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<\/a><\/dt>\n <\/a>Research in<\/span> <\/a>PLoS ONE today<\/a> shows that animals in Kenya\u2019s national parks are declining at the same rate as the same species outside the parks.\u00a0 This means, potentially, that the protection of animals in safe spaces may not lead to their recovery or success.<\/span><\/p>\n David Western<\/a>, the author and founder\/director of the African Conservation Centre<\/a> in Nairobi, said in a statement that pressures around the parks are affecting the wildlife in the parks. When protected areas are delineated, human-made infrastructure, such as agriculture, can jut up against it. Many large mammals migrate seasonally, and the small areas within the parks can thwart their travels.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cElephants need a lot of space. They move around. But now that they have been limited to smaller areas, they\u2019re taking out the woody vegetation and reducing the overall biodiversity in the national parks. We\u2019re seeing throughout our parks in Kenya a change from woody habitats to grassland habitats. As a result, we\u2019re losing the species that thrive in woody areas, such as giraffe, lesser kudu and impala.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Another reason these national park populations might be declining, said Western, is that local farmers perceive it as a threat. Because they can\u2019t use the lands to grow food, they willingly invite poachers onto the land.\u00a0 In fact, the biggest parks are experiencing the worst declines, possibly because they\u2019re in pastoral lands surrounded by farmers. In smaller parks near cities, Western said, the population is more educated and financially stable, so they don\u2019t view the parks negatively.<\/span><\/p>\n Western suggests that to end farmers\u2019 antagonism toward national parks, the government should share some of the financial benefits with local communities.<\/span><\/p>\n Read more in the PLoS ONE<\/a> (open access).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/span>The parks, said Western, were formed around places where people saw large aggregations of mammals, including elephants, giraffes and impala. This technique ignored the animals\u2019 season migrations, mostly because people just didn\u2019t know where the animals were migrating to.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, elephants are effective ecosystem engineers<\/a>. Said Western:<\/span><\/p>\n