In a bid to generate funds for the conservation of wildlife in the country, Tourism CS Najib Balala said Kenyans who would want a hyena named after them need to only part with Ksh2 million.
Balala also said that hyenas are not endangered giving a reason why there has never been a naming fee for them like elephants.
"Anyone who wants hyena named after them will have to pay KSh 2 million in exchange for the hyena-naming bragging rights," Balala said.
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Balala was speaking during the Magical Kenya Tembo Naming Festival held on Saturday, October 9 in Amboseli.
"Any animal can be named, but we opted to start with the elephants because they are the ones who are most endangered," Balala explained.
In order to conserve the growing number of elephants in the country, Balala said the Magical Kenya Tembo Naming Festival is one of the initiatives undertaken by his ministry to pool funds.
According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), hyenas are useful scavengers that clean the ecosystem by getting rid of discarded bones and debris thus preventing the spread of zoonotic diseases.
"It is lazy and prefers scavenging easy meals such as dead meat rather than chasing prey. During the day, they can be spotted staring at the sky, taking cues from circling vultures as their own unique GPS system to locate a kill," a statement from KWS read in part.
