This year (2021) in October there was a Covid window open for us to go to Kenya. We did. Because of Covid, we decided to “brave” the Masai Mara – probably the best park on our planet to see everything during your stay there. We did. But why go now? Because we thought there would be fewer vehicles and tourists in the park due to Covid restrictions. There were. We hate watching a big cat or the migration with tens or hundreds of cars around them, which was the case pre-Covid.
Our one wish was to see cheetah, our favourite animal. We discussed cheetah with the people we met, mainly our excellent guide and our tented camp manager. We were so interested to learn what they had to say.
We learnt that two female cheetahs had had three and four cubs respectively. All seven cubs had been killed by lion – but lion are not the cause of their risk of extinction … (WHAT ??), no, people are.
Our first sighting of cheetah was way in the distance because we saw eight vehicles looking at something – a cheetah. They had “nicely” kept their distance from the gorgeous cat when a ninth vehicle appeared and pushed in right up next to the cheetah. The other vehicles, no doubt ‘pissed off’ also pushed in close to the cheetah for they had been there first. Tourists do put a huge amount of pressure on cheetah. Indeed, overseas tourists pay a lot of money to come to Kenya to see wildlife. The lodge driver-guides do everything they can to please their guests and most (all) of them respect the wildlife and want to look after it. Then you get other drivers who come in and only want the best photos without thinking about the stress they are putting on the animals. We did not go and see that poor harassed cheetah. It was heart-breaking!
Instead, our guide helped us to find other cheetahs on our own. It was so wonderful and powerful to see cheetah with no other vehicles around – and that is still possible in the Masai Mara!!
However, we did see two cheetahs on a kill, again because we saw four vehicles looking at something. This time we went to look too.
When we got there, our guide told us three important things:
1/ Cheetah must eat their kill immediately. Hyena come around very quickly now in large hunting groups and chase the cheetah off their kill as soon as they can. These big hyena hunting groups are new to the Mara. They are very aggressive and destructive (they need to eat too …).
2/ Having vehicles around cheetahs means they can’t hear and see the hyena or jackals coming. The (large) number of vehicles also indicate to the hyena (and lions) where the cheetahs are …
3/ Having vehicles around cheetahs prevents them from being able to hunt. Cheetahs need space – lots of space – to see their prey and to approach their prey without being seen.
I don’t like to mention names, but I will because this company deserves a massive thumbs up for what they do. Also, it’s interesting to learn about the results of what they have done. Asilia. They own and run a few gorgeous, tented camps in the best parks.
In the Naboisho Conservancy next to the Masai Mara, where they have a camp, they have bought “empty” bed nights in order to reduce the number of other camps (beds) that can exist in that conservancy (= a reduction in the number of tourists and vehicles). In addition, in the Naboisho Conservancy, only four vehicles are allowed around any big cat at a time. The other vehicles have to wait their turn to move in to see the cats when one of the vehicles leaves. The guides all know this and respect this rule. Although I do not have any concrete number results on this, it seems to be a move in the right direction. But best of all – and here is a solution to the problem – is what was done in Tanzania. The Namiri Plains in the Serengeti were closed to all tourists for 20 years to allow the cheetah to reproduce in peace, before Asilia built their lodge Namiri Plains. It worked. The cheetah cubs that were born have survived and are grown up adults. The cheetah population did increase. I don’t know the numbers but one conclusion I learnt from our conversation is:
- no tourists = increase in the cheetah population.
BUT we all also know that Tourists = cheetah.
Why? Because park entrance fees and bed night fees cover the costs of preserving the land and the animals. Costs such as Park Ranger salaries, equipment and training. Those rangers in Kenya do an excellent job to look after the animals and reduce poaching, remove snares, etc. Other costs incurred are “rent” and bed night fees for the Maasai who ‘hand over’ a lot of their land to wildlife. The human population in Kenya, as in many other parts of the world, has exploded and there is less and less land left for wildlife. If it wasn’t for the land-share agreements with the Maasai, the Masai Mara area would be very small. There are also the salaries for the hundreds of people who work around wildlife: guides, waiters, room people, etc. Their salaries transform the lives of so many Kenyans and they won’t let the wildlife go for they’ll be out of a job. There are many financial reasons why tourists are essential in this game. I could even say, thankfully for the huge amounts of money involved, we still have some magnificent wildlife to see on planet earth.
What do you think?
Please add your comments and thoughts to this blog. I would be most interested to read your input and receive more pieces to this puzzle! Thank you 😊