The Kenya wildlife service (KWS) will supply water manually using trucks to all hippo sanctuaries in Nakuru and Naivasha, as a way of mitigating water shortage in the facilities.
The shortage has forced hippos to stray into private farms and homes in search of water, causing damage in the process.
KWS officer in charger of Central Rift Region Maureen Musembi said that supplying water to the sanctuaries will prevent the hippos from straying and attacking people in their homes.
Speaking at the Lake Nakuru National Park when two stray hippos were returned to the park, Musembi said that the ongoing drought has heightened the human-wildlife conflict in villages around Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha.
“Most Hippo sanctuaries in Naivasha are facing an acute water shortage and this has forced the hippos to cross into private farms in search of water, this has led to people being attacked and even some being killed by the hungry hippos,” said Musembi.
“As we wait for the rains, KWS will in the mean time use trucks to supply water to the sanctuaries so that the hippos can be curtailed,” she said.
The move comes after two hippos strayed from Lake Naivasha on Tuesday, and attacked people along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway before they were shot dead by police.