BNHS members make field trip to Kenya, see big five

As a team of Mumbai-headquartered Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) made a field trip to Kenya to see the diverse ecosystems and wildlife, they encountered the Big Five - lions, leopards, rhinos, Cape buffalos, and elephants.

The field trip was led by BNHS Assistant Director Dr Sujit Narwade, a scientist working on grassland bird ecology and conservation for over a decade’s time.

“In contrast to India, where grasslands are often viewed as wastelands, Kenya has successfully implemented sustainable wildlife tourism, generating substantial revenue from its grasslands. Masai Mara, a region with approximately 1,500 sq km of grassland habitat, is unlike any other place in India,” BNHS President Pravinsingh Pardeshi said.

Grasslands are typical in tropical Africa due to specific soils that prevent tree growth and protect against waterlogging and extreme seasonal droughts. Eastern Africa, near the equator, has vast grasslands with scattered acacia trees and thicket clumps. These grasslands, mainly between 1,000 and 2,000 meters above sea level, are home to red oat grass Themeda triandra and Sporobolus pyramidalis. Red oat grass thrives under annual burning and light grazing regimes but is vulnerable to overgrazing.

The grasslands in some areas have a high biomass of ungulates, especially where there are two rainy seasons each year. This ensures that there is always quality forage available for the animals. The Serengeti and Mara region, Tanzania-Kenya border, have seasonal migrations of ungulates such as wildebeest, plains zebra, Thomson's gazelle, and Grant's gazelle.

During the great migration season, they saw thousands of wildebeest and zebras across the horizon. The group was thrilled to observe the Gerenuk or Giraffe Gazelle with a long neck browsing on tree twigs like a giraffe.

They also saw the Dik-dik, a small antelope named after the females' alarm calls. In Samburu National Park, they spotted unique species like Grevy's zebra, Somali ostrich, and Reticulated giraffe, mainly found in Northern Kenya. They even saw a solitary and arboreal creature, the "Master of Steel," sleeping leopard on a tree.

At Lake Naivasha, during the boat safaris, they saw the hippos, nests, and chicks of the African Fish Eagle.

They also discussed the differences between the grasslands in Kenya and India. The Great Migration is the largest animal migration in the world, involving over two million wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle travelling 800 kilometres in a circle through the Serengeti and Masai Mara ecosystems to find better pastures and water. This migration occurs annually between late July and the end of September and is considered one of the world's natural wonders.