Protection of endangered wildlife species in wildlife conservancies around the world-famous Masai Mara Game Reserve get a boost after 40 elite community rangers trained by United Nations Development Program(UNDP) are dispatched.
The specialist rangers trained at the Kenya Wildlife Training Institute in Manyani are set to protect the endangered black rhino,pangolin and also to deter the human-wildlife conflicts in the conservancies.
Speaking during the celebration of the new rangers at Orpua wildlife conservancies,Mr Stephen Kisotu,Chief Executive Officer,Friends of Conservation(FOC)said that 20 rangers were deployed at the protected part of the Masai Mara and 20 others to the community conservancies.
“These officers officers specially trained in protection of rhinos,pangolin and to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts involving elephants and predators with community,”said Mr Kisotu.
He also restarted that there were over 400 community rangers trained in the last two years.
Apart from the wildlife, he said,the rangers will also be tasked with dealing with poachers of endangered tree species such as red cedar and sandal wood in the Mara Ecosystem.
Some of the community rangers who recently graduated from the KWS schools exuded confidence that they were ready to protect flora and fauna in the Mara Ecosystem as well as educating the community on the value of wildlife.
Mr Francis Geso and Ms Mary Kipees who were deployed to Orpua community wildlife conservancies were upbeat to start their duties as community rangers.
“We were trained for three months in Manyani.It was tough but worth the time.We learned a lot about plants and wildlife. We will now embark on our duties confidently,”said Mr Geso.
He cited challenges such as poaching,human-wildlife conflicts as part of their immediate areas of action.
Involvement of women in conservation.also took center stage as Ms Kipees reveals.
“For many years,Maasai women have been barred by cultural norms from venturing into the wildlife protection but lately they have fully embraced it,”says Ms Kipees