Image: GARETH JONES
We all need energy to survive in the world. In nature, wild animals, like plant-eating species, can only survive and thrive if there is enough plant material, like grasses, leaves and stems to give them enough nutrition and energy to sustain them throughout the annual cycles of dry and wet seasons.
The total amount of potential food energy available in kilograms per square kilometre is measured. This is also known as the biomass. In the Nairobi National Park, scientific studies have been conducted in the past by people like (JB Voster and MJ Coe from 1960-66 ) to determine the estimated sustainable biomass of the park. In the dry season, the biomass was estimated to be about 5,690kg per sq/km, and in the wet peak season, it was as high as 12,775 kg per sq/km.
Optimum biomass is also known as the carrying capacity, or the amount of species that can live in the park without downgrading the ecosystem. This is very important for the park, as the total area is only 117 sq/km, and the herds are not able to migrate as before due to blocked ancient seasonal routes. Naturally, herbivores like zebra, eland, wildebeest, coke’s hartebeest, impala and buffalo also attract interest in predators when they prefer to feed in certain parts of the park.
In my experience, the Kingfisher area plains, Eland valley, and the Athi basin are typical areas where the soil type is fertile and able to sustain larger populations of herbivores and associated predators, like lions, leopards, and Hyenas. So next time you decide to visit the park, try focusing on areas where the herbivores are feeding, and sooner or later, you could be rewarded with a predator sighting.