Nairobi — Lake Nakuru National Park is easily one of the world's largest and best known bird sanctuaries.

Sadly, its potential is yet to be fully exploited to promote domestic tourism.

The park is home to 1.5 million flamingos, 60 black rhinos and 55 white rhinos, 25 lions, 50 leopards and 200 rare Rothschild giraffe and many other species of animals and plants.

In 1959, Dr Leslie Brown described it as "a startling ornithological spectacle" while renowned ornithologist Tory Peterson said that lesser and greater flamingoes at the park were so many that "they outnumber the world's population".

And last year, the Naishi camp site at the park was voted the best managed in East and Central Africa.

The park also has the best animal capturing unit in the region and is occasionally hired by various governmental organisations.

Visiting the sanctuary

Despite the accolades, and the fact that the sanctuary hosts more than 500 species of birds, thousands of herbivores, carnivores and rare plant species, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is concerned that the number of Kenyans visiting the park is dwindling at an alarming rate.

On a busy weekday, the park receives between 800 and 1,000 visitors and about 3,241 on weekends.

The warden in charge of the park, Mr Joseph Warutere, said the park continued to depend heavily on foreign tourists because Kenyans were not well informed about its attractions.

Even though locals were charged Sh100 each to visit the park while foreigners paid Sh2,400 ($30) each, Kenyans were yet to take full advantage and explore the park.

KWS has for many years relied on tourists from Europe and America to boost the country's tourism sector. But travel advisories against Kenya by the US government and several European countries four years ago affected the sector adversely.

Said Mr Warutere: "We could not close our parks just because there were no foreigners visiting them. The travel advisories taught us a lesson. However, the situation is improving."

Since January, KWS has received Sh90 million from gate collections at the park. On average, the park generates Sh15 million every month from gate collections but officials target an increase of between 20 and 25 per cent.

KWS has introduced various incentives in its efforts to boost local tourism. It has set aside two buses which ferry locals from Nakuru Town to the park every day.

Mr Warutere revealed that KWS was considering opening a new gate to link the park with the Maasai Mara National Park so as to accommodate more visitors and shorten the distance for those intending to visit the Maasai Mara from Nakuru and vice versa.

"We want to be a model to all other conservation areas by ensuring the public get value of their money," said the warden.

But the dream could be marred by the challenges facing the park.

For instance, the high number of rhinos at the park has been a source of worry because the park does not have enough space for the animals.

Crowding might lead to death

Mr Warutere said that the park could only accommodate 40 black rhinos and 30 white rhinos. He said that each year, 10 rhinos are donated to other parks but due to the high cost of moving them, that did not happen this year.

"Crowding might lead to deaths. Transferring one rhino will cost KWS about Sh300,000 and will also require a good planning," said Mr Warutere.

The other great challenge the national park faces stems from the frequent discharge of waste products and heavy metals from the local dumpsite into Lake Nakuru. The spewing of chemicals and other wastes poses a threat to the lives of the flamingos at the park.

But that is not all.

"Due to deforestation of the Mau forest, rivers draining their waters into the lake have been greatly affected and there is little water getting into the park and it has not been sufficient for our animals," he said.

To avoid competition for water among the animals, the park managers installed 10 water troughs at strategic points and pipe water there regularly to ensure that there was enough for all who call the park home.