Hippos battle against the drought
Survival of the fittest.
Although emotional to witness the suffering and ultimate death of an animal due to drought, it is better to allow nature to select which animals will survive and which will succumb, rather than intervening by culling. The drought is taking its toll on the Kruger National Park, Hippo are the first victims of the dry weather. The hippos will begin to die first, because they congregate in the remaining pools of water, and defecate in the water, which contaminates it. Unless we receive good rain within the next two to three weeks, we will see deaths on a large scale. Savannas are unique biomes in that they depend on regular ecological disturbances, such as a drought, in order to remain biodiverse and productive over the long term. A drought results in the mortality of many animals (and plants to a lesser degree). Mortality resets the biomass of animals to a level the environment can cope with in its degraded state. It is thus essential for the long-term well-being of the savanna that the animal biomass is reduced so that it can recover once the drought breaks Although emotional to witness the suffering and ultimate death of an animal due to drought, it is better to allow nature to select which animals will survive and which will succumb, rather than intervening by culling. The drought is taking its toll on the Kruger National Park, Hippo are the first victims of the dry weather. The hippos will begin to die first, because they congregate in the remaining pools of water, and defecate in the water, which contaminates it. Unless we receive good rain within the next two to three weeks, we will see deaths on a large scale. Savannas are unique biomes in that they depend on regular ecological disturbances, such as a drought, in order to remain biodiverse and productive over the long term. A drought results in the mortality of many animals (and plants to a lesser degree). Mortality resets the biomass of animals to a level the environment can cope with in its degraded state. It is thus essential for the long-term well-being of the savanna that the animal biomass is reduced so that it can recover once the drought breaks.