Heavy rains scare away Lake Manyara grazers

GRAZING wild animals are reported to have fled Lake Manyara National Park following heavy rains that hit the area.

A Private Sector Engagement Manager in USAID’s Tuhifadhi Maliasili project Elikana Kalumanga told Journalists’ Environmental Association of Tanzania (JET) members here at the weekend that animals that largely depend on grass for their nutrition were fleeing the area as their feeding sites get submerged in the water.

D Kalumanga, who was speaking at a master training and refresher class for JET members, said Lake Manyara National Park used to have Gerenuks, long-necked antelope found in parts of East Africa, but have since gone missing following recent heavy rains that pounded the area.

“Climate change is real and its wrath hasn’t even spared the animals which used to roam inside the national park,” disclosed the expert.

Dr Kalumanga further noted that the disappearance of Acacia trees in the area was driving away the animals.

The expert equally rooted for the protection of wildlife corridors in management of biodiversity conservation in the ever changing climate.

He said: If you’re able to sustain habitat connectivity, you’d be able to create resilience among the wildlife.

Dr Kalumanga added that while rain clearly affects food supply, it also can affect foraging behaviour, reproductive and population growth rates, and competitive interactions.

Earlier on, a Monitoring and Evaluation Manager with Tuhifadhi Maliasili project John Noronha said the $30.5 million five-year initiative seeks to enhance private sector engagement in biodiversity protection and improve policy and advisory frameworks.

“Tanzania has more that 50 wildlife corridors, it is therefore very important to protect them as they provide wildlife with migratory pathways, increase genetic diversity, help reduce human-wildlife conflicts and can help re-establish populations in core habitats after a random catastrophic population loss,” he said.

JET is an NGO working in the fields of environment and sustainable development since February 1991.