Zebra, impala to revive park
2007-07-27 18:03
Nairobi - Kenya has started moving about 2 000 animals including hundreds of zebra and impala to a famed game reserve devastated by poaching, officials said on Friday.
The month-long exercise is part of a drive to rebrand Meru
National Park, which is best known outside the country as the
setting for George and Joy Adamson's book and Oscar-winning 1966
film "Born Free", about an orphaned lioness cub they raised.
"Such species as the endangered Grevy Zebra, Common Zebra,
Impala, Kongoni (Hartebeest) and Beisa Oryx are targeted for
what is considered the great African ungulate translocation,"
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said.
The animals will be taken from better-stocked reserves in
Naivasha, Nakuru and Laikipia, KWS said, where they will be
driven into funnel-shaped capture sites and loaded into crates.
"(Meru) lost its position as a premier destination for
visitors seeking complete wilderness when it suffered a downturn
in the 1970s and early 80s due to rampant banditry and
poaching," said KWS spokesperson Paul Udoto.
"But that's all part of history."