Haller Park
Low down on the Kenyan coast lies Haller Park, the largest animal sanctuary in Mombassa. The park features indigenous plants and trees with nature trails meandering through them, an abundance of wildlife and a few animal stars. Besides the opportunity to wander and wallow in an ecological haven, Haller Park offers the chance to feed and pet certain animals and learn about the world the creatures live in.
A Brief History of the Park
Incidentally, this ‘world’ was once nothing but the dusty, wasted legacy of a cement factory built in 1954. Cementia Holding exploited the massive coral-limestone deposits in Mombassa, leaving behind barren quarry. Thankfully, when the company changed its name to Bamburi Cement, it changed a few bad habits too.
Under the guidance of Dr. Rene Haller, the area underwent a complete environmental overhaul – and a successful one at that. The swiss agronomist was initially hired to landscape the surrounding area and organize crops to feed the factory’s employees. Dr. Haller, however, decided to tackle the problem at its root. As a result, no Haller Park visitor today would find it easy to believe that the ground they tread was once said to be “as barren as the moon.”
The Environmental Overhaul
The restoration process began in 1970 when Dr. Haller realized that only casuarina trees from Australia could survive the dry and saline conditions of the wasted land. Within ten months, casuarina had colonized the quarry floor. Red-legged millipedes were introduced next to start humus production. Microbial decomposition of millipede faeces took place as opposed to the decomposition of fallen casuarina needles, which are too tough for bacteria to handle (due to high tannin content). Gradually native species of flora were introduced to the needled forest. Thereon a diverse food web of insects, birds and animals followed, some naturally and some artificially introduced. Today Haller Park protects around 30 endangered species, and harbours many more.
Haller’s winning restoration strategy was just the first step of the overhaul. The agronomist proceeded to establish commercial tree farms, biogas stations, apiaries and more; a total of 47 income-producing venues. The aquaculture at Haller Park is particularly interesting due to the way its diverse constituents (cabbage ponds, crocodile zone, fish farms) cooperate to create something commercially and environmentally sustainable.
The agronomist claimed that economy and ecology had to be in balance. Looking at Haller Park, it is clear to see that he has proved this principle too.
Meet the Wildlife
The best time to visit Haller park is late in the afternoon because feeding begins around 4pm. The more notorious species are the oryx, waterbucks, crocodiles, girrafes, hippopotamuses, buffalo and elands. Duiker and suni scare easily and are much harder to find. If you don’t mind slobbery hands, head over to the giraffe feeding platform. The creatures are harmless and very popular with schoolchildren.
The crocodile feeding is also popular even though it is done from a distance; nobody wants to get up close and personal with those jaws.
The animal celebrities change with the years. Some of Haller Park’s most famous were the hippo Owen and giant tortoise Mzee who shared a most unusual friendship.