Essential if our conservation activities are to succeed into the longer term
Coastweek - - Over the last year Ol Pejeta Conservancy has been making a concerted effort to stop the human and wildlife conflict on its boundaries, a measure considered essential if our conservation activities are to succeed into the longer term.
To do this the Conservancy has invested over USD 1m to construct a state of the art boundary fence, now monitored on a daily basis.
Any areas habitually targeted by elephant are reinforced with a "short" fence designed by Ol Pejeta management.
As a result of this work, fence breakages by elephant to gain access into community areas to the south, have been almost totally stopped.
Along Ol Pejeta's northern boundary management has established three corridors within the fence that allow the Conservancy to retain it's connectivity to the wider Laikipia ecosystem.
These corridors permit the movement of all wildlife species with the exception of black rhino which cannot be allowed to disperse outside the property.
The Conservancy is also working with Save the Elephant to pioneer the use of tracking software that allows the movement of collared elephants to be monitored.
Through this GSM tracking system, positional updates can downloaded every two minutes.
Using software linked to GIS maps, "geo-fences" can be set up to warn Ol Pejeta's security teams by text message whenever habitual fence breaking elephant approach our southern boundaries.
Ol Pejeta will continue to work with the Laikipia Wildlife Forum to support and assist with implementation of the greater Laikipia elephant fence; this fence, to be constructed at the interface between semi-arid wildlife areas and areas where agriculture is possible, will further assist to reduce human:elephant conflict in this region.
Ol Pejeta Conservancy works to conserve wildlife, provide a sanctuary for great apes and to generate income through wildlife, tourism and complementary enterprise for reinvestment in conservation and community development.
