How new tech is making wildlife census easier

Former Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua flags off an aircraft during the launch of the National Wildlife Census 2024 at Narok Airstrip on June 19, 2024. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard] 

Peter Hungu stares at his computer screen as he listens intently to the recordings from a team undertaking a wildlife census at the Lake Nakuru National Park.

His desk is full of recorders, cameras and Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) technologies enabling him and the technical teams to communicate how wildlife and their habitats are doing.

Hungu, a geo-informatic analyst at the Wildlife Research and Training Institute, is part of the technical team that receives, interprets and breaks down information gathered from every site where the nationwide wildlife census takes place.

Meanwhile as Hungu and the team of analysts are immersed in the digital world of extracting information and making it easier for the public to understand, another team is hovering above the national park in a helicopter, armed with more gadgets to record the locations where wildlife has been sighted.

“It is a synchronised teamwork. The team in the field records all this information and brings it to us to extract information and record it in data sheets,” Hungu says.

Once in a while, the aircraft returns to base, upon which the observers alight to drop the gadgets to the technical teams before returning back with empty ones.

The exercise is part of the ongoing second nationwide wildlife census. It follows the first-ever census in 2021 where over 30 species of mammals, birds, and marine species were counted in various ecosystems.

In the exercise, analysts, consisting of observers, scientists, and technical teams from remote sensing and remote surveys, are deploying technologies to make the counts more accurate and ease the work.

“We download the data which is then transcribed by the officers and entered into the database. Data from GPS helps us to know the exact location where the animals were sighted. In areas where there are larger herds - like buffaloes - aerial pictures are taken to help in verifying the numbers,” Hungu explains.

Deputy Director of Research at the Wildlife Research & Training Institute Dr David Ndeereh said updating wildlife populations and their distribution will inform the management and policies that will help enhance conservation.

“The country has experienced a number of events since the last census in 2021. There have been severe droughts and floods that have affected conservation in different parts of the country,” Dr Ndeereh said.

From incorporating technologies like GPS, the researchers are also incorporating revolutionary softwares like EarthRanger and earth observation satellites to map the changes in different habitats.

The data entry team are also using several software including those tracking the flight paths to avoid double counts.

Unlike in the past when animal counts entailed walking and recording the sighted animals, researchers say technology has eased the work associated with wildlife census and helped in achieving accuracy.

“The real-time information will help us interpret the changes that different ecosystems are undergoing since our last census. It will help us in coming up with interventions,” Ndeereh says.

In such instances, scientists deploy technologies like camera traps, a digital camera that automatically takes pictures of moving animals within the surroundings.

Lake Nakuru National Senior Park warden David Oyugi sayss counting of wildlife will assist conservation stakeholders to come up with intentions in areas of need.

“In Lake Nakuru where water levels have been rising, for example, we will be able to understand the dynamics of policy in future management,” Oyugi says.