The Plight of the wildebeest demands serious concern to save them from extinction

One of the wonders of the natural world has been the migration of more than a million wildebeest between Kenya and Tanzania.  This has attracted people from all round the globe.  They come excited to Kenya every year to witness the herds streaming across the Savanna and over the Mara River.  

But the poachers pose a great threat to this unique annual migration.  Brian Health, CEO of the Mara Conservancy, said that when the animal come into Kenya, a big influx of poachers is observed.  The Mara conservancy is associated with protecting the animals in the border regions of the park. He illustrates the fact saying that if the number of animal that are being poached are not controlled immediately, then the migration of the wildebeest is under severe threat.

Dependence on tourism

The conservative NGO depends heavily on the finance by the tourists, for their anti-poaching operations.  This is done by investing a part of entrance fee of each of the tourist into these operations.  

In the normal years they have had enough funding for the operations but unfortunately this is not a normal year in Kenya.  A large number of visitors have cancelled their trips due to the political violence steaming from Kenya’s disputed election.  And although the country has been peaceful from the past few months, still the tourists have preferred to stay away from the place.  As a result for this, the Mara Conservancy is well short of the required finances for proceeding with the anti-poaching activities.  The arrival of low number of tourists is not only hurting the Kenyan economy, it also puts the wildlife at a huge risk.

Joseph Kimojino, one of the head rangers said that if the Kenyan government fails to run the operations normally, then chances are that at the end of the day, they are left with no animals whatsoever.  It sounds alarmist and indeed it is true with the facts backings it up. The experts firmly believe that almost 40,000 to 100,000 wildebeest are poached every year.  And the fact is that if the poaching increases so rapidly then it will certainly cause a disaster.  

Joseph Kimojino, who has served twenty years at the park, has started a blog in order to raise money for the anti poaching efforts. Although they have managed to raise almost $60,000, still they are well short of the required amount.