The pride of Nakuru. A view of pink Flamingos in Lake Nakuru. [Photo: nation.co.ke]
The return of flamingos at Lake Nakuru National Park is increasingly heralding hope among entrepreneurs in the hospitality sector in Nakuru County after 12 years of a slump.
The world`s famous bird sanctuary is famed as the spectacular destination for 5,000 avid bird watchers from Europe, America and Pacific Asia, and is home to about three million flamingos in the 1990s.
The number had drastically declined for the period the pink birds had been away minimizing prospects of significant growth of the sector.
Rising water levels, massive discharge of effluent into the Lake’s ecosystem coupled with poor solid waste management have conspired to keep the once colossal flamingo population to less than 500 birds.
Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) is elated that the population of the lesser and greater flamingos is steadily rising.
The Lake which appears on UNESCO’s World Heritage list of natural sites due to its diverse bird life is also home to other 450 species of birds and 50 mammal species including black rhinos, Rothschild’s giraffe, zebras, hippos and tree-climbing lions.
As a result, the largest number of flamingos may migrate to other neighbouring soda lakes in Kenya such as Lake Bogoria in the neighbouring Baringo County and Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania.
Stakeholders in the hospitality industry have reckoned that the return of flamingos is a much-awaited boon to their business.