Mara 'cow eyes' reduce wildlife poisoning cases

Eyes painted on a cow's behind to scare away predators. [Courtesy]

Painting artificial eyes on the rumps of cows might be the new way to solve the cases of human-wildlife conflicts in the Mara, according to ongoing research.

The researchers have been trying various techniques to inform on simple innovations that communities can use to reduce the cases.

And now, initial findings from ongoing research that involves painting spots that resemble artificial eyes on the rumps of cattle in the Masai Mara ecosystem have given positive feedback.

"From the initial results, the communities are reporting positive feedback that predation is less in cattle whose rumps have been painted the artificial eyes," said Brian Otiego, a vulture conservation programme coordinator at Nature Kenya.

The project is jointly undertaken by Nature Kenya and Enkaretoni community-based organisation.

Initially, the project was launched in the Nkoilale area, one of the areas mapped by researchers and a hotspot that has experienced more cases of cattle being preyed on.

While conducting the research, the researchers chose an area where livestock predation, especially on cattle, is high. This is because the idea is to reduce livestock predation.

"We noticed that in the herds that had cows painted, the attacks were lower compared to those that did not have the paintings. This was happening in the same grazing field. This tells us how efficient this can be," he said.

The initial test ran for 42 weeks, and now the new study has been rolled out in Olarre-Orok for the researchers to determine if the response will be the same.

"When we stopped the process, we saw the number of attacks increasing. For us to justify the attacks are influenced by other factors, we decided to roll out in another village," he said.

He added: "We are monitoring again to see what the changes are and if they are the same as the previous study area. From the initial trials, pastoralists who were involved reported positive results."

The project is part of mitigating human-wildlife conflicts within the ecosystem shared by species which are on the verge of extinction.

Rebecca Ikachoi, a vulture liaison officer in the Mara, said that the project will help in determining if the method can be implemented elsewhere to reduce cases of wildlife poisoning.

"At the end of the study, we will now be able to determine whether the eyespots have helped to reduce the attacks," said Ikachoi.