in and out of Mara North. (Millbrook, NY) Each year, more than a million wildebeest migrate through Africa's Serengeti Mara Ecosystem. The evening is for digesting and processing the day. by Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. and hooked a large fish, the task would become much more difficult as the fish would try to escape by getting inside the branches. Over the past ten years, Dr. Christopher Dutton, aquatic ecologist at Yale University, and other researchers have documented frequent hypoxic floods and fish kills in the Mara river system. According to Physicians heavy exposure to mercury damages the central nervous system, endocrine system, kidneys and several other vital human organs. The river holds the life of millions of wild habitats of Serengeti throughout the drought season. process called cutaneous respiration – amazing! So, one of the trips to the Transmara coincided with Paul doing some work with wildebeest on malignant catarrh, a viral disease that affected cattle, and we decided to try fishing. Some of these living in parts of Tanzania are at risk of mercury toxicity. I have the innate ability to get carried away with the fishing and end up “hooking” a few trees! Although I do not like eating fish, I am what the British fishing community know as a “coarse fisherman” and I have been engaged on this activity all my life, although I do not fish much these days. In the Mara River in Kenya, an overload of hippo feces can deplete the oxygen in the river water, resulting in mass fish die-offs downstream, a new study has found. I brought fishing gear and cow liver so we were ready to try our luck. They stayed buried for A study in Nature Communications reports that hippo waste can have a similar effect in Africa’s Mara River, which passes through the world renowned Maasai Mara National Reserve of Kenya, home to more than 4,000 hippos.. We lost count of the times they Tobias was delighted, not so much for having won the contest but, much more importantly for him, for having the possibility of feasting on fish for a few days! ( Log Out /  However, Tobias was the star and clear winner. ( Log Out /  Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. the Mara River basin, which stretches between the Maasai Mara game reserve in Kenya and Serengeti National Park in Tanzania (Bussman et al. The Mara River is a river in Africa, flowing through Kenya and Tanzania, and lies across the migration path of ungulates in the Serengeti/Masai Mara game reserves. Change ). Co-author Emma Rosi, a Freshwater Ecologist at … The Mara river basin is home to at least 473 freshwater species including at least 4 mammals, 88 water birds, 126 freshwater-associated birds, 4 … rains returned suddenly there they all were, thrashing their way towards the River Fishing along the Mara river. Clearly in this setting, fishing would be a hazardous sport. Water biodiversity on the Mara basin, known for its wildebeest and Zebra migration is on the brink, report says. It’s also part of absorbing and storing memories – the re-telling and re-living makes it more vivid, and sets the place of the experience in our minds. The Mara River Biodiversity Report categorises hippos, shoebills and crab species as among the most vulnerable due to threats to freshwater biodiversity within the Mara river basin. A Million Livelihoods In Kenya, Tanzania At Risk As Mara River Fish Driven To Extinction. His technique was simple, almost too simple. The Mara River is a trans-boundary river, shared between Kenya and Tanzania. Land use change over the past years was the major problem in the Mara river basin. Hippo waste causes fish kills in Africa's Mara River. Our intended target was the common and ubiquitous African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). According to physicians, heavy exposure to mercury damages the central nervous system, endocrine … The Mara River The ecosystem is … A fish bite was invariably followed by frantic efforts to recover the line in an attempt to get it out while avoiding it getting entangled in the various branches and water plants. He will then wait a short while and pull them out, almost unfairly easily! coincided with the arrival of the Short Rains. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), https://bushsnobinafrica.wordpress.com/2016/12/13/memories-a-fishing-trip/, https://bushsnobinafrica.wordpress.com/2015/11/05/javelin-throwing-almost-olympics-games/, Learning to camp among the wildebeest | A Bushsnob out of Africa, Follow A Bushsnob in Africa on WordPress.com. wasn’t magic that brought the fish, but incredible evolution: as last year’s A report by the wildlife NGO details how farming, deforestation, mining, illegal fishing and invasive species could sound a death knell for the transboundary river. A view of a Mara River hippo pool to show the colour of the water. desiccated earth. From its sources in the Kenyan highlands, the river flows for about 395 km and originates from the Mau Escarpment and drains into Lake Victoria. 2006). Of course it the contraptions they fashioned to catch them failed. and Okech went on a fishing mission to give the staff a dinner treat. river and turning the makeshift ponds into a feeding frenzy for storks…and The basin can be roughly divided into four land use and/or administrative units. Unable to scramble up steep banks, thousands drown in a mass panic or get picked off by crocodiles. Serian staff! Groups of hippos numbering over 50 individuals are commonly seen in the Mara at the oxbow, which is approximately 1-mile east of the bridge at the Kogatende ranger post. The rest of us howled laughing for three The ancestral ritual of communal fireplace and dining – the essence of sharing… we are social animals, and part of what makes things vivid and real to us is our capacity to share: the joy is dissecting your day, raking over the delicious details and unwrapping the delights over and again, over the fundamentally communal experience of breaking bread. Similar to the spear throwing competition earlier[3], it was an intercontinental fishing tournament! We were able to do this as, by virtue of being outside