The delayed rainy seasons for consecutive cycles have significantly impacted both humans and wildlife, creating a new normal.
As a result, the government and other stakeholders have invested in educating the public on the best possible mitigation measures to save human and animal lives from unprecedented droughts.
One of the main focuses in mitigating climate change has been increasing tree cover by planting at least 1 billion indigenous trees by 2030. This initiative aims to revive water sources and facilitate rainfall.
Recently, tree planting has become a competitive endeavor between organizations, government departments, and individuals, all working towards mitigating climate change.
During the drought season, the government, through KWS, reported over 100 wildlife deaths due to climate change, caused by a lack of pasture and water in national parks and conservancies.
However, little has been said about the effects of infrastructure on wildlife, even after the construction of the multi-billion-shilling SGR project from Mombasa to Nairobi among other infrastructural projects along wildlife migration corridors.
The Mombasa-Nairobi highway is under scrutiny for causing over 192 wildlife fatalities along an 11km stretch between Green Park and Chumvi in the past year.
“At this 11km stretch between Green Park and Chumvi, I can authoritatively say we have collected 129 wildlife killed by motorists, and since January this year, we have collected 63 animal carcasses,” said Aggrey Chemwah, a researcher at Save Giraffe Now.
He explained that due to a lack of water and pastures, animals like giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, elands, serval cats, and hyenas have been attempting to cross the busy highway, often unsuccessfully.
“Mostly, we receive phone calls from residents very early in the morning, around 5:00 AM, that an animal has been knocked down by a speeding motorist. Unfortunately, by the time we arrive, the animal is already dead,” said Aggrey.
According to Martin Mutiso, a ranger at Swara Conservancy, they use a GPS system to register the coordinates, time, and location of accidents before pulling the carcasses away from the road to a hidden place.
“Whenever we spot a dead animal, we collect it and relocate it to a hidden place within our conservancy. We do this to prevent anyone from eating the dead animal. It has been seen as an animal graveyard, but this place was not set aside for that purpose. Instead, people have named it the ‘animal graveyard’ because of the hundreds of animal carcasses found here,” said Martin, a ranger at Maanzoni Conservancy.
According to the report by Save the Giraffe, most of the animals are killed by motorists while crossing Mombasa Road at night in search of water and pastures due to climate change. The recorded animal fatalities along the 11km stretch between Green Park and Chumvi since last year include 138 zebras, 12 giraffes, 14 wildebeests, 12 hyenas, 5 hartebeests, 3 impalas, 5 elands, 1 cheetah, 1 serval cat, and 1 aardwolf.
“Actually, the 190 animals is a small number compared to the entire animal accidents occurring along this stretch of Mombasa Road. I have not been patrolling every day; I do it like twice a week, which means there might be other accidents that go unreported,” said Aggrey.
Efforts by the Maanzoni Owners Association Conservation Group to erect an animal crossing sign were futile after scrap dealers stole the billboard a day after it was placed. Residents here blame the relevant government departments for turning a blind eye to the animal fatalities along the busy Mombasa Road.
As a way of reducing the number of animals dying in road accidents while crossing the highway in search of water and pastures, the Maanzoni Owners Association Group initiated a wildlife feeding and watering program by buying hay.
“When the rains were delayed for two years, a number of wildlife lost their lives due to hunger. As Maanzoni Owners Association residents, we decided to fundraise to rescue the wildlife from the severe drought. We managed to buy 750 bales of hay, and one of us volunteered his water bowser to fill water troughs weekly,” said Ciku Ngigi, Secretary of Maanzoni Owners.
The hay was distributed to several residents who placed the bales next to water troughs three times a week. The targeted animals are gazelles, zebras, hartebeests, antelopes, and wildebeests.
“When the drought worsened, some animals migrated to other areas in search of water and pastures, where some died along the way. But since we started the feeding and watering program, they have returned to our conservancy,” said Patrick Wachira, a Maanzoni resident.
However, the residents feel demoralized by their efforts to save wildlife from the drought, only for the animals to be killed in road accidents. They claim that the number of animals dying in accidents is very high compared to those dying from drought, making it a serious threat.
“As conservationists, we are demoralized by the rising number of animal fatalities on Mombasa Road, with very little being done by the government. With the help of Save Giraffe Now, we erected a road sign, but it was stolen the same day by scrap dealers. We now urge the government, through KWS, to support our efforts in saving wildlife from accidents,” said Joseph Jeru, a ranger at Maanzoni Conservancy.
However, attempts to engage KWS on this issue have been unsuccessful.
The alarming rate of animal fatalities along the 11km stretch between Green Park and Chumvi on Mombasa Road risks putting the country’s heritage in jeopardy, potentially leading to millions of shillings in lost tourism revenue in the coming years.
