Iconic species such as elephants, rhinos, lions, giraffes, Grevy’s zebra, and hirola were at risk with some wildlife dying as a result of drought raving the country.
Kenya Wildlife Service acting director general Erustus Kanga said on Thursday the rains have given the animals some relief.
“We have some rains pounding various parts of the country coming as a relief. Nairobi National Park for instance will be up and running. We believe the rains have gone south to Amboseli. We will assess the impacts of the rains,” Kanga said on phone.
He noted the rains also come with some challenges.
The weather man in the latest forecast said rainfall is expected over the highlands East and West of the Rift Valley, the Lake Victoria Basin, the South and Central Rift Valley and Northwestern Kenya as well as over some parts of North-eastern Kenya.
The forecasts that were released on Wednesday and set to apply until March 20 say isolated storms are expected over some of these areas.
This comes as a relief to both human and wildlife after the country experienced five failed rainy seasons.
The first-ever National Wildlife Census 2021 report shows that Kenya is endowed with various wildlife species.
Some of the iconic species in the census report were elephants (36,280), black rhinos (897), white rhinos (842), northern rhinos (2), lions (2,589), hyenas (5,189), cheetahs (1,160), wild dogs (865), and buffalo (41,659).
Others counted include the Maasai giraffe (13,530), reticulated giraffe (19,725), Nubian’s giraffe (938), common zebra (121,911), Grevy’s zebra (2,649), eland (13,581), hartebeest (7,332), wildebeest (57,813), and Grant’s gazelle (66,709).
Thomson’s gazelle (18,277), hirola (497), topi (8,627), impala (25,541), Oryx (11,765), kudu (2,524), gerenuk (13,400), waterbuck (1,071), warthog (8,013), hippo (1,788), Maasai Ostrich (2,354), Somali Ostrich (6,483), roan antelope (15), sable antelope (51), and Mountain Bongo (150) were counted.
KWS has been rolling out several initiatives aimed at shielding the iconic species from the impacts of drought.
This includes the drilling of boreholes, construction of sand dams as well as water pans.
The intervention measures were being rolled out even as a report by the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) released on November 5 last year, showed that most species had died due to lack of water and pasture.
The WRTI report called for the scaling up of the interventions to help save the animals dying in various ecosystems and conservancies due to lack of water and forage.
The institute, in a study, noted that in the last two seasons (October 2021 to May 2022), the country has received rainfall below average, and more than 1,000 deaths have been recorded.
The most affected species are the wildebeests, common zebras, elephants, Grevy’s zebras, and buffalos with Amboseli, Tsavo, and Laikipia-Samburu ecosystems being hard hit.
In the statistics, 512 wildebeests, 381 common zebras, 205 elephants, 49 Grevy’s zebras, and 51 buffalos have so far died.
“The Amboseli and Laikipia-Samburu ecosystems are worst affected by the drought having recorded more than 70 elephants’ deaths... the continued worsening of the drought condition could affect more rhinos in overstocked rhino sanctuaries,” reads the report.
Most of the elephant mortality cases were recorded in Amboseli, Laikipia-Samburu, and Tsavo conservancies.
The institute had recommended that wildlife be provided with water as well as salt licks in the most affected ecosystems of Amboseli.
“We recommend the immediate provision of hay to Grevy’s zebra in northern Kenya should be enhanced over the next two months of November and December to cover a wider area,” WRTI said.
The institute had also called for the allocation of funds from the Treasury to support the National Wildlife Census in 2024 to establish the impact of the current drought on wildlife populations in all the affected ecosystems.
“WRTI should be supported to undertake well-structured monitoring of wildlife mortality in all protected areas to better understand the effects of the drought and recommend future action plans,” part of the report said.
On March 4, the Ministry of Tourism announced that it will provide the human population living near the Amboseli National Park with water and relief food until the current drought is contained.
CS Peninah Malonza said the drought situation in the country occasioned by climate change has adversely affected both human beings and wildlife.
“If one wishes to see the results of the current drought which is caused by climate change today, you just need to tour Amboseli National Park, one of the hardest hit areas. However, we will continue to do all that we can by providing the wildlife with water, fodder and mineral salts to lessen the effects of the drought,” Malonza said.
The biting drought had also pushed herders with their livestock to forcefully invade Chyulu, Tsavo West and Tsavo East.
The drought also sparked raging fires in some of the protected areas.
Such fires had been reported in Aberdares, parts of South Western Mau, Ruma, Hell’s gate and Mount Elgon.
In Aberdares, over 10,000 hectares of moorland were destroyed as a result of the raging flames.
Human-wildlife conflicts increased in some areas as wildlife and human being scrambled over scarce resources.
In some areas, elephants in search of water, moved to areas settled by humans.
They destroyed water tanks, crops, and fences among others.
KWS cited the hotspot areas for human-wildlife conflicts to include Kajiado, Tsavo, Laikipia, Samburu, Meru and Kitui.
The drought situation has been getting out of hand in Kajiado, Tsavo, Taita Taveta, Narok, Laikipia, Isiolo, parts of Meru, Garissa, Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo and Turkana.
The state is yet to clear an outstanding bill of Sh5 billion towards settling cases of human-wildlife conflicts.
The Wildlife Conservation and Management Act of 2013 provides for the establishment of an insurance scheme to compensate victims of human-wildlife conflict.
The Act proposes other modes of intervention for mitigating human-wildlife conflicts as well as compensating victims.
Currently, family members of human-wildlife conflict victims get Sh5 million compensation in case of death.
Victims are paid up to Sh3 million if the injuries cause permanent disability.
For other injuries, the victims are entitled to Sh2 million upon approval by the compensation committee.
Owners of crops, property or livestock destroyed by wildlife get compensation of equivalent value.
Those not satisfied may appeal to the National Environment Tribunal or Environment and Land Court.
-Edited by SKanyara
