Kenya Launches Strategy to Conserve the Grevy's Zebra

SAMBURU HEARTLAND, KENYA--The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) recently released a national strategy to conserve the Grevy's zebra, the largest of the three zebra subspecies. Once found across Eastern Africa, today the Grevy's zebra is found only in northern Kenya and a few pockets in southern Ethiopia. Its population has also plummeted: only an estimated 2,500 remain in the wild, down from 15,000 in the 1970s.

The KWS strategy, made possible in part by financial support from the African Wildlife Foundation, will be carried forward through site committees of on-the-ground stakeholders working in areas with sizable Grevy's zebra populations. These groups will report to an overarching conservation office within KWS.

"I think all of us that work to understand and conserve the Grevy's zebra are extremely encouraged by KWS's decision to adopt a national approach," says Dr. Paul Muoria, head of AWF's Grevy's Zebra Research Project. "Kenya is the last great stronghold for the Grevy's zebra--90 percent of the population is found here--and it's our task to understand the threats facing this species and to work with our Ethiopian neighbors to reverse the decline in its population." Along with Dr. Philip Muruthi, Head of Conservation Science at AWF, Dr. Muoria was part of the task force that produced the strategy.

The final document contains a heavy community focus, laying out steps to build better community goodwill, encourage community participation and improve local attitudes toward Grevy's zebra conservation. In some isolated areas, for example, Grevy's zebra meat and fat are believed to be medicinal and are sought to treat diseases like tuberculosis. The new strategy will work to change such perceptions through educational and community awareness programs.

Communities with competing land use practices will be encouraged to establish Conservation Areas for Grevy's zebra as a driver for ecotourism and to devise land-use management strategies for grazing and water resources. Community scouts will also be employed to monitor zebra-human conflicts and to report on the animals' behavior and well-being.

At a policy level, the strategy will upgrade the status of the Grevy's zebra in Kenya to Protected Species, giving it the highest level of legal protection. Disease management strategies, widely adopted after an anthrax outbreak among zebras in 2006, will also be formalized.

"A few years ago, conservation experts pulled together to keep an anthrax outbreak from decimating the Grevy's zebra population," says Dr. Muruthi. "Now, thanks to KWS's work and the commitment of everyone involved, we have a chance to reverse the decline in the population and save this wild equid from extinction."

To view the full strategy document, click here.

To learn about AWF's work to conserve the Grevy's zebra, click here.