A four-year camera-trap survey has recorded 28 wild mammal species in Dakatcha Woodland, providing new baseline information to guide conservation and future monitoring in this threatened coastal forest landscape.
From the Endangered Golden-rumped Sengi moving through the undergrowth to the brief appearance of an African Leopard, camera traps are helping reveal some of the mammals that continue to find refuge in Dakatcha Woodland.
Between 2019 and 2022, our team deployed ten motion-triggered cameras across the woodland. The cameras were moved approximately every two months, producing 122 deployments and an effective sampling effort of 6,779 trap days.
Across the survey, the cameras captured more than 70,000 wildlife photographs, representing 5,222 independent wildlife events. Researchers identified 28 wild mammal species, alongside three domestic species and rodents that could not be reliably identified to species level
The Golden-rumped Sengi
Important records for Dakatcha
Among the most significant findings were 51 independent records of the Endangered Golden-rumped Sengi.
Although the species had previously been reported from Dakatcha, the team describes these images as the first verifiable photographic evidence confirming its presence in the woodland. The Golden-rumped Sengi was also the third most frequently detected wild mammal in the survey.
Found only within a restricted part of Kenya’s coastal forests, the Golden-rumped Sengi is particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and degradation. Confirming its presence in Dakatcha strengthens the evidence for conserving the remaining habitat available to the species.
The cameras also recorded an African Leopard on one occasion. The researchers interpret this as possible occasional use of Dakatcha by a wide-ranging individual rather than evidence of a resident leopard population.
According to the report, this is the first confirmed record of the species in the area between Boni-Dodori and Shimba Hills in more than 40 years. Because this conclusion is based on a single detection and the report has not yet undergone peer review, it should be treated as an important but preliminary finding.
The survey also produced the first confirmed Kenyan coastal records reported by the researchers for the Greater Cane Rat and Egyptian Mongoose.
The Greater Cane Rat
The Egyotian Mongoose
Wildlife under pressure
The cameras did more than document wildlife. They also recorded people and domestic animals throughout the study area.
Excluding members of the camera-trapping team, researchers recorded 72 independent events involving people and 115 involving domestic animals. Together, people or domestic animals appeared in 39 of the 122 camera deployments.
These records do not capture every form or consequence of human activity in Dakatcha. However, their distribution indicates substantial human and livestock presence across the surveyed area. Evidence of poaching was also documented during the research.
The report compares the results from Dakatcha with earlier camera-trap surveys in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and the Boni-Dodori forest system. Detection rates were lower in Dakatcha than in these more formally protected forests.
Camera-trap detection rates can be affected by differences in habitat, camera placement and survey design, so comparisons must be interpreted carefully. Nevertheless, the authors suggest that the results are consistent with the greater levels of human pressure and habitat disturbance documented in Dakatcha.
A Bushbuck
Evidence to guide protection
Dakatcha Woodland covers approximately 35,000 hectares and forms part of the Northern Swahili Coastal Forests biodiversity hotspot. It is recognised as a Key Biodiversity Area but continues to face habitat loss associated with activities including agricultural expansion, livestock grazing and charcoal production.
A Rocha Kenya began purchasing land in Dakatcha in 2014 to establish a protected nature reserve. At the time this report was prepared, almost 4,000 hectares had been secured.
The camera-trap survey was designed to help establish a baseline list of mammals, guide land-acquisition priorities and support future monitoring. Its findings confirm that Dakatcha continues to support a diverse mammal community, including globally threatened species.
They also show why monitoring must continue. Protecting land, supporting community-based patrols and working with people living around the woodland can help secure space for wildlife while recognising local needs.
About the research
The research was conducted by Raphaël Nussbaumer, Ameline Nussbaumer, Lennox Kirao, Nicholas Warren, Stratton Hatfield and Colin Jackson, with affiliations to A Rocha Kenya, the Swiss Ornithological Institute, Wageningen University and Research, and the Band Foundation.
The report is currently available as a Version 1 preprint. This means it has been made publicly available before undergoing formal peer review. Its findings provide valuable early evidence, but some analyses, interpretations or wording may be revised following scientific review.