KWS has launched a 10-day operation to translocate over 10 bull elephants from Salama Village in Laikipia West to a protected area to curb rising human-wildlife conflict.

📻 Breaking It Down

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 23 — The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has launched a 10-day operation to translocate more than ten bull elephants from Salama Village in Laikipia West, Laikipia County, to a designated KWS-managed protected area.

The exercise aims to reduce escalating human-wildlife conflict while safeguarding both community livelihoods and elephant populations.

KWS said the operation reflects an evolving model of collaborative conservation, bringing together technical teams and local communities working side by side in wildlife management efforts.

📌 What You Need to Know

“They called, we responded, they joined in hundreds—not as spectators but as part of a team; our Veterinary and Capture Team,” KWS noted, highlighting the level of community involvement witnessed on the first day of the operation.

Salama Village, located near key wildlife movement corridors linked to the nearby Rumuruti Forest (Rumuruti Forest), has for years experienced increasing human-elephant interactions.

As natural habitats shrink and seasonal migration routes intersect with farmland, elephants have increasingly entered cultivated areas, leading to repeated crop-raiding incidents and rising tension between residents and wildlife.

KWS said the decision to initiate the translocation was driven by the need to prevent further escalation of conflict while ensuring the safety of both communities and animals.

“Rather than wait for potential tragedy or retaliatory harm against wildlife, the service opted for a preventive and structured intervention,” the agency said.

“What unfolded on day one of the exercise was not just another wildlife operation. It was something deeper. Something rare. A moment where conservation stopped being ‘their responsibility’ and became ‘our responsibility,’” KWS added.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya