(TAN): Tanzania has welcomed the decision by Kenyan authorities to indefinitely close a tourist camp that was blocking the wildebeest migration between the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the Masai Mara in Kenya, The Citizen reported. Kenya’s National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) said in a statement that the controversial Mara Ngenche Camp has been closed indefinitely.
Nema Chairman John Konchellah revealed some tents in the camp were found to have flouted Nema rules during an inspection by government officials. Reacting to the reports of closure of the camp, Aloyce Nzuki, the permanent secretary in Tanzania’s tourism ministry, said, “It is an ecologically sensible decision. We commend them for that.”
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The wildebeest migration is the largest animal migration in the world. Every year, more than 2 million animals (wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle) migrate in a clockwise direction across the ecosystems of the Serengeti and the Masai Mara between July and October. The event is one of the greatest tourism attractions that attracts thousands of tourists from across the world.
A video clip recently revealed that a group of people, believed to be to be workers of the tourist camp in Masai Mara, forcing a herd of the wild beasts to turn back after crossing the Mara river. This caused a stampede and an unknown number of animals are said to have died as a result. The incident drew condemnation from across the world and Kenyan authorities soon ordered the removal of the camp.
