As drought worsens in south-western Uganda, local pastoralists herd thousands of cattle through Lake Mburo National Park to access the area’s only constant water supply, resulting in the detriment of natural vegetation and increased risks of zootoxic disease passing between the cattle and wildlife. For your wildlife safaris visit African Secrets Limited.
But Mr Moses Mapesa the UWA – Uganda Wildlife Authority Executive Director, said: “We have a collaborative mechanism whereby during drought we allow the pastoralists to access water.”
He added that he is not overly concerned that the cattle will bring in diseases.
But Mr Achilles Byaruhanga, the Executive Director of Nature Uganda, the East African Natural History Society, is concerned about the possible spread of zoonotic diseases from the cattle to the wildlife. “This overlap needs to be managed very carefully,” he said – For your Kenya Safari
There are over 15,000 cows accessing the park from farmers located mostly in Sanga, Kanyaryeru and Nyakashashara sub-counties.
A South African tourist who recently visited the park expressed concern to that disease has already set in to the wildlife populations.
“In three days, I found six [wild animal] carcasses,” she said with pictures to prove it. Of course dead animals are hardly an abnormality in the wild and in Lake Mburo, but the woman reported that none of them seemed to have been killed by other animals as there were no kill markings or signs of a fight – African Safari Kenya
The carcasses were covered in vultures but she saw no signs of any carnivores such as hyenas or jackals, another strange observance. “All the animals are sick with something and no one wants to eat [them],” she hypothesized.
The tourist also reported that none of the cattle in the park were marked. She questioned whether they had been treated for diseases such as anthrax, brucellosis, tuberculosis, foot and mouth disease, rinder pest, and trypanosomiasis.
When asked about the strange animal deaths however, Mr Mapesa said he has not heard any such reports.
“If there was a problem I would know,” he said in an interview.
The Chief Park Warden, Mr Augustine Masereka, also reported by phone that there had been no unusual deaths – gorilla tours
Still, if disease did take root among the wildlife it could prove disastrous. While domestic animals can be treated for disease, Mr Byaruhanga explained that when diseases get into wildlife, then there is no opportunity for treating them.”
As for the wildlife, the drought presents enough of a concern in itself even without the risk of disease.
When visiting visited the park, a Ranger Guide said that drought takes its toll on the zebra population particularly, because mineral deficits for lack of pasture, thirst, and their weakened states.
“Many zebras here die when it’s a severe drought like it has been,” he said, adding that, “In this dry season more than six, and up to 10, zebras can die every week – gorilla trekking Uganda
According to the Lake Mburo, Research and Monitoring Warden, Dr Eric Enyel, zebras are the second most populous animal in the park at 13,000, second only to the 30,000 impalas, all of which are in some way affected by the long dry spells that this cattle corridor has experienced for some time now.
“In this dry season more than six and up to 10 zebras can die every week and depend on water during the dry season, yet they move away long distances. They may spend three days trying to locate water points without success and they die. Even when they locate sources they get stuck in mud from where they die because water in some of the sources is drying up,” added Dr Enyel.
“Bush fires and dry spells are the biggest problems affecting animals here,” said Dr Enyel, adding that the current situation is not any different from those in other national parks across the country.
The presence of the cattle, however, does present another threat to the park, where both domestic and wild animals now compete for the same food and water.
Although complicated by drought conditions, this competition highlights a deeper tension over land and resources between the park and local communities, many of whom were relocated from inside park boundaries during the Obote Government and in the years afterwards.
At one point, the park was even reduced in size by almost half in order to ease tensions by giving more land to the local communities – Gorilla trekking Rwanda
Mr Byaruhanga sees that reduction as a mistake. “To me, that was [an] oversight, because the animals were basically squeezed,” he told Saturday Monitor, describing the area as a “wild zoo” since the animals are so constricted.
Some animals have even been poisoned by local farmers.
“This is one of the problems of mixing wildlife and domestic animals,” said Mr Byaruhanga. He said the hyena population has particularly been affected greatly by this. A park ranger guide said that even during the wet season; farmers with small grazing grounds can pay Shs50,000 to park authorities for permission for their cattle to graze inside the park, despite the fact that this is illegal – Masai Mara safari
The UWA is currently in the middle of a project to return to grassland parts of Lake Mburo overrun by acacia trees and is clearing huge quantities of wood out of the park.
Mr Mapesa said that cutting the trees is an intervention measure since acacia growth is no longer naturally managed by animals.
“We are trying to intervene to try and get back the [savannah] ecosystem,” he said.
Mr Byaruhanga believes that conflict over the park will only increase in coming years as the population continues growing and require more resources. However, he is also hopeful that the government will place a stronger priority on tourism and take necessary steps to protect the animals – Tanzania safari
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