Why did the Elephant - Serena Hotels · AS FEATURED IN WHY I LOVE KENYA MAGAZINE - MARCH/APRIL...

2 WHY I LOVE KENYA March-April 2018

And the complication escalates when you consider that the road is a

busy arterial route linking the northern Kenyan towns of Nanyuki and

Meru, and that the elephant is on a mission. Like generations before

him, he is migrating from the dense forests of Mount Kenya to the

plains of Laikipia in search of fresh leaves and much-need minerals.

And he’s not inclined to be diverted. The fact that his ancestral

migration route is now littered with villages, farmland and ROADS is

neither here nor there. When an elephant has to go. He has to GO.

Nor is this elephant alone, some 2,900 elephants live on the Mount

Kenya National Reserve while a further 1,800 meander between the

Question: Why did the chicken cross the road? Answer: To get to the other side. Seems reasonable enough. Until you substitute an elephant for the chicken – and then things get complicated.

AS FEATURED IN WHY I LOVE KENYA MAGAZINE - MARCH/APRIL 2018. www.whyilovekenya.com

ElephantWhy did the

cross the road

2

tab title

Tusker ‘mission impossible’. On the front line in the ‘elephant-and-road’ debate was the Mount Kenya Trust, a charitable trust that was first established in 1999 with

a mandate to protect the forests, wildlife and people who live around

Kenya’s iconic Mount Kenya. A dedicated band, not easily flapped,

they put their thinking caps on. The idea for an elephant underpass,

which was first mooted in 2003 was radical to say the least – but it

wasn’t thrown out of court. Such a feat of conservation construction

had never been undertaken before. And nobody knew how it could

be done, or if the elephants would use it. But they decided to forge

ahead regardless.

Extensive research was carried out and even more extensive

cooperation conducted with like-minded elephant conservation

bodies. Even the elephants themselves were consulted. A wise old

bull elephant called Mountain Bull was radio collared, as were a

number of his colleagues, and their preferred routes of perambulation

were carefully studied. Eventually a suitable valley (a particular

favourite of Mountain Bull’s) was identified as being suitable for the

construction of a 14km elephant corridor complete with under-road

tunnel and, in 2009, construction began.

Building an elephant motorway is not easy, nor does it come cheap.

Some seven years in the making, the corridor is estimated to have

cost over one-million US dollars. One third of this sum was expended

on building the underpass and the rest went towards constructing

the 27km of solar-powered, elephant-proof fencing required to keep

the elephants on the proverbial straight and narrow. More funds were

required to put together a team of guards and maintenance workers

whose job it was to keep the elephants on track. In 2010, however,

the underpass was declared open and the barriers went up on the

world’s first elephantine motorway.

At first, nothing happened. Then, on the 1st of January 2011, an

elephant called Tony took the plunge. Heading down the valley with

an air of quiet determination, he approached the underpass, eyed it

askance, tossed his trunk, waved his ears, and then passed serenely

through it to emerge, triumphant, on the other side of the busy A2.

Tusker ‘mission accomplished’.

Today, such is the success of the underpass that it is estimated that

around a thousand elephants pass through it annually. Some pass

through alone, others wander through in matriarchal groups, mothers

gently pushing the young ones along with their trunks. Nor are the

elephants the only creatures to decide to cross the road. According to

the cameras that record the action in the underpass, just about every

member of the wildlife cast passes this way at some time or another.

Swift adopters of new technology, lions and leopards pad through the

tunnel with aplomb. Buffalos bolt through it, gazelles skitter through

it; hyenas lope through it. Some go north, others go south and, no

doubt, plenty meet in the middle. So far, however, no instances of

elephant gridlock or road rage have been reported.

On the contrary, a conservation success story of mammoth

proportions, the Mount Kenya Elephant Corridor has set a global

precedent for elephant migration management. It has also

dramatically reduced human-elephant conflict in the region and made

everyone, elephants and people alike, extraordinarily HAPPY.

For further information: www.mountkenyatrust.org

Elephant underpass © Mount Kenya Trust

“Me first” © Shaun Mousley

Aberdares and Laikipia region. Which means that nearly six thousand

elephants might decide to cross the road at any given time.

Not ideal, but what to do?This was a question that caused a lot of head scratching amongst the

local landowners. Incidences of elephants wandering into villages,

marauding crops and causing mayhem were escalating. So were

incidences of elephants being killed by villagers, and of villagers

being killed by elephants: action was required. It was also much

easier said than done.

Photo © Shaun Mousley

?“Ele-fence” © Mount Kenya Trust

The best way to experience the magic of

Mount KenyaSerena Sales Centre:

Tel: (+254-20) 284 2333/2000Mobile: (+254) 732 123 333/000 Or

(+254) 733 284 200Email: cro@serena.co.ke, sales@serena.co.kewww.serenahotels.com

Published by MJS Colourspace Ltd | Telephone: 020 2738004 | Mobile: 0727 794041 | Email: mjsuk@me.com | Website: www.whyilovekenya.com