Wildlife Direct needs our help to save the Maasai Mara.
As we all know, last year the Mara was voted in as one of the great wonders of the world, but it is now under threat due to the situation in Kenya keeping away the tourists.
Helping to sustain this great wonder will be essential to getting Kenya back up on her feet, as once this crisis is sorted we will so need our tourists more than ever.
So now its up to us to keep the Mara going, so that the park is still there for the tourists to come back to.
Thanks all, I know I can count on you.:o)
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12 comments:
Does Kenya get royalties from all the wonderful wildlife documentaries shot there? It would be a good time for film crews with fewer tourists getting in the way.
Hi Mr Bananas, I don't think we get royalties as such but I do know they have to pay for some kind of daily filming permit or suchlike. Sadly though, the tv crews that come from outside of Kenya are also on the same travel advisories as the tourists so I think they have trouble with travel insurance - not that they are at much risk but obviously travelling without insurance even for just straight 'I lost my luggage' reasons is probably not the wisest.
Anyway lets hope it's over soon. :o)
Thanks for highlighting this MC - I'll get it up on my blog and share it with a couple of people to try and spread the word.
We were planning to do Tsavo this summer but might see if we can do the Mara instead.
mzungu chick,
we have 4 yr olds in the internal refugee camps who have to fend for themselves.
we have AIDS patients in these IDP Camp's who can't get access to their meds,
We have over 300,000 displaced kenyans( humans) living as refugess without sufficient food, water and basic necessities...
and you want us to prioritize care for elephants ??
are u seriuos ?
Nutty Cow - great idea to do the Mara. It's beautiful whatever the weather and all visitors help. :o)
Lone Ranger - I am most definitely serious. I am certainly not saying that humans do not deserve priority right now, but I think we need to highlight the fact that places like the Mara are suffering badly as well and also need to be prioritised.
There are very few tourists right now and therefore there is very little income, and yet we desperately need to sustain the Mara to attract the tourism back to Kenya as soon as this crisis is over so that we can revive our economy and help all the displaced Kenyans (and all other Kenyans that will lose, or have already lost, their livelihoods through our failing economy), get back on their feet.
Lone Ranger, there are many crises affecting Kenya right now and each one has to have a voice.
Also this problem goes beyond the wildlife in the Mara Triangle as all of those employed by the conservancy are from the local communities, who have also been deeply affected.
This includes not just the salaries paid but the cattle compensation schemes for animals killed by wild predators, and also the resources needed to help communities retrieve cattle that has been stolen -which happens a lot in the Mara.
Also, there is the long term, if the Mara Triangle falls into ruin, then tourists will not come back and a whole economy which is dependent on these visitors will be lost.
Mzungu chick, Will Deed,
points taken.but I still think we should do more for the humans.
what are the actual issues the mara is facing apart from loss of tourism revenue ?
What advisories? There were advisories? No one told me and I'm here now (Kenya that is, where the sun is hot, people smile and Internet is SSLLOOWW! Well, it is in Kisii, anyway).
Oh, and the roads are disastrous, if you have to take your bad back in a matatu!
Apart from that, I am happy to be back.
Maybe it's time for Kenyan film crews to make a name for themselves and sell the films to keep the Mara going.
Hello Lone Ranger
Good question. Tourism revenue is the only revenue that pays for the management of the Mara Triangle. Once this stops, management and maintenance of the park, de-snaring and anti-poaching patrols, they all stop. As well as the cattle compensation schemes mentioned before, and also a loss in many jobs.
This will quickly be followed by much poaching -which is always an ongoing threat in the Mara Triangle. The Mara Triangle is also the gateway to the rest of the Masai Mara, once this defence is down then the whole of Masailand is vulnerable to poachers.
In 2002, before the Mara Triangle was put under new management, poaching was rife, roads and buildings were in disarray, and many areas were unsafe for both rangers and tourists.
Worse case scenario is that this could happen again, and an important economy, not just for local people but also for the whole of Kenya - as the Masai Mara is a major tourist attraction - would be lost.
If you look at the bigger picture then it's not just a conservation issue, but if it wasn't, the loss of an important ecosystem is also something that we should not allow to happen.
thx will deed for that info
who wa sin charge of managing the mara triangle before 2002 ?
Thx from me too Will - please keep up the good work. :o)
The local county council, but to be fair they did recognise that things were going badly which is why they decided to ask the Mara Conservancy to manage the Triangle.
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