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Kenya to Construct 250-Mile Fence Around Mountain to Keep Animals In
Photo: Wiki Commons
In a move that is sure to spark some controversy in the conservation world, Kenya has announced plans to completely encircle the second highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kenya, with a 250-mile long electric fence, according to UPI. The plan is not necessarily designed to protect the area's precious wildlife, so much as to trap them on the mountain; to keep the animals– elephants, in particular– from straying to nearby farms and raiding crops.
Animals that stray from the mountain, which is a World Heritage site, do put themselves in greater danger, but it would be misleading to describe the fence's primary role as anything other than protection for the farms. The fence also raises serious conservation concerns over disrupting natural migration routes. It will essentially turn Mt. Kenya into the world's largest fully-enclosed wildlife park.
To be fair, the charity in charge of building the fence, Rhino Ark, notes that the fence will also help to prevent human encroachment into the area. Poaching is a serious concern, as is bushmeat hunting, illegal logging and invasive grazing by domestic animals.
The electric fence will be 'live' at all times thanks to a system based on converted solar power. It will be two meters tall above ground and will also run an additional meter underground, to ensure that burrowing animals like the porcupine remain contained.
The shock delivered by the fence should not be high enough to endanger the lives of humans or animals that come into contact with it. Its comprehensive impact is not likely to be fully realized until the project is completed, however.
“It is going to encircle 2,000 square kilometers (772 square miles) of
indigenous forests on the mountain, and a source of many, many rivers
and outflows in all directions from the mountains,” Rhino Ark's Colin
Church told the BBC.
Construction has already begun, and the fence should be completed in 2014.
By Bryan Nelson
It’s not about the animals. It’s about the way animals make us feel. Watch the latest Animal Planet videos and full episodes. Surprisingly Human.
2012-09-15 11:40:06
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