Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu ( photo / buzzkenya.com)
Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu has raised concerns that Kenya is running out of wildlife habitat due to an increase in human population that is eating up the wildlife space.
"The elephant population is increasing but the habitat is decreasing because of human settlements and so on," she said.
The CS said that there is an increasing wildlife population against a shrinking habitat encroached by human settlements.
An aerial survey census of buffaloes, giraffes and elephants conducted between Nov 19 and Dec 2 shows increase in the population of the wildlife by 2.6 per cent in the ecosystem.
Prof Judy wakhungu attributes the 2.6 per cent as works done by the Kenya Wildlife service (KWS) and other partners.
Laikipia, samburu, Meru and Marsabit recorded the highest increase in wildlife by upto 12% within the last 5 years.Kenya has recorded a total of 7,347 elephants counted from the census compared 6,454 in 2012.
4,499 buffaloes were counted in Laikipia, Samburu, Marsabit ecosystems, representing an increase of about 10 per cent.
The census also recorded 76 carcases of which 75 per cent were very old with the remainder 25 percent just old. No fresh carcasses were recorded.