[Animals] Drought kills hundreds of animals in Kenyan wildlife preserves

[7aMoDi]

Hundreds of animals have died in Kenyan wildlife preserves during East Africa’s worst drought in decades.

An elephant that was killed by Kenya Wildlife Service rangers after it killed a woman as it was looking for water and food amid the drought, lies in Loolkuniyani, Samburu County. [Brian Inganga/AP Photo]

 

7 Nov 2022

Hundreds of animals, including elephants and endangered Grevy’s zebras, have died in Kenyan wildlife preserves during East Africa’s worst drought in decades, according to a report released Friday. The Kenya Wildlife Service and other bodies counted the deaths of 512 wildebeests, 381 common zebras, 205 elephants, 51 buffalos, 49 Grevy’s zebras and 12 giraffes in the past nine months, the report states. Parts of Kenya have experienced little to no rain over four consecutive seasons in the past two years, which seriously impacted people and animals, including livestock. Elephants, for example, drink 240 litres (63.40 gallons) of water per day, according to Jim Justus Nyamu, executive director of the Elephant Neighbours Center. Some of the worst-affected ecosystems are in some of Kenya’s most-visited national parks, reserves and conservancies, including the Amboseli, Laikipia-Samburu and Tsavo areas, according to the report’s authors. They called for an urgent aerial census of wildlife in Amboseli to get a better idea of the drought’s impact on wild animals as well as the immediate provision of water and salt licks in the three most impacted regions and increasing the amounts of hay and forage provided for Grevy’s zebras in northern regions. The Kenya Wildlife Service and the Kenyan government have since made increased efforts to mitigate the crisis.

 

A Grevy's zebra, the world's rarest species that only exists in the northern part of Kenya and Ethiopia, looks on, amid ongoing drought in Samburu National Reserve. [Fredrik Lerneryd/AFP]

 

The carcass of a waterbuck in Samburu National Reserve. [Fredrik Lerneryd/AFP]

 

Buffalos feed on grass brought by a ranger in Samburu National Reserve. [Brian Inganga/AP Photos]

 

A man looks at a young hippopotamus in a small pool of water near Buffalo Springs National Reserve, Isiolo county. [Fredrik Lerneryd/AFP]

 

Members of the Grevy's Zebra Trust and a wildlife veterinarian observe the carcass of a Grevy's zebra near Buffalo Springs National Reserve. [Fredrik Lerneryd/AFP]

 

The intense drought in the region has led to a high number of casualties among Grevy zebras. [Fredrik Lerneryd/AFP]

 

A member of the Grevy's Zebra Trust places hay for a herd of Grevy Zebras in Buffalo Springs National Reserve. [Fredrik Lerneryd/AFP]

 

The worst-affected ecosystems are in some of Kenya's most-visited national parks, reserves and conservancies, including the Amboseli, Laikipia-Samburu and Tsavo areas, according to the report's authors. [Fredrik Lerneryd/AFP]

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/11/7/photos-drought-kills-hundreds-of-animals-in-kenyan-wildlife-preserves