Kenya's growing towns are leaving elephants with nowhere to go

"The Oldonyiro community home to around 3,000 people is emblematic of the complicated relationship between humans and elephants in many parts of Africa today. The region is home to the semi-nomadic Samburu people, who care for goats, camels and cattle in the arid landscape. Here, the number of people living from the land is growing increasingly putting people and elephants in direct competition for water and food."

"Despite their enormous size, elephants are skittish and easily spooked, in part a consequence of the history of poaching that saw hundreds of thousands killed for their ivory in the last century. Some charge and trample people who they view as a threat. To better understand the issue, I recently spent the day with Benjamin Loloju, who works with Save the Elephants and is from Oldonyiro."

Oldonyiro is home to around 3,000 people and illustrates the complex relationship between humans and elephants in parts of Africa. Semi-nomadic Samburu families herd goats, camels and cattle across an arid landscape. Growing human populations and drought have increased competition with elephants for water and food. Both elephants and livestock eat acacia pods that fall around Samburu bomas, leading to clashes, injuries and deaths. Elephants remain skittish and easily spooked partly because poaching killed hundreds of thousands for ivory. Herders defend bomas against hyenas and leopards. Conservation work focuses on keeping wildlife corridors open to maintain connectivity for people, livestock and wildlife.

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