• Nakuru National Park has 3,850 buffaloes, seven times its carrying capacity (500).
• They have overpowered lions and are driving them away from the park.
The ecological integrity of some national parks is being compromised by the high number of wildlife.
Nakuru National Park, for instance, has 3,850 buffaloes, when it can only support 500. This is seven times the number of buffaloes it should support, Kenya Wildlife Service board chairman John Waithaka said.
The buffaloes have become so many that they are driving away lions, he said.
"This affects the ecological integrity of the park," Waithaka said on the phone on Monday. “...they are eating the grass that is supposed to be eaten by other species.”
Ecological integrity refers to an ecosystem that contains its full complement of native species and the processes that ensure their survival.
A park is said to have ecological integrity when it supports healthy populations of those plants and animals that are representative of the unique natural region that it was established to protect.
Waithaka said each park has a carrying capacity which when compromised, affects all the species found in it.
Waithaka spoke a few days after 14 buffaloes and a waterbuck died of anthrax at the park.
The first case was reported on March 29. KWS personnel are working to contain the spread of the disease.
He said buffaloes in Nakuru National Park are becoming weaker, hence, more vulnerable to disease.
"They are so many now such that they are even a threat to the lions. This is because together, they are able to chase lions," Waithaka said.
He said the kings of the jungle, which are supposed to help bring buffalo populations down, have instead been overpowered and have moved out of the park.
"The natural regulation mechanism is not there anymore. That is why you see such kind of a situation," Waithaka said.
He said there should be mechanisms for bringing the numbers down to carrying capacity.
Waithaka said the tragedy Kenya faces is that “science is not highly respected when it comes to management of wildlife in our national parks".
Shimba Hills and Mwea National Reserve have an overabundance of lions, some of which have been translocated to Tsavo
The botany and zoology expert said Kenya needs to rethink the management of nationals parks. “Active management is where we do management because we cannot let nature take its course," he said.
One way active management is practised is by fencing a park to contain the wild animals.
"We have fenced parks but when it comes to active management to maintain the level of population that would be sustained without degrading the environment, we have not been very good," Waithaka said.
Waithaka attributed the hyper-abundance of wildlife to "different perceptions" about what needs to be done in national parks.
"They feel that national parks are for conserving wildlife," he said.
"If you then go into a national park and start reducing the number of buffaloes, warthogs or whatever other species, they feel that you are infringing on the mandate [of KWS]."
Waithaka said the drought and hyper-abundance have worsened matters. He said the challenge is not restricted to Nakuru National Park.
The problem at Shimba Hills National Park, for instance, is an overabundance of elephants. "What we have done is to move them from Shimba Hills to Tsavo so that they do not destroy their environment," Waithaka said.
Mwea National Reserve too has many elephants, some of which have been translocated to Tsavo.
Waithaka said the Nairobi National Park is almost fully fenced. However, it has an outlet through which the animals can get out.
He said Aberdares is fully fenced. "It is a very big park and highly productive because of high rainfall. There are also a lot of elephants that we should start thinking about what we should do with them," Waithaka said.
Census results released in 2016 and 2017 showed that there were 3,939 elephants in the Aberdares, up from 3,540 in 2005.
Meru Conservation Area had 674 elephants up from 659 in 2015. This represented an increase of about two per cent in two years.
Waithaka said the KWS board has discussed the issue of Nakuru National Park. They are looking for a way to move the buffaloes but have to consider "the level of sensitivity when we think about shooting them".
Waithaka said they have started working with South Africa National Park with a view of borrowing their method of capturing buffaloes without darting.
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya