Since1980,Kenyahaslostonaverage
70 percentofitswildlife,duetothe
impactsofa burgeoninghuman
population.Thewildebeestmigration- thespectacularmovementof1.3
millionanimalsthatcircletheMara
ReserveandSerengetiNationalPark
(inneighbouringTanzania)insearch
offreshgrazingandwater,alongside
hundredsofthousandsofzebrasand
Thomson’sgazelles– bears witness
tothosechanges.
TheMaraoccupiesthe
northernmostzoneofthemigration
loop,andinthepast,approximately
halfofthewildebeestwouldpush
acrossitsborder,spendingupto
fourmonthsinthereserve(andthe
adjacentwildlifeconservancies)
duringthedrymonthsfromJulyto
October.Today,duetocompetition
withlivestockforgrazing,fencing
andthedevelopmentoflandfor
farmingandsettlements,thenumber
of wildebeest crossing into the Mara
hasplummetedto157,000,withthe
animalsnowspendinglesstimein
thearea.Meanwhile,thesmallerlocal
migrationfromtheLoitaPlainshas
crashed,from123,000animals
in 1977 to20,000today.
Whileontheirtravels,the
wildebeestrepeatedlycrossthe
MaraRiver.Andhereinliesanother
problem:thewaterway– thelifeblood
ofthereserve– isseasonallydrying
up,a resultofdeforestationaround
itssourceintheMauForest,
andofftakeforagriculture.Both
KenyaandTanzaniaproposed
damsasa solution,butgiventhe
likelyecologicalrepercussionsof
construction,Tanzaniashelved
itsplansandhas asked Kenya to
dolikewise.
Tanzanianisplanningtoextendthe
westernboundaryoftheSerengetias
farasLakeVictoria,providinganother
permanentsourceoffreshwater for
Africa’s thirsty herbivores.Wildebeestand wateronthe wane
August 2020 BBC Wildlife 73
LIONS
If the water disappears, the wildlife disappears with it.
Hyenanumbershaverisen
asthelionpopulationhas
declined.Above:wildebeest
cross the Mara River.