Fewer Wild Animals In Kenya

The numbers of wild grazing animals in Kenya's world-renowned Maasai Mara National Reserve have fallen substantially in 15 years as wildlife competes with neighboring human settlements, researchers say. A study published on April 22, 2009 in the British Journal of Zoology found six species -- giraffes, hartebeest, impala, warthogs, topis and waterbuck -- had declined "markedly and persistently" throughout the 1,500 square km (580 square mile) reserve.

Kenya's Maasai Mara is best known for its spectacular annual wildebeest migration. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit every year.

Researchers found the growing human Maasai population in the area had cut wild animal numbers by taking over wildlife grazing land for crop and livestock production to support their families. The report also said some traditional farming communities to the west and southwest of the Mara were continuing to illegally hunt wildlife inside the reserve for both food and profit.

Source: reuters