Laikipia Predator Project

History
The Laikipia Predator Project in northern Kenya was established in 1998 to explore the ecology and conservation of African predators that conflict with man. The Project is looking at all aspects of large carnivore ecology and behavior, with emphasis on those factors which make predators vulnerable to local extinction, and at practical interventions for reducing the need to kill problem predators.

The Human Aspect
Laikipia District is one of the few areas where commercial cattle ranchers, traditional Masai herding peoples, livestock, and predators coexist.  The Laikipia Predator Project is aimed at understanding how such coexistence is possible. By studying the threat that predators pose to people's livelihoods, and the threat that human activities pose to predators, we hope to identify techniques for coexistence that can be applied to other parts of Africa.

Threats


Across Africa, lions and the other great predators are disappearing. Recent surveys by scientists across Africa suggest that fewer than 23,000 lions remain, primarily in national parks. Outside of parks, predators kill livestock, especially where uncontrolled poaching has reduced their natural prey. Guns and poison are universally available in modern Africa, with the result that lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and wild dogs are heavily persecuted. Few parks are large enough to ensure the survival of these wide-ranging animals.  Prides often wander across park boundaries and are poisoned when they resort to killing goats or cattle. Furthermore, parks are widely separated, making isolated populations vulnerable to genetic problems that result from inbreeding. Currently, there is no real management anywhere in Africa to ensure that predator populations survive outside and between parks.

WCS Activities
Saving lion populations outside and between parks depends on three developments:
1)  we need ways to protect livestock from predators,
2)  we need biologically sound management of predator populations, and
3)  local people need to gain economic value from lions and other wildlife. 
With these goals in mind, we are working with the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Laikipia Wildlife Forum to develop local and traditional predator conservation and management programs.

Our studies have shown that, while traditional methods of livestock management are effective at reducing livestock losses, the development of new techniques may better serve the interests of the community and predator populations.  We are working with commercial ranchers and traditional herdsmen to identify weaknesses in their practices that can be improved at little or no cost. In particular, we are experimenting with solar-powered electric fences and other modern, but affordable, methods to protect stock, particularly at night when they are most vulnerable.

We have captured and released more than 90 lions, 65 of which have been radio-collared. A similar number of other large predators, such as hyenas, are also being monitored. Through radio-tracking, we are able to monitor the movements of the predators as well as the effects of human activities upon them. We are also collecting data on diet, group size, reproduction, causes of mortality, and habits of “well-behaved” lions as well as chronic livestock raiders. We are also monitoring the health of the population by screening for a variety of carnivore diseases.

Along with the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, we support the Community Liaison Officer Program (CLO), whereby local residents in each of the communal areas are hired to represent their communities’ needs and concerns regarding wildlife issues, and to help with ecologically sound rural development programs within their communities. The CLO’s work closely with us on predator issues, collecting detailed data on livestock depredation incidents and predator ecology in the communal areas.

Important Next Steps

We need to expand our monitoring program through the purchase of a light aircraft and the employment of a Predator Conservation Officer to assist with predator problems and education in the Masai communities. Conflicts between predators and livestock-based communities are causing the rapid extinction of large predators throughout Africa, and we are expanding our work to include another area in southern Kenya, and perhaps other countries in East Africa.