed so why do I fear a pyramid?

21 September 2013 9:00 am

It was towards dusk by the time we had given the tourist police the slip and started climbing the pyramid…

Wild life

19 September 2013 1:00 pm

It was towards dusk by the time we had given the tourist police the slip and started climbing the pyramid…

Killing in Kenya: Aidan Hartley tracks the last steps of an elephant

24 August 2013 9:00 am

  Laikipia The bull elephant had roamed our northern marches of the Laikipia plateau for decades. I always recognised him…

Wild life

22 August 2013 1:00 pm

  Laikipia The bull elephant had roamed our northern marches of the Laikipia plateau for decades. I always recognised him…

The Ghosts of Happy Valley, by Juliet Barnes - review

3 August 2013 9:00 am

Rift Valley, Kenya The other day when I told the headmaster of a top British public school that I came…

A Somali shepherd in Kenya

A binge on alcohol and meat, plus hired sex and lodging — all for £1.50

27 July 2013 9:00 am

 Kenya Home is beyond the perimeter of modern Kenya and way off the grid. When the ancient generator goes off…

A Somali shepherd in Kenya

Wild life

25 July 2013 1:00 pm

 Kenya Home is beyond the perimeter of modern Kenya and way off the grid. When the ancient generator goes off…

Wild life

13 June 2013 1:00 pm

Il Pinguaan Springs When I first saw the Pinguaan Springs they were small, fetid bogs set about with papyrus, the…

Wild life

16 May 2013 1:00 pm

A leopard has been on the rampage night after night. We know her because she often lurks in the woods…

Wild life

18 April 2013 1:00 pm

Colobus monkeys in the forest were throat singing like Tibetan monks. Mist rose from the Kericho tea gardens above us…

Wild life

21 March 2013 2:00 pm

Rift Valley ‘We’re on the frontline,’ I said. ‘And however many guns we had, it wouldn’t be enough against the…

Wild life

21 February 2013 2:00 pm

Rift Valley I am training for a half-marathon on the slopes of Mount Kenya in June and I must prepare…