Kenya’s major rhino sanctuary no longer safe, KWS admits

Suspected rangers arrested in Nakuru and the crude weapons recovered from them. ABOVE: A rhino at Lake Nakuru National Park. [PHOTO: BONIFACE THUKU/ STANDARD]

By Steve Mkawale

Nakuru, Kenya: Protecting endangered rhino at the Lake Nakuru National Park has become a major challenge to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

Over the past few weeks, the park has witnessed a worrying spate of poaching – five rhinos were slaughtered in broad daylight.

In some instances, the attacks took place next to the park’s rhino surveillance offices and senior staff quarters. One of the rhinos had its horn hacked off. Rangers responded before the poachers could remove the horns from the other four.

On Monday, one poacher was shot dead inside the park. His two colleagues escaped in an incident that has left conservationists worried of the safety of animals at the park.

The poachers, who were targeting a herd of rhinos that was grazing a few metres from the Lanet  Gate, left behind weapons, including poisoned arrows and a spear. It is not clear how the two managed to escape from the scene.

According to KWS Director General William Kiprono, the park — one of the national rhino reserves where both the Southern White and Eastern Black are concentrated for breeding and protection — is no longer safe.

“The rising incidents of poaching at the park are disturbing, but we have taken measures to stop further slaughter of the wildlife,” Kiprono said when he flew to the park following the latest poaching incident.

Kiprono, however, admits that the park is now under constant poacher attacks. “The location of the park has played to the advantage of poachers who gain easy access due to its proximity to human settlement,” the director said, adding that the 188 square kilometer park is surrounded by communities.

Increased surveillance

The park is said to have the largest herd of rhinos, making it more prone to poachers hunting for rhino horn.

Though not scientifically proven, there is belief that powder from a rhino horn has aphrodisiac effect. The horns are mainly exported to China and Japan, where they are sold at exorbitant prices.

“There is no proof that rhino horn powder enhances sexual performance, but poachers continue to kill these animals, depleting their population in most game reserves, forests and national parks,” says a conservationist at the park, who did not want to be named.

He says poachers sell a kilogramme of the horn at Sh500,000, while middlemen who transport them to exit points trade the same for Sh1 million.

The price more than triples when it gets to Asia, where it is dried and ground before being sold in powder form as an aphrodisiac.

Another reason given to the rising number of poaching incidents at the park is the shortage of rangers to man the facility. Kiprono said 6,000 more officers will soon be recruited to the KWS security force.

“We have received Sh300 million to carry out the recruitment and we will soon begin the drive,” he said.

Rhinos in privately owned conservancies like Lewa Downs, Ol Pejeta and the Solio Reserve have also been targetted in the recent spate of poaching, leading to the establishment of a rapid deployment force by helicopter. Kiprono revealed that KWS was in the process of acquiring Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), also known as drones.

“We have purchased UAVs, which are awaiting deployment in due course,” he said, adding that the service has requested a further Sh300 million to continue installing microchips in rhino horns.

“This will help us monitor the animals and quick response whenever poachers strike,” he revealed.

With the rising incidents of poaching at the park, KWS has sought the help of the regular and administration policemen within Nakuru County. The county security team will help gather intelligence outside the park and pass it on to rangers to pre-empt the slaughter of the wild animals.

Lucrative venture

The government has further added another Sh200 million to anti-poaching efforts, giving KWS greater resources to curb poaching.

The killings at Lake Nakuru National Park resulted in more than 20 rangers and several key staff being moved to other assignments, having been accused of sleeping on their job. New ranger teams have been brought in to deal with the poaching.

Assistant Director in charge of the Central Rift region Jonathan Kirui was said to have been affected in the reassignment. But during the recent tour of the park, Kirui was still in charge of the region.

And although the country has begun enforcing the new wildlife laws that prescribes stiffer penalties to both poachers and traders in animal trophies, poaching is still a lucrative venture.

With the newly implemented Wildlife Act, it was hoped that the country would see a decrease in wildlife poaching. The new law carries a minimum fine of one million Kenyan shillings or five years in jail.

The most serious offenders caught smuggling endangered wildlife parts now face fines of up to Sh20 million or life imprisonment.