Hippo attacks are increasing around the flooded Lake Naivasha area.
Hippos' grazing areas are flooded, displacing the animals and forcing them closer to human settlements in search of food.
Illegal foot fisherman - many of them jobless flower farm workers - have invaded the expanded lake and are also exposed to hippo attacks.
The problem is worsened by the closure of wildlife migration corridors by hotels and flower farms.
The rise in the water levels has been attributed to high siltation, exceedingly heavy rains and lack of adequate outlets for the water. Geology in the seismically active Rift Valley has also been cited.
Lakes all over Rift Valley are flooded and thousands of people have been displaced. In some areas crocodiles also attack. Flooding also forces snakes to dryer areas near settlements.
Speaking during a visit to Kihoto estate, KWS assistant director in charge of Central Rift Dickson Ritan warned residents to beware of increasing hippo attacks.
“We have recorded a very sharp rise in water levels around the lake, thus flooding pastures meant for hippos and other wildlife,” he said.
Ritan said illegal fishermen were accessing the lake through private farms, leading to disputes with landowners.
“As a result, cases of conflict between the landowners and the illegal fishermen have been reported while hippo attacks have also shot up,” he said.
Chairman Friends of Lake Naivasha Francis Muthui said floods were making it harder for animals to get food.
“The recent hippo attacks around the lake are caused by reduction of pastures by the waters and this had made the animals very wild,” he said.
Hippos have strayed into Kihoto and Banda estates and along the Naivasha-Mai Mahiu road to seek pasture.
Julius Ndung’u who has a farm near Banda Estate said he had lost crops worth thousands of shillings due to the invading hippos
“We have sleepless nights due to an increasing number of wild animals straying outside our houses and seeking pasture. We fear in coming days they could attack," he said.
(Edited by V. Graham)