Fire engulfs Kenyan wildlife park

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-25-2008 09:41

Flames have swept through one of Kenya's top tourist destinations for the second day.

Hundreds of park workers, soldiers and nearby residents beat back the flames for the second day.(CCTV.com)

A blaze at Lake Nakuru Park was extinguished on Friday, but fresh fires broke out on Saturday morning, destroying vegetation and terrifying wildlife.

Hundreds of park workers, soldiers and nearby residents beat back the flames for the second day.

Although the exact cause of the fire is unknown, game wardens have dismissed the idea of arson.

The fire seems to have started from a nearby village outside the park, and spread quickly because foliage was dry from lack of rain.

The parched grass made fertile fuel for a blaze that has consumed nearly a third of the park.

Charles Muthui, Senior Park Warden, said, "The fire has actually consumed almost 50 square kilometers of our pasture in the park and as we are talking now it is still on in small pockets which we are actually trying to contain."

The rhinos seem unperturbed by the smoke rising in the distance.(CCTV.com)

Most famous for its hundreds of thousands of flamingos, the Lake Nakuru Park in central Kenya is home to 450 species including white rhinos, leopards, giraffes and baboons.

Down from the blackened hills and across the pelican-fringed lake, the rhinos seem unperturbed by the smoke rising in the distance.

Game wardens say nobody has been injured, and a research team is investigating how many animals have died.

A tractor has cut large areas of grass to stop the fire leaping through the bush. The park's senior warden says it will take years for the park to recover.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei