Human-wildlife conflict cases drop by 60% in Kwale, says KWS

 

Cases of human-wildlife conflict have dropped by 60 per cent in Kwale, a report by the Kenya Wildlife Service shows.

The cases have plummeted following the introduction of effective mitigation measures to end the animal-human conflicts.

County KWS community warden officer Omar Muichande said they have managed to control rogue animals which used to pose danger to the residents.

"Cases of attacks have greatly reduced because animals that used to be a menace have been contained," he said.

Rogue animals included buffaloes, elephants, lions, venomous snakes, monkeys and baboons.

Reports on human-wildlife conflicts have been rampant in the areas bordering the Shimba Hills National Reserve in Matuga and other forests in the county.

It has resulted in human and livestock deaths and massive destruction of property and crops.

The confrontations are more intense during drought when animals escape the protected areas in search of food and water in nearby homesteads.

In 2019, elephants and buffaloes attacked, injured and killed some people in Godo, Lunga-Lunga subcounty.

Last year, a lion was reported to have killed some livestock in Sagalato and Boyana villages and injured others in Matuga causing panic among residents.

Ndavaya residents in Kinango also protested after a herd of elephants terrorised their villages wreaking havoc on crops and property.

Previously, Godoni residents decried the increased attacks by monkeys and baboons who kill chickens and attack women.

Muichande said they have set up traps in various areas within the forests to restrict wildlife from getting out.

Other measures that were laid down include; erection and strengthening of the electric fence around the forests, increased awareness campaigns against encroaching wildlife spaces and improved surveillance.

Some of the residents have built houses very close to animal habitats.

They have in turn interfered with the ecosystem as they destroy the forest in search of firewood. Illegal poaching had also been blamed.

There have been cases where unknown people pull down the wooden electric fence poles for firewood. A situation that has promoted the long-standing mayhem between wild animals and humans.

But Muichande said appropriate actions were taken and the threats minimised to a larger extent. He, however, warned residents against harming the animals.  BY THE STAR