KWS begins wildlife relocation from Naivasha to Laikipia

The move, according to KWS, is meant to decongest some of the conservancies for Laikipia where the number of wild animals is on the decline. [File,Standard]

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has embarked on the process of trans-locating tens of wildlife from various conservancies in Naivasha to Laikipia County.

The species targeted are zebras, impalas, waterbucks, and gazelles in the exercise which is expected to take over a month.

The move, according to the government agency, is meant to decongest some of the conservancies for Laikipia where the number of wild animals is on the decline.

The exercise comes a couple of months after landowners in North Lake Naivasha clashed with KWS officers over the transfer of over 30 giraffes from the area to the Coast without their consent.

According to KWS assistant director Joseph Dadacha, the latest move follows a change of land use by several landowners in Naivasha.

He noted that the total number of animals that would be relocated would be known once the exercise was over in the next couple of weeks.

He said that some of the landowners had opted for farming and other commercial activities forcing KWS to move in and transfer the animals.

"The translocation process targeting several species like zebras and antelopes has kicked off from Naivasha to some conservancies in Laikipia," he said.

Dadacha noted that the number of wild animals in the lakeside town had risen sharply, leading to an increase in cases of human-wildlife conflicts.

He identified the most affected areas as North Lake, Kongoni, Kigio, and South Lake where tens of wildlife were on the loose.

The chairman of Friends of Lake Naivasha, Francis Muthui, welcomed the exercise noting that the number of wild animals on the loose was worrying.