A report issued at a press conference by Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Wildlife, and Heritage Peninah Malonza, revealed that about 205 elephants, 512 Wildebeests, 381 common Zebras, 12 Giraffes, and 51 Buffalos have succumbed to the drought in the past 10 months.
The CS added that up to fourteen species have been deeply affected by the prolonged drought faced all-round East Africa and considered the worst in 40 years.
“The drought has caused mortality of wildlife… because of the depletion of food resources as well as water shortages,” Peninah Malonza, the cabinet secretary for Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage, told a news conference on Friday.
Some of the animals died in their natural habitats, an ecosystem that has been a victim of the climate crisis that has seen lessened rainfall occurring for the last few years.
Although sporadic rainfall has finally started in the region, Kenya’s Meteorological Department forecasts below-average rainfall for much of the country for the coming months, raising fears that the threat to Kenya’s wildlife is not over. accounting
Kenya Wildlife Services are thereby advised to take action as soon as possible to curb more deaths of these animals.
In September, conservation group Grevy’s Zebra Trust said that 40 Grevy’s had died in just three months because of the drought, representing nearly 2 percent of the species’ population.
The animals succumbing to this situation are a major tourist attraction for the country as they attract tourists majorly which earns the country revenue.
Despite a first step in for the losses, the figures released on Friday are likely far from comprehensive, the ministry warned in a report, saying carnivores could have devoured some carcasses.
“Thus, there is a possibility of higher mortality,” the report said. The worst-affected ecosystems are home to some of Kenya’s most-visited national parks, reserves, and conservancies, including the Amboseli, Tsavo, and Laikipia-Samburu areas, according to the report’s authors.
They called for an urgent aerial census of wildlife in Amboseli to get a broader view of the drought’s impact on wild animals there.
