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A dead zebra in Amboseli National Park: »Pasture land has become scarce«
Photo: Ed Ram/Getty Images
There is a drought in Kenya.
More than 6,000 large wild animals have fallen victim to them in Amboseli National Park alone.
Never before have so many animals died there during a drought - at least not since records began four centuries ago.
This was announced by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) on Tuesday.
"The short rains are not enough for wildlife vital vegetation to recover," said Robert Kless, director of IFAW Germany.
»This was the fifth period of below-average precipitation in a row.
The grazing land for the wild animals and cattle of the Maasai herders has become scarce.«
The balance sheet in the national park visited by tourists is therefore devastating.
Between June and November, around 130 elephants, 3,900 wildebeest and 1,400 zebras died as a result of the drought.
More than 90 of the threatened Maasai giraffes would not have survived the dry period.
Gazelles, buffalo and impala also died.
All of Kenya affected
Amboseli National Park is located in the south of the country, at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, which is in neighboring Tanzania.
Not only here does the drought kill many animals: in 2022, the neighboring Tsavo Park and the Laikipia Samburu Park north of Mount Kenya were also affected.
Almost 50 Grevy's zebras died in Samburu despite a feeding program.
They are threatened with extinction, larger stocks only live in Kenya.
Across Kenya, 205 elephants also died between February and October, the Kenya Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) reported.
With its animal-rich nature reserves, Kenya is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Africa.
However, the country in East Africa is currently being plagued by the worst drought in 40 years.
A quick end to the crisis is not in sight, said Kless.
"It would take at least three years of heavy rain for the situation to normalize again." But with each year that the climate continues to warm, such a series becomes less and less likely.
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