The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is, once again, on the spot after its officers shot and killed a hippo that killed a tourist from Taiwan at Lake Naivasha last weekend.
This comes hardly a month after the agency, which is tasked with protection of wildlife and its habitats, was blamed for the death of 11 black rhinos at the Tsavo East National Park.
And days ago, KWS wardens killed a giant crocodile and cut it open in search of the remains of a missing girl’s remains in Embu.
Uproar has greeted the killing of the hippo after it emerged that the KWS tracked and killed the animal hours after it attacked the tourist.
Hippos are a favourite attraction to both local and international tourists and even though they are not among endangered species, Kenyans want them protected at all costs.
Their main concern, as expressed in social media, is that KWS did not state who— between the tourist, Mr Chang Ming Chuang, 66, and the animal— intruded into the other’s space.
The killing drew condemnation from tourism stakeholders and ordinary Kenyans who have accused KWS of “acting irresponsibly”.
“That a hippo gets killed for attacking someone who clearly was in the wrong is disgusting,” wrote Dr Paula Kahumbu, who is also an elephant expert and CEO WildlifeDirect.
“Perhaps we need to forget about educating visitors and start schools for hippos on tourism etiquette class 1,”
Mr Donald Kihanya, in a Facebook post, expressed a similar view: “Was the animal found with a toothpick. How did they even know it was the killer.”
Another social media user, Joyce Mwihaki, wrote: “Killing the hippo, was this done as a lesson to the other hippos or what purpose did it serve?”
They all had one question: Why did KWS kill the animal?