Kenya: Mara Wildlife Numbers Down 70 Percent

Wildlife in the Mara has reduced by over 70% in the last 30 years and the drop is continuing.

This is according to the latest research published in the Journal of Zoology.

However, the number of cattle grazing in the reserve has increased by more than 1100% per cent, although it is illegal for them to so do.

One of the researchers Joseph Ogutu, says that even after renewed conservation efforts began in 2001, the numbers are still falling.

The Masai Mara is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country, bringing in billions of shillings in foreign exchange.

For those unaware, the Masai Mara is the northern portion of the Serengeti plain across the border from Tanzania. The Masai people have been running cattle there and in Ngorongoro Crater for as long as I can recall. They are allowed to do this by an agreement with the Kenyan government, as the area is their traditional homeland long before it became a "park". At least those are the facts as I remember them. I last travelled there in 1994 and game was plentiful.

Sad commentary on the Kenyan method of conserving wildlife which totally excludes hunting from the management program. If Kenya did not close hunting in '77 it would be interesting to see what the contrast might be today!

I also wonder why anyone takes Kenya serious at the CITIES Convention when these numbers and results are public knowledge!

quote:

Originally posted by bwanamrm:
If Kenya did not close hunting in '77 it would be interesting to see what the contrast might be today!

I would think that the Serengeti and immediate surroundings in Tanz would be a fair comparision.

Dean

The famous Widebeest/Zebra migration transits the Mara River from the Serengeti of Tanzania to the Masai Mara of Kenya, twice every year (going and coming). I've been amongst them while transiting the two countries - no border checkpoint, just drive across.