Conservationists warn of dire effects as wildlife spaces shrink

Conservationists have raised alarms over the shrinking wildlife corridors, warning of severe consequences if they are not urgently protected.

Speaking during this year’s World Wildlife Day celebrations on March 3, conservationists from the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) cautioned that without immediate action, Kenya risks losing vital revenue generated from wildlife tourism.

A statement from NRT conservationists said that while two decades of conservation efforts have led to the recovery of many threatened species, habitat loss remains a significant challenge due to climate change and human encroachment.

Wildlife corridors—strips of land connecting habitats fragmented by human activity—are crucial for the free movement of animals and reducing human-wildlife conflicts.

“These corridors play a key role in sustaining wildlife populations,” said Dominic Maringa, Head of Conservation and Wildlife at Lewa Conservancy.

Maringa noted that Lewa Conservancy has been actively working to establish and expand wildlife corridors.

In recent years, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, located about 260 kilometers north of Nairobi, has acquired additional land to link the Mount Kenya forest corridor with the northern rangelands.

Lewa Conservancy, a non-profit organization, is home to 14 per cent of Kenya’s remaining black rhinos and provides habitat for various species, including lions and zebras.

As Kenya marked World Wildlife Day, an annual wildlife census was underway to assess population trends amid growing concerns over declining animal numbers. The census involved manual counting by both ground rangers and aerial survey teams.

“This exercise ensures we account for every species on Lewa, particularly the most endangered ones,” Maringa said.

Thanks to conservation efforts, Lewa’s elephant population has grown from 350 in 2014 to over 450 in 2024. Similar increases have been observed among white and black rhinos, a major draw for tourists.

Maringa emphasized that rising wildlife populations and increasingly strained ecosystems call for stronger habitat protection and the creation of new corridors.

“As conservationists, we must analyze these trends in the context of climate change, human activity, and conflicts between people and wildlife,” he said.

“Seeing more elephants and buffalo may seem like a success, but what does it mean for the future? We must plan ahead.”

Data from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) shows huge population growth in key species. Elephant numbers have increased from approximately 16,000 in the late 1980s to nearly 37,000 in 2024. Black rhinos have risen from fewer than 400 in the 1990s to over 1,000 today.

The critically endangered Grevy’s zebra population now exceeds 2,000, while lion numbers have grown to around 2,600.

But that success is threatened in some areas by growing human populations which has grown from 22 million in 1989 to over 55 million in 2025.