Feature: N Kenya farmers, herders bear brunt of human-wildlife conflict

While growing up in the idyllic plains of Samburu county in northern Kenya, Jennifer Nakouna marveled at the sight of elephants as they foraged near her parents' homestead.

The 56-year-old mother of nine was fascinated by the aura and confidence displayed by the giant mammals as they crisscrossed expansive plains in search of water and pasture.

Nakouna had no premonition that one day she would become unwitting victim of fury the gentle giants have lately vented on anyone standing in their path.

Soon after getting married several decades ago, Nakouna migrated to the wildlife-rich Laikipia county in northern Kenya, where she took up farming and livestock keeping as a fulltime occupation.

The amiable lady from the Turkana community was viciously attacked by a lone Jumbo in August last year near a stream where she had gone to fetch water.

In an interview with reporters this week ahead of the launch of a 163 kilometers fence project in Laikipia County to reduce human-wildlife conflicts, Nakouna narrated a blood curdling ordeal in the hands of an enraged jumbo. The 875,000-U.S. dollar project, luckily, was launched on Friday, however, authorities did not reveal a specific date of completion.

"It was a crisp morning in August last year when I went to the stream to fetch water only for an elephant that was grazing nearby to charge at me with a viciousness unknown to me previously," Nakouna said.

She revealed the jumbo pushed and shoved her to the ground and was unrelenting despite her loud screams.

When the elephant was through with its show of might to a human being who crossed its path, Nakouna was bleeding profusely and almost lost consciousness.

"The jumbo raised me up using its trunk and knocked me on the ground. It retreated and hit me again using its tusks. I bled profusely and lay unconscious until well wishers came to my rescue," said Nakouna.

Her feeble screams attracted the attention of her child who in turn raised the alarm to neighbors and passersby.

"My child spotted me as I raised my hand in despair while making faint screams. He immediately alerted neighbors who rushed to offer first aid and avert an imminent death," Nakouna told reporters.

The well wishers rushed her to a public health facility where she remained unconscious for three months while receiving treatment.

Nakouna was discharged from hospital in February this year, but the wounds she sustained have impaired her physical and emotional stamina.

"Since I left hospital in February this year, walking and performing minor tasks like grazing my goats has been a nightmare," said Nakouna, adding her children are a great source of financial and emotional support.

Her first born daughter, Margaret Tepi told reporters that memories of the tragic encounter with an elephant still haunted her mother to this date.

"My mother experiences nightmares at night whenever she hears loud bangs. Her health has deteriorated while the eyesight is blurred," Tepi told Xinhua, adding the loss of appetite and insomnia has also taken toll on her aging mother.

Besides the attack by the elephant, Nakouna, alongside her neighbours, has borne the brunt of elephants' incursion into their farms and homesteads in recent times.

She regretted that despite persistent outcry, both herders and farmers in Laikipia County continue to bear huge losses when jumbos invade their farms and destroy maturing crop.

"Elephants still intrude into our farms and regrettably, compensation from authorities usually takes too long. We appeal to the government and conservation lobby groups to assist victims of attacks by wildlife," Nakouna said.

Marauding elephants that occasionally invade Nakouna's one acre farm have not only depleted her savings but also undermined the capacity to feed her younger children.

Currently a single mother, Nakouna has struggled to educate her children on meager income accrued from sale of farm produce and goats.

She urged local authorities and wildlife lobbies to fast track erection of an electric fence to prevent elephants from invading her farm and destroying staple crops that happens to be her main source of income.

Nakouna is among a growing list of innocent victims of vicious battle for territory between humans and wildlife in northern Kenyan counties.

Joseph Njuguna, a 69-year-old father of nine, has also been an unenthusiastic guest to marauding jumbos in the last three decades since he bought a farm in Laikipia county.

Njuguna's three acre farm has been a prized destination for elephants who invade it to feast on maize, bananas, sugar cane and an assortment of fruits.

"There was a time elephants destroyed one acre of maize plantation on my farm in a single night. Hopefully, the erection of the new electric fence will end this menace," Njuguna said. Endit