Traffic Diversion at Annual Wildebeest Migration

Several people on Twitter have expressed their anger at a video shared by Kenya’s Tourism Minister Najib Balala, showing wildebeests blocked from their annual migration by a tourist camp built on the other side of the Mara River. One called it “disgusting” and another said that it reflected “total destruction of our heritage”. Mr Balala tweeted that he had spoken to the local governor and wanted the camp in the famous Maasai Mara to be “removed” to clear the path for the animals. The video Mr Balala shared on Twitter captured a big herd of wildebeests stuck in the middle of the river as those that had made it across are turned back by a group of people. “I have also insisted that we need a Maasai Mara National Reserve Management Plan that will not only enhance biodiversity, but also protect our wildlife migratory corridors, from greed!” Mr Balala tweeted. The great wildebeest migration is one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. During the dry season, smaller herds merge to form one of the great spectacles of the natural world. More than a million wildebeest plus half as many zebra and gazelle follow the rains northward from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Mara.

SOURCE: BBC