Kagera. Nature miracle

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Kagera. Nature miracle

Wonders of nature

Kagera is a national park in Rwanda, located on the border with Tanzania, on the left bank of the Kagera River, on an area of 251 hectares. It was created in 000.

The terrain of the park is hilly, with altitudes of about 1500 m, and there are many lakes. Most of the territory is covered with grassy savannahs, acacias and combretum are common, the central part of the park is covered with various xerophytic shrubs.

Kagera National Park

The fauna of the park is quite diverse. Zebra, antelope, warthog, lion, leopard, crocodile are found here. Hippos are found in large numbers: after buffaloes, they make up the largest biomass of the park - there are about three thousand of them. There are many water and marsh birds. Successfully reacclimatized black rhinoceros. There are snakes on the coast - river cobras and black mambas, sometimes in large numbers.

One of the signs of the Kagera Park is a huge swamp that stretches for 95 km from north to south along the eastern border of the reserve. It is formed by small lakes, thickets of papyrus, reeds, it has many floating islands, peninsulas and shoals. Now the water in the lakes has become silty, with a reddish tint: due to the destruction of the forests of Rwanda and the swamping of the valley, the aging of reservoirs has accelerated.

Here you can see the swamp at different stages of its development. Tall papyri and ficuses of small size grow here. On the water in many places there is a dense layer of peat, and you can even walk on it.

But not so long ago there was no swamp here: there was a lake about 50 km long with a large number of islands. On the largest island, Shango, the capital of the kingdom of Mubari was founded in ancient times. The inhabitants of the lake valley fished, hunted and raised cattle. At the end of the XNUMXth century, this kingdom, according to the order of the ruler of Rwanda, ceased to exist. Its inhabitants went to settle in other places. Now, for example, the Banyambo tribe lives on the Tanzanian coast of the swamp.

Before the start of the First World War, the tribesmen returned to their homeland, but later the Germans again drove them out of their homes. And during the Second World War, the Banyambo again found themselves in their native places.

Relations with the authorities of this tribe were difficult. The Belgians, former colonialists, signed an agreement with the Banyambo, according to which it was forbidden to hunt (to catch crocodiles within the reserve). When, during a search in one of the villages, about two thousand crocodile skins were found, the colonial administration used this fact as an excuse to expel the Banyambo again. Since then, they began to live in Tanzania, sometimes going to the swamp for fishing.

Vien Zhor and Vien Gi write: “In the area where they live, partly in Rwanda, partly in Tanzania, there are many interesting legends. heaven surrounded by their wives. One of them, Ghazani, suffered bitterly because she could not have children. God (in Rwandan - Imana) took pity on her and allowed her to suffer on the condition that she never reveal the secret of her fertility. Sister Ghazani , a very curious person, penetrated the secret, and Ghazani was punished, her three children were overthrown to the ground and ended up not far from the Mubari Peninsula.The children of Ghazani - Sabizese, nicknamed Kigua, his brother Mututsi and their sister Mpundi - laid the heavenly beginning of the Rwandan dynasties ".

When the entire area was turned into a national park, the Banyambo had to give up fishing and hunting, which infringed on their rights. Europeans occasionally visit the tribe, but the Banyambo prefer to keep in contact only with the park police. Banyambo hunt antelopes with the help of dogs: dogs drive the game, and when the antelope loses strength, the hunters swim up to it on pirogues, pierce it with a spear. True, now the Banyambo are no longer the same, they are not at all typical of traditional tribal life, they, like Europeans, use plastic basins, nylon nets and radios.

The attraction of the park was the Island of the Sorceress, who has a great gift of a healer (even people from neighboring countries come to her to be cured of ailments).

Lake Ichema is the largest in the park. Black cormorants and herons live on its banks.

Lake Hago, more precisely - its coast, is mastered by interesting animals. Three baby elephants live in Lulama, who miraculously escaped during the massacre that threatened to be the last for the elephants of Rwanda. Local authorities decided to get rid of the elephants that lived in the forest, allotted for logging. But still, 23 young elephants were left and placed in pens, and later transported to the south of Rwanda - to the peninsula of Lake Hago.

On the shores of Lake Birenzhero grow groves of false fig palms. Gambian geese and ducks are found in the lake. Here you can also see antelopes, buffaloes and even a leopard.

Lake Kivumba was chosen by crocodiles and hippos. In the first half of the XNUMXth century, there were very few crocodiles, but thanks to the efforts of the park administration, now there are much more young crocodiles. When they sit in the water for a long time, it is difficult to guess what size the animals have reached (to find out the length of a crocodile, you need to triple the distance between its eyes and nostrils).

The western shore of Lake Hago is the address of the permanent "registration" of hippos. Animals roam the bottom of shallow waters and lay channels, so new currents arise. And they go along the same routes, trampling the roads.

The harmless appearance of the hippopotamus is deceptive. In Rwanda, where the largest population of these animals is located, accidents are not uncommon. It is said that hippos can bite into two parts of a crocodile and that they fight each other.

In the evening, hippos begin to eat, and all night they roam the meadows, saturating themselves with grass. They do not go further than 2–3 km from the coast, so they do not allow the grass to rise high (it is no coincidence that a special vegetation has formed here - something like a lawn).

In the dry season, the hippos move to the places occupied by the buffalo, so the buffalo have to go further and further into the swamps and valleys.

On the shore of Lake Hago, you can see how amphibians hide on wide leaves. Yellow herons, Egyptian egrets and red herons live here. You can also meet here a shoebill with a wide, strong head, on the top of which several short feathers stick out.

Lake Ruanyaki-zinga is the northernmost lake in the park and is very beautiful. There are many shoals along its coast, and the water in it is exceptionally clean. It is separated from Lake Mihinda by the isthmus of Mubari, where several rhinos live. Six black rhinos were brought to Kageru in 1958 from Tanzania. Today there are about ninety individuals.

Rhinoceroses are usually accompanied by two types of birds: Egyptian herons and dragee. The former always fly next to animals or sit on the back of an animal in anticipation of bloodsucking insects: tsetse flies and gadflies. Voloklui collect larvae and ticks that climb under the skin of rhinos; walking on rhinos, examining every fold of their skin.

On the opposite shore of the lake, in large swamps, sitatunga antelopes, or water kudu, live. Males carry beautiful twisted horns on their heads, females are distinguished by a lighter color and graceful physique.

Author: Yudina N.A.

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