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Human Wildlife Conflict; Reducing Tension Between Communities and Elephants
By Jane Okoth When Erick Sagwe, the Head Ranger at Wildlife Works, receives frantic phone calls from the local community about elephants invading their farms, he knows it’s time for him and his team to brace for a long night. “We receive phone calls from community members asking us to help drive away the elephants which have invaded their farms. Despite it being a dangerous job, we go because it is our duty to keep communities and animals safe,” he says. Human wildlife conflict is considered to be one of the biggest threats to the continued survival of species around the world. The impacts can be devastating with people losing…
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Beehive Fences Help Protect Farmers’ Crops
As human development continues to expand and encroach on wildlife, there has been an increase in human-wildlife interaction and conflict over the years, particularly in areas within Kenya where humans and animals directly share the local land and resources. This phenomenon is further magnified by climate change, which causes the wildlife to change their migratory patterns in search of food. One such area is Kileva, a small sub-area within the Taita-Taveta County, situated a few kilometers from Rukinga. Here, the dwellers are prone to conflicts with elephants, which frequently destroy farmers’ crops during the dry seasons. As many of these farmers rely on their crop yield to survive, this has…
