As you can see I learned a lot on my trip. One thing I learned was that people should stop building cities where the Zebra and Wildebeest migrations take place. Another thing is that hundreds of Wildebeest and Zebras die each year because of predators and drowning in the rivers they must cross each year. Thank you for listening and learning along. I hope you learned as much as I did.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Animal migration #10
In current day animal migration is a huge source in tourism. Businesses build lodges and tourists come from all around the world to see the migration. They pay hundreds of dollars to see the migration. When the time comes the people will go into a glassed in walk way to watch the animals. As the animals go by on their natural migration route these tourists watch in awe as the thousands of wildebeest and zebra run by.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Animal Migration #9
Migrating animals can reach their pastures by traveling through land that's very important to migration routes. However the growth in the human population and their need for land threatens to cut off traditional migration routes. Fencing and industrial towns also hurt the migration path of animals in East Africa. These activities by humans hurt the animals ecosystem and occupy their habitat making it very difficult for the animals and humans to live together naturally.
Animal migration #8
There are some preserves in East Africa made to help the animals not be affected by human activity. In the preserves thousands of animals can migrate without being hurt or threatened by humans and can continue migrating throughout their life. The humans can not keep out all the predators but by providing the land, they do provide safety from human growth. Today many zebras have been growing in their population in these preserves. Without humans helping animals who are hurt by other humans, animals could become extinct.
Animal migration #7
Because of human changes to the land, it is suspected that some zebras don't migrate at all, and many others have their path significantly reduced because of human activity. Animals are forced then to find other migration routes that may not have the same access to plains and water. This makes me angry because it's wrong and not right. Habitat loss is concerning. The zebras could die and become extinct.
Animal migration #6
When I was at the river crossing, I saw lions, leopards and hyenas. The hyena are cunning and resourceful, although are considered scavengers. They hunt on the migration trail and kill a variety of prey. A hyena weighs up to 200 pounds and can easily pounce on the young zebra calves as they go on their migration trail. The hyena is known to eat all parts of the animals including the teeth, which is disgusting in my opinion.
Animal migration #5
The Wildebeest need to be in short grassy plains south of Serengeti for both water and grazing. They like to give birth in this area because the rich grass will support them. In 4 to 6 weeks, several hundreds of babies are born, and this is where the predator problems are. The migration will move in reponse to dry weather. Every year this is different and I had trouble finding the location because there is not one map that will lead you to a place like this.
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