Maasai Squatters Given Ultimatum

The Tanzania government have given Maasai communities living inside Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) until the end of this year to vacate the premises, reports Apolinari Tairo of eTN.

Often called the "Last Garden of Eden," the NCA is located in Tanzania's tourist circuit and is a World Heritage Site. The nomads moved there, looking for greener pastures for their cattle.

Increasing human activities in the area have worried wildlife conservationists. Approximately 60,000 people, primarily Maasai, are currently living in NCA, disrupting both tourism and conservation efforts.

For more information about the NCA, the Maasai and this long-time cultural issue, visit these resources:

Ngorongoro Conservation Area
www.ngorongoro-crater-africa.org

Maasai Wildlife Conservation and Human Need
www.ogiek.org/faq/article-ndasoki-mas.htm

Legitimizing Dispossession: The Tanzanian High Court's Decision on the Eviction of Maasai Pastoralists from Mkomazi Game Reserve
www.cs.org/publications/csq/csq-article.cfm?id=503

Global Warming Could Alter the Mane Attraction

Much like human females, lionesses fancy thick, full manes on their men. But unlike human males, climate is a large factor in how full and thick a lion’s mane will get, research published in the April 13, 2006, issue of the Journal of Mammalogy found.

The study, based on zoo animals throughout the United States, showed that up to one-half of the length and density of zoo lion’s manes could be attributed to temperature. The lion’s mane, which can hinder heat loss just like a wool scarf, is primarily used to attract females.

But being sexy comes at cost: it takes energy to grow and maintain a full mane, it can make it harder to sneak up on prey, it makes a great home for parasites, it catches on bramble more easily, and, as this study shows, it can make it harder to keep cool while hanging out on the Serengeti.

"Many variables interact to affect mane development in wild lions," said Dr. Bruce Patterson, lead author of the paper and principal investigator of Earthwatch's Lions of Tsavo project. "Several of these variables, including food, water and social groupings are controlled in zoological parks, where the authors show climate has a major effect on more development."

This pans out in the wild, where lions in the hottest climates have little or no mane at all. "This is the case in Tsavo, Kenya," said Patterson, "where most lions are maneless."

So, could global warming make lions with dark, luxurious manes a thing of the past as Peyton M. West suggests in his American Scientist article, "The Lion’s Mane"? Previous research has indicated that in areas of east Africa most impacted by global warming, lion manes have been getting thinner and less ostentatious.

For more information about Earthwatch’s Lions of Tsavo project and the scientists working on the project, visit www.earthwatch.org/site/pp2.asp?c=dsJSK6PFJnH&b=1147599.

Eco-Tourism On the Rise in Africa

When most people think of going on a vacation to Africa, the word "safari" comes up. For most, the whole point of a safari is to see the wildlife of the mysterious continent. However, as many of you know, and as I’m mentioned in other posts to this blog, that wildlife is not only getting smaller, but is, in some cases, in danger of disappearing altogether.

Thankfully, many African nations are realizing the importance their wildlife has for their economy and are starting to use tourism as a way of funding conservation efforts. Thus, eco-tourism, nature-based tourism that educates and interprets the natural environment for tourist and is ecologically sustainable, is growing in many African countries.

For a good overview of this topic, check out “Development of Africa’s eco-tourism” at www.traveldailynews.com/makeof.asp?central_id=1194&permanent_id=31.

Black Rhino Population Improving

When I lived in Kenya, there was this black rhino that my family considered "our rhino." Every time we went to this national park, I can't remember which, it was there hanging about this lone acacia tree. We lived in Kenya for two and half years, and it was always there. Then, before we returned to the U.S., we returned to the acacia tree to say good-bye, but the rhino was not there.

The black rhino, along with whales and elephants, is a leading symbol for environmentalism. Once abundant throughout sub-Saharan Africa, their habitat is limited to an area stretching from Cameroon in the west, Kenya in the East and South Africa in the south. Only a few years ago, it looked like the black rhino would disappear altogether.

But thanks to conservationists' efforts, the black rhino is making a comeback. At the end of 2003, there were only 428 animals in Kenya. At the end of 2005, the number had grown to 539. "This shows a healthy increase that surpassed our targets," said Dr. Taye Teferi of the World Wildlife Federation’s Eastern Africa office in Nairobi.

Of course, this does not mean rhinos are out of the woods. Poachers still seek their horns because there is still a market for them in Asia, where rhino horn powder is used in traditional medicine, and the Middle East, where rhino horn is still carved for handles of ceremonial daggers.

Also, rhinos in Kenya once numbered 20,000 in 1970. They were abundant and a common site when lived there from 1969 to 1971. Now, the goal set by the Kenya Wildlife Service, in cooperation with WWF’s black rhino project, is to increase the population to a mere 1,000 by 2020. "With increased improvement in wildlife management and monitoring," said Dr. Teferi, "the black rhino population can continue to show a healthy growth rate for many years to come."

For more information about the WWF Black Rhino Project, visit worldwildlife.org/rhinos/subspecies/subspecies_br.cfm.