Earlier this week, Ewaso Lions met with other conservation stakeholders from Samburu and Isiolo districts to discuss the heavy loss of wildlife killed by speeding automobiles on the newly tarmacked (paved) A-2 highway.
In March, a lion cub was killed by a car as it crossed the road with its mother and brother. Then in September a cheetah was killed in the same spot. Just last week, a motorist plowed into two endangered Grevy’s zebras, a mother and her foal. With less than 2,000 lions remaining in all of Kenya, and only about 2,500 Grevy’s zebras left on the planet, can we afford to lose any more as a result of careless drivers?
In the past year we have witnessed a worrying amount of dead animals along the road, including striped and spotted hyenas, many small carnivores — and even an elephant was hit. In response, Ewaso Lions and several others called for a meeting to bring all conservation stakeholders together to discuss the issue and determine a course of action that might stave off this unnecessary loss of biodiversity.
Human loss is also a major concern as many people have been killed or injured along the road.
This striped hyena was killed on October 12, 2012. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for us to see such sights when we drive from Nairobi to Samburu.
The A-2 Highway runs north from Isiolo town, cutting between Buffalo Springs National Reserve and Shaba National Reserve, and borders Kalama Conservancy and Samburu National Reserve. It was recently tarmacked, which has enabled motorists to hurtle down the road at high speeds. The road bisects several wildlife corridors, so wildlife passing through risk being hit by cars, especially at night, as they cross the road mainly to access water sources.
The group is compiling road kill data to identify key areas along the roads where speed bumps and signage might help slow down motorists and make them aware of crossing wildlife. We will then advocate in close partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service to encourage the National Highways Authority to implement measures to prevent further road kill.
This week’s meeting was held at Kalama Conservancy and included a range of conservationists (including a curious Beisa oryx).
Stakeholders present at the meeting:
Ewaso Lions Project
Grevy’s Zebra Trust
Kalama Community Conservancy
Nakuprat Community Conservancy
Reticulated Giraffe Project
Samburu Game Lodge
Samburu National Reserve
Save the Elephants
Sera Community Conservancy
Westgate Community Conservancy
Eseriani Wildlife Association