{"id":9782,"date":"2025-10-31T15:39:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T15:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/drought-hit-kenya-shifts-herds-from-cattle-to-camels\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T15:39:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T15:39:17","slug":"drought-hit-kenya-shifts-herds-from-cattle-to-camels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/drought-hit-kenya-shifts-herds-from-cattle-to-camels\/","title":{"rendered":"Drought-hit Kenya shifts herds from cattle to camels"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Samburu pastoralist Chapan Lolpusike, 35, pumps water from a well for some of his camels to drink before heading out to Sereolipi. — AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

SAMBURU: “God, God, God, protect them,” two herders chanted as a dozen camels tore toward the acacia trees, oblivious to the bone-dry riverbed of northern Kenya where no rain has fallen since April.<\/p>\n

Perched on the rim of a nearby well, Chapan Lolpusike said his cows and oxen “all died” in the worst drought in four decades, after successive poor rains in 2021 and 2022.<\/p>\n

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Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

After that, he made a wholesale change to the way he herds.<\/p>\n

“We no longer have cattle at home. We only raise camels,” said Lolpusike, a member of the semi-nomadic Samburu community.<\/p>\n

Camels can graze on dry grasses, go more than a week without water, and produce up to six times more milk than cattle — making them an increasingly necessary option in northern Kenya, an area particularly vulnerable to climate change.<\/p>\n

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Samburu county officials launched a camel programme in 2015 following several droughts that killed off at least 70% of the cattle in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions.<\/p>\n

The die-off had a devastating impact on malnutrition among local pastoralists.<\/p>\n

Around 5,000 Somali camels — a larger and more productive breed than the native herd — have since been distributed, including 1,000 in the last year.<\/p>\n

Camels for every family<\/h3>\n

Lolpusike, who previously knew nothing about camels, received some in 2023.<\/p>\n

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\"Camel
Camel milk contributes up to half the total nutrient intake during drought. — AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In his manyatta — a hamlet of rectangular huts nestled in a shrubby savannah — a dozen camels lay peacefully chewing dry grass.<\/p>\n

The goal is for every family in the county to have their own, said village administrator James Lolpusike (no relation).<\/p>\n

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“If the drought persists, the cattle will not be anywhere anymore,” he said.<\/p>\n

Camel herds are at high risk of disease that could lead to losses.<\/p>\n

But there are clear, positive changes as they become a regular sight in the region, including healthier children, said the village administrator.<\/p>\n

They are certainly popular in the community, for the fact they can be milked up to five times a day.<\/p>\n

“Cows are only milked when the grass is green,” said Naimalu Lentaka, 40.<\/p>\n

“Camels… during the dry season, they are still milked, and that’s the whole difference.”<\/p>\n

Families now “depend on camels, on those who own them,” she added.<\/p>\n

Racing stars<\/h3>\n

Camel milk and human breast milk have similar nutritional and therapeutic properties, according to a 2022 study by Meru University in Kenya.<\/p>\n

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\"Riders
Riders compete at the Maralal International Camel Derby. — AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Camel milk contributes up to half the total nutrient intake during droughts among pastoral communities in the north.<\/p>\n

The animal is already a star in the region, thanks to a famous endurance race.<\/p>\n

At the Maralal International Camel Derby in late September, around 40 camels frolicked before a cheering crowd.<\/p>\n

The winner covered 21 kilometres (13 miles), the equivalent of a half-marathon, in one hour and 22 minutes.<\/p>\n

But organisers said the event — whose theme was “peaceful cultural interactions” — was primarily about bringing together communities that used to fight over resources, since, among their many virtues, camels are also a symbol of peace.<\/p>\n

Moving cattle herds to more fertile areas during the dry season can spark conflict between herders that have claimed hundreds of lives over the years.<\/p>\n

Camels are happy to stay where they are.<\/p>\n

Even this hardy animal needs some water, however, so locals still pray for rain.<\/p>\n

“We only pray the situation doesn’t get worse,” said James Lolpusike.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Drought-hit Kenya shifts herds from cattle to camels<\/sub><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Samburu pastoralist Chapan Lolpusike, 35, pumps water from a well for some of his camels to drink before heading out to Sereolipi. — AFP SAMBURU: “God, God, God, protect them,” two herders chanted as a dozen camels tore toward the acacia trees, oblivious to the bone-dry riverbed of northern Kenya where no rain has fallen…<\/p>\n

Read More “Drought-hit Kenya shifts herds from cattle to camels”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9783,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}