Fahari Aviation to participate in Kenya's First National Wildlife Census
This has entailed the deployment of Fahari Aviation’s drones and crew to pilot the use of drones in the ongoing National Wildlife Census exercise that aims to establish a national baseline of wildlife populations and their distribution in Kenya. The census is being coordinated by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the newly established Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) with financial support from the National Government.
Fahari Aviation aims to pilot the beneficial use of drones and unmanned aircraft in supporting vast ecosystems and wildlife conservation efforts. This includes their cost effectiveness in operations while still achieving the desired results of data output.
Allan Kilavuka, chief executive officer at Kenya Airways, said: “The use of drones and unmanned aircraft has proven feasible in many different fields of application. The omni-purpose nature of these vehicles has provided opportunities to create impact on various uses. Through Fahari Aviation, we aim to furnish new dimensions to the use of aerial counting and wildlife monitoring methods in a cost effective and efficient manner.”
John Waweru, Kenya Wildlife service director general, said: In order to facilitate sustainable conservation and management of our wildlife, monitoring populations is a major prerequisite. This census will therefore provide information on the current status and distribution of wildlife. Further it will aid in identifying threats to the vast but threatened wildlife populations and support decision making process in conservation and tourism sector. Through Fahari Aviation, we look forward to working with Kenya Airways and further the use of drones and unmanned aircraft in wildlife conservation efforts."
The national census will count terrestrial, fresh water and marine mammals, key birds (ostrich, kori bastards and other threatened birds), endangered primates (Tana Mangabey and Tana red colobus), threatened amphibians and reptiles (crocodiles) in the 47 counties. The specific terrestrial mammals to be counted will include elephant, rhino, giraffe, buffalo, lesser kudu, greater kudu, eland, common zebra, Grey’s zebra, Grant’s gazelle, Thomson’s gazelle, hirola, gerenuk, sitatunga, bongo, kongoni, impala, hippopotamus, and warthogs.
