Results of censuses carried out in the status and population of elephants, buffalo, giraffe and Grevy’s zebra have shown that the elephant population in Kenya has been growing by about 2.5 per cent annually.
According to Environment and Natural Resources CS Judi Wakhungu, the marked increase is a result of the efforts of the Kenya Wildlife Services and other conservancies in employing strategies to minimise the death of wildlife.
POPULATION
According to Prof Wakhungu, both aerial surveys and the dung count method were used to carry out the animal census in the Laikipia-Meru-Samburu-Marsabit ecosystem, Meru conservation area, Mwea National Reserve, Aberdare Forest, Mau Forest Complex and the Mount Kenya Forest.
In total, elephants were found to be 15,316 in 2017compared to 14,411 in 2012. This translates to about 181 births annually for the past five years.
Prof Wakhungu also said that poaching has decreased by 80 per cent in the last four years. This can be seen in the numbers of carcasses of the animals found during the survey.
SURVEY
A total of 102 elephant carcasses were counted during the survey, with old and very old carcasses being the majority. Only one fresh carcass was found, located in the Trans-Mara forest block.
Buffalo and giraffes studied in the survey were also found to be increasing in number. The Grevy’s zebra, however, whose population continues to decline has decreased by three per cent since 2012.
She said that her ministry and the KWS would continue to provide long- and short-term measures for conservation of the country’s wildlife.