Dar es Salaam. The government has dismissed reports that the fires that recently razed hundreds of acres of Serengeti National Park were an act of sabotage.

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Serengeti fire sparks claims of sabotage

Natural Resources and Tourism ministry spokesperson Doreen Makaya said Friday Tanzanian rangers had set the fire to create buffer zones in the reserve.

Hundreds of acres of the Serengeti along the migratory routes are reportedly still on fire.

On Thursday, Kenyan tour operators accused rangers from Tanzania National Parks Authority (Tanapa) of lighting fires on the Serengeti National Park and Masai Mara Game Reserve border to delay the animals’ migration.

“If there is a delay in wildebeest migration it’s not because of the fire, but extended rainy periods on the Tanzanian side,” said Ms Makaya.

An earlier report by the Kenyan media also quoted Tanzanian officials as saying the burning of bush was aimed at aiding regeneration of grass in the area.

However, tour guides in the Mara were said to have disagreed.

They reportedly claimed the fires were meant to prevent or delay the migration, a spectacle popular worldwide and that was expected to have started two weeks ago.

The wild fires have destroyed hundreds of acres of vegetation in Serengeti and blocked the wildebeest migration corridors.

Hundreds of tourists at the Maasai Mara have camped next to crossing points to watch the animals.  Many websites have been giving updates through live feeds.