Endangered Wildlife Numbers Decrease Rapidly in Kenya as Worst Drought Continues

Kenya is still experiencing its worst drought in decades, which is rapidly reducing the population of endangered wildlife. In the past three months, the world's rarest zebra population has decreased by almost 2%, and 25 times more elephants have perished than usual.

In their desperate search for food, Kenya's renowned wildlife is being starved of its usual outdoor food sources and is being forced into deadly conflicts with humans as a result.

Animals in many areas of the country in East Africa could experience an existential crisis if no measures are taken to protect them or if the upcoming rainy season fails once more, according to conservationists.

Grevy's Zebra Trust

Andrew Letura, a monitoring officer from Grevy's Zebra Trust (GZT), said that The threat is very serious. There are only 3,000 Grevy's zebras left in the world 2,500 of which are found in Kenya. They are larger than regular plains zebras, have narrower stripes, and have wider ears.

According to Letura, at Samburu National Reserve in the arid north areas of Kenya, the drought has killed approximately 40 Grevy's since June, which is about the same number that would be anticipated to perish over the course of a year.

According to the trust, GZT has started feeding Grevy's zebras hay that has been poured over a mixture of molasses, salt, and calcium to help reduce but not eliminate deaths.

Benson Leyian, the chief executive of Big Life Foundation, said that In comparison to a typical September, rangers have recorded eight times as many animals that are unable to stand or dead. Meanwhile, 50 elephants are either dead or missing, according to the Amboseli Trust for Elephants. The Amboseli Ecosystem's open rangelands and conservation areas are protected by the Big Life Foundation in collaboration with local landowners.

Read also: "Catastrophic" Drought in the Horn of Africa Kills Over a Million Livestock 

Drought and Men

A ranger at the nearby Kitenden Conservancy reported that some visitors have begun to wear safety masks due to the overpowering odor of animal carcasses.

Sadly, some wildlife is being killed by humans.

Leyian said that Compared to other dry seasons, there is a five-fold uptick in incidents of people engaging in bushmeat poaching.

Save the Elephants, on the other hand, reported that it is discovering an increasing number of elephants killed by firearms or spears. These reported cases have their tusks intact, which is a sign that they died in conflicts with people in populated areas, as opposed to being the victims of poaching.

According to experts, the drought alone is not to blame for the crisis. According to David Daballen, Save the Elephants' field operations manager, livestock overgrazing is causing rangelands to become depleted and is making it more difficult for ecosystems to fully heal from drought.

According to Letura of GZT, it's frightening just to consider the possibility of the upcoming rains failing. The rains are predicted to occur in October and November. He claimed that things are already dire. But if that were the case, it would constitute a serious emergency, and everyone would now immediately express their desire for rain, Reuters reports.

Related article: Worst Drought of the Decade Puts 13 Million Africans at Risk of Severe Hunger