Numbers of giraffe in the Masai Mara fell by more than 80%

By James Morgan
BBC News

Wild grazing animals in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve are steadily disappearing, a study has found.

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Numbers of giraffe, warthog, impala, topi and hartebeest fell by 50% or more between 1979 and 2002.

The falls are linked to rapid growth of Maasai settlements around the reserve, say scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

Their analysis is published in the British Journal of Zoology.

"The situation we documented paints a bleak picture and requires urgent and decisive action if we want to save this treasure from disaster," said Joseph Ogutu, the lead author of the study and a statistical ecologist at ILRI.

"Our study offers the best evidence to date that wildlife losses in the reserve are widespread and substantial.

"These trends are clearly linked to the increase in human settlements on lands adjacent to the reserve."

The loss of grazing animals is already having an impact on lions, cheetahs, and other predators, according to researchers.

"The carnivores which depend on these wildlife are the first casualties," said Dr Ogutu.

"The numbers of lions are going down. The cheetah numbers are declining. The wild dogs in the Mara system have become extinct." …

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