Abstract
We examined the population status, trend and distribution of Gerenuk, Fringe-eared Oryx and Lesser kudu in the Northern Tanzania and Southern Kenya borderland after the 2007 to 2009 drought. The species were characterized by low numbers and sparsely distributed in the borderland but were more prevalent and abundant in the Amboseli region. However, West Kilimanjaro had the highest positive change in density between 2010 and 2013 [Gerenuk = +1650.48 ± 1150.31, lesser kudu = +912.78 ± 487.63 and Fringe-eared Oryx = +366.65 ± 233.32]. Changes in density and composition varied seasonally among the different sectors of the borderland, with Gerenuk having the highest change in the Amboseli area during the wet season. Lesser kudu had the highest change in Amboseli and Kilimanjaro during the wet season while Fringe-eared Oryx had the highest change in the wet season in West Kilimanjaro area. Spatial distribution of the species varied seasonally and across different sectors of the borderland. In the dry season, Gerenuk exhibited a clumped distribution mainly in Amboseli National Park, and between Natron and West Kilimanjaro but in the wet season, it spread out more though higher concentrations were still found Amboseli and West Kilimanjaro. Lesser concentrated in mostly in West Kilimanjaro and Amboseli during the dry season but was widely dispersed during the wet season. Similarly, during the dry season, the Fringe-eared Oryx was confined in the Amboseli and West Kilimanjaro areas but during the wet season, it much more spread out with clusters in the Mbirikani area of the Amboseli region and a few places in Magadi, Natron and West Kilimanjaro. Management implications of the findings obtained in this study area here-in discussed.
Highlights
Since the advent of the modern wildlife conservation movement in Africa, countries in East African have tended to focus on what are considered as charismatic species such as the African elephant Loxodonta africana and black rhino Diceros bicornis, Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and other species are to an extent given little or no attention
This paper focuses on the Gerenuk Litocranius walleri, lesser kudu Tragelaphus imberbis and Fringe-eared Oryx Oryx beisa callotis which are among many other species that are not adequately protected; yet they are important biodiversity types
The Gerenuk was poorly represented both in number and distribution in all the landscapes and ecosystems along the Kenya-Tanzania borderland during the 2010 and 2013 censuses
Summary
Since the advent of the modern wildlife conservation movement in Africa, countries in East African have tended to focus on what are considered as charismatic species such as the African elephant Loxodonta africana and black rhino Diceros bicornis, Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and other species are to an extent given little or no attention While this has helped halt extinction of species that are at a high risk of being exterminated, there’s a danger that other species will go extinct due to lack of conservation attention. The Gerenuk occurs throughout the horn of African in southern Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia, Kenya and northeastern Tanzania though its status in Somalia is not well known [1] It was once found in northeastern Sudan and eastern Egypt and northeastern Sudan, and usually inhabits thickets, bushland and semi-arid and arid thornbush [below 1600 m], and avoids very open grass dominated habitats and dense woodlands [1] [2]. They are selective browsers, and seldom graze [1] and rarely drink water but obtain it from preformed water contained in the forage the feed on [3], which allows them to survive in dry landscapes
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