The Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) is launching a nationwide data-sharing initiative based on the 2025 National Wildlife Census, as part of a strategic effort to map, reclaim, and reopen critical wildlife corridors that have been blocked, degraded, or illegally occupied across the country.
The move follows extensive data collection during the recent national wildlife conference held in Naivasha, where experts flagged widespread disruption of traditional migratory routes as a growing threat to both wildlife survival and human livelihoods.
WRTI Director Patrick Omondi stated that the institute is now disseminating the census findings to all 47 counties, equipping them with actionable spatial information to guide land-use planning and conservation policy.
“The collected data set is a working tool and it will help counties identify encroached corridors, restore connectivity between ecosystems, and support sustainable wildlife management.”
The census findings highlighted a worrying trend of shrinking savannah ecosystems and degraded grazing lands, driven largely by land fragmentation, fencing, and infrastructure expansion.
These pressures, the data revealed, have squeezed wildlife habitats and intensified human-wildlife conflict to communities living near game parks, sanctuaries and conservancies.
Dr Omondi said the institute now aims to use the consolidated data, combining census insights and conference findings, to pinpoint priority corridors and support their reopening, a move seen as critical to stabilising wildlife populations and safeguarding Kenya’s tourism economy
That urgency is already devastating farmers with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) announcing plans to relocate dozens of buffaloes that have invaded farms in Naivasha and surrounding areas, in response to escalating human-wildlife conflict.
According to KWS Central Rift Senior Assistant Director Gideon Kibati, rising water levels in Lake Naivasha have displaced wildlife from riparian zones, forcing them into nearby settlements.
Speaking in Naivasha during an engagement with locals, Kibati said the situation has been compounded by the closure of traditional wildlife corridors, leaving animals with limited movement options.
He said the relocation exercise will target affected areas including Mirera, Unity Farm, Mountain View, Karai, and Nyamathi, where buffalo invasions over the past year have caused widespread crop destruction and heightened tensions.
He added that KWS will deploy expert teams and aerial support to safely translocate the animals, while also fast-tracking compensation for affected residents.
Kibati said between 2019 and 2022, the government disbursed Sh32 million to victims of human-wildlife conflicts in Nakuru County alone.
Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja, has called for swift intervention, warning that the crisis has triggered food insecurity, job losses, and disrupted education in affected communities.
For residents, the impact is already severe as farmers reported extensive crop losses, growing safety concerns, and delayed compensation calling for swift action to reverse the destruction.
By Erastus Gichohi
