“Wild Means Wild”: KWS Warns Against Domesticating Zebras After Viral Photo
SEPTEMBER 9, 2026
BY
RICHARD KAMAU
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has noted that a viral social media photo showing a zebra carrying water alongside donkeys is fake. KWS said the image is AI-generated.
In a public notice, the agency nonetheless cautioned people against turning wildlife into domestic work animals.
“Wild means wild. Zebras and other wildlife must never be captured, tamed, or used for domestication,” KWS said.
KWS also urged landowners and communities living near wildlife to adopt conservation-focused approaches rather than trying to domesticate wild animals. The service said private and community landowners can help protect wildlife by setting up private or community conservancies that they register with the wildlife agency.
“Landowners and communities with wildlife on their land can instead help protect them by establishing private or community conservancies registered by KWS,” it added.
The agency issued the warning after a Twitter user had joked that he had domesticated a zebra that wandered on his land following an earlier appeal to KWS to ward off the animals from his property.
The agency also advised Kenyans who encounter wildlife on their farms to contact it for guidance, and it provided a toll-free number for complaints.
“In case you encounter wildlife on your land and need guidance, call our toll-free number on 0800 597 000,” KWS said.
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