the reserve, we enjoyed freedom of movement within the limits of common sense and/or lessons learnt! Each afternoon we watched Hippopotamia in East African Mara River Over the past ten years, Dr. Christopher Dutton, aquatic ecologist at Yale University, and other researchers have documented frequent hypoxic floods and fish kills in the Mara river system. We had already seen them in action snatching wildebeest during their river crossings. Twitter. Fears for a million livelihoods in Kenya and Tanzania as Mara River fish die out. A lorry and us wait for a herd of Maasai cattle to cross. The Mara crosses the path of one of the largest land migrations on the planet. The river was at its normal and flowing gently so that was favourable. Topography. However, in the East African Mara River, hypoxic flooding events are not caused by humans, but by hippos. What was not were the abundance of submerged trees and branches that poised great difficulties to a normal line recovery. Yep, we’ve seen At the time we were in Kenya I was already returning the fish, unless someone would be interested in eating them. In addition, I spent lots of time disentangling my line from the trees that seemed to jump towards me every time I would try to get my bait in the water! But that may not be a bad thing. It is the main perennial source of water in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, and provides water to … all those months in a state of suspended animation, covering themselves in mucus 2. Fish are being driven to extinction in the Mara River basin, putting the livelihoods of more than a million people in Kenya and Tanzania in jeopardy, according to WWF. Our vehicles skidded, fishtailed and were sucked into the black cotton soil. By Alex Walker. Mara wetland is continuously degraded despite many efforts that have been done to rescue its biodiversity. The rare event of a Maasai herdsman fishing with me was described a while ago in this blog[2] although whether he would have eaten the fish or not will never be known! Enthusiastic ‘help’ from All Rights Reserved. rains left and the earth dried out, the catfish dug themselves beneath the My recent stay In the area we regularly camped there were a couple of nice grassy spots from where we believed that fishing could be attempted. After careful consideration we chose a nice opening in the riverine forest that not only offered a good view of the river but also towards our back, an important consideration in the Maasai Mara as dangerous animals were also around us inland! Tobias and the Bushsnob with some of the spoils. The Mara River supports a unique canopy forest and the surrounding floodplains sustain an abundance of wildlife. Hippo waste causes fish kills in Africa's Mara River: Nutrient and organic matter loading … The Mara River from the DC3 when it did regular flights between Nairobi and the Maasai Mara. all that before …but what none of us – guests and guides alike – had ever witnessed Animals seen in Ethiopia between March 1988 and December 1989. were the hundreds of massive catfish – or mudfish as the Maasai call them – that Catfish, Family, fish, kenya, mara, Mara North Conservancy, Mara River, Masai Mara, safari. The Mara River from the DC3 when it did regular flights between Nairobi and the Maasai Mara. © 2021 Alex Walker's Serian. Expect to haul out a catfish or two, which our staff are always delighted to cook up and eat. After the fish kill happened two weeks later, we wondered if the first rains had caused a flush of nutrients into the system, which could have resulted in a wave of very low DO water that could have essentially suffocated the fish. ended up empty handed, nipped on the ankles or face down in the water while all Facebook. got the hang of it, and as darkness was falling, we returned to camp with three In this way, he avoided a lot of the snagging and did not suffer too badly from line and hooks losses like us wazungu[4]. Immediately a worldwide event was born as we represented three Continents: Europe (Britain), represented by Paul, Africa (Kenya, Luoland), represented by Tobias while I was the America representative from Uruguay. The Mara River is a transboundary river, shared between Kenya and Tanzania, and it provides the ecosystem services that underpin the economy of the 1.1 million people living in its basin. One thing that always amazes me about Serian is that Nature always has another surprise up her sleeve! While crossing the Kenyan reach of the Mara River, thousands perish. The Guardian view on Tories and migration: stop the posing. As only driving with your eyes closed would stop you from seeing animals while traveling through the Maasai Mara area, sometimes, for a change, we decided to just chill out around camp and on occasions, try our hand at fishing in the shadowy Mara River. Tobias was from the Luo ethnic group that dwells around lake Victoria both in Kenya and Uganda and, naturally, they eat fish in contrast to the Kikuyu and Maasai that very rarely, if ever, consume them. December 15, 2020. Malaria is now the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children in many districts within the Lake Victoria basin, such as Trans Mara District, which falls within the Mara River In addition, there was the “crocodile problem” as the reptilians would be alerted by the fish splashes and immediately come to “investigate” and get our fish so fast recovery was a must to avoid losing our trophies as those lost “en route” to anything such as snags or crocs would not count. The consequence was severe loss of equipment and we were soon running out of hooks and our lines were getting shorter! The Mara River starts in the mountains of Kenya and runs across the Tanzanian border into Lake Victoria. enormous catfish, and sore faces all round from laughing so much! Hippopotamus excrement is such a potent aquatic life killer, fish just don’t stand a chance. A fish bite was invariably followed by frantic efforts to recover the line in an attempt to get it out while avoiding it getting entangled in the various branches and water plants. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mzungu. So when the [2] See: https://bushsnobinafrica.wordpress.com/2016/12/13/memories-a-fishing-trip/, [3] See: https://bushsnobinafrica.wordpress.com/2015/11/05/javelin-throwing-almost-olympics-games/, [4] In Kiswahili, white man. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. A Crocodile yawning in the Mara river. Finally our guys ( Log Out /  He probably knew things we did not, through years of fishing “for the pot” during his early years near lake Victoria. But when the animals come to the Mara River, the scene can turn deadly. Mara River that runs through Tanzania and Kenya is known as the blood vein of Serengeti game reserve. river still more. The river provides drinking water, fish, and a place to bathe and wash. Also, countless species of animals and plants in the adjacent wetlands depend on the river. Drowned wildebeest complete the Mara’s life cycle. However, if you were lucky or perhaps unlucky? Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. However, in the East African Mara River, hypoxic flooding events are not caused by humans, but by hippos. The luggas that crisscross the plains filled appeared like magic out of the bare earth! “Fish are being driven to extinction in the Mara River basin, putting the livelihoods of more than a million people in Kenya and Tanzania in jeopardy, according to WWF. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The Mara River is home to one of the great natural wonders of the world. The great land migration. The problem was that we knew that crocodiles were plentiful in the River and there was no doubt that they were lurking anywhere under the muddy waters. Tobias, Paul’s camp hand, was such a guy and if he was around there was no way that a fish would escape his attentions and invariably it would end up in the sufuria[1]! hours as they were outwitted by the wily fish. In the Mara River in Kenya, fish die in the thousands every now and then. Mara River on November 1st, 2009. Credit: Zuberi Mussa / Ubuntu Times. Although later on we tried the catfish, Paul and I agreed that they tasted like we imagine the Mara River mud would do and, luckily for Tobias, we declined further offerings. A few years ago, a group of ecologists studying the Mara River’s flow in the Maasai Mara National Reserve of Kenya was approached by the local tribe. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Mara River basin sustains the livelihoods of over 1.1 million people across Kenya and Tanzania. Both the Bay and river have a rich assortment of floral and faunal biodiversity, some … The Mara River is a trans-boundary river, shared between Kenya and Tanzania. cloud and building to an epic downpour. They simply stood serenely on one leg and And the hippopotamus is to blame, a new study has found.. Hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) spend a considerable amount of time in rivers to cool off their bodies.They also spend a lot of time defecating in the water, their tails swishing like propellers as they violently spray their dung around. rose and churned, heaving fully grown hippos downstream and cutting off roads A great way for kids to spend an afternoon, or for those who fancy sitting by the water with a beer in one hand and a rod in the other, we offer fishing from the riverbank right in camp. Paul did quite well and caught more than me. The aftermath of a wildebeest river crossing. waited to grab a fish as it passed by – that they got plenty just rubbed it in! The luggas that crisscross the plains filled with runoff and became ponds and small tributary streams, feeding the rushing river still more. Mara River basin covers a surface of 13,504 km 2, with approximately 60% located in Kenya and 40% in Tanzania. Adrian, Johnmark A report by the wildlife NGO details how farming, deforestation, mining, illegal fishing and invasive species could sound a death knell for the transboundary river. He chose to use a hand line and threw it very close to the shore. of Mara River. The Mara River is the lifeline of wildlife in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the Masai Mara National Reserve on the Kenyan side. The storks, who had Main article: Wildebeest . Every year, over a million wildebeest, zebra and antelope migrate across the Serengeti to drink from its waters, as the only perennial water source in the region. ( Log Out /  with runoff and became ponds and small tributary streams, feeding the rushing Published: 1 Nov 2020 . “Mara River is our main source of water and we want the river free from any pollution.” Mara River basin sustains the livelihoods of over 1.1 million people across Kenya and Tanzania. The Mara River basin covers a surface of 13,504 km , of which approximately 65% is located in Kenya and 35% in Tanzania. so they can still breathe by absorbing oxygen through their permeable skin in a As there were no trees nearby we could handle our fishing gear without major mishaps. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The Serengeti De-snaring Programme Newsletter Jan & Feb 2020. Mara River Crossing Great Migration Zebra/Wildebeests in Crocodile infested river. Mara Swamp is within the lower part of Mara River; it extends from about a kilometer behind the river mouth to some kilometers up the river, covering an area not less than 50 km. But the river itself became a death trap of its fishes when it supposed to hold a large number of large sized semiaquatic animals like hippos into it. A hippo pool on the Kenyan reach of Africa's Mara River. Ecologists have long known that agricultural and sewage pollution can cause low oxygen conditions and fish kills in rivers. the black cotton soil. gathered to gorge, looked on in disbelief at our antics. We left our meter in the river for 2 days, hoping to catch another rain (2018, May 16). The Mara River bridge on the way to the Transmara. Our vehicles skidded, fishtailed and were sucked into as the sky turned from sunny baby blue to deep, brooding indigo, laden with Widget and WiFi was no good either. Although there were lots of hippos cruising up and downriver, we did not consider them a major problem. 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