Amidist the urgent call for collaboration in combating human wildlife conflict in Ewaso ecosystem, LWF joined a team of experts in a human carnivore conflict and co- existence workshop organized by Samburu- Laikipia wild dog project held at Old House, Nanyuki. The workshop brought together conservationists, ecologists, researchers, wildlife vets and other stakeholders working in the landscape. Among those in attendance were the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Assistant Director, Laikipia County- Rose Malenya, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Ewaso Lions, Action for Cheetah Kenya, Lion Landscapes, Northern Rangeland Trust (NRT), the Peregrine Fund and representatives from conservancies.
The Assistant Director welcomed everyone and explained the uniqueness of Laikipia’s biodiversity, urging for more collaboration. She highlighted human wildlife conflict as the greatest challenge and the gaps associated in addressing it, especially for human- carnivore conflict. Additionally, land use change, habitat fragmentation and persecution of carnivores, recalling from a translocation incidence are also challenges facing the ecosystem. According to data presented by KWS for the past 6 months in Laikipia, leopards accounted for 45.5%, lions 31.1% and hyenas 23.5% cases of conflict. Doldol which is in Laikipia North had the highest cases of invasion. Lack of reporting and delayed reporting are some of the underlying factors leading to insufficient data towards management of these conflicts.
Rosie Woodroffe, founder of Samburu- Laikipia wild dog project who joined in zoom, briefed the partners on the population trends of wild dogs since their comeback in 1999. However, their comeback was halted in 2017 after the prevalence of rabies. In a bid to enhance survival of the packs that had started thriving, the project developed a rabies vaccination campaign for dogs which host the virus to prevent further surge into wildlife. She called for careful livestock husbandry to reduce wild dogs’ depredation.
Collaring, a modern technique used to monitor the movement of different wild animals was elaborated by experts as echoed by Dedan from Mpala, where 4 packs have been collared. Empowering the community to harness conservation efforts was done by the Ewaso Lions team through their empowerment programs of Mama Simba and Warrior watch. Lion Landscapes’ Glen Behr, explained how modern technology has transformed the world of data collection by use of Earth Ranger through their Lions Extension Officers (LEOs) which can be disseminated to relevant institutions such as KWS.
Apart from adopting a human – carnivore conflict tool kit prepared by Action for Cheetah Kenya, Mary Wykstra, explained a new technique of integrating social science and scat detection dogs to monitor the distribution of cheetahs. Ambrose from San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance highlighted how camera traps can be used to fetch data on elusive wild animals such as Black Leopards, calling for community engagement to mainstream conservation efforts. This was also noted by the Peregrine Fund, an organization that advocates for conservation of birds of prey after their presentation on the construction of predator proof bomas.
