THE CHALLENGES

Ineffective Marketing

Visitor numbers to the Sanctuary are too low despite advertising in the nearby coastal holiday region. This leads to low net income and subsequent low profit compensation at the end of the year for landowners. Diversification of tourism activities is being considered, for example, the creation of nature trails, camp sites, cultural performances, etc. Roads need upgrading to improve for the comfort of the visitors to the sanctuary.
Located closely by are Tsavo East and West National Parks and Shimba Hills National Reserve which are more accessible for visitors to go on a safari or game drive.
Due to the forest landscape elephants can be difficult to spot in comparison to the flat savannah grasslands of surrounding National Parks and Reserves.

Maintaining the Confidence of Landowners

This is quite a challenge as compensation and benefits are not adequate.
Fence breaks still occur for many landowners living in between the Sanctuary and the Dimbula Forest and where the fence is absent along the Golini Ridge.

Limited Elephant Management Resources

Methods are required to keep the population manageable. Since the Sanctuary was established the number of elephants and humans have increased. During the 1998 elephant census 350-400 elephants were counted for the whole Shimba ecosystem. The 1999 elephant census registered between 400-500 elephants in the same ecosystem. In 2005, 150 elephants were translocated from Shimba Hills National Reserve and Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary to Tsavo East National Park.

To read the article on the translocation, Click here

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