Youth Experiences with Wildlife During a Period of Significant Cultural Change in Laikipia, Kenya

Abstract

In Laikipia, Kenya, youth are increasingly likely to attend school and less likely to spend time in the landscape as pastoralists when compared with preceding generations. A possible unintended outcome of this transition is a change in how youth experience and relate to wildlife. This article addressed the research question: How do youth in Laikipia experience wildlife? When asked to share an essay about a personal experience with wildlife, most of the respondents recalled negative direct experiences that involved human–wildlife conflict. Negative emotions were expressed more often than positive emotions. Since these experiences may contribute to an overall attitude about wildlife, the result is potentially troubling. This paradoxical outcome of greater access to education and less time spent in the landscape may lead to a future generation of decision-makers with an ambivalent or negative attitude toward wildlife.

Keywords:

• youth
• human–wildlife conflict
• parks-protected areas
• pastoralism
• experiences

Additional information

Funding

This study was made possible through in-kind and financial support of the Denver Zoo. This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE-1321845. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.