In the remote landscapes of northern Kenya, an alarming wave of poaching and smuggling is pushing iconic wildlife species toward the brink. From reticulated giraffes to hirolas and cheetahs, various endangered species are risking local extinction. A dangerous mix of armed poacher gangs, wildlife trafficking networks, and regional instability is fueling the crisis. With bushmeat demand rising and wildlife smuggling funding militia groups, conservationists warn that urgent action is needed to prevent local extinctions. Noor Ali reports
Abdi Mohamed Dubow Liban was a 16-year-old boy when he first witnessed poachers shoot dead an elephant while herding camels in Kenya’s Wajir South, bordering Somalia. Liban, now 72, says that, all those years ago, the family’s livestock interacted with different wildlife, including elephants, giraffes, and rhinos. They all lived peacefully until poacher gangs descended into the region bordering Somalia and Ethiopia in the 1970s. He says the poachers wreaked havoc, slaughtered hundreds of elephants, and forced the few that survived to escape for safety. He expressed fears of a repeat of the 1970s–1980s poaching scenario, which reached an alarming level that saw Kenya lose half of its elephant population, prompting the country to ban the ivory trade in 1973.
“Poachers shot dead an elephant close to a spot where I was herding livestock at a grazing field along the Isiolo-Wajir county border,” Liban says, vividly recalling his first encounter with poachers in 1970. “They killed elephants and rhinos along the Ewaso Ngiro River like rats, and poaching became the norm until the last, lucky ones that survived the butchering escaped far away to central Kenya,” he recalls.
That was the last time elephants and rhinos were present in their masses along Kenya’s Lorian Swamp in Wajir South, an area stretching from Isiolo to Wajir and Somalia, says the elderly man, who recently took part in a demonstration to protest the latest wave of poaching after 14 giraffes were killed in the area around Sabuli Wildlife Conservancy, south of Wajir County.
Liban is emphatic that the government must act and stop the massive decimation of wildlife species like reticulated giraffes, antelope, and Somali ostriches. These wildlife, he says, must be protected from poacher gangs operating along the Kenya-Somalia border, warlords, agents of terrorists, and the devastating effects of climate change and recurring droughts.
“We don’t have ostriches here anymore. They were captured, consumed, and sold at the Dadaab refugee camp and across the border in Somalia,” says Liban. “It’s a really sad, scary moment. Many have been hunted and killed for their meat, and many are dying due to drought. I am afraid some of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren won’t be able to see them.”
In the past three years, he has watched thirsty, emaciated wildlife collapse and die due to thirst and hunger resulting from drought. Liban says, “I have walked past giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, and antelope carcasses strewn all over the place in the remote grazing fields. In the last few years, they have been dying from starvation and dehydration,” he says of his experience in the midst of the recent drought, one that killed masses of wildlife.
The rise of poaching in Northern Kenya
Residents from the vast region bordering Somalia and Ethiopia, which has suffered a spate of terror attacks from Al-Shabaab terrorists, lament the presence of armed poachers killing dozens of wildlife.
Mukhtar Noor, a local community conservationist from Biyamadow, warned that giraffes, ostriches, gazelles, hirolas, and predators are facing the threat of local extinction if the government delays acting in time to protect the remaining few.
“The poachers are butchering giraffes, gazelles, ostriches, zebras, dik-diks, quails, and antelopes in droves. Many are dying from drought and strange diseases. We are losing the majority of them to game meat poaching,” he says. Snares used by poachers, he says, are a threat to livestock and have inflicted serious injuries and even killed many goats and camels. The barbed wire snares are set up close to water points, grazing fields, and areas with shrubs and shade, which are common spots for both wild and domestic animals, he added.
According to conservation organisations operating across the border region, reticulated giraffes are being depleted at an alarming rate, making them the most poached and endangered wildlife species in the area. Conservationists warn that the reticulated giraffe population endemic to the region has drastically reduced by 50% over just the past 30 years – from 36,000 to only 15,950 today. The widespread poaching of reticulated giraffes led to their inclusion on the IUCN Red List and their classification as Endangered in 2018.
Antelope such as hirola, numbering between 245-400 in the wild today and classified as critically endangered, are also being targeted in the latest wave of poaching in Kenya. Some of the key factors that have spurred giraffe poaching and its decline include regional instability, terrorism, ethnic fighting, and a growing belief that giraffe body parts can cure HIV/AIDS and boost male libido.
The role of illegal trade and terrorism
The North Eastern Conservancies Association (NECA), which brings together 30 NGOs working in the region, says the border region has suffered from a disturbing trend of poaching of endangered reticulated giraffes and hundreds of antelope like hirola to feed an increasing demand for bush meat.
NECA CEO Sharmake Mohamed says the surge in poaching in Kenya has been fanned by the myth that bushmeat offers relief to terminal illnesses and by the quest to avoid veterinary medicine-contaminated livestock meat, which is blamed for lifestyle-linked diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS infections. The local conservation organisation recorded at least 76 reticulated giraffe poaching incidents between July and September 2024, during which 14 giraffes were killed in a single raid. Local rangers estimate that around 10 giraffes and dozens of antelopes are killed each day across the border counties of Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Marsabit, and Tana River, primarily for their meat.
“A significant portion of giraffe meat, and ostrich meat and eggs are sold at Dadaab refugee camp, large quantities are smuggled into Somalia, and some are being delivered to Al-Shabaab militants,” Mohamed says. This is confirmed by other sources, including local chiefs. “The rest of the game meat is sold locally in villages, while some is transported to Nairobi and Mombasa,” he added.
Mohamed, who is also an honorary warden of Sabuli Wildlife Conservancy in Wajir, says dozens of lions and hyenas are being killed in worsening cases of human-wildlife conflict and retaliatory attacks. “Game meat business and smuggling of wildlife,” he says, “are believed to be a source of funds for militia group operations across the border in Somalia.”
Preventing the depletion of Kenya’s wildlife heritage is a daunting task, requiring action against heavily armed and dangerous poachers linked to war-torn Somalia and Ethiopia. He added that Sabuli has 30 community scouts who conduct patrols and work with local youths and elders to speak out against the bushmeat trade, poaching, and consumption. They also deliver hay and water to wildlife across the area during drought periods. He disclosed that more than 200 animals were lost due to the severe drought experienced three years ago in Wajir South alone.
And there is another disturbing trend arising in the region: Local conservation organisations are deeply disturbed by the alarming surge in wildlife smuggling and the trafficking of cheetahs and lion cubs from the region to Somalia, Ethiopia, and the Arabian Peninsula states, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Yemen. Cheetahs and lion cubs are illegally smuggled out to locations where they are kept as status symbol pets.
Of around 6,500 wild cheetahs in Africa, fewer than 1,000 cheetahs remain in Kenya. A security officer working with a local community conservation group in Wajir South (who preferred not to be named) says that lions and cheetahs smuggled from the region are sold to different markets in Somalia and Ethiopia. The smuggling of cheetahs and lion cubs is driven by demand from warlords and clan militias, for whom keeping these animals as pets has become a status symbol. The animals are also used to torment and torture captives and critics.
One man, Ebrahim*, a reformed poacher who now works as a wildlife scout, confessed that he made a fortune selling three lion cubs and six cheetah cubs to Somali traders and agents of the Al-Shabaab terror group between 2021 and 2022. “I dropped out of high school due to a lack of fees and tried to join the army and police, but I was unsuccessful because they don’t recruit dropouts. A friend introduced me to the game-meat trade and the smuggling of cheetahs and lion cubs,” he says.
A single cheetah cub could sell for $500, while a group of three or more cheetahs earns $800 per cub, Ebrahim says. He admitted to killing the mothers of lion cubs to capture them, after monitoring newborn cubs for over a month. He eventually decided to quit after receiving reports of his impending arrest or possible killing by rangers and security personnel. “I was fed up with living as a fugitive. I was more hunted than the wildlife I was hunting, which forced me into drug abuse to stay awake and alert to avoid arrest,” says Ebrahim, who took advantage of an amnesty granted to local poachers and surrendered to avoid the same fate as the many wild animals he had killed.
Kenya conservation efforts and poaching challenges
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), however, says all hope is not lost. They have implemented a series of measures to combat the increasing cases of bushmeat trafficking and the poaching of cheetahs and lions, which have been linked to the presence of Al-Shabaab and poacher gangs operating in the expansive border area.
Commanders in charge say the agency has made significant strides in combating wildlife crimes, which they describe as a serious security threat that undermines conservation efforts and exacerbates regional instability. KWS regional senior warden Jacob Ilo Orahle says heightened surveillance and a series of sting operations in recent months have helped contain the situation.
Ilo Orahle says, “more than ten poachers, including two of the most notorious on our wanted list who were responsible for the killing of 70 giraffes, have been killed,” since early 2024. In a recent case, Ilo Orahle, says, “rangers shot dead a poacher after he had killed a giraffe”.
KWS has adopted a multifaceted approach to tackling the crisis by engaging local communities, NGOs, and all state security agencies. A new patrol base has been established at a poaching hotspot in Shantaabaq, along the Wajir and Garissa county border, to crack down on cross-border poachers and locals engaged in illegal hunting. A team of rangers is now working jointly with the police, special border patrol, Rapid Deployment Unit personnel, and the military to contain the vice and stop smuggling to the Dadaab refugee camp and along the Kenya-Somalia border. Stepped-up intelligence gathering has enabled the agency to foil several poaching attempts and intercept deliveries of bushmeat.
The agency was scheduled to hold a series of public meetings at the Dadaab refugee camp. Multiple security sources believe the surge in bushmeat poaching is one of the Somali-based Al-Shabaab terrorist group’s expanded business ventures, aimed at sustaining its income.
“For a long time, Al-Shabaab funded its operations through the charcoal trade and human trafficking. Now, it is heavily involved in game meat and wildlife smuggling,” says a security official in Garissa County, eastern Kenya. Ragtag militias, independent poacher gangs, and Al-Shabaab have intensified their activities, taking advantage of the near absence of security forces in vast parts of northern Kenya to deplete wildlife with impunity, according to security officials.
Near the Ethiopian border, Jima Wildlife Conservancy has reported a significant number of cheetahs being captured and smuggled to Ethiopia and Somaliland for onward delivery to the Arabian Peninsula. “Recently, two herders stumbled upon four snared cheetahs. They were rescued after the incident was reported to a local chief,” says Abdullahi Ibrahim, patron of the conservancy group. “Giraffes, zebras, guinea fowl, gazelles, gerenuks, and dik-diks from Kenya are sold at Kadaduma Market in Ethiopia, which specialises in bushmeat. They wiped out their own wildlife years ago, so now they cross into Kenya to replenish their stocks,” he added.
Giraffe skins are also used to make water containers and ornaments, and hair from their tails is used for stitches in female circumcision (FGM) procedures.
Abdullahi Ibrahim further revealed that locals in Wajir County recently shot dead two male lions at a Gurar grazing field after the animals allegedly mauled livestock. He says human-wildlife conflict incidents are exacerbated by habitat loss.
Protecting rare wildlife species in northern Kenya requires a unique set of strategies, he argues, and cannot be achieved solely by arming locals to fight poachers.
“Neglect of this region, which has suffered from water shortages for six decades since independence, is to blame. We must build more water pans and boreholes to provide for both livestock and wildlife,” he says. He also blamed Ethiopia’s Oromo Liberation Army rebels for widespread poaching in Marsabit County, Kenya, from where they operate and stage frequent attacks in southern Ethiopia.
Mohamed Nur, a member of the conservancy group, regrets that the Somali ostrich has been completely wiped out in the area due to false claims that its fat and eggs can eliminate HIV, boost libido, and serve as a lucky charm. “Bushmeat dealers are masters of deceit. They spread falsehoods, claiming it is an effective alternative medicine and a natural remedy for terminal illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure,” he says.
Abdi Shabo, from the Protection and Conservation of Endangered Species (PCONES) in Isiolo, blamed the neglect of the region and its exclusion from national conservation efforts for the rampant poaching in northern Kenya. He pointed out that conservation in Kenya is concentrated in popular tourist destinations, while most wildlife lives in unprotected areas.
“Our people have nothing to gain from wildlife apart from losing livestock and loved ones in human-wildlife conflicts. The crisis must be declared a national disaster, and resources must be mobilised to protect wildlife across northern Kenya,” he says.
An urgent call to protect Kenya’s wildlife
Kalapta Epuyo, an Isiolo Peace Net initiative campaigner, notes that recurring conflicts and frequent droughts have driven many people, especially youths, into desperation.
“Wildlife poaching has surged across the region in recent years due to prolonged drought and massive livestock deaths. Locals engage in poaching for survival, to escape hunger, and to restock their livestock lost to banditry and drought,” he says. Wajir South MP Mohamed Adow criticises the manner in which poacher gangs have been left to operate with impunity, calling on the UNHCR to provide alternative fuel sources for refugees at Dadaab to curb firewood harvesting, which contributes to habitat destruction and bushmeat consumption.
Kenya’s drought assessment report, released by the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife in early 2023, indicated that the country lost hundreds of wildlife due to the worst drought in recent history. However, conservation efforts have boosted elephant numbers, now growing at 5% annually, reaching 36,000 from a historic low of 16,000 in 1989. Kenyan journalist Issa Husein, who is also actively involved in wildlife and environmental campaigns, is disturbed by the fact that Kenya’s conservation efforts and resources are being wasted and reversed by neighbouring countries.
“Our wildlife are killed to feed foreign markets in Somalia and Ethiopia. Down south, in Kenya, our elephants – the tuskers – are hunted and killed by trophy hunters in Tanzania. Our enemies and threats are well known; they must be confronted and stopped,” says Hussein.
The fight against wildlife poaching in northern Kenya is a battle for survival—not just for the region’s endangered species, but for the ecosystems and communities that depend on them. Strengthening conservation efforts, improving security, and addressing the root causes of poaching are critical steps in protecting these species for future generations.
*Not his real name.
Further reading
- The giraffe is a wonder of evolution, and a vital part of Africa’s ecosystems. Read all there is to know about the planet’s tallest creature. Read more about giraffes here.
- Researchers say there are four species and seven subspecies the correct division. Check out the research.
- Cheetah Conservation Fund data analysis confirms social media’s role in advertising illegal wildlife trade, including trafficking of cheetahs for illegal pet trade. Read more here.
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