The only people legally allowed into the protected areas of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem are park and reserve employees, paying tourists and scientists. However, wildlife is being exposed to growing numbers of people in their habitat as well as on the borders of the ecosystem.
The growing populations along the boundaries of the protected areas are forcing wild animals into smaller areas. Elephants, driven from their habitats north and south of the Serengeti by human encroachment and hunting, emigrated to the woodlands of the Serengeti in the 1960s. Rapidly growing populations in Kenya and Tanzania will continue to cause loss of wildlife habitats, shifting animal populations as well as diminishing their numbers.
