An elephant is seen at the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, July 13, 2016. The Maasai Mara National Reserve, popularly known as Africa's Greatest Wildlife Reserve, is a great tourist attraction center as it offers visitors an opportunity to observe the Africa's "big five": lion, cheetah, elephant, buffalo and rhino. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)

TSAVO, Kenya, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) will rely on data generated from the ongoing census on elephants and other large mammals to strengthen their protection amid multiple threats, officials told Xinhua.

Shadrack Ngene, KWS Assistant Director in charge of Ecological Monitoring, said the aerial count of elephants that commenced last week will inform future interventions to shield the giant mammals from threats linked to human activities and climatic stresses.

"The core aim of the ongoing census on elephants and large mammals is to assess the population trends in relation to numerous challenges like poaching, droughts and shrinking habitats," Ngene said on Wednesday.

KWS in partnership with conservation lobbies has been conducting elephant census in the east Africa nation's largest wildlife sanctuary, Tsavo National Park since last week.

The oldest and most expansive wildlife habitat that straddles southeast and southwestern parts of Kenya is home to a large population of mammals, carnivores, reptiles and rare bird species.

Ngene said Tsavo National Park is home to 11,217 elephants based on the last census conducted in February 2014.

Kenya and Tanzania are conducting the elephant census concurrently in line with bilateral agreement to enhance cross border protection of the large herbivores.

Ngene said the wildlife agency has invested in state of the art technology and skilled manpower to carry out the elephants and other large mammals' body count which ends on Saturday.

"The results of the current elephants' census will help guide future policy interventions on protection of these mammals," said Ngene.

He added that Kenya will be able to make a strong case for elephant protection in global summits using data generated from the ongoing census.

Wildlife conservation lobbies hailed the ongoing census on elephants and large mammals, saying it will offer a strategic guidance on viable ways to protect them from future threats.

"The elephant census is very important to us conservationists; it will help us monitor their population and geographic distribution," remarked the Regional Director, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), James Isiche.