Waving placards, twigs, spears and other crude weapons, the chanting protestors marched around the edges of the famed Maasai Mara National Reserve, threatening to shed blood if the controversial transfer goes ahead.

"We have been given a raw deal and we are ready to defend the animals with the few weapons we have," said protestor Pauline Naneu Kinyarkuo, a Maasai and member of Kenya's Wildlife Conservation and Management Network.

"The animals can be of better use while in the country than taking them to Thailand for selfish interests," said protestor Nelson Naisho, denouncing the gift which will see the animals sent to a safari park in northern Thailand.

The protestors, many dressed in traditional tribal garb, presented a petition urging cancellation of the gift to officials in Narok, about 150 kilometers (95 miles) southeast of Nairobi, to pass to President Mwai Kibaki.

"We the undersigned, as the Narok community, are opposed to the pledge by the government to give away 175 wild animals to Thailand," said the petition, which organizers said was signed by 15,000 people.

"We don't want our wild animals been kept in captivity and we don't want to see them performing tricks in zoos or circus," it said, adding the transfer would hurt Kenya's pro-conservation reputation and tourism.

Plans to send the animals to Thailand have been bitterly opposed by wildlife groups, who launched a vigorous campaign to halt the move when news of it became public earlier this year.

But last month, during a visit to Kenya by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the Kenyan government agreed to give Thailand 175 wild animals and birds from 24 species, including zebras, flamingos, buffaloes, wildebeests, hippos, spotted hyena, silver-back jackals and impalas.

The list does not include lions, elephants, rhinos and leopards nor any endangered species, but Friday's protestors said some were rare and threatened including serval cats, crowned cranes and lesser flamingoes.

The gift will see the animals shipped in the coming months to the soon-to-be-opened Chiang Mai Night Safari in Thaksin's home region in northern Thailand.

Critics in both Kenya and Thailand argue the gift is tantamount to giving away Kenya's heritage as well as potentially dangerous for the animals that will be forced to live in conditions far unlike their native habitat.

Opponents were further outraged in mid-November when a senior Thai official said a restaurant in the park would offer a daily buffet of giraffe, zebra and crocodile to hungry visitors.

After howls of protest, the official, Vice Minister for Natural Resources and Environment Plodprasop Surasawadi, said plans to serve exotic meat in the park would be reviewed.

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