African Animal Preserves: The Serengeti, Essay Example

Africa is rich in its natural animal preserves. If one happens to get a chance to transverse the continent, he will witness the dozens of game preserves dedicated to wildlife; the birds, mammals, and the great African tableu reptiles, to the game reserves and the national parks which is home to numerous creatures and the ecosystems which sustain life in these habitats. One will also find some of the most exciting landscape images and wildlife, not forgetting to mention a comprehensive and a detailed description of the top African wildlife regions and preserves. There are both great and small ecological preserves in Africa. It ranges from the Serengeti and the savanna grasslands of Kenya, the gorilla forests of Central Africa, through the untamed woodlands of Zambia. The mystical waters of the Zambezi, the Namib desert and its soaring dunes, and many other renowned preserves is what Africa can pride itself in.

In this essay, however, I am therefore to narrow my main discussion to the Serengeti Park which occupies Tanzania and extends to the plain fields of the neighboring country Kenya. Serengeti is a word derived from a community which neighbors the habitat. The said community is the Masai and the word means plain fields. The park occupies a large area and is home to millions of large as well as small animals. The wildebeest’s migration from the Serengeti to Masai Mara in Kenya has been termed as one of the wonders of the world (Sih, A. Englund G, & Wooster D, 1998). The most surprising thing about the migration though is the fact that even at the height of the migration, the Serengeti never seems crowded. The wildebeests bleat and create thundering dust storms as they move across the plains with the clear blue African sky filling the space.

In the mid of the year, the dry season sets in forcing the wildebeests to migrate towards the Mara River, the Masai Mara in such of fresh pastures. This movement also coincides with the mating season. The millions of animals, therefore, breed within the same month (Ydenberg, R. & Dill L, 1986).

The grass, however, get finished in the end of the year forcing the wildebeests to flee back again to the replenished grass plains of the Serengeti. This migration cycle also sustains other predators among them lions, wild cheetah, wild dog, and hyenas. These predators tend to devour the herds taking advantage of the youngest, the old, and sometimes the sick. As the law of nature balances, the predators leave the pregnant and healthy wildebeests to continue the breeding of the next generation. Magnhagen, C. 1991 observes that the Serengeti is also home to the large black Verraux eagles, antelopes, elephants, and other birds. In a nutshell, the Serengeti is rich in diversity of animals and birds and plant life owing to its immense, wide open space. All this features make Serengeti a truly natural wonder of the world and one ought to visit it while in Tanzania.

Human activities of varied nature have detrimental effects on the population of species the park is designed to protect. The impacts of these human activities range from direct hunting for the purposes of trophy to direct loss of the habitat due to agricultural activities, forestry and vehicular activities. These human activities have tremendous effects on the park in that it reduces its size and affect the ecology.

An example at hand is found in the United States of America forty years ago. The problem, however, appeared easy to solve. In this case, a certain pesticide interfered with the reproduction abilities of the bird. It weakened the eggs shell causing them to fail to hatch or break during incubation. Despite being banned in latter years, the problem has continued to affect the birds.

This, however, is not the case with Africa’s habitat. The great animals of African plains currently facing extinction is mainly due to clear- cut reasons. It is not due to habitat loss. At the top most is continued poaching which have taken their toll for decades. This is happening despite the regulations, bans, and treaties which have been put in place. Ecologists have also argued that human disturbance stimuli are equally threatening. This observation has been put forward due to the response animals tend to follow when they experience such stimuli. The disturbance stimuli drive them to behave just like when they encounter predators.

In addition, to poaching and human disturbance stimuli there has also been an increase in illegal cutting of trees and unplanned fires. In the western side of the park, farms and settlements are appearing on the perimeter of the National park. The same case also applies to Maswa and Gorongoro reserves.

A major highway, an international airport, and power struggles are other critical challenges which are now threatening the very fabric and the survival of the Serengeti National Reserve. One of the world’s greatest wildlife heritages is now facing an uncertain future.

There are myriad conservation efforts that have advanced in order to save the wildlife and the environment in general. The Serengeti Mara ecosystem of South Western Kenya and Northern Tanzania is one of the chief wildlife regions of the world. It has an outstanding network of parks and reserves established to protect this cultural and natural heritage. Among the protected areas are the Masai Mara in Kenya, Maswa Game Reserve, Ngorongoro conservation area, and the Serengeti itself. However, with the increase in land use pressure which is growing rapidly, there is a growing concern over the long -term viability of the ecosystem.

These efforts have not only focused on the implementation of trade restrictions for instance bans on ivory, but also on mitigating the economic consequences caused by human and wildlife conflicts. Furthermore, leading non governmental and international organizations are in support of initiatives to share and promote the economic benefits of wildlife conservation with local communities. In the Serengeti, for instance, ten percent of the trophy fees on tourist hunting are directly channeled to the villages in whose land they operate. Wildlife is a valuable resource and by sharing the profit from it with the poor local community seems to encourage the conservation of the ecosystem.

Wildlife management in many African countries has been dogged with complicated questions of the human conditions and governance, and, on the other hand, biological processes (Piatt, J. et al, 1990). An imbalance on designing policies that caters for both community welfare and wildlife. Effective management policies, which deal both, with the direct causes and other social conflicts that the existences of such animal habitats cause to the surrounding communities should be instituted. For example, research studies done on the Serengeti indicates that there is a decline in levels of poaching when anti poaching patrols increase. In this case, when trying to manage the impact of anthropogenic activities, the increase in anti -poaching patrols have been considered economical than the poachers who are caught.

In my own view, there are some additional measures I would propose to the Serengeti Reserve fraternity to help conserve the Park. It seems that the main tussle is between the community and the park officials. In this case, therefore, village workshops ought to be held on a regular basis in order to discuss the issues of common concern among managers and local community. The primary focus of these workshops is to establish dialogue and provide in formation on the community’s development needs and on its perspective on wildlife utility.

Conservation centers should also be established by local communities with the help of the Serengeti Park Reserve. These conservation centers will not only be meant to provide education but also act as collaborative forums between the community and the park managers. Demonstrations, training, among other extension activities will also be done in conservation centers. Other recommendations include, improving the physical infrastructure, strengthening law enforcement, and developing sound management plans. Land use is vital and thus removal of land use that are incompatible with conservation from land edge zones is also recommended (Ydenberg & Dill, 1986).

In conclusion, if the intrusion of human activity in the Serengeti is not stopped, then the much valued Serengeti will sink into an abyss. Stakeholders should not relent in their efforts to conserve the habitat. By so doing, they will be true to the course as one Masai elder puts it that mankind’s sacred responsibility to the young and unborn generations is to jealously protect Mother Earth and all life in it.

References

Magnhagen, C. (1991). Predation risk as a cost of reproduction. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 6, 183-186.

Piatt, J. (1990). Effects of human disturbance on breeding Least and Crested Auklets at St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Auk 107, 342-350.

Sih, A., Englund, G., & Wooster, D. (1998). Emergent impacts of multiple predators on prey, Trends in Ecology and Evolution 13, 350-355.

Ydenberg, R. & Dill L.1986. The economics of fleeing from predators, Advances in the Study of Behavior, 16, 229-249.