Masai Mara is one of the most important, beautiful and interesting reserves in Africa and as such is a magnet for thousands of tourists. One of the most beautiful animals and therefore attracts the attention of visitors is the cheetah, but the beauty and attraction is in the animal's skin, as it turns out that the attention of visitors and the multitude of cars in sightings of cheetahs or cheetahs harm the chances of survival of the observed and even more so the chances of survival of the young
After I addressed to the precarious condition of the herbivores in the African savannahs It is clear that the predators that feed on the herbivores are also affected.
One of the more beautiful carnivores that feed on herbivores is the cheetah. For the sake of everyone who calls an animal "cheetah" it is worth knowing that it is a name from India that means "spotted". Since the Hebrew name Cheetahs already appears in ancient sources, we will continue to call him that.
Masai Mara is one of the most important, beautiful and interesting reserves in Africa and as such is a magnet for thousands of tourists. One of the most beautiful animals and therefore attracts the attention of visitors is the cheetah, but the beauty and attraction is in the animal's skin as it turns out that the attention of visitors and the multitude of cars in sightings of cheetahs or cheetahs harm the chances of survival of the observed and more importantly the chances of survival of the young.
Cheetahs hunt in open areas and are therefore easy to spot, the predators and carrion eaters in the Savannah have learned to recognize cars gathering around the kill point ("kill") as a source of food and therefore eagles and hyenas almost always appear following the cars and these disturb the cheetahs and after a while manage to chase them away and steal their prey.
From this it is clear that tourists who do not consider the situation and do not follow clear rules harm the cheetahs.
According to a recently published survey About 7,000 cheetahs remain in Africa today, about half of their population forty years ago. The decrease is caused by the loss and fragmentation of habitats, a decrease in the amount of prey, the criminal trade in cheetahs (and wild animals in general) and mainly because of friction with the human population. All of these caused the disappearance of cheetahs from 90% of their historical habitats and we will remind you that the disappearance of cheetahs from Israel and the Middle East is a sad example.
According to the survey, a healthy (sustainable) cheetah population needs a huge living area of 8,000-4,000 square kilometers, but few reserves are of a suitable size, therefore over 70% of cheetahs live in areas that are not protected, a situation that is not healthy.
Tracking using GPS collars carried by cheetahs in Masai Mara showed that they avoid areas where there is human activity and prefer protected areas, a finding that illustrates the importance of reserves for cheetahs. But it turns out Because there are other challenges in the reserves, since the reserves are visited by tourists and according to the research it became clear that in tourist areas the number of offspring that reach adulthood is lower compared to less touristed areas. A cheetah gives birth to between 2 and six cubs and the survival of the cubs is important for the survival of the population, it turned out that in controlled areas 5% of the newborns reach maturity, compared to 28% in areas not controlled by tourists.
Tourists make noise that annoys the animals and especially those who need their senses to hunt, although there is no conclusive proof of the death of offspring due to visiting tourists, but it is known that cheetahs change their behavior in controlled areas, for example cheetahs will prefer to hunt in the cool hours of the morning, but these are the hours when tourists travel, therefore in the areas The cheetah controllers copied the hunting times to the hot afternoon hours when the tourists return to the lodges. It is clear that the hunter is more difficult and less successful in the heat of the day.
It turns out that the cheetahs do not receive the protection from the influence of tourists. Masai Mara in Kenya Considered to be the densest in the world in terms of its cheetah population, but it is also one of the most visited reserves. The famous sight of the wildebeest migration attracts thousands of tourists every year and in July and August, about 3,000 people visit the reserve every day.
Around a reserve managed by the government authority for the conservation of protected areas that belong to the Mara triangle, owned by the Maasai who leased them to tourism companies, i.e. a large area (about 3,000 square kilometers) that is indeed reserved and protected but managed by different entities. and in a different way.
A common sight is to see more than thirty cars around a predator. There is no limit on the number of visitors to the reserve and there is no limit on the number of cars that gather around a predator, when you know that: a lion or a tiger or two hyenas, or three eagles succeed in driving cheetahs away from their prey, when any concentration of cars attracts the attention of predators,
It is clear that the chances of cheetahs to end up eating their prey are not great. The tourist "boom" causes the establishment of more lodges in the "Triangle" and in the reserve. These are usually set up on the bank of a river and this is considered a favorite habitat for animals and thus again the tourism that is supposed to protect the wild animals harms them.
That is why the authors of the survey claim (and I am with them AR) that: there is an essential need for the following actions:
- Limiting the number of tourists entering the reserve, especially during peak seasons
- Limiting the number of cars around an animal to five
- Prohibit the approach of cars to the hiding place where the mating was done
- Limit the distance of the vehicle from the animal to 30 meters
- Prohibit the establishment of noise
- Prohibit a situation where the vehicle separated a female from her offspring
- Prohibit a situation where cars close a circle around a hunting cheetah.
Tourism plays an important role in the conservation and protection of wild animals. Money from tourism is used to maintain protected areas and improve the living conditions of locals. This is how the locals see the advantage of preserving nature, meaning that tourism has a positive effect on the locals' approach to the nature around them. If you want to continue enjoying watching wild animals in general and cheetahs in particular, if you want to prevent the disappearance of cheetahs, it is important to regulate the number of visitors and observe proper rules of conduct.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
