Botswana's drought-stricken Central Kalahari 

 Game Reserve [see "Good Fences, Good Neighbors?" 

 by Graciela Mores, June 2006]. 



Even the Serengeti herds have suffered calami- 

 ties. In the late 1880s, the rinderpest virus was 

 introduced into the continent by Indian cattle 

 brought in for the Italian army, which was es- 

 tablishing a colonial presence in the Horn of 

 Africa. Within a few years, the virus killed as 

 many as 90 percent of the continent's buffalo and 

 cattle, as well as untold numbers of wildebeests 

 and many other antelopes. 



Yet the survivors of the pandemic, whose ex- 

 posure earned them at least partial immunity, be- 

 gan rebuilding their populations within a decade 

 or two. By 1 963, rinderpest had disappeared from 

 the Serengeti wildebeests. That population then 

 multiplied fivefold, stabilizing at its present lev- 

 el of 1.25 million (give or take 10 percent) by 

 the mid-1970s. 



In the Serengeti, at least, it is still possible to 

 observe the wildebeest's exquisite adaptations. 



both physical and behavioral, to a complex land- 

 scape. For one thing, the wildebeest must con- 

 tend with a habitat where access to food and wa- 

 ter depends on riming and location that can vary 

 drastically from year to year. For another, the 

 wildebeest must share the landscape with other 

 animals — both with other herbivores, including 

 other migrants, as well as with predators. Because 

 the population has bounced back so robustly, the 

 animal's future might seem assured. Yet no one 

 really knows how resilient the species is. In 1993, 

 for instance, a severe drought reduced the 

 Serengeti population to below 1 million. Anoth- 

 er disease epidemic could readily rip the balance 

 even more drastically. And human development 

 of the animal's former habitat in surrounding lands 

 continues and accelerates, threatening to reduce 



Wildebeests kick up a lot of dust as they travel 

 (photograph in the background of these two pages). 

 They also leave a scented trail for others to follow, by 

 depositing secretions from their front hooves. 



September 2006 n aiuu ai HISTORY 29 



