by Lewa, Kenya (AP) -As a nations, conservationists in Kenya mark before the worldwide wildlife day before the shrinking wildlife rooms in the East African country, which achieve significant income from wildlife tourism.
While the maintenance efforts have led to the restoration of many endangered species in the past two decades, the animals lose wide habitats due to threats that result from climate change and destructive human behavior.
But they also quote an opportunity in the so -called wildlife corridors – country strips that combine areas that would otherwise be separated by human activities. By enabling the free movement of animals and the reduction of incidents of conflicts of human -referee, such corridors support the growth of wildlife populations.
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A nature conservation group that tries to create such corridors is Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, which is about 260 kilometers north of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. Lewa is in possession of a non -profit organization that has acquired more land in recent years to combine Mount Kenya Forest Preserve with Rangelands in Nordkenia. The sanctuary houses 14% of the remaining black rhinos of Kenya, in addition to other mammals that range from lions to zebras.
An annual census of wild animals was underway when the AP Lewa visited, where animal numbers have increased over the years. The census included the manual count of each animal, with both soil runners and air teams participating in the Days efforts.
“All of this is an attempt to ensure that we take responsibility for the consideration of any kind to be found on Lewa, especially for the most endangered and threatened,” said Dominic Maringa, head of nature conservation and wild animals in Lewa. “We make sure that it is a full census.”
The Lewa elephant population increased from 350 people to over 450 in 2024 in 2014, according to the conservancy. Similar growth was observed in white and black rhinos, a main train for visitors.
However, the increasing wildlife populations burden ecosystems and must be coordinated by greater efforts to protect the habitats and the creation of new corridors, said Maringa.
“As a conservationist, you have to look at these trends, relate them to climate change, relate them to people and conflicts between people and silence,” he said.
The Kenyan authorities report on wildlife population growing trends across the country. Wildlife Authority figures show that the number of elephants in the late 1980s rose from around 16,000 to almost 37,000 in 2024. Black rhinos have increased from less than 400 in the 1990s to over 1,000. Critically endangered Grevys zebras now count over 2,000, while the Lions have grown to around 2,600.
However, this success is threatened by the cultivation of the human population in some areas: the population of the Kenya grew from 22 million in 1989 to over 55 million in 2025.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) encourages nature reserves such as Lewa and private landowners to open wildlife corridors to the free animal movement.
In a recently carried out explanation, KWS quoted the Tsavo-amboseli ecosystem, an expansive protected area in Southkenia, which houses important elephant migration routes, as “increasingly under pressure due to human activities that affect the free movement of the wild animals”.
Similarly, the wildlife corridor known as KiTengela, which connects the Nairobi National Park with the grassland of southern Kenya, was exposed to fragmentation due to human settlements and the development of infrastructures.
In addition to climate change, rapid urbanization, which is due to the population growth, is an essential factor for shrinking wildlife corridors, according to KWS.
There is also the additional problem of the forest fires, whereby the Kenya Forest Service reports over 180 forest fires, which have damaged more than 1,358 hectares of vegetation across the country since the beginning of this year.
