DR Imre Loefler
13 February 2007
opinion
Nairobi — A little while ago, an American television company declared migration in the Mara one of the seven new wonders of the world.
Within a few days, Kenyans, led by politicians and the media, were bursting with pride. One wonders whether the word 'pride' is not misplaced - after all, the migration is a natural phenomenon which occurred for thousands of years before Kenyans' ancestors arrived on the scene! One should have thought that pride is only justified if one made a contribution of some sort, but then Kenyans are encouraged to be proud of matters in which they had no choice.
The Seven Wonders of the World were man-made structures spread across the Roman Empire and identified on account of size, beauty and engineering feat. They were called 'wonders' because of their extraordinariness. Migration in the Mara is a breathtakingly interesting phenomenon. It entails the movement of hundreds of thousands (in some years more than a million) wildebeest, accompanied by an equal number of Burchell's zebra, harterbeest and gazelles.
Spectacular scene
The herds migrate in search of grazing land whose quality depends on rainfall amount and distribution. The migration is not a Kenyan event. The bulk of the herds spends most of the year in Tanzania's Serengeti and its neighbourhood, and come to Kenya - to the Mara - in August for varying length of time, from a few weeks to two months.
In the migration, the wildebeest are the most numerous, the most spectacular and the most interesting, partly because of the immense columns in which they migrate. The year of the wildebeest begins in the south-eastern corner of the Serengeti, near Ngorongoro, where the bulls mark out territories and fight for mates.
The breeding season lasts a few weeks and aggression subsides. The herds form and a clockwise move begins towards the west, north-east and into the Mara where the main calving grounds are (or used to be) on the Loita Plains.
After calving, the wildebeest move on to the south-east through Loilondo and eventually return to the breeding grounds. This general pattern is often modified - there may be back and forth movements, or, if grazing is good, the herds may linger for a few weeks longer than usual.
Habitat neglected
From the tourism point of view, a "good" migration is when a million or more wildebeest are on the move simultaneously. While Kenyans may not be justified to be proud of the migration, they certainly can praise luck that the migration exists and, apart from being a spectacular phenomenon, it is also a money spinner. What Kenyans should ask themselves is whether they have done anything to safeguard the future of the migration. The answer is No.
On the contrary, developments in the Mara have consistently been detrimental to the wildebeest and to wildlife in general. To begin with, the annual move used to follow a much larger arch than can be accommodated in the Mara Reserve.
The traditional breeding grounds are not within the reserve. In the north west, along the Mara River, there are well established wheat and horticultural farms. In the east and the north east, the density of domestic animals is such that the forage has deteriorated.
Domestic stock has not evolved in Africa and, therefore, it is not as well adapted as wildlife. Cattle are more selective in their grazing and merely trample on and destroy the grass zebra and wildebeest thrive on. The pastoralists adapt by becoming part farmers on small holdings. These are fenced off and impede migration.
Bleak future
The farms and the domestic animal overpopulation are not the greatest environmental destruction in the Mara - what has befallen the north of the area is the cause of worry. This is where predatory farming has taken place since the 1970s. The land was leased to agricultural contractors and cleared of trees and shrubs. Wheat was planted and treated with all manner of agricultural chemicals. The yields were phenomenal.
The cycle was repeated again and again and the land has deteriorated so much that farming does not make sense. Wind erosion has been the key reason for deterioration. Now, pioneer weeds cover thousands of hectares of land and neither domestic animals nor wildlife use them. In the meantime, deforestation in the Mau interferes with the flow of the Mara River: It has become very shallow except when it floods.
Farmers also pollute it with chemicals. There are many lodges and camps in the Mara, too much off track driving and too much rubbish. Poaching for bush meat trade is also detrimental. The principal beneficiaries from the wonder of the world are local politicians. The future of the Mara and wildebeest migration requires rethinking of land use. This, in turn, requires political will, harder to come by than pride.
The writer is a retired surgeon
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The East African Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
