Tsavo West National Park

[Lisbeth]

Another fire wipes out vegetation in Tsavo

THURSDAY JULY 23 2020 | By LUCY MKANYIKA

https://youtu.be/9pI0q4bIZd8

Summary:
- Efforts by KWS rangers to contain the huge blaze were thwarted by strong winds.
- The surge in incidents comes amid growing concerns over the short and long-term impact of the fires on vegetation and wildlife.
- Tsavo is inhabited by thousands of wildlife species including the big five.

Concerns are mounting over the surging cases of fire at Tsavo National Park after another fire destroyed thousands of acres of vegetation yesterday, coming barely a month after a similar inferno was reported in the area.

The fire is said to have started at Lualenyi Ranch, that neighbours Tsavo West National Park and spread into the protected area.

Efforts by the ranch and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers to contain the huge blaze were thwarted by strong winds that spread flames rapidly to dry vegetation.

Sources say the government had deployed resources to respond to the incidents but efforts to get official information from KWS were not successful.

"We managed to prevent the fire from spreading into Mwaktau village. However, the fire is still in the park," said local resident Balzatry Mwakulila.

By Thursday morning the bush fire continued to rage across huge tracts of land within the park.

[Richprins]

[Lisbeth]

TRAVERSING THE KINGDOM OF ELEPHANTS ON FOOT

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Norman Owen-Smith - Tuesday, 29 November 2022



I recently had the privilege to realise my lifelong dream of travelling across Tsavo National Park in Kenya on foot on the ‘Great Walk’ with Africa Geographic. I was confident that, even at 80 years of age, I could handle the target of accomplishing 160 km (100 miles) over ten days of walking.

Moreover, I desperately needed to break out of the confines imposed by the pandemic, which had scuttled several planned trips. This expedition to the kingdom of elephants offered an opportunity to remain almost entirely in the open air in a remote area, minimising the risk of infection.


Follow in the footsteps of Tsavo’s elephants along the Great Walk

Click on the title to read the whole story with beautiful photos.

[Richprins]