The small urban middle class which has evolved in
Kenya has different socioeconomic characteristics
from those of the western countries that spearheaded
the national park movement and appreciation of the
aesthetic and ethical value of wildlife. Most of
Kenya's middle class may have spent most of their
childhood in rural environments and are likely to be
of peasant parentage. Consequently, they have
strong social ties to the rural areas which they
perceive as their homelands and places of ancestral
origin. In these social and environmental conditions,
nature areas may not evoke images of an exotic
environment full of possibilities for wildlife observation
and adventure.