KWS AND TANAPA LAUNCH GAME COUNT IN GREATER AMBOSELI / KILIMANJARO AREA
Information was confirmed yesterday that Kenya Wildlife Service, in conjunction with their Tanzanian counterparts Tanzania National Parks Authority have last weekend launched a two week game count in the transboundary ecosystem of the Kilimanjaro / Amboseli area. Also on board is the African Wildlife Fund (AWF) and the aim of the count is to get up to date information and data to allow the setting up of a longer term game and wildlife monitoring programme.
Main target of the census are carnivores like lion, leopard, hyenas and other predator species, all of which have in recent years suffered from drought which decimated the numbers of plains game on which they normally prey, leading to increased incidents of domestic livestock being attacked for food. In turn, herdsmen took to poisoning, trapping and spearing of predators, putting additional strain on their shrinking populations.
The census data will be processed and interpreted and should be available, according to a source close to KWS in Nairobi, within the next three months, giving valuable information on the way forward.
