NAIROBI, Sept. 23 — Kenya has recorded 26,641 human-wildlife conflict incidents over the past two years, resulting in the deaths of 255 people as cases continue to rise, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Director General Erustus Kanga said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the country’s capital, that the cases were registered between July 2023 and June 2025.
There were also 725 people injured, 9,300 farm raids, 5,200 livestock predation cases, over 1,000 incidents of property damage, and nearly 10,000 direct threats, Kanga said.
He added that the numbers reflect a crisis impacting lives, livelihoods, and the future of conservation in Kenya.
The KWS official noted that to curb the conflict, the wildlife agency is implementing several strategies, including securing and restoring degraded areas, protecting migration corridors, strengthening compensation, diversifying livelihoods through the wildlife economy and cultural enterprises, and deploying early-warning systems, drones, and real-time monitoring hotspots.
According to the KWS, the causes of the rising conflict include climate change, which has affected water availability, as well as population growth and changes in land use.(Xinhua)
