Humans ruining Kenyan wildlife
22/04/2009 22:00 - (SA)


Nairobi - Wildlife populations in Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve have declined massively over the past quarter century due to pressures from a rapidly expanding human presence, according to a study released on Wednesday.

Between 1989 and 2003 the giraffe population in the Maasai Mara declined by 95%, warthogs by 80% and impalas by 65%, according to a report by the International Livestock Research Institute, which tracked serious declines in four other hoofed mammals.

"These losses are widespread and substantial," Joseph Ogutu, who led the ILRI study, said in a statement. "And they are likely linked to the steady increase in human settlements on lands adjacent to the reserve."

The Maasai are a tribe of semi-nomadic herders, but they have increasingly settled in recent decades, upsetting the historic harmony that previously existed between the human and animal communities around the reserve.

Increased livestock

Large scale crop cultivation, the massive expansion of permanent human settlements, and increased presence of livestock have deprived wildlife of grazing areas, leading to a decline in numbers.

"We know from thousands of years of history that pastoral livestock keeping can co-exist with Africa's renowned concentration of big mammals," ILRI director general Carlos Sere said in a statement.

He said it was in the interest of the Maasai to preserve the wildlife as they receive a share of the revenue generated by tourists who visit the reserve largely to see the animals.

The researchers alleged that years of policy neglect by Kenyan governments have forced the Maasai into an environmentally unsustainable lifestyle.

"One of the problems is that the pastoralists own the land but the government owns the wildlife," Joseph Ogutu told AFP.

But changes to Maasai life have in part brought on by changing weather patterns and rise in periods of prolonged drought.

The Maasai Reserve covers 1 500km² in western Kenya and is central to the country's wildlife driven tourism industry.

- AFP

This is the exact argument we are having with the greenies. It is not the hunters but the non hunters that are killing the wildlife. By nit having buffer hunting zones protecting the parks the people move in and the animals territory is slowly wiped out. This is the big argument that we are having with the hunting of the lion. The Masai move into an area where there is no hunting, the lions kill their cattle, the Masai kill the lions and get nothing for the lion or the killed cattle and the hunters get blamed for the dwindeling population of lion. Where as in an area such as Tanzania the Masai get compensated for the cattle, the hunter gets a lion hunt, the government get revenue from the lion that should go back to the community the hunting outfit manages to operate and employ hundreds of people and all are happy. Even the lion because he gets a nice home with lots of other animals in a huge Texas home.

quote:

Originally posted by timot:
This is the exact argument we are having with the greenies. It is not the hunters but the non hunters that are killing the wildlife. By nit having buffer hunting zones protecting the parks the people move in and the animals territory is slowly wiped out. This is the big argument that we are having with the hunting of the lion. The Masai move into an area where there is no hunting, the lions kill their cattle, the Masai kill the lions and get nothing for the lion or the killed cattle and the hunters get blamed for the dwindeling population of lion. Where as in an area such as Tanzania the Masai get compensated for the cattle, the hunter gets a lion hunt, the government get revenue from the lion that should go back to the community the hunting outfit manages to operate and employ hundreds of people and all are happy. Even the lion because he gets a nice home with lots of other animals in a huge Texas home.

Am surprised no one has actually come forward and revealed how the Masai rid themselves of marauding lions - The most effective is by directly injecting cattle-dip into a carcass and anything scavenging the carcass: hyena, jackal, vulture, lion, etc. meet a slow and painful death - those that have eaten a tainted portion of the carcass end up with an almighty gut-ache and will not venture near any carcass - this results in a fresh kill every time and if it is livestock, the Masai lose more than before. Regrettably entire prides get and have been wiped out. Our Green friends don't know about these malpractices!

IF IT PAYS IT STAYS!

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
Humans ruining Kenyan wildlife
22/04/2009 22:00 - (SA)

Talk about stating the obvious. This headline is relevant to so much of the world...

David