World Wildlife Day was commemorated Monday in Laikipia and Nyandarua with renewed calls to protect Kenya’s wildlife resources, particularly the Grey Crowned Crane.
Residents of the Mountain Conservation Area, under the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), were urged to safeguard wildlife, which remains a crucial national asset.
Daniel Kipkosgei, the Assistant Director in charge of the Aberdare Conservation Area, highlighted the various challenges KWS faces in its conservation efforts.
Speaking in Nyahururu and Ol Kalou during a procession to mark the day, Kipkosgei cited the illegal poaching of wild animals for meat, wildfires and habitat degradation as key threats to wildlife conservation.
KWS bird expert David Warui emphasized the need for collective efforts to save the Grey Crowned crane whose population is on a worrying decline in Kenya.
Nyandarua currently holds the second-largest population of Grey Crowned Cranes in the country, with 969 birds, while Laikipia ranks fourth with 750.
Uasin Gishu County leads nationally in crane population.
Warui identified the poaching of crane eggs and chicks, along with human encroachment on marshlands, critical for the bird’s breeding and habitation, as major threats to its survival.
To bolster conservation efforts, Warui announced that the Grey Crowned Crane would be classified alongside endangered species such as elephants and granted necessary protection under the Single Species Action Plan, which was officially launched today in Baringo.
