John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series AFRICAN HABITATS : FOREST, GRASSLAND AND SLUM Studies of the Maasai, the Luhya, and Nairobi's Urban Fringe |
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John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series AFRICAN HABITATS : FOREST, GRASSLAND AND SLUM Studies of the Maasai, the Luhya, and Nairobi's Urban Fringe |
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| 314. Endowed with such an environment, the Samburu and the Maasai proper have always been pastoralists, depending for their livelihood on cattle, sheep and goats (and in the north on camels also): but their livestock must compete for survival with a host of wild animals for whom this is also their home. (View over Maralal from the Samburu Rural Development Centre, otherwise known as “the Mission”.) |
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| 315. Among the wild animals themselves, however, there is little competition, because different animal species favour different forms of plant growth -- either grazing on grasses or browsing on leaves, and in some cases eating both (as elephants do). |
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| 316. Using their trunks elephants can tear branches from the tops of trees or, when so moved, they can push the tree over. They feed on long grass, twigs, bark, roots and fruit as well as leaves -- needing on average 250kg of food each day. |
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| 317. Buffalo often follow the migrating herds of elephants and feed on the grass left by the elephants. They are the most dangerous animal to encounter in open country as females with young or a solitary bull are likely to charge you on sight! |
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| 318. Wildebeest, otherwise known as "gnus", being gregarious and very sociable animals, commonly migrate in very large herds and will eat off the grass over a large area, moving at a pace adjusted to the food resources of the region. |
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| 319. Zebra will graze on the grass left by the wildebeest, eating it down still further. No two zebras look the same, by the way. A young zebra recognizes its mother not by her smell but by her unique pattern of stripes ... a bit like a bar code! |
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| 320. Smaller animals like gazelles and impala often follow in the footsteps of the zebra, cropping the short grass that remains, while it is still rich and green. These are male impala (referred to as rams). You can tell that from the antlers, because females do not have them. |
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| 321. When the grass dries out the animals move on, looking for greener pastures. These are ewes (females). Impala, by the way, are both grazers and browsers, eating both grass and leaves. They are common everywhere except for the driest areas ... because they drink frequently. |
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| 322. Rhinos browse mostly, eating thorny twigs and fresh shoots, but they eat grass occasionally. Needless to say, they have substantial appetites, since adults weight a couple of tons (or 2,000 kg). |
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| 323. Giraffes, on the other hand, do not compete with cattle or goats, since they eat at tree top level. Standing between 5 and 6 metres in height, they are the world’s tallest animals. Their legs are too long for them to eat grass easily, and they have to splay them awkwardly when they drink. |
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| 324. The carnivores that are sustained by these herds of herbivorous animals do not, of course, compete with cattle for food, but they will eat them: and they also kill sheep and goats. An adult lion needs 40kg of meat every 4 or 5 days, which is equivalent to 20 zebras a year. |
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| 325. Though the lion is often referred to as “The King of Beasts” it is the females who do most of the hunting. Lions are more gregarious than most cats, operating in groups (or prides) of 5 to 15 animals. As such they present a significant threat to Maasai livestock. |
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| 326. Cheetahs, of course, are the fastest animals on earth, traveling at speeds in excess of 100 kph in short bursts. They live off small antelopes and the females and young of larger ones: so they do not represent a danger to farm animals -- unlike leopards, which will seize calves as well as sheep and goats. |
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| 327. Hyenas have jaws that can crush and eat the bones of every animal except the elephant, and herders are wary of them, especially as they hunt in packs. They commonly single out animals that are sick or injured but really prefer to scavenge ... feeding on the remains of animals killed by lions and such like. |
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| 328. Vultures, likewise, gather around the remains of animals killed by others. They have no sense of smell, but have superb eyesight and can detect signs of a successful hunt from a great height. You will see them circling above the kill, before they land in a group and fight over the carrion. |
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| 329. Baboons are omnivorous. They’ll eat almost anything -- wild fruits and berries, insects, birds’ eggs, baby birds, and small animals. They are not a threat to Maasai livestock but they are a problem for those who have established gardens, especially as they travel in large troops. |
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| 330. With so many “wild” animals to photograph, thousands of tourists also flock to these grasslands every year. The income generated thereby is a significant element in Kenya’s national economy; and a few Maasai have found part-time employment in the tourist industry. |
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| 331. For most Maasai, however, the wild animals of the grassland are a mixed blessing because: (a) neither the Samburu nor the Maasai proper normally hunted for meat; (b) areas where they once grazed their cattle have been turned into game parks; and (c) since all wild animals are now protected, a man who kills a lion or leopard that attacks his herd will go to gaol unless he can prove in a court of law that his action was justified. (Hippos resting on river bank in Maasai Mara.) |
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| 332. And the situation is far from ideal for wildlife either. The key to maintaining the natural balance has always been migration -- simply moving on when food was scarce. But this balance has been disturbed by loss of rangeland to crop farming in the south, and the fencing off of areas designated for commercial ranching.(Migrating wildebeest in park adjoining farmland.) |
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