#20336 Keeping Elephants Out of the Shamba in Kenya

As human populations rise and wildlife habitats are pressured, conflicts inevitably arise. Such was the case at the edge of the Aberdares Range in central Kenya, where prime agricultural land abuts the thick forest that rings the mountain range and its foggy, sub-Alpine national park. Marauding elephants destroyed crops in local shambas (small farms), and people in turn exploited the forest and poached its animals. In the late 1980s, a dream was born to fence the entire Aberdares Conservation Area. Twenty years later, the 350-kilometer-long dream is nearing completion. While fences are not always a viable solution for wildlife sanctuaries, the 3-meter-high electrified Aberdares fence has successfully curbed human-animal conflict in the area. Thanks to the forward-thinking members of The Rhino Ark Trust, one of Kenya's last great indigenous forests (and its resident populations of endangered black rhino and mountain bongo) has been effectively preserved.