Late last month, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officials in Tana River County came across a fresh carcass of a crocodile in Onkolde area.
A few days later, two decaying carcasses were discovered near Mnazini, on the way to Hola.
After some investigations, the officials found that more of the reptiles had died under unclear circumstances. Were the deaths natural?
With no known predators and a lifespan of more than 45 years, the scaly Nile Crocodiles’ conservation status in Kenya is marked by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as “least concern”. Until now.
KWS suspects the crocodiles are being poisoned. The problem began when the main Tana River tributary changed its course and the crocodiles were forced to look for survival tactics.
Most of them moved downstream along the river near Kipini where waters are deep. And then carcasses started to float. The carcasses were found in Onkolde in Tana Delta Sub County, and lately at Hola and Kipini. The question now is, why would anyone want to poison crocodiles?
Senior Tana River County KWS warden Matthias Mwavita says the culprits could be using a special type of poison because only crocodiles are dying. Hippopotamuses, mud fish and and other fish species are not affected.
Mwavita says those killed recently are three medium size crocodiles that were also slaughtered and their meat taken away.
“Initially, fishermen used goat meat in as bait in their trap but its alleged that the fish are no longer attracted by the goat meat, forcing fisgermen to turn to crocodile meat as bait to trap fish,” he says.
The last census 10 years ago along a 500-kilometre stretch of Tana River, revealed there could be as many as 18,000 crocodiles.
KWS authorities did not confirm these figures but are aware the high number of crocodiles has been going down. Some figures claim the Nile crocodiles (known as Mamba in Kiswahili) may have reduced by more than 40 per cent.
Mwavita says they have arrested two suspects over the crocodile killings. They were cornered by KWS rangers near Kipini.
He said rangers are now patrolling the river to trace more crocodile killers.
Some community members say the crocodiles could may also be for meat, which some locals consume.
Others are being killed by angry locals in revenge because they constantly attack cattle and people along the river.
Buya Hirbae, a community representative of Kazuri Crocodile farm project that deals with conservation of crocodiles, confirms the population of crocodiles is unstable.
Hirbae, a resident of Garsen, says there used to be large populations in Bubesa, Asa Kanyenche and Baomo primate reserve. “It’s true crocodiles have been killed and are still being killed, their numbers have reduced drastically in the past 10 years,’’ he says.
Crocodiles began disappearing or dying after diversion of the River from Mnazini area. Hirbae says the river initially passed through two lakes, Sakanyancha and Guntu, which had plenty of fish for crocodiles to eat.
He says most fish in the river has dispersed towards the Indian Ocean, where Tana River terminates. Hirbae admits there are cases of human-wildlife conflict. “Cattle and goats were crushed by crocodiles forcing the residents to look for a means of killing them,’’ he says.
The remaining crocodiles, he says, began fleeing and migrated to the North in Mathamane, while others went to the south in areas of Haluwa and Maziwa.
“The number of crocodiles reduced as others also fled to Moa, Mbililo, Kau and Ozi,’’ Hirbae says. Currently, he says, the areas with crocodiles are Masalani, Vukoni, Wenje and Baomo.
“At Mnazini the number of crocodiles have reduced drastically,” he said. “It is for this reason that fishermen also began trapping fish using mgono (traditional trap) as a bait on one hand and on the other as retaliation for the attacks on their cattle and goats.”
He recommends that locals be trained and sensitised on the importance of the crocodiles in River Tana. “Residents conducting activities along the river should be enlightened on environment and conservation of the endangered crocodile,’’ he says. Non Governmental Organisations should also come in and help sink boreholes so that farmers and pastoralists can move away from the river and let the crocodiles live freely. “The Kenya Wildlife Service has the mandate to sensitise the residents on how to interact with the crocodiles,’’ he says. KWS authorities say the situation is manageable and they will end the killings.
MAMBA UNDER ATTACK
- The average length of Nile Crocodile is roughly 4.8 metres but can be up to 20 metres long.
- They generally weigh around 220 kilogrammes. Some crocodiles weighing up to 740 kilogrammes have been found.
- They live for about 45 years in the wild, 80 in captivity.
- Nile Crocodiles become sexually mature around ten years of age. Once a year, the female lays between 30 and 80 eggs near water’s the edge. The eggs hatch in two to three months.
- Nile Crocodiles eat mostly fish. They will also eat almost anything that happens to cross its path: zebras, small hippos, porcupines, birds, baby elephants and other crocodiles.