From coastweek.com in Kenya today:
AMBOSELI (Xinhua) — Kenyan and Tanzanian wildlife authorities said on Friday elephant population in the Greater Amboseli Park has rose to 1,266 from 967 in 2007.
According to the first joint aerial cross-border wildlife census conducted in the Greater Amboseli-West Kilimanjaro/ Magadi-Natron landscapes there was a drastic decline in the numbers of large grazing herbivores between 2007 and 2010.
The wet season wildlife census covered 25 wild mammals and two bird species.
The elephant population in the Amboseli was found to have remained relatively stable with 1,087 in the year 2000, 1,090 in 2002, 967 in 2007 compared to the current population of 1,266.
Within this period, wildebeests declined by about 83 per cent from 18, 538 to 3,098; zebra declined by about 71 per cent from 15,328 to 4,432 while buffalo declined by 61 per cent from 588 to 231 in the Amboseli area.
7000 zebra and wildebeest to be moved to Amboseli to restock after drought: here.
Biodiversity in Africa’s Protected Areas declining Fast: here.
Large mammal populations fall in Africa’s national parks: here.
NatureKenya oppose the destruction of Dakatcha Woodland IBA: here.
Biological bonanza in Kenya’s threatened forest: here.
This is a video about a baby African elephant helped by various adults after trouble with getting up a steep river bank.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
The Nation (Nairobi)
Kenya: Wildlife Endangered
Jacob Ng’etich
4 June 2010
Nairobi — The world celebrates the World Environment Day on Saturday. This year’s theme, Many Species, One Planet, One Future rings true for Kenya, where more than 10 animal species are on the brink of extinction.
The Kenya Wildlife Service is worried by the dwindling numbers of the country’s wildlife.
The International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Species Survival Commission (SSC) report last year ranked the Kenyan black rhino, hirola, Grevy zebra, cheetah, Macow’s shrew, Tana River red colobus, and ultimate shrew as some of the species that are endangered.
The KWS director, Dr Julius Kipngetich, agrees with the Red List report and fears that some species are on the verge of total disappearance.
“There are some critically endangered species like Roan Antelopes in the Ruma National Park. There are only 56 remaining, and if a disease strikes, they would be gone forever,” said Dr Kipngetich.
The KWS has put up a spirited effort to save the black rhino. The country currently has 610 black rhinos out of a total of 4,230 in Africa. In 1969, there were 65,000 black rhinos in Africa.
The conservation efforts will receive a big boost next week when KWS begins fitting tracking gear on all black rhinos.
The fitting at Maasai Mara, expected to last one week, will ensure that all black rhinos, which migrate to Serengeti in Tanzania, are monitored wherever they will be. Some Sh3 million will be spent on the exercise.
Efforts to tag the black rhino in the 14 rhino sanctuaries with the tracking device have been successful, with an unprecedented surge in the animals’ numbers.
While the future of the black rhino looks assured, the future of other species like the Macow’s shrew, Ultimate shrew, cheetah, bongo, and hirola remains bleak.
The hirola, also known as the Hunter’s hartebeest, is one of East Africa’s most endangered species of antelope.
There are only 90 hirolas left in Kenya. The antelope species is found in Garsen, Bura, Galma and Galla in North eastern Kenya and south west of Somalia.
There is a small translocated population in Tsavo East National Park, outside the species’ natural range. The animals were moved from Garissa in 1963.
Five antelope species are at a critical stage. They are the Dama gazelle (Nanger Dama), Aders’ duiker (Cephalophus Adersi), the Saiga antelope (Saiga Tatarica), hirola (Beatragus Hunteri) and Addax (Addax Nasomaculatus).
The scimitar-horned oryx is already extinct in the wild, but there are ongoing efforts to reintroduce it.
The Grevy zebra that entered the endangered species category in 2006 was declared critically endangered last year with an estimated total population of 2,600 in Kenya. There were 15,000 in 1970.
“Basically, we are the only ones remaining with the main population of Grevy zebra because there are only 120 in Ethiopia.
They were decimated by anthrax and the 2007 drought,” the KWS boss said.
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Amboseli certainly is one of the best safari locations in Kenya. I advise anyone interested in going on safari to include this National Park in their itinerary.
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Tons of ivory seized by police
Kenya: Wildlife officers have seized two tons of elephant ivory and five rhino horns at Jomo Kenyatta international airport, an official reported on Tuesday.
Kenya wildlife Service spokesman Paul Udoto said sniffer dogs had detected the tusks, which were concealed in a shipment of avocados and were due to be illegally shipped to Malaysia.
Airports in Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa have emerged as the three main airports to smuggle African ivory to Asia, where it is a collector’s item.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/
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Residents of Samburu have appealed for road bumps to protect animals from speeding vehicles. The call comes after the killing of three Grevy’s zebras by a speeding vehicle near the Kalama Conservancy gate in Samburu last week. According to eyewitnesses, the driver, who appeared drunk, knocked down the Zebra a few metres from a clearly marked;”Wildlife Crossing” sign.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201209010041.html
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