RANCHING WITH WILDLIFE:
Talk given by Giles Prettejohn – Manager Livestock, Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy (OPC),
Laikipia, Kenya.
It was shown how
Ol Pejeta, 3 1/2 years since becoming a wildlife Conservancy, is still in the forefront of the beef industry, successfully integrating the cattle operation with the wildlife and making the most of both. Giles says “Yes we have reduced our cattle numbers from 8000 to 6500, but intend to go no lower and maybe get back to7,000 max. When the tourists are here you cannot compare the 2 revenues, but the last 5 months OPC has managed to survive thanks to the cattle. It is very important to have both and we wish to demonstrate today that, with Boran cattle, it is possible to maintain quality despite competition, disease and predation from the wildlife”.
- In fact OPC have found that cattle are a tremendous asset to the Conservancy;
1. They help to control tick numbers - Those wildlife areas without cattle know
about the tick populations – here they are continually cleaned up by the cattle
2. The cows (see pic of typical herd formation) are used as a tool to improve
grazing - You can turn old rank grass to highly nutritious pasture in no time.
3. Creating hotspots from the mobile bomas (see pic of typical Boma
construction) -
protection from
quadrupled lion
population at
night, by day –
herder incentive
scheme; by
moving regularly
creates
fertilized
spots which will
turn to favoured
grazing for
wildlife.
- The predators are needed to keep your ungulate populations down and the tourists love to see them!
For more detailed information, please contact
Giles Prettejohn, Livestock Manager, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Private Bag, Nanyuki, 10400, Kenya
+ 254 (0) 20 203 3239
+ 254 (0) 733 299592
gilespj@olpejetaconservancy.org
www.olpejetaconservancy.org
