GAME COUNT FIGURES IN NORTHERN KENYA GIVE POSITIVE PICTURE
(Posted 24th December 2017)
During her pre Christmas meeting with the media did Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources Prof. Judi Wakhungu provide updates on the recently held game census in Northern Kenya.
Spread across several counties and including the Mount Kenya area, Aberdare area and the crucially important Mau Forest area – a key water tower for both Kenya and the Serengeti – was the focus however largely on the greater Laikipia – Samburu – Meru – Marsabit ecosystems, which are all linked by traditional elephant and game migration routes.
A total of 15.317 elephant were counted and estimated, compared to five years ago when the same survey suggested only 14.411 elephants in the same areas.
The Cabinet Secretary also said poaching since 2012 had reduced by 80 percent in part through better enforcement and in part through one of the toughest legislations in Africa under which poachers found guilty can face 20 years in prison or even life sentences.
Buffalo and giraffes numbers too were found to have gone up while the endangered Grevy Zebra numbers have declined by a further 3 percent.
