KENYA’S carnivores – one of the east African country’s big tourist attractions – could all be extinct in the next 50 years unless action is taken, a minister warned today.
Experts say the country now has just 2000 lions, between 800 and 1160 cheetahs and just over 800 wild dogs.
Fifty years ago Kenya had around 30,000 lions, 10,000 leopards, 10,000 cheetahs, 20,000 wild dogs and 50,000 hyenas, Wildlife Minister Noah Wekesa said.
“If we don’t do anything … looking at these figures in another 50 years’ time we will not have any wildlife in Kenya,” Mr Wekesa warned as he unveiled conservation measures.
Habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict – exacerbated by a series of failed rainy seasons – are blamed for decimating the carnivores’ population.
-The Australian
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