Kenyan conservationists appeal to public to desist from killing stray wildlife

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has appealed to members of the public to desist from killing wild animals but instead reported such incidents to its rangers or government officials for possible action. KWS said in a statement issued in Nairobi on Tuesday that stray animals are dangerous and could kill or injure people, adding that these animals are wild and unpredictable. "While human wildlife conflict incidences are regrettable, because of the damage to property and possible injuries on human, we encourage communities to liaise with KWS officials in their area to pre-empt such possibilities," KWS said. "This will go a long way in protecting wildlife species in the country for posterity," it said. The statement follows a retaliatory attack on stray buffaloes that occurred in Bura area, Taita Taveta County of coastal region on Nov. 3. It has been reliably learnt that a herd of buffaloes from Tsavo West National Park have been roaming the neighborhood in search of water and pasture. KWS officials have cited human-wildlife conflict as one of the major causes of declining number of lions in Kenya. They say carnivores still like lions attack livestock and this in turn leads to retaliation by the humans. KWS listed elephants, lions, wild dogs, leopards, cheetah, hyenas, Sitatunga, Tana crested mangabey, and Tana red Columbus monkeys as some of the most endangered wildlife species in Kenya. The number of wild animals in Kenya has reduced drastically, threatening the existence of one of the country's major attraction to tourists–who bring most of foreign exchange, new data released by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) indicates. One of the most affected wildlife species is the lion whose number has reduced by about 1,000 between 2002 and 2008 threatening to wipe off one of the country's largest wild cats. The country had 30,000 lions in the 1960s when it gained independence from Britain but poaching, drought and human-wildlife conflict have seen the population drop drastically. Most of the lions in Kenya are found in Maasai Mara that host 825 of them followed by Tsavo National Park with 675 lions, 230 lions in Laikipia and 40 in Meru National Park with the rest distributed across the country. The number of lions is still threatened because 33 percent of the current population still live outside government protected areas said the KWS document. The Taita Taveta region has been experiencing months of dry spell leaving the habitat dry and desolate. KWS said its rangers received information from members of the public and instantly responded to drive the animals back to the park. "However, members of the public in their hundreds mobilized and attacked and killed eleven buffaloes on the spot prevailing upon any effort by the rangers to restrain them," it said. The rowdy men wielding machetes then hacked and took away chunks of meat away. Scores were injured in the ensuing melee over meat. "KWS regrets incidences of human wildlife conflict in the area. We are worried that Taita Taveta communities are now resorting to attacking and consuming uninspected meat, unfit for human consumption, to address human wildlife conflict other than engaging our officers on the ground," KWS said.