Brian Otiego
Other projects
22 Mar 2023
Vulture Abundance, Distribution and Species Diversity Along a Gradient of Anthropogenic Effects in Nairobi National Park, Kenya
Many vulture species are experiencing unprecedented population declines throughout their African range (Botha et al., 2024). Anthropogenic activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, predator poisoning, overhunting, and direct persecution are attributed to these declines (Thiollay, 2006; Yousefi et al., 2023). For instance, Hooded Vultures have declined by 67%, White-backed Vultures by 86%, Lappet-faced and White-headed Vultures by 90%, and Rüppell's Vultures by 97% over three generations in the savannahs of West, East, and Southern Africa (Shaw et al., 2024). Poisoned baits targeting predators, such as hyenas, inadvertently kill vultures, which congregate at carcasses, causing mass fatalities (Ogada et al., 2016; Ogada & Keesing, 2010). This project’s main aim is to promote vulture conservation in the Athi-Kapiti Ecosystem (AKE) through field surveys and community education.
Human-influenced threats to biodiversity, including wildlife poisoning and habitat loss, drive vulture population declines in Kenya. The AKE includes community conservancies under the umbrella of the Athi-Kapiti Wildlife Conservancies Association (AKWCA). It is critical to wildlife and rangeland conservation, playing an essential and unique role in connecting the wildlife populations of Nairobi National Park to the Amboseli, Ol Donyo Sabuk, Tsavo, and Serengeti ecosystems. The Athi-Kapiti Ecosystem provides a vast open plain with shorter grass preferred by wild ungulates, which attract herbivores from Nairobi National Park (Imbahale et al., 2008; Lumumba & Pruiksma, 2023). These herbivores are eventually followed by wild carnivores, creating an ideal space for predator-prey interaction. This interaction contributes to the AKE landscape being a critical foraging area for vultures. Unfortunately, the coexistence of humans and wildlife – particularly carnivores – presents another threat: human-wildlife conflict, which is a contributing factor to wildlife poisoning.
This project will specifically assess the status and distribution of the remaining vulture breeding sites and produce a distribution map of these sites. This will be significant in informing data-driven decision-making on breeding site protection. The adoption of active protection measures for vulture breeding sites, through the elimination of human disturbance, will create suitable breeding habitats and contribute to vulture breeding success (Zuberogoitia et al., 2014). Through public awareness meetings and school outreach activities, we will emphasise the importance of vultures, their breeding sites, and the effects of wildlife poisoning on vulture populations. Additionally, to support vulture population recovery efforts, we will train AKWCA scouts on rapid response protocols for suspected poisoning incidents. This will build the capacity of community scouts to swiftly respond to and decontaminate suspected wildlife poisoning scenes, thereby reducing the ripple effect of wildlife poisoning.