Buffalo escape incident spark fresh concerns over human-wildlife conflict in Barut

Residents of Barut area in Nakuru West are living in fear of attacks by wild animals which have been escaping from the Lake Nakuru National park.

This followed a Thursday morning incident where several buffaloes were spotted near the Ndarugu- Soimet bridge causing panic among the residents and more so the motorists and pedestrians who use this bridge.

Ben Kiprotich, a resident in the area, says the buffaloes were spotted at around 6 in the morning by residents who were using the bridge.

“There were some women who wanted to pass through the bridge, and they managed to spot the buffalo. They immediately broke into screams which attracted the attention of the locals,” he says.
Emmanuel Koech, the Lake Nakuru National Park Assistant Director, during a phone interview confirmed the early morning incident noting that the situation is under control.
“We got wind of the buffalos that had moved out of the park in the areas of Kapkures, and the rangers managed to safely return the animal back into the park,” he says.
Apart from this incident, Ann Kimeto, a resident in the area, explains that this has been a worrying trend in the past.
“Some time last week, a rhino was spotted, loitering dangerously in the Mwariki area; incidences of animals crossing over from the park have been rampant in the recent past,” she says.
She says that they would want a long-lasting solution to this menace.

“ These animals pose a huge danger to the local communities here, we have children who go to school early in the morning and also people who work late into the night and have to find their way home, for us the news of animals crossing over to the residential areas is met by a lot of fear as we always imagine the worst can happen,” he says.

In April last year, a buffalo was spotted in Barut, and in this instance, the residents managed to kill the buffalo after it had injured one of the women in their area. They slaughtered the animal and divided the meat amongst themselves.

And in August, Mtaa Wangu highlighted the story of two lions that had escaped from the Lake Nakuru National Park, and these big cats sparked panic in Barut.

Gideon Kebate, the Lake Nakuru National Park warden, says that indeed the issue of animals crossing over has been a menace to the society.

“Indeed, this has been an issue for a while now; however, through working with various stakeholders, national government, community members, we are looking to buy the lands that have been submerged. This is something we have been working towards for a while now,” he says.

He says that once they purchase the land, they will be able to set up a fence that will deter the animals from crossing over.

“At the moment, we have surveyors who have come to assess the submerged pieces of land and also a valuer of the land. Once they finish their work together with the different stakeholders, we will work to compensate the owners of these parcels of land,” he says.

In addition to this, he says that they are working to sensitize the community on vandalism.
“The vandalism of the perimeter fences also stands as a big risk. We are working to educate the community that vandalizing the fences will bring them more dangers, as the animals will cross over,” he say