Thread by @mmnjug

Kenya's charismatic species such as elephants, rhinos, lions, giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, and hirola have increased, the findings of the first-ever census shows. - @TheStarKenya

#CountToConserve
#WildlifeCensusReport

However, there were relatively lower records of the plain game species, the National Wildlife Census 2021 report which was unveiled on Monday shows.

Over 30 mammal species, birds and marine species were counted in various ecosystems during the census that was launched by Tourism CS Najib Balala on May 7 at Shimba Hills National Reserve in Kwale county.

Some of the iconic species counted were:

Elephants - 36,280
Black rhino - 897
White rhino - 842
Northern rhino - 2 🚩
Lions - 2,589
Hyenas - 5,189
Cheetahs - 1,160
Wild dogs - 865
Buffalo - 41,659

Others counted include:

Maasai giraffe - 13,530
Reticulated giraffe - 19,725
Nubian giraffe - 938
Common zebra - 121,911
Grevy’s zebra - 2,649
Eland - 13,581
Hartebeest - 7,332
Wildebeest - 57,813
Grant’s gazelle - 66,709

Thomson’s gazelle - 18,277
Hirola - 497
Topi - 8,627
Impala - 25,541
Oryx - 11,765
Kudu - 2,524
Gerenuk - 13,400
Waterbuck - 1,071
Warthog - 8,013
Hippo - 1,788
Maasai Ostrich - 2,354
Somali Ostrich - 6,483
Roan antelope - 15
Sable antelope - 51
Mountain Bongo - 150

Sitatunga - 473
Tana River Mangabey monkey - 1,650
Tana River red Colobus Monkey - 1,219

Key marine species counted were:

Sea turtle nests - 340
Dugong - 2
Whale Shark - 9
Humpback Whales - 63
Indo- Pacific bottlenose Dolphin - 354
Blue Whale - 2
Scalloped Hammerhead shark - 222
Silky Shark - 495
Giant Guitarfish - 89

Bowmouth guitarfish - 23
Mobula rays - 11
Oceanic whitetip shark - 358
Long comb sawfish - 60
Great white shark - 29
Tiger shark - 17 among other marine species

Among the waterfowl birds counted were:

Lesser flamingoes - 978,005
Greater flamingoes - 748
Great white pelicans - 523
Pink-backed pelicans - 360
Great comorants - 4,292
Long-tailed comorants - 733
African darters - 639

African fish eager - 57
Yellow-billed stork - 720
Egyptian geese - 963
Red-knobbed coot - 692

During the exercise, a number of anthropogenic activities such as livestock incursions, logging, charcoal burning, settlements and fires were observed in conservation areas.

The report identifies some of the challenges such as habitat loss, land use and land tenure systems change, exponential human population growth, and accompanying demand for land for settlement and infrastructure as the reasons for low densities of plain game.

The #WildlifeCensusReport conducted by @kwskenya is out and Kenya's wildlife is thriving even as its population rises bit.ly/3tdTMzC by @TheStarKenya

#CountToConserve