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Wildlife and climate change: Birds find refuge in kind nurse’s house

 

The ongoing drought has sent wildlife such as big mammals and even birds fleeing their habitats to seek refuge wherever they can find it.

Wildlife has been seen in areas they did not use to frequent as they flee their degraded habitats and turn into urban residents.

About four kilometres from the heart of Marsabit town, a nurse’s home has risen to the call for help from a needy raft of sparrows and pigeons that have been seeking refuge there.

North Horr sub-county public nurse Nuriah Wario has become a Good Samaritan for the stray birds.

“It has been nearly 10 months since these birds started frequenting my home in search of food and water and I have always considered them as part of my household,” Ms Wario said.

The birds are suspected to have fled from their habitat in the Marsabit forest.

Water sources in the forest have all dried up, forcing wildlife to seek food and water sources elsewhere.

Ten months ago, Ms Wario saw birds perching on the purple-leaf sand cherry tree in her compound in Kiwanja Ndege in Marsabit town.

The mother of one says she quickly fathomed through the endless chirping of the birds that they would need food or water because it was unusual for them to be seen at the home.

With the first act of kindness, the intimacy with the feathered friends was cemented and they kept visiting her home and chirping as a cue that they needed something to eat and drink.

The number of sparrows and pigeons now visiting her home has grown to hundreds and they visit early in the morning at around 8am, noon and then at around 5pm.

She began by giving a quarter kilogram of rice to the birds which they could feed on for two days, but due to the increasing numbers, they now eat at least one kilo of rice a day.

The birds are also fed millet or food crumbs.

When the Nation visited the home one evening, we witnessed the wanton appetite for food the birds had as they could eat three handfuls of grains within three minutes.

Ms Wario has attributed the birds’ behaviour of seeking refuge at her home to the adverse impacts of climate change.

She plans to continue hosting the birds as long as the drought persists, saying that perhaps they were a godsend to test her generosity and kindness.

She is also taking care of six of her relatives, saying she likes to help people in need just as she was also sponsored by missionaries through secondary school and college.

The behaviour of wildlife leaving their natural habitats to seek food and water in urban or residential areas has been attributed to the impacts of climate change, especially the drought that is wreaking havoc in Northern Kenya.

During a recent county steering group meeting Kenya Wildlife Service Marsabit County senior warden Collins Omondi related how water sources had dried up and caused big mammals to encroach on homes in search of water.

He explained that the government was providing water using trucks even to wild animals to cushion them against thirst.

Climate change can alter where species live, how they interact, and the timing of biological events, which could fundamentally transform current ecosystems and food webs, Collins Oduor, Dorcas Aid International Kenya climate change officer, told the Nation.

He explained that climate change can overwhelm the capacity of ecosystems to mitigate extreme events and disturbances, such as wildfires, floods and drought.

Ecosystems and species are particularly sensitive to climate change.

He projected climate change and global warming could greatly increase the rate of species extinctions, especially in sensitive regions.

Similar views were expressed by African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) Country Director Nancy Githaiga, who said climate change especially affects birds that are known to respond to variations in climate.

Climate change has caused a decline in the availability of food for birds, leading to potential threats to the stages of their life, including reproduction and body growth.

Climate change also causes a dramatic decline in the ambient temperature, resulting in delayed growth and reduced feeding activities of insects such as caterpillars, which most birds feed on.

The decline in food availability may have short-term or long-term consequences, such as a mismatch between birds’ reproduction time and peak times for available food.

But the consequences may be affected by birds’ adaptation to dynamic environmental conditions.

Extreme temperatures can lead to earlier spring migration, as well as alter bird habitats and increase the risk of virus transmission.

Climate change can also lead to a mismatch in phenology, reducing population size and species diversity, bringing forward the egg-laying dates of some birds, and affecting the food supply of birds.

Captive birds that have limited temperature variation and low metabolic rates are most at risk from climate change.

Some tropical mountain birds, such as the northern snowbird, are especially vulnerable to climate change due to lack of access to higher elevations.

She said 10 percent of birds in Africa were on the verge of extinction due to climate change. The most endangered birds were the Taita falcon and the Madagascar fish eagle.

She lamented that ongoing global climate change discussions mainly centred on its impact on human beings while wildlife was pushed to the periphery.

She said that the direct and indirect effects of climate change on tropical birds included food resource depletion and disease transmission, which can increase the possibility of extinction of some birds by 50 percent.

“The incident of birds seeking refuge in a nurse’s home in Marsabit is a clear indication of how climate change has impacted negatively on even the wildlife and birds’ adaptation,” Ms Githaiga said.

Climate change can affect migration paths. It is widely believed to have shifted the distribution of various species towards mountain tops and poles. The habitat transformation caused by climate warming is also considered a major threat to the survival of certain bird species.

Climate change can have an impact on the timing of egg laying in birds, with early studies suggesting that some birds are laying eggs earlier than previously.

Climate changes can also affect changes in the breeding sites of birds. Warmer temperatures cause birds to stay at their breeding sites slightly longer than previously, but extreme heat forces birds to migrate from their breeding grounds.

Ms Githaiga said it was high time government agencies and their partners worked on long-term ecosystem resilience programmes that would ensure there is equilibrium for both humans and wildlife adaptation.

She said efforts should be intensified to safeguard and improve comprehensive ecosystem restoration to ensure the safety of humans and wildlife.

She appealed to partners to help mitigate the impact of environmental change on birds.

Governments should formulate policies to address climate change and companies make changes in line with relevant laws. The global community should also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.   BY DAILY NATION  

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