MPCP up and running in 2021

The Mara Predator Conservation Programme (MPCP) has released their Quarter 1 Report for 2021. The painted wolf pack they have been monitoring has been causing conflicts with the local communities. The team is working hard to find solutions to decrease human-wildlife conflict in the Greater Mara Ecosystem in Kenya.

Tracking this pack of painted wolves has proved to be very difficult, and there is almost daily conflict. In response to the increased incidences of livestock depredation, MPCP organized trainings for livestock herders. More than one hundred herders participated in the four trainings held so far.

These trainings equip livestock herders with wildlife ecology knowledge and skills on good herding practices. The herders are encouraged to share their new skills and information with their colleagues. This will create a network of herders who can help reduce human-wildlife conflict.

Education and community outreach is also important to change misperceptions about predators. MPCP resumed working with Wildlife Clubs in primary schools after a long break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  They also printed and distributed a children’s story book featuring issues of coexistence with wildlife.

MPCP also took part in the 5th Annual Northern Mara Vaccination campaign. Vaccinating domestic dogs and cats is critical to limit the spread of rabies and canine distemper. This is especially important for painted wolves as history shows us. The painted wolf population in the Mara was decimated by canine distemper in the early 1990s. 

To learn more about the work of the Mara Predator Conservation Programme, read the full report HERE.