Tourism Ministry under Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza has commenced the relocation of wildlife to safer habitats following rising cases of human-wildlife conflicts.
Among the animals earmarked for relocation include; monkeys, rhinos and giraffes.
The exercise started with the relocation of 13 Masai giraffes from Kipkonyo Village and areas outside the Crater Lake Consverancy in Moi Ndabi location in Naivasha.
Senior Assistant Director at the Department of Translocation and Veterinary Department Isaac Lekolool led the exercise of relocating the giraffes to the conservancy.
“The successful operation was to save 13 Masai giraffes from poaching threats and human-wildlife conflict,” Kenya Wildlife Service stated.
“The long-necked lovelies had been stranded in the villages due to change in land use, land degradation, habitat fragmentation & being fenced out of their former ranges.”
KWS announced that it was not easy to subdue the giraffes and lead them to the transporting trucks.
Malonza’s relocation exercise
On August 17, CS Malonza allayed the fears of parliamentarians John Kiarie (Dagoretti South) and Beatrice Elachi (Dagoretti North) who had raised concerns about monkeys being relocated to Nairobi from Gatanga in Murang'a County.
Elachi noted that before the monkeys were relocated to Amboseli National Park in Nairobi, there was a need to create awareness of how humans and animals can co-exist.
Malonza assured parliamentarians that her ministry had instituted short and long-term plans to minimize the cases of human-wildlife conflict.
In May this year, the CS also announced that endangered rhinos would be relocated to selected wildlife conservancies.
“Kenya is only remaining with two Northern White Rhinos that cannot reproduce since they are both females hence we are staring at extinction of the animals. However, the country has enough black rhinos for translocation and a good opportunity to further grow their population,” she stated.
