Rains came too late for hundreds of wildlife

• Now KWS takes steps to restore populations of animals in parks

The rains are finally here, heralding a new start for the agricultural masses. But welcome as they are, they came a bit too late for the country’s prime tourist attraction – the wildlife.

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According to the Kenya Wildlife Services, hundreds of animals died solely due to the drought.

The country lost 40 of its 2,000 grevy’s zebra to the drought, which is two per cent of their population.

“Losing 40 is a significant loss,” said Mr Patrick Omondi, a KWS Senior Assistant Director.

Sustainable levels

The situation for hippos and elephants was even worse.

“The water level in the Mara River dropped below the minimum sustainable levels and we lost about 500 to 600 hippos,” Mr Omondi said.

In Tsavo, 150 elephants died from drought, most of which were calves and older adults that could not walk the long distances to the water sources.

Another 70 died in northern Kenya. “Our vets did analysis of the dead animals and their conclusion was that they had died from the drought; either from thirst or starvation,” Mr Omondi said.

While it was possible to supplement the hippo population’s food intake by supplying them with hay, the same was not possible for elephants because of the difference in their lifestyle and mobility.

“Hippos tend to stay all together in the water, making it easy to drop food for them, but the elephant’s terrain is so expansive it’s impossible to predict where they will be to leave food for them,” he said, adding that there were numerous offers of food donations for the elephants that they had to turn down.

Poachers have staked out the sporadic watering holes in northern Kenya and preyed on the slow moving elephants, killing 189 this year alone.

“That’s the highest number of elephants poached since the international ban on ivory sales in 1999,” Mr Omondi said. Another 98 were killed by poachers in 2008 and 46 in 2007.

It’s not only poachers, but also herders that are causing problems.

In many part of the country, “huge numbers” of livestock are being sneaked into conservation areas. With a lack of adequate grazing lands, many herders moved their animals into game reserves, a move that is not only illegal, but also disruptive to the natural balance of the parks.