Masai Giraffe Population Distribution, Threats, Habitat Suitability and Connectivity in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania
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Date
2024-11
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Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Over the last three decades, the giraffe population in Africa has experienced a
significant decline of nearly 40%, attributed to various threats such as severe poaching
for bushmeat, human-wildlife conflicts, diseases, habitat fragmentation, and loss due to
the increase in human settlement and associated land use changes and linear
infrastructure. To be able to institute and prioritize effective conservation measures for
the giraffes, it is necessary to identify population distribution, threat hotspots, suitable
habitats, and their connecting corridors especially in multiple use landscapes. This
study aimed to characterize Masai giraffe habitat and distribution in Southern Kenya
and Northern Tanzania in the transboundary Tsavo-Mkomazi Landscape: identifying
threats, suitable habitats and their linkage zones and population structure distribution
under different land uses. Road surveys, ranger patrols, aerial surveys and remotely
sensed data were integrated into Google Earth Engine (GEE) to develop species
distribution models. The Suitability index obtained from this analysis was used as
resistance surface to model landscape connectivity using Circuitscape in Arc GIS 10.5.
Threats and location of occurrence were mapped from ranger’s patrol data and road
surveys. Group associations were analyzed using SPSS. The results showed that land
uses did not influence mean giraffe herd sizes and herd types significantly (p>0.05).
However, age composition and herd types were significantly different between
conservancies and small-scale farms during the wet season respectively (p<0.05).
Poaching was the main threat to Massai giraffes accounting for 49% of total deaths of
the identified carcasses in the landscape. Although ranches and conservancies were the
most affected by the threats, they remained the least cost paths and corridors of high
importance with low resistance to giraffe movement connecting from Mkomazi
National Park (Tanzania) to South Kitui National Reserve (Kenya). The potentially
suitable giraffe habitat was 15,002 km2 within the landscape with 17% of it being
outside protected areas. Capacity building of ranch owners is recommended to address
giraffe poaching. Transboundary collaborations, participatory land use planning, spatial
planning at County, ranches/conservancy level should be done to ensure corridors and
dispersal areas are included in land use planning and integrated with other conservation
compatible land use practices to safeguard giraffes in the Tsavo-Mkomazi Landscape.
Additionally, equal security measures should be deployed in protected and non protected areas to deter poaching and reclaim South Kitui National reserve. Since
climate change mediates Masai giraffe movement and group organization, this study
recommends deep understanding of climate impact on the Masai giraffe distribution
and future use of the community dominated landscapes and designed underpasses with
the major infrastructure in their entire range.
Description
Supervisors:
1. Eunice Kairu
2.Jemimah Simbauni
3.Philip Muruthi