After securing critical wildlife habitat in the Kilimanjaro landscape, AWF is working in another part of the same vast ecosystem to keep elephants safe wherever they wander
POULOMEE BASU
Space to roam. It’s a necessity for the world’s largest land animal, but in southern Kenya’s Kilimanjaro landscape – which has earned notoriety for its sizeable elephant population – that roaming space has become increasingly hard to find. This landscape includes Amboseli National Park in Kenya, Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania and several group ranches and conservancies. Further east, this ecosystem connects to the Tsavo landscape, which comprises Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Chyulu Hills National Parks in Kenya and Mkomazi National Park in Tanzania. The two landscapes, each important in their own right, form a broader ecosystem.
As agriculture has gained popularity as a means to make a living in this historically pastoralist region, farms are increasingly obstructing elephants’ paths as they move between national parks in search of food, water and other resources. For elephants, proximity to growing towns has meant more contact with humans and rising vulnerability to human–wildlife conflict.