Carnivores have been less impacted by the ongoing prolonged drought ravaging parts of the country, the latest report shows.
The report by the Wildlife Research and Training Institute however warns that the carnivores will at long last suffer from reduced prey population long after the drought is over.
Scavengers such as vultures and hyenas are having a party due to plenty food from the weak and the dead animals.
The drought has also worsened the human – wildlife conflict in regions bordering the protected areas, leading to death of livestock from predation.
“There are reports of escalation of livestock predation by carnivores since the livestock are weakened by the current drought and have to converge at watering points with the carnivores,” it says.
This, the report says, makes the livestock easy prey targets by the carnivores.
The report however says the rhino population, both black and white is doing well despite the drought.
But warns that should the drought persist, overstocked rhino sanctuaries like Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary in Tsavo West National Park could be more affected by the drought resulting to more rhino mortality.
“Enhanced monitoring of the rhinos is important to track their body conditions to ensure immediate interventions are made if their body conditions deteriorate,” it notes.
The report, ‘The impacts of the current drought on wildlife in Kenya’ was released on Friday.
The study examined the effects of the current drought on wildlife in Kenya’s protected areas and surrounding areas.
This is after the country experienced below average rainfall in the last two rain seasons of October –December 2021 and March – May 2022.
Various agencies including the Kenya Wildlife Service Rangers, Community Scouts and Research Teams from Wildlife Research and Training Institute collected mortality data in effort to monitor the impacts of current drought on wildlife.
