Evaluating boma fortification as a tool for reducing human-carnivore conflict in the Western Mara Region, Kenya

Background/Question/Methods

Human-wildlife conflict is the greatest threat facing large mammal conservation worldwide, and conflicts with carnivores are particularly acute. In East Africa, the ranges of large predators often overlap with the pastoral landscape, and conflict most often manifests as livestock depredation. Because livestock loss by depredation poses a significant threat to livelihoods, it often leads to the retaliatory or preventative killing of the carnivore species believed at fault. Removing the threat of predation by strengthening nighttime livestock enclosures (“bomas”) therefore appears to be the most effective way to disrupt the predation-retaliation cycle. However, although boma fortification currently appears to be a cheap, sustainable, and humane solution to predator conflicts in East Africa, few scientific studies have evaluated its efficacy. This study employed a random sampling approach to compare predation rates between 60 fortified and 60 unfortified bomas in the TransMara and Mara North regions of southwestern Kenya. We collected data from trilingual interviews (English, kiSwahili, and Maa) with Maasai cattle owners, as well as from reviews of predation records provided by the Mara North Conservancy and the Anne K. Taylor Fund.

Results/Conclusions

Preliminary results from the TransMara region indicate that bomas fortified with chain link fencing experienced a lower mean annual rate of predation on sheep and goats than unfortified bomas (p=0.0178). Further, early results indicate that fortification eliminates the risk of a boma owner experiencing “extreme” predation (i.e. more than 50 sheep and goats lost annually). Fortification reduced annual loss by approximately 42% (average of 14 shoats lost annually to fortified bomas, vs. 24 to unfortified bomas), and reduced the prevalence of “extreme” predation from 23% at unfortified bomas to 0% at fortified bomas.