Kenya on Tuesday joined the world in marking the World Wildlife Day with a focus on saving the roan antelope which has since been classified as the most endangered species nationally.
The event dubbed “Sustaining all life on Earth” in Homa Bay County saw Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala launch the Roan Antelope recovery action plan, a programme that will see the antelopes protected.
The Roan antelope is one of Africa’s rarest antelopes and the third largest of Kenya’s antelopes.
The roan (or Korongo as it is known in Swahili) is a large, grey to rufous antelope with a distinctive black and white face, not unlike a tribal mask. Roans live in herds of up to 20 members, led by a bull.
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“The Roan antelope is now locally extinct in all its former ranges in Kenya with only less 12 individuals left in Ruma National Park. As we celebrate this year’s World Wildlife Day, we call on Kenyans to join efforts to reverse this alarming trend before we lose the entire species. If we don’t take action, we will be judged harshly by history.” Dr. Yussuf Adan Wato – Wildlife Expert, WWF-Kenya.
The CS during the launch signed an action plan and presented it to lead agencies and stakeholders.
“This recovery and action plan aims to re-establish a viable population of Roan Antelope in Ruma National Park, it identifies threats facing the species and guides in interventions required to address them to ensure effective conservation and management of the species,” CS Balala.
On 20 December 2013, at its 68th session, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 3 March – the day of signature of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973.
According to the United Nations, this day is an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that their conservation provides to people.
At the same time, the day reminds us of the urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime and human-induced reduction of species, which have wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts.
This aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 12, 14 and 15, and their wide-ranging commitments on alleviating poverty, ensuring sustainable use of resources, and on conserving life both on land and below water to halt biodiversity loss.
“The Living Planet Report, 2018 shows the state of global biodiversity as ailing. This is worrying. The one place we all call home is critically ill. The study tracked the population abundance of wildlife around the world and revealed an astonishing 60% decline in the size of populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians in just over 40 years. If nature collapses, we do too because nature is our life-support system. From the fresh air, we breathe to the soil that nurtures our crops, people need natural resources like wildlife to survive and thrive. It will take all of us, governments, businesses and individuals to restore and reverse this. In Swahili, we say ‘Ni Sisi Sote’.” Dr. Wato added.
Other wildlife species that are found in Ruma National Park include the Oribi Antelope which is small and graceful.
It is also known as Taya in Swahili, it has a conspicuous bare black glandular patch below the ears, a short black-tipped tail and black knee tufts.
Living in strongly bonded pairs or small groups, oribi inhabit grassland and dense undergrowth.
A realm of rare birds is also found in the park. The globally threatened blue swallow, a scarce intra-African migrant, is regularly recorded in the park.
Blue swallows, which depend upon moist grassland for both feeding and roosting, arrive in Kenya from their breeding grounds in Southern Tanzania around April and depart again in September.
Flourishing Wildlife, Ruma offers visitors an opportunity to see various wildlife species including the Rothschild’s giraffe, serval cat, hyena, impala, vervet monkey, roan antelope, oribi, bohor reedbuck, leopard, buffalo, and Jackson’s hartebeest. Recently introduced and re-introduced species are Black rhino, White rhino, Burchell?s zebra whose populations have adapted quite well. The roan antelope, Oribi and Jackson’s hartebeest are easily spotted in Ruma than anywhere else in Kenya.
The Park is also rich in Reptiles which includes an exceptional snake population. Easily spotted species include the African spitting cobra, forest cobra, python, eastern green mamba, black-mouthed mamba and puff adder. The park also abounds in lizard, skink and gecko.
Ruma lies on the flat floor of the seasonally watered Lambwe River Valley bordered by the Kanyamwa Escarpment to the South-East, and by the volcanic plugs of the Ruri Hills to the north.
The park is also the only protected area in Kenya where the globally threatened blue swallow, a scarce intra-African migrant, is regularly recorded.