SWT/KWS MOBILE VETERINARY UNITS
TSAVO, MARA, MERU, AMBO MT KENYA, RIFT VALLEY
October – December 2023 Report
Introduction
106 Cases
16 Predator Cases
38 Poaching Cases
9 HWC Cases
36 Elephant Cases
62% Success
October – December 2023 Report for Tsavo, Mara, Meru, Amboseli, Mt Kenya and Rift Valley Units.
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT), in conjunction with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) operate six Mobile Veterinary Units Within the quarter, the Units attended to a total of 106 wildlife cases involving 153 animals. Most of Kenya has been blessed with ample rainfall which has rejuvenated the vegetation, providing plentiful forage and water for wildlife, livestock, and communities. Many areas have seen a reduction in poaching and human – wildlife conflict cases as there have been less competition over resources.
There were 36 elephant, 16 predator, 10 rhino, 22 plains game, 11 giraffe, and 3 buffalo cases as well as treatment of two security dogs, one vervet monkey, removal of a snare from a porcupine and a waterbuck, and the relocation of 10 bushbuck. Following the assessment and habituation of hippos after they invaded a Sewage Plant and attacked 2 people, 6 hippos were successfully captured and relocated Other Human –Wildlife Conflict cases included the relocation of 11 waterbucks that had repeatedly attacked farm workers and raided crops and relocation of 4 elephants that posed a clear danger to people in Ngiluni area of Tsavo Three lions were treated for spear wounds and two elephants were treated for arrow/spear injuries linked to conflict with the communities.
There were 38 poaching cases involving 14 elephants, 3 hyenas, 1 leopard, 1 lion, 1 rhino, 9 herbivores, 5 giraffes, 2 buffalo, a waterbuck and a porcupine. 27 of these cases were treated successfully treated whilst 1 elephant with a bullet wound was given a guarded prognosis. Sadly, nine of the cases succumbed to their injuries including a black rhino with bullet wound injuries, an elephant shot with a poisoned arrow and five animals with severe snare injuries.
Case Details
Elephant Predators Rhinos Plains Game