Residents of Athi River in Machakos County are living in fear after a hyena was spotted inside a residential estate, raising fresh concerns over wildlife straying into populated areas.
The alarm was raised on Monday morning after a school-going child came face-to-face with the animal while leaving his home in Transview Estate for school.
CCTV footage seen by The Star shows the hyena was captured at 6:21am as it moved through the estate.
Transview Estate Residents Association chairman John Ndungu said the CCTV camera that captured the footage was installed in his compound.
“When my neighbour’s child was leaving home for school, he saw the hyena but thought it was a dog. He screamed after realising it was a hyena. The boy’s mother came to his rescue,” Ndungu told The Star.
Ndungu said the animal later retreated and ran towards River Athi.
He said residents confirmed the animal was a hyena after reviewing the CCTV footage.
“We confirmed it was a hyena after replaying the CCTV footage. It had been chasing a cat before the cat climbed an electricity pole. The hyena then turned back and left towards River Athi,” he said.
Residents said the sighting was not an isolated incident, with previous reports of hyenas being spotted in the estate.
They are now calling on the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to intervene by trapping and removing the animals and returning them to Nairobi National Park.
“We fear for our school-going children and for ourselves. Children can be attacked while going to school early in the morning or returning late in the evening. We can also be attacked while heading home from work late. KWS should do the needful and remove them from this area,” Ndungu said.
A mother of three said the presence of the animals was particularly worrying because of the number of schools in the area.
“Our children leave home early in the morning and return in the evening. Most are picked up by school buses outside our homes and dropped at the same points in the evening,” she said.
She said about five private schools are located within Transview Estate, with others in the neighbouring Kwa Mang’eli area.
“I am scared for children from neighbourhood schools – five schools in the estate and those in Kwa Mang’eli area. I have instructed my house manager to go and pick up the kids herself. I am away at work,” she told The Star by phone.
The latest sighting comes days after KWS issued a public safety alert over a leopard reportedly spotted in Athi River Township, Athi River Sub-county.
“Urgent public safety notice: Wild leopard sighted. Affected locations: Athi River, Makadara, Acacia Estate (main hotspot) and Embakasi,” the notice read in part.
KWS said it had set up a trap behind Acacia Estate to safely capture the leopard.
“Situation update: A wild leopard has been sighted roaming in Athi River, Makadara, Acacia Estate and Embakasi area. KWS has set up a trap behind Acacia Estate to safely capture the leopard,” the notice added.
The Athi River sightings come against a backdrop of other reports of wildlife venturing into populated areas.
In July, two lions were reportedly sighted in the Tuffoam area within Mlolongo Division.
Local authorities alerted KWS officers, who swiftly moved to the locations, but the animals were never captured.
Residents suspect the wildlife is straying from the nearby Nairobi National Park.
