Kenya has allocated 250 million shillings (about 1.86 million U.S. dollars) for conducting the 2024 wildlife census, an official announced on Friday.
Patrick Omondi, the chief executive officer and director of the state-owned Wildlife Research and Training Institute, informed journalists in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the exercise, scheduled to conclude by June 2025, aims to gather accurate data on the population of all aquatic and land-based wildlife species in the country.
"We have begun preparations for conducting the 2024 wildlife census which will be the second national scale census since 2021," Omondi said during the inception meeting for the 2024 wildlife census which marks the commencement of the pivotal initiative aimed at conducting comprehensive wildlife enumeration across various regions of Kenya.
A group of elephants seem to be enjoying a mud bath in Tsavo East National Park in Kenya, October 28, 2023. /CFP
Omondi highlighted that the counting exercise will utilize aircraft, boats, cameras, and geographic information systems targeting wildlife species in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The census will enable ongoing monitoring of wildlife resources to obtain data on the status of wildlife, including trends, threats, challenges, and opportunities.
He emphasized the significance of the planned census, particularly in the aftermath of the devastating drought in 2022, which severely impacted wildlife resources, including endangered species such as elephants and Grevy's zebra.
(Cover image via CFP)