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Kenya drought :
Elephants, other iconic animals dying
Nick WADHAMS in Nairobi for National Geographic News
More than sixty African elephants and hundreds of other animals have
died so far in Kenya amid the worst drought to hit the country in over a
decade, conservationists announced.
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A Samburu tribesman digs deep to find water for his cattle in
central Kenya on August 16, 2009. The Ewaso Nyiro riverbed where
this well was dug has been dry for months, causing people to
travel long distances with their families and livestock to find
resources. Kenya’s ongoing drought has added pressure to a
long-standing conflict between wildlife and the people who live
near Kenya’s protected lands. Cattle herders, for instance, have
been illegally driving their animals deep into the country’s
parks in search of water and grazing land. |
So-called 'long rains' that usually fall in March and April failed
this year, and some areas have now been in drought conditions for almost
three years. No one knows why the drought has been so bad. Many
attribute it to global warming, but others say it is simply part of the
long-term weather cycle in East Africa.
Since January at least 38 dead elephants have been found in the area
around the Laikipia highlands and Samburu National Reserve, officials
said. In addition 30 baby elephants have been reported dead so far this
year in Amboseli National Park, farther south
Some of the animals died of thirst, while others starved due to lack
of vegetation or succumbed to diseases or infections due to weakened
immune systems, according to wildlife officials
Many of Kenya's other iconic species, including lions, crocodiles,
zebra, and wildebeests, are also suffering in drought conditions and
could start dying at worrisome rates, wildlife officials say.
"The elephants are very smart animals", said Iain Douglas-Hamilton,
founder of the Nairobi-based nonprofit Save The Elephants. But I think
they are going to die in large numbers, and that goes for the other
grazers and browsers, too".
Helping hands
Conservation officials have been working to protect some animals from
the effects of the drought by feeding or relocating them.
At Mzima Springs in Tsavo West National Park, rangers have been
laying out hay for hippopotamuses to eat.
The Kenya Wildlife Service has moved ten white rhinoceroses from Lake
Nakuru to Nairobi National Park, in part because the parched land can't
support the large animals.
And the Nairobi-based David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust reports that
recently it has been bringing an average of seven baby elephants a month
to its orphanage. Normally the facility receives seven elephants in a
year.
Crops and cattle
The drought has exacerbated a long-standing conflict between wildlife
and the people who live near Kenya's protected lands.
Crop harvests were already expected to be low, because post-election
violence in early 2008 prevented many farmers from planting in time.
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A baby African elephant, weakened from malnutrition, leans
against its mother for support on August 14, 2009, in Kenya’s
Samburu National Reserve. A drastic drought, possibly the result
of global warming or long-term weather cycles in East Africa, is
creating harsh conditions for Kenya’s wildlife, conservationists
said in September 2009. So far this year, 30 baby elephants have
been reported dead in Kenya’s southern Amboseli National Park,
while 38 dead elephants have been found in the area around
Samburu and the neighboring Laikipia highlands. Photograph by
Lisa Hoffner |
The United Nations recently estimated that a million people in Kenya
are under threat of famine.
Meanwhile, cattle herders have been illegally driving their animals
deep into Kenya's parks and reserves in search of water and grazing
land.
From the air, massive cattle tracks can be seen leading deep into the
Masai Mara National Reserve, and the Kenya Wildlife Service reported
that rangers recently pushed ten thousand cattle out of Tsavo West.
Negotiations
"We have been negotiating with the communities to allow wildlife to
have a bit of peace in the parks where there is a little water, but
there aren't hard and fast measures we can take", wildlife service
spokesperson Paul Udoto said.
"It's really been a body blow to our animals". Some conservationists
fear that cattle herders might even start killing wildlife if they
continue to be denied access to water and grazing land inside national
parks.
"People are asking why they should not be allowed to go into the park
in case of unusual circumstances like now?", said Dickson Kaelo, a
program officer at BaseCamp Foundation, a community conservation group
outside Masai Mara.
"If they aren't allowed to, why should they allow wildlife to come
into their land just for the benefit of the tourism industry?"
Any wildlife attacks would be more bad news for species that have
already seen drastic declines.
One recent study, for example, found that wildlife numbers both
inside and outside Kenya's parks have fallen by 40 percent since the
1970s. People in Kenya are now waiting for October, when the shorter
rainy season normally begins.
But some experts worry that Kenya's water woes aren't likely to end
anytime soon."I think it's probably the worst drought we've seen for
quite a long time", Douglas-Hamilton said. 'And it's not over, not by a
long chalk'. National Geographic News |
