Pressure on park as pandemic keeps tourists away
China DailyAgencies | Updated: 2020-08-11 07:59 The annual migration of wildebeest from the Serengeti National park in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara national reserve in Kenya is seen from a drone in the Maasai Mara in late July. Photo/Agencies MAASAI MARA, Kenya－One of nature's most spectacular sights, East Africa's great wildebeest migration, went largely unwatched by tourists this year as the effects of the novel coronavirus have spread even to the continent's wilderness. Travel restrictions kept tourists away for the annual wildlife migration in Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve and only a handful of guides and park wardens were there to watch thousands of wildebeest antelopes make their famous trek in search of new grazing pastures. Although the absence of tourists makes little difference to the giant herd of wildebeest moving between Kenya and neighboring Tanzania, it's a serious problem for the park, the local government and the surrounding community. The revenue, the funds, that the county government is collecting from the Maasai Mara National Reserve is zero now," says chief warden James Sindiyo.
History of this topic
Tanzania wants to evict Maasai for wildlife – but they’re fighting back
Al Jazeera
Tourists evacuated from Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve amid flooding and heavy rains
The Independent
Pressure on park as pandemic keeps tourists away
China Daily
The crash in tourism has jeopardised decades of wildlife conservation efforts in Kenya
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