Kenya, Tanzania launch joint wildlife census

Kenyan and Tanzanian governments have launched a joint aerial count of elephants and other large mammals in their shared ecosystem of the Amboseli-West Kilimanjaro.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), this week-long drive seeks to establish the status of wildlife within the cross-border landscape which includes the elephant, wildebeest, zebra and other large mammals following the last aerial count conducted in 2012 by the same team, Xinhua reported.

"It will enhance knowledge on the relation between wildlife, habitat and human impacts while at the same time fostering cross- border collaboration on wildlife monitoring and management between the two East African countries," KWS said in a statement.

According to last survey reports, the elephant population in the area has been relatively stable, with 1,087 individuals counted in the year 2000, 1,090 in 2002 and 967 in 2007 compared to 1,266 in 2010.

The one-week exercise, worth $140,000, is a collaboration between the two countries and their agencies such as the KWS, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), Wildlife Division of Tanzania (WD) and Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA).

Funded by Kenya and Tanzania, the drive seeks to safeguard the vast ecosystem threatened by human influence.

Intending to establish the landscape's wildlife population abundance, trends and distribution, the aerial census is the practice of Kenyan and Tanzania wildlife authorities to conduct a wet and a dry aerial census every three years.

It is being held in the Amboseli West Kilimanjaro and Magadi Natron cross border landscape since 2010.

The census will cover 25,623 sq. km area including 9,214 sq.km of the Amboseli area, 6,348 sq. km of the Namanga- Magadi areas in south-western Kenya and 3,013 sq. km of the West Kilimanjaro and 7,047 sq. km of the Natron areas in north Tanzania.