Receding water levels threatening tourism

Masai Mara, Kenya: Conservationists have expressed concern over the receding water levels of the Mara River, the lifeline of tourism activities in Kenya's Masai Mara Game Reserve and Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.

They have blamed the receding water levels on unchecked human activities at the source in the Mau forest.

"The low water level is making the crossing not as spectacular as it should be. Crocodiles and hippos are suffering because of lack of enough water," said Nick Murero, the Mara-Serengeti Ecosystem Coordinator for Lake Victoria Basin.

The weather patterns in Mara-Serengeti have in the last couple of years changed drastically and dry conditions may force migrating wildebeests back to Tanzania because of lack of adequate pasture, he said.

The conservationists who were speaking in Mara said herders were driving their cattle into the park due to lack of enough grass in settlements bordering the park.

"The completion for dwindling pasture has forced some species of wildlife to move out of the park to settlement areas, fueling the human-wildlife conflict," said Sammy Nkoitoi, a director with Masai Mara Conservancies Association, adding this may kill wildebeests.