WRTI Scientific Conference 2025

ACK Senior Scientist, Basil Lewela, presented findings from two published ACK scientists, Dr Noreen Mutoro (PhD) & Peter Kibobi (MSc), showing the impacts of highways and land fragmentation on the cheetah. His poster at the Kenya Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) was well received.

Land conversion and linear infrastructure in Kenya are not only shrinking the area suitable for cheetahs (Mutoro: approximately a 50% loss in the study area) but also fragmenting the remaining habitat into smaller, isolated patches. That fragmentation forces cheetahs into risky movements and concentrates them into smaller refuges. Highways across the landscapes create deadly crossing points and movement barriers (Kibobi: many roadkill hotspots along A109).

Together, land fragmentation and linear development increase mortality, reduce connectivity, alter cheetah behavior, and make long-term population persistence more precarious.

The way forward is clear: we must keep Kenya’s wild spaces connected so cheetahs have room to roam. Protecting open rangelands, creating wildlife corridors, and supporting communities that share land with wildlife are vital steps. Along busy highways, simple but powerful solutions like wildlife underpasses, strategic fencing, and speed controls can prevent needless road deaths. We should invest in these efforts so that cheetahs not only survive, but also thrive as a lasting symbol of Kenya’s natural heritage for generations to come.