Africa-Press – Tanzania. WILDLIFE expert has raised alarm on the possible disappearance of rangelands along the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem should invasive species go unchecked.
Drawing lessons from West Maswa area, which is also a haven for the wildebeest migration, Dr Alfan Rija said flourishing of the living organisms could have adverse effects on the spectacle that leads to global attraction every year.
“The Gnus no longer get to the end of their cycle in West Maswa as part of their journey simply because nutritious grass and graze lands have been suppressed by an invasive species in the area,” he explained.
Dr Rija, who is based at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) Wildlife Management Department, observed that Gutenbergia Cordifolia, was posing serious threat to the survival of the flora and fauna in West Maswa.
The Wildlife expert who was speaking during a journalists’ sensitization workshop for changing community behavior at Kwakuchinja Wildlife Corridor here on Tuesday evening, urged official of the Burunge Wildlife Management Area to tackle the challenge by stepping up efforts in controlling spread of the invasive species along the Tarangire- Manyara ecosystem.
“Allocate special budget and do more research on the species, lest you see lesser and lesser wild animals traversing this area in pursuit of pastures,” he warned.
His caution follows an earlier submission by the WMA’s Secretary, Mr Benson Mwaise who revealed to the participants of the three-day workshop on how the area was grappling with the living organisms. They include the everdominant Senna obtusifolia also known as sicklepod, Indigofera spp and Agemona Mexicana.
“These species are neither eaten by the livestock or even wild animals that flock the area,” he said. The WMA Secretary further revealed that his office was continuously engaging researchers and experts from the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM AIST) and the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) to curb spread of the invasive species.
According to Mr Mwaise, the WMA was also faced with other myriad of challenges such poaching, mainly subsistence, human wildlife conflicts as a result of rapid growth of human population, corridor blockage and road kills.
He singled out zebras, buffaloes and elephants as main culprits for the conflicts. Burunge WMA features the migratory corridors between Tarangire, Lake Manyara, and the adjacent Manyara ranch, making it an area of high conservational significance.
It is also widely known for its large buffalo population that moves in and out of Tarangire plus the presence of Lake Butrunge in the WMA which attracts the migration of water birds such as greater and lesser flamingoes and a range of ducks and shore birds.
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