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Haller Park - Bamburi Nature Trail - Mombasa
Haller Parkure Trail started as a cement factory in 1954. The factory obtained its raw materials from the quarry, a fossil coral limestone reef that lived 125,000 to 250,000 years ago.
In 1971, Rene Haller started a quarry rehabilitation drive with the backing of Bamburi Portland Cement Company. They rehabilitated the southern part of the Quarry that comprised of 75 hectares and northern which was 11 square km.
Tell Me All About The Wildlife, Vegetation And Reforestation At Haller Parkure Trail (Haller Park) In Mombasa, Kenya
A variety of game animals and birds, which are not so easily seen, inhabit the fenced area. Each has a function in Nature Trail's ecosystem, and almost all of them utilize a different feeding niche.
The mammal species seen are hippos, giraffes, buffalos, zebras, waterbucks, elands and Oryx.
The bushbuck, suni and duiker are not easily seen as tend to scamper away upon hearing any sounds.
The animals most active at night are: bush pig, marsh mongoose and serval cat.
Below are profiles of famous animals at the wildlife sanctuary:
Sally And Potty, The Hippos
Sally was reared as an orphan by wildlife filmmakers and Joan Root in Naivasha. In 1976, when she was 4 years old, she was brought to Haller Parkure Trail. She is now around 20+ years old and weighs probably 1 - 1.5 tons.
Potty was confiscated from a German zoo, because he was not kept properly, and transferred to Nature Trail in November 1986. He probably weighs between 1.5 - 2 tons.
These hippos mainly feed on soft grass, herbs and fallen fruits. Hippos mainly stay in the water during the daytime, which protects their soft skin from the hot sun, and they feed on land during the night. Defecating mainly in the water, they fertilize the pond and enhance algae growth and fish production.
Hippos mature at 3 - 5 years, have a gestation period of 18 months and live around 40 - 45 years.
Cape Buffalo
Cape Buffalos are African buffalos, and not water buffalos. There are 2 females, one who is fully grown, and the other who was born in Nature Trail in May 1990.
These buffalos feed on grass, coarse grass, herbs and leaves.
African buffalos mature at 3 years, have a gestation period of 11 months and live around 25 years
Waterbuck
There are at present, group of 7 animals, 1 adult male, 4 adult females,
1 male and 1 female calf.
Waterbuck mostly feed on grass, herb and leaves.
Waterbucks mature at 13 - 14 month, have a gestation period of 9 months, and live up to 18 years.
Eland
There are at present a group of 1 male, 2 adult females, 2 calves. Herd of
20 - 25 elands are domesticated at Bamburi Forestry. They are herded and culled for meat
Eland normally feed on leaves of trees and bushes, grass and herbs.
They mature at about 1.5 - 2 years, have a gestation period of 8.5 - 9 months and live 15 - 20 years.
Oryx
There are at present a group of 1 male, 1 adult female, and 1 calf. Herd of
50 - 60 Oryxs' are domesticated at Bamburi Forestry. They are herded and culled for meat. Oryxs' are extremely adapted to life in dry, poor rainfall ar
eas.
They feed on grass(coarse and dry), ground fruits, and tuber. They need extremely little water.
Oryxs' mature at 1.5 - 2 years; have a gestation period 8 months and live
19 - 22 years.
Birds
There are more than 160 bird species recorded to date. Some species that were introduced to Nature Trail are:
Crested crane, marabou stork, yellow billed stork, pelican, Egyptian geese.
Bird species frequently seen in the Game Sanctuary:
Gray heron, black heron, great white egret, little egret yellow-billed egret, sacred ibis plovers, white-faced tree ducks (seasonal), African fish eagle and pied kingfisher and malachite kingfisher.
Weaver Birds
The are 3 main types of weaver birds: the Taveta golden weaver, black-headed weaver and golden palm weaver
Porcupine
The South African Crested Porcupines are active at night, and are rarely seen during the day. They hide in burrows, rock cavities, and boulder heaps. When threatened, they stamp with their hind feet and hurl quills.
