Samuel Mwangi was walking a familiar forest path near his home in Muranga County, not far from Kenya's capital, Nairobi, when a jackal emerged from the undergrowth.
The 50-year-old farmer froze as the animal lunged, clamping its jaws around his head. Armed with his panga – a locally made machete – Samuel fought back.
After several terrifying minutes, he stood bloodied but alive, with a dead jackal at his feet.
Samuel's harrowing encounter last December represents one of thousands of instances of human-wildlife conflict (HWC) documented across rural communities since Kenyan authorities began systematic record-keeping in 2013.
The scale of the problem is alarming. The Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) reported over 3,800 such incidents between January and March 2025 alone, resulting in 40 human casualties and 77 people being critically injured.
"Over 7,300 people in Kenya who came under attack from wildlife have been compensated since 2013, and an additional 5,000 are set to receive theirs soon," Dr Richard Chepkwony, director of policy, research and innovation at Kenya Wildlife Service, tells TRT Afrika.
Economic paradox
Ironically, countries where wildlife thrives and generates substantial tourism revenue are the same places where human-animal conflict occurs most frequently. Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana and Tanzania report the highest rates of deaths and injuries during encounters with wildlife in areas adjacent to conservancies and national parks.
According to Kenya Wildlife Service, the country earned US $3.4 billion in tourism revenue in 2024-2025. South Africa’s tourism ministry pegs its earnings from wildlife tourism during the same period at $735 million.
Tanzania garnered $3.3 billion during the year to rival its East African neighbour’s revenue, based on data collated by the Tanzania Investment and Consultant Group. Statista projects Zimbabwe’s wildlife tourism revenue to be in the region of $271.10 million.
Wildlife tourism serves as a crucial economic driver for all these countries, funding both conservation efforts and local community development. However, an increase in human-wildlife conflict in recent years is threatening the sector’s sustainability as much as it poses a danger to lives and livelihoods.
Financial reparation
Kenya responded to the challenge by accelerating a compensation programme launched in 2013 that provides financial support to victims’ families. The country recently introduced a digital system to replace the cumbersome manual process.
"Recently, we initiated a digital compensation scheme that aims at collecting real-time data on compensation for ease of processing and also fast-tracking claims. The old system was slow. In the new system being piloted in only six HWC hotspot counties, already 12,000 people have logged on to the system and submitted claims," explains Chepkwony.
Authorities report disbursing approximately KSh 3.8 billion ($29.7 million) in compensation nationwide. "For deaths, we pay KSh 5 million ($38,714) and KSh 3 million ($23,282) for permanent disability," says Chepkwony.
Nelias Njeri, whose husband was trampled to death by a wild buffalo, acknowledges the programme's impact despite its limitations. "It took a long time for the money to come through, but I couldn’t have sustained and invested in my small farm without it,” she said at an event.
Over the past few years, a few other African countries have put in place different compensation mechanisms.
After years of documented instances of human-wildlife conflict, Zimbabwe announced the creation of a compensation fund in 2023 to pay medical bills or provide funeral assistance to victims. Tanzania’s 2022 Wildlife Conservation Act contains provisions for financial and material compensation to victims of human-wildlife conflict.
Beyond compensation
While financial payouts address the aftermath of a tragedy, the underlying causes of deadly human-wildlife encounters remain unaddressed.
This April, the death of a 14-year-old girl who a lion snatched from a residential compound near Nairobi National Park sent shockwaves through Kenya.
Rangers traced bloodstains to the Mbagathi river, where the child's body was found.
Zimbabwe faces similar challenges. Fatal wildlife attacks increased 20% in the first quarter of 2025, with 18 human fatalities documented so far. The figure was 15 during the same period last year.
ZimParks data shows an average of 60 human deaths annually over the past five years, highlighting the constant danger shadowing communities living near wildlife zones.
Climate-change impact
Global conservation agency Save the Elephants identifies drought as a significant contributing factor to human-wildlife conflict, pointing out that food and water scarcity forces hungry animals out of reserves and into human settlements.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare highlights human expansion into natural habitats as another key issue.
"As human settlements expand into natural habitats, they compete with wild animals for food and water. These resources are in short supply in some parts of the world, partly due to climate change, which exacerbates conflicts,” states the organisation’s December 2024 report.
Finding middle ground
Park rangers increasingly find themselves performing a delicate balancing act – protecting people while preserving habitats that enable wildlife to roam free like they are meant to.
Kenya is intensifying efforts to reduce attacks through increased patrolling and infrastructure improvements.
"Kenya is a vast country and has many kilometres of fences aimed at mitigating incidents…We have installed predator-proof lights and bomas (kraals), and deployed technologically advanced surveillance to monitor wildlife movements," says Chepkwony.
However, the sheer scale of protected areas presents formidable challenges. Kenya's Tsavo East National Park alone spans over 13,000 sq km. "Maintaining fences is very expensive," Chepkwony explains, pointing to a conscious decision to avoid blocking wildlife migration corridors and dispersal areas.
The Kenya Wildlife Service maintains a fully trained capture and translocation unit to address problems with individual animals.
According to Chepkwony, this is supported by comprehensive public education and awareness programmes delivered through social media, television, and radio, which educate communities about wildlife boundaries and alert them when animals pose immediate threats.
Despite these efforts, experts argue that the high death toll in human-wildlife conflict demands greater investment in effective conservation border management.
The long-term sustainability of wildlife tourism and the welfare of both people and animals depend on finding more comprehensive and lasting solutions to this escalating conflict.
