The giraffe population of Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve has declined up to 95% because of increased human settlement around the unfenced park, says a new study.
Scientists have found the numbers of giraffe, hartebeest, impala, warthog, topi and waterbuck all fell “markedly and persistently” throughout the 1500km² reserve between 1989 and 2003. Their sample counts were backed by government population estimates that showed losses as high as 95% for giraffe, 80% for warthog and 76% for hartebeest for the period dating back to 1979.
The authors of the study, which was funded by the WWF and published in the British Journal of Zoology in May, say it presents detailed evidence of the rapid decline of ungulate, or hoofed, animals in the Mara.
The main reason for the population decrease was the rapid expansion of human settlements on the land next to the reserve. The area was traditionally used by wild animals for seasonal grazing but is increasingly being turned over to livestock and crop production.
“The situation we documented paints a bleak picture and requires urgent and decisive action if we want to save this treasure from disaster,” said Joseph Ogutu, a statistical ecologist and lead author of the study.
“If nothing is done, these declines will not just continue but will accelerate as the human populations around the reserve increase.”
The Mara reserve sits at the top of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, which hosts the spectacular annual migration of wildebeest and other animals. Bordering the park is an area known as the Mara ranchlands, which is mainly home to the Masai ethnic group.
Until the last few decades the Masai semi-nomadic herders and their livestock coexisted easily with the wild animals. But rapid population growth and a steadily more sedentary lifestyle for the Masai, driven largely by decades of policy neglect, have seen the number of permanent settlements surge along the boundaries of the Mara. In Koyiaki, a ranch next to the reserve, the number of huts increased from 44 to 2Â 345 between 1950 and 2003. Individual titleholders now own what was once communal land.
Ogutu said this meant wild grazing animals that previously moved freely in and out of the reserve were increasingly competing for habitat with cattle and large-scale crop cultivation. The destruction of trees for fire wood was also having a negative effect.
“It’s not just that wild animals are moving away from these areas; they are dying out.”
Among the other ungulates studied by the scientists, topi and impala also suffered sharp declines over the 15-year period. While zebra and waterbuck numbers increased, they were still down 87% and 57% respectively from their 1979 population estimates.
The study warned that the killing of animals that damage crops and water supplies, break fences and threaten humans and livestock was “common and increasing” in the ranchlands. Adding to the pressure on wildlife, more and more farmers were allowing their livestock to graze in the reserve, especially in times of drought. Hunting by mainly non-Masai ethnic groups within the Mara was also a problem.
“The traditional livestock livelihoods of the Masai, who rarely consume wild animals, actually helped maintain the abundance of grazing animals in East Africa. And where a pastoral approach to livestock grazing is still practised, it continues to benefit wild populations,” said Robin Reid, director of the Centre for Collaborative Conservation at Colorado State University, who co-wrote the paper.
“There appears to be a ‘tipping point’ of human populations above which former coexistence between Masai and wildlife begins to break down. In the villages on the border of the Mara this point has been passed, but large areas of the Mara still have populations low enough that compatibility is still possible,” she said.
Since 2003 several wildlife conservancies have been set up in the Mara ranchlands. The operators said these have helped increase animal numbers while providing employment and rental income to Masai landlords.
Animals refuse to drink from River
Since I first came to the Mara region as a baby in 1967 the changes have been tremendous: from the expansion of wheat farming on former ranchlands around the reserve to the pressure of human settlement and the at-times irresponsible boom in tourism.
One thing that has never changed is that the Masai people have been largely excluded from tourism and conservation issues.
Today there is strong pressure on what is left of the old Masai ranchlands, primarily for small-scale farming. Though the Masai do not traditionally practise agriculture, they often rent out their land to farmers from other regions of Kenya, who fence it off.
Some Masai pastoralists are finding that they no longer have enough grazing space; they are caught between large-scale farming on one end of the Mara and also new conservation areas being developed on their traditional land.
The environmental situation is worsening. Deforestation and agriculture have affected the quality and the quantity of the water in the Mara river and other water sources.
We have witnessed cases of animals refusing to drink from the river and also animals dying from pesticides.
You have less land, fewer migration corridors, more settlements, lack of planning and a higher demand for charcoal and bush meat. At this rate we are certain to see a further decline in the number of animals. We must confront the issues and provide people with alter-natives or we are all going to lose.
The positive side of it is that we can also turn things around and make the Mara a showcase for how people and wildlife can live together. — George Roumeguere