Kwale residents been stealing wooden poles from the electrified fence keeping wildlife from straying from Shimba Hills National Reserve in Matuga subcounty.
They use the poles for firewood or construction or sell them.
Destroying the fence will allow wild animals to stray into communities; the electrified fence shocked them slightly and kept them in.
Humans, however, risk electrocution from wires running down the poles. It can be fatal.
The fence also was intended to keep humans out and protect the forest from illegal logging and charcoal burning.
“People steal the poles supporting the fence around the forest and either use them for domestic firewood or commercial purposes,” KWS warden Edward Karanja said.
He said the theft threatens the security of both animals and the nearby community and said human-wildlife conflict could soon erupt.
“Let us not destroy the fence because it prevents the animals from escaping to our residential area and protects us against them,” Karanja said.
Last year a stray lion killed livestock in Boyana and Sagalato villages and injured others in Shimba Hills.
Recently, Godoni residents complained that baboons and monkeys were eating their crops, attacking them, stealing household food, even sleeping in their beds.
“The wires carry electricity and sometimes the current goes down to the poles so unearthing or going near them pose a great danger of your being electrocuted,” the warden said.
Karanja warned of stern legal action against thieves.
He said KWS and KFS security will keep 24-hour vigil to ensure the fence is protected and thieves punished.
The warden urged residents to report anyone stealing poles or poaching.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
