Ol Pejeta prides itself on being at the forefront of wildlife conservation – with innovative techniques such as the use of drones for monitoring species populations, and integrating cattle and wildlife for better grassland productivity. This innovation would not be possible without partnerships. One such recent partnership is investigating how tick control in Ol Pejeta’s cattle could positively benefit wildlife as well.
Tick-borne diseases, such as East Coast Fever and Tick Bite Fever, can devastate livestock herds causing huge losses for farmers in Kenya. Some tick-borne diseases can, and often do, affect other domestic animals, wildlife and humans. Ol Pejeta has teamed up with the University of Illinois, USA, in a project funded by the National Science Foundation. The Coupled Natural Human Systems programme brings together biologists and social scientists to tackle issues that affect people’s livelihoods as well as the natural world around them.
The two project members stationed on Ol Pejeta are Dr. Sharon Okanga (Biologist) and Dr. Steve Huckett (Social Scientist) – who work under Principal Investigator Professor Brian Allan from the University of Illinois.
Here at Ol Pejeta, we have proven that cattle and wildlife integration can have a hugely positive effect on the rangelands. Controlled grazing of livestock actually improves the habitat for wild herbivores, which has a knock-on effect on the rest of the food chain. But Dr. Okanga is finding that the movement of livestock can also be used to control tick densities, benefitting wildlife too.
The goal of this project is to create an efficient model for livestock-wildlife integration disease management. The project team hopes through their work, to convince people of the other benefits of integrating the two. They further hope to see the model used for efficient conservancy management throughout the region.
The social aspect of this project entails assessing the economic effect of tick-borne diseases on different types of land; community, government, and private. Steve and his team assess this through interviewing various landowners – and are building up an accurate picture of who and where is worst affected, and what the economical gains would be if tick-borne diseases were better managed.