Protecting the last of the Grevy zebra | Tunde Folawiyo

April 4, 2014 Editor Africa’s Endangered Primates, Grevy zebra, Tunde Folawiyo, tunde folawiyo africa, tunde folawiyo bio, tunde folawiyo oil, tunde folawiyo profile, West African Lion

Last week, a Grevy zebra foal was born in the UK, at a zoo in Chester. The arrival of this creature was met with great excitement, as this particular zebra species is extremely rare, and currently classified as endangered. Tim Rowlands, the curator of mammals, spoke to the press about the newborn, explaining that this was good news not only for the zoo, but also for the species as a whole.

Whilst approximately 600 Grevy zebras live in zoos around the world, the wild population – which totals 2,500 – can be found only in the grasslands of Ethiopia and Kenya. As someone who cares deeply about wildlife conservation in Africa, Tunde Folawiyo is probably aware that the frequent hunting of this animal, coupled with the destruction of its natural habitat, has resulted in its population dropping by more than 75% over the past four decades.

In Ethiopia, this creature is hunted not for its meat, but for its striking skin, which is often used to make clothing. Hunting of Grevy zebras is less common in Kenya, but unfortunately, the expansion of farmlands and towns has led to this species losing its habitat, and being forced to complete with livestock for the resources which it needs to survive (i.e. grazing land and water).

Anyone with an interest in African wildlife conservation, like Tunde Folawiyo, is likely to have heard of the Kenya Wildlife Service. This organisation has been working with the African Wildlife Foundation to protect the existing Grevy zebras which live inside the Buffalo Spring National Reserve.

They have fitted these animals with GPS collars, which will allow them to not only keep track of the population numbers, but also to learn more about their general whereabouts, and their movement patterns. In addition to this, the African Wildlife Foundation has been providing park rangers with the equipment they need to carry out their work more effectively, including vehicles and handheld monitoring devices.

Another organisation which has been working hard to protect this species is the GZT (Grevy Zebra Trust). Like the above-mentioned groups, the GZT’s primary goal is to prevent the illegal hunting of these animals; it achieves this by carrying out daily patrols of specific areas where Grevy zebras live, and by raising awareness of the importance of wildlife conservation in Kenyan and Ethiopian communities. GZT have also set up their own monitoring system, which will enable them to collect useful data about this species, which can then be used to inform their conservation strategies in the future.

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