Human-wildlife conflicts in communities bordering a Savannah-Fenced wildlife conservancy

Abstract

We discuss various human-wildlife conflicts (HWC) inherent within communities bordering a mid-sized, semi-porous wildlife conservancy in Kenya. HWC are a growing issue as human population expands into wildlife habitat to put people and wildlife in more frequent contact and compete for scarce resources. In 2018, we surveyed the crop-raiding and livestock depredation experiences of 918 households from 10 separate villages and asked about the experiences of the villagers with HWC over the past 3 years. These communities are protected from wildlife with two different fence designs, a standard 12-strand electrical fence, and an upgraded predator-proof fence design. We found that between 70% and 91% of respondents had experienced some form of HWC including 39.5% who reported threats to their person from wildlife encroachments despite electrical perimeter fencing. HWC happened more often at night and during the dry seasons. The most common encroachments were from elephants, hyenas, leopards, and baboons. Community respondents rated that the upgraded predator-proof fences performed better than the standard 12-strand fences. However, even the predator-proof design had issues with keeping monkeys from entering the communities and crop raiding. We discuss potential mitigation measures, including an improved predator-proof fencing design that incorporates butterfly stingers that may offer better protection.