The Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) has refuted claims by the African Elephant Specialists Group (AESG) that poaching is the main threat towards the survival of both the forest and Savannah elephant species in Kenya.
This is after the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released a statement regarding two distinct elephant species and categorizing them as critically endangered. The ICUN put the Savannah and Forest elephant species on its ICUN red list.
In news interviews to both local and international media, African Elephant Specialists Group was quoted indicating that both the forest and Savannah elephants have suffered stiff decline due to poaching and that poaching remains a key threat to elephant population in the country.
Acknowledging that poaching remains a challenge to elephant population in the country, the Wildlife Research and Training Institute, however, maintains that poaching is not the main challenge currently.
According to WRTI, the key challenge to the growth of elephant population in the country is the encroachment of human life into wild territory.
As human population continues to increase. WRTI says there has been a shift in land tenure systems and land use.
“As such this has led to the constriction of elephant range due to human encroachment.” Said WRTI in a statement.
Further, elephant populations have also declined due to human-animal conflict as loss of dispersal area has led to increased interaction between human beings and elephants.
“Elephant population in the country has been on a steady rise at an annual rate of 2.8 percent over the last 3 decades. Further WRTI says that poaching has reduced by 96 percent with only 11 elephants lost to poaching in 2020 compared to 386 lost to poaching in 2013,” added WRTI.
WRTI has urged other research institutions to involve them in such process to ensure that accurate information is released to the public.