They mature at 2 years and live up to 20 years.
Crocodiles
The crocodiles are the original parent stock of the crocodile farm, which consisted of 6 females and 1 male. These crocodiles were introduced from Lake Turkana and Tana River as eggs and hatchlings in 1975. There started laying eggs in 1984
At Nature Trail, crocodile eggs are collected right after they are laid and are incubated artificially. Thus, there are better hatching rates and minimal loss; sex ratio of hatchlings can be controlled by incubation temperatures and hatchlings can be looked after optimally
Crocodiles start laying eggs at 8 - 10 years, and live up to 80 years.
Aldabra Tortoises
The tortoises at Haller Parkure trail are from Aldabra atoll in the Indian Ocean. They were collected from people who kept them as pets. Some were washed ashore.
The biggest and oldest tortoise is over 100 years. These tortoises are very similar to the Galapagos Tortoises but are of a different species.
They feed mostly on vegetation, but will eat almost anything. They lay eggs in excavated nest pits, and the young need no parental care . At Nature Trail, despite frequent mating, there have been no offsprings.
Tortoises have known to live up to 200 years.
Monkeys
The monkeys found at Nature Trail are from an orphan group and their offspring are from hybrids. These species are:
- Green Vervet Monkey
- Sykes Monkey
- Mona Monkey
Reforestation Project
Before the Reforestation project, the vegetation and soil were in terrible condition. There was bare coral rock with almost no soil and no shade. The ground water was mostly saline
Salinity has decreased over the years since the ground is covered with soil and vegetation that absorbs the heat; the soil also holds back the moisture.
The following vegetation can now be found in plenty:
Casuarina
They come originally from Australia, but occur naturally along the East African coast. They can tolerate saline water and are well adapted to dry areas. Their leaves, which look like pine needles, are adapted t
o minimize water loss. The "needles" are actually green branches, with a very thick skin, and the leaves themselves, are reduced to small scales arranged in a row at each node of the "needles".
The Casuarinas are well adapted to live on poor substrate: microorganisms living in its roots that help the Casuarina utilize nitrogen from the air. Other microorganisms dissolve other nutrients from the surrounding rocks, and make them available to the Casuarina tree as nutrients.
Casuarina needles decompose very slowly. Due to their high tannin content, they are difficult for bacteria to break down. Red-legged millipedes were introduced, because they feed on dead Casuarina needles, and bacteria much easily break down their droppings. The millipedes speed up humus formation. Thus far a humus layer of over 4 inches has been built up on the coral rock.
Casuarinas are used as poles for house construction, dhow masts, charcoal, and firewood.
Conocarpus
The Conocarpus' were introduced from Somalia. They tolerate saline ground-water and are drought tolerant. They need some soil to start, and were most successful when interplanted with Casuarinas.
The wood is used for dhow building and charcoal.
Algaroba
The Algaroba was introduced from South America. They are drought tolerant and, also tolerate some salinity in the water. The microorganisms in the root system help provide nutrients. They are planted mainly on the quarry slopes.
The Algaroba flowers attract bees in large numbers and the seedpods are used as animal feed.
Neem
Fruit bats distribute the neem tree seeds. Neem is used as medicines for the treatment against malaria and skin diseases. They can be used as an insect repellant and insecticide.
Fig
Fruit bats and monkeys distribute the fig tree seeds. The four fig species are common, the most common one being Ficus Sycomorus, in Kiswahili called the mkuyu tree.
Fig tree often germinate at quite impossible places, like on rocks or on other trees. They produce long air-roots, growing down towards the soil and becoming proper roots once they reach the soil. They grow so vigorously once they reach the soil, that they strangle and kill their host tree on which they germinated.
Indigenous Species
Many species of indigenous coastal forest and timber trees are being planted to find the ones most suitable and to eventually replace the Casuarina and Cornacapus trees. These trees are Mvule, Mbambakofi, Mgurure.
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