NAIROBI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Climate change has increased the threats against endangered wild animals in Kenya, further putting them at the risk of extinction, a government official has said.

Soipan Tuya, cabinet secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, said black rhinos are among the wild animals facing great danger from climate change as their population declines.

Over the years, the animals' population has been falling, mainly due to poaching, with conservationists stepping up efforts to fence game parks to protect them.

Despite the fencing, however, climate change effects like frequent heavy rains and drought pose even a bigger threat to the survival of the animals, Tuya said.

"We will keep on fencing the ecosystem where the wild animals live, but we must remember that climate change is the biggest threat," she said on Sunday in Kajiado County, during the Rhino Charge, an event through which conservationists raise funds to protect the black rhino.

The Kenyan government is carrying out a campaign to grow 15 billion trees by 2032 to improve wildlife ecosystems and counter climate change, Tuya said.

Black rhinos are categorized as severely endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, there are about 1,000 black rhinos in Kenya, which seeks to boost the number to 2,000 by the year 2037. Enditem

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