National Wildlife Census 2024-2025 Kicks off at Narok Airstrip
Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, Hon. Dr. Alfred Mutua, flagged off Kenya’s National Wildlife Census 2024-2025, at the Narok Airstrip, Maasai Mara landscape, Narok County, on 19th June, 2024.
Dr. Mutua said that the ministry fully supports Maasai Mara National Reserve’s recently introduced management plans, which included an increase in the reserve’s entry fees, from $80 to $100 in the ‘Green Season,’ and $200 during the high season - to elevate the Mara into a premium destination and reduce the pressure on its biodiversity. The CS explained that the challenges faced by wildlife in the reserve, such as overcrowding of big cats by enthusiastic tourists in vehicles, would be reduced.
“This National Wildlife Census outlines a vision for wildlife conservation, as part of a strong environmental foundation for achieving Kenya’s sustainable development agenda,” the CS said. He noted that Kenya is endowed with a plethora of ecosystems, such as forests, savannahs, fresh water and marine and over 35,000 species of flora and fauna, that constitute our unique biodiversity.
Dr. Mutua lamented the decline of some of Kenya’s wildlife populations, especially during the recent drought, regardless of the excellent national and international conservation policies in place. Conversely, he also noted the increase of other species populations. Data obtained from the National Wildlife Census will quantify and explain these variances, as well as wildlife behaviour and movement, to enable the government to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
Dr. Mutua averred that the 2021 National Wildlife Census covered 343,380 km2, with over 30 species of birds, mammals and marine species counted in various ecosystems. These included 36,280 elephants, 897 black rhinos, 842 white rhinos, 2,589 lions, 5,189 hyenas, 1,860 cheetahs and 865 wild dogs. These results are used in conservation planning, such as for translocations, to identify important wildlife areas, to establish conservancies, draw management plans, and review both the Wildlife Strategy and Wildlife Act.
Narok County Governor H.E. Mr. Patrick Ole Ntutu said that wildlife censuses are important for decision makers, noting that livestock and human populations neighbouring the Mara have been growing exponentially over time, adding that there should be a symbiotic relationship between wildlife and livestock, such that livestock reduce too-tall grasslands.
Hon. Ntutu’s regime operationalized what was an existing, but not effected management plan after much public participation; this plan was eventually adopted by all 49 members of the County Assembly. Governor Ntutu thanked the Government for ensuring that human-wildlife compensation claims are paid to deserving persons, adding that the Narok County Government is debating a Bill in the County Assembly that, if successful, will see human-wildlife conflict victims receive a payment over and above the usual compensation, sourced from Mara’s Gate collection.
The Governor said that Maasai Mara’s management plan is re-evaluating camps capacity in the reserve and the greater Mara, having restricted the construction of more camps and introduced temporary eco-lodges in specific spots in the reserve, more so during the high season. Ntutu said that when he assumed office, Mara revenues stood at 1.3 billion shillings per year, but today it stands at approximately 4.5 billion.
KWS Board of Trustees Member Dr. Helen Gichohi spoke on behalf of Lt. Gen. (Rtd.) Walter Raria Koipaton. In her capacity as the Chair of the Conservation Committee on the Board, Dr. Gichohi said that it was appropriate for the National Wildlife Census 2024 -2025 to be held at Maasai Mara, because the reserve is the most important wildlife ecosystem in Kenya, by virtue of the value that the world places on it, especially the annual wildebeest migration. “While this second National Count is important, it is important to note that Kenya has been counting since 1977,” Dr. Gichohi said, adding that Kenya has the most robust wildlife data in Africa. Dr. Gichohi said that a close examination of the wildlife population data reveals that Kenya has lost, and continues to lose, wildlife, stressing that all census data is used by KWS, national reserves conservancies, to determine the most critical areas that need tackling in order conserve wildlife.
Dr. Gichohi thanked WRTI for their partnership with KWS, explaining that studies conducted by both organizations have found that the number of days that wildlife are staying in the Mara during the migration is gradually reducing. This state of affairs results from habitat loss; the stress and pressure on wildlife on the Kenyan side of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is too intense compared to Tanzania, which has, additionally, reserved a significant area in western Serengeti to accommodate wildlife migrating from Kenya.
This will translate to Kenya losing tourism stays, because visitors come specifically for the migration. Dr. Gichohi lauded the KWS Board for recently completing a robust Strategic Plan, geared to revamp the Service. She added that the data expected from the census will put KWS in a better place to work with conservancies in planning for Kenya’s wildlife. “We cannot plan our wildlife’s future without talking about the future of livestock and rangelands,” Dr. Gichohi said, adding that, as climate changes; as human pressure mounts, habitat loss becomes a bottleneck for pastoralism. She said that the age-old systems which have continued to accommodate livestock and wildlife simultaneously, are the reason that Kenya is replete with wildlife.
KWS Director General Dr. Erustus Kanga proclaimed that the 2024 National Wildlife Census was exciting news for Kenya, it aims to generate valuable insights on wildlife numbers, trends, distribution and threats. This data will inform strategic conservation functions and policy decisions that will guide the conservation of wildlife in this country. “Effective management requires knowledge of the current wildlife status, as envisioned in Pillar 3 of the National Wildlife Strategy 2030 on ‘evidence-based decision making.’ Census data also sheds light on the social-economic impact affecting wildlife habitats and populations, such as habitat loss and degradation, land-use change, infrastructure development, human population growth and associated settlements,” Dr. Kanga said, adding that this year’s census built on the baseline population established in the 2021 census across Kenya’s diverse ecosystems. The DG called upon all Kenyans of goodwill and other partners to join this significant endeavour, in terms of obtaining data and information to safeguard Kenya’s wildlife species.
WRTI Director Dr. Patrick Omondi said that it took great effort from WRTI, KWS and conservation partners to plan for the second National Wildlife Census in Kenya, in fulfilment of ecological requirements of conducting a census every three years. Wildlife behaviour, particularly that of elephants also necessitates regular censuses, due to their long gestation periods. This three-year recommendation was made to former President Kenyatta during the presentation of the previous census report: it was subsequently adopted.
A detailed work plan has been prepared by a National Committee, and the year-long censuses premised on seasonality and cyclicity of wildlife censuses in Kenya. “We are adopting internationally recommended methodologies to conduct the census,” Dr. Omondi said, such as aerial and ground counts, spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) for carnivores, as well as satellite imagery, GPS tracking and precision.
Also in attendance during the launch was Narok County Deputy Governor H.E. Tamalinye Koech, Principal Secretary, State Department for Tourism Mr. John Lekakeny Ololtuaa, Narok County Commissioner Mr. Kipkoech Lotiatia, Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) CEO Dickson Ole Kaelo, WRTI Board Chair Dr. David Ole Nkedianye, CEC for Tourism and Wildlife, the Maasai Mara Chief Park Warden, representatives of the Conservation Alliance of Kenya and WWF Kenya representatives, among other partners.
The census was facilitated by The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, in conjunction with the County Government of Narok, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI), Mara Elephant Project (MEP), long-term partners World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA) among others.
