Maasai elder Ngararika Noompunito beams as he recalls the awe he felt as a boy when herds of bellowing wildebeest passed close to his mud-and-thatch homestead near Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve.
This is not only leading to fewer animals migrating to Kenya, but also resulting in them staying for less time. His warning comes days ahead of the COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt, where world leaders are expected to battle over how much financial support rich countries should provide to developing nations to help them cope with the consequences of global warming.Famed for its big game safaris and palm-fringed Indian Ocean beaches, Kenya attracts about 2 million visitors each year from countries such as China, Germany, the US, France, India and Britain.
As well as generating millions of dollars in tourist revenues for Kenya, the wildebeest are vital to maintaining the Mara's ecosystem. In the Maasai Mara reserve, the increased dry spells are also stoking conflict between humans and predators.When there is drought, the herbivores move into areas looking for pasture and water and they are followed by lions, who then attack cattle. Community members then seek revenge by killing lions in order to save their livestock.
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