Roan Antelope on the verge of extinction
Ruma National Park is the last refuge of the Roan Antelope; the antelope is hoarse-like with grayish brown mane edged with black extending from the neck to the withers. Its uniform skin provides excellent camouflage.
The Roan antelope is a very nervous animal, running for cover every time it becomes aware of the presence of people. According to park wardens, the endangered species runs for dear life following their experiences with hunters for game meat. Their numbers have decreased from over 200 in 1978 to 52 today.
Researchers say Ruma is the last refuge of the antelope that once occupied fairly large areas of southern Kenya – west of the Rift Valley from Lake Natron to Lake Victoria. Other populations were around Mt.Elgon and Cherangani Hills, Thika, Kitui and around Chyulu Hills in the Coast.
The dwindling numbers of the antelope has raised concerns among conservationists.
Did you know?
Roan Antelopes: Live in breeding herds consisting of a herd bull and a group of hierarchically organized females with young ones. Non-breeding bulls live singly or as associate in bachelor herds. Herd bulls appear to practice female defense rather than resource defense, moving with the females and defending an area around them, rather than defending territory.
The two sexes are very similar in overall size, but males are more heavily built, particularly in the horns, head and neck and thus attain slightly greater body weights than females.
Definitions
Conservation: the preservation and careful management of the environment and of natural resources.
Extinction: no longer in existence; "the extinction of a species".
The Black Rhino Conservation Row in Maasai Mara
According to research, the Black Rhino requires an open riverine ecosystem, with wood vegetation and grasslands for its habitat. Statistics show that the Black Rhino’s population in the Maasai Mara has declined between January 2006 and December 2009. From 12 rhinos sighted in the area in February 2006, there were none by the end of 2009. Could the construction of hotels and lodges in the Mara have tampered with this Black rhino conservation area?
One lodge that comes to mind in this area is t e Olkeju Ronkai. “According to data collected from the Kenya Rhino Programme Surveillance Patrol Log, the number of rhino individuals seen per month in the area where Olkeju Ronkai has been set up has not only dropped but disappeared altogether since construction of the lodge started in June 2008,” the report says.
Hassan Ole Kamwaro, the owner of the Olkeju Ronkai lodge, says he has obtained all the relevant licenses as stipulated by the Kenyan law. He obtained licenses from the ministries of Health, Environment and Fisheries among others, to show that the lodge has met all the requirements to operate.
So who is to blame for the Black Rhino conservation row in the mara? This is the question on everyone’s mind.
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