India Environment Portal Knowledge for change

About us Contact us
downtoearth-subscribe

Browse by subjects

Kenya

Kenya A battle for survival is being fought between humans and wildlife in the jungles of Kenya. While the animals are considered a goldmine for the nation's economy, Kenyans have begun a struggle for space and food with the wildlife.

Already large tracts of central Kenya, once covered by dense forests inhabited by a plethora of wild animals, have been cleared for cultivation. The national parks have also not been spared and have been violated by such commercial activities like logging and cattle-grazing thereby forcing wildlife out of their preserved habitats.

Joachim Kagiri, senior warden with the Kenya Wildlife Service ( kws ), says it's the burgeoning human population that has posed a threat to the wildlife habitat. "It is competition for the limited available resources that bring about the human-wildlife conflict,''he says.

Experts in Kenya blame human activities for degrading the country's natural resources and disturbing the environment for wildlife. There have already been reports of beleaguered animals attacking human beings specially along the Kenyan coast where many people have been attacked and killed by charging hippopotamuses and crocodiles.

Similar cases have also been reported from the highlands where Kenyans have lost their lives to belligerent elephants, leopards and buffaloes. Farmers also had to face loses as most often their crops are destroyed by monkeys and warthogs in search of food. Wildlife experts say one strategy which might be a solution would be to trap some animals that harass people and transfer them to a protected national park.

Related Content