KWS begins wildlife census at famous Mara ecosystem

Kenya Wildlife Service  (KWS) has begun five-day wildlife census in Mara ecosystem to take the number of the population distribution, migration and trends of the animals.

KWS Senior Assistant Director in charge of Biodiversity Research and Monitoring, Erustus Kanga, said late Wednesday that the move is aimed at mapping out dispersal areas and migratory corridors to know wildlife areas, where they go, which areas are important, and ascertain reduction in numbers due to increased poaching in the last two years.

“We also want to establish the population of elephants in the Maasai Mara and other endangered species following wanton poaching in the last two years especially in the region,” Kanga told journalists in Ewaso Nyiro, northwest Kenya.

This comes as the sector is grappling with poaching menace, human wildlife conflict and fragmentation of parcels of lands suitable for wildlife.

The exercise will enable the conservationists to direct necessary resources towards dealing with the issues.

Narok County, which hosts world-famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve, depends heavily on game tourism which earns the county government of more than 80 percent of its revenue.

The exercise is being carried out co-current with the neighboring Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park to help get the numbers of the animals that crisscross between the two ecosystems.

Kanga said the census will support the Narok County government in creating a special plans and making decisions such as land use taking into account that the county heavily relies on wildlife tourism.

He added that Mara ecosystem is the fourth most important elephant area after Amboseli, Tsavo and Samburu national parks and therefore the head count is critical.

The exercise will involve two aircrafts and all animals in the ecosystem will be counted as opposed to recent where only elephants, buffalos and giraffes were counted.

KWS’s Central Rift Assistant Director George Osuri said the results of the census will help the service determine the level of poaching and make relevant decisions on how to curb the menace.

He also noted the human-wildlife conflict that has been experienced in the area adding that the census will involve the counting of domestic animals around the conservation in bid of mitigating the problem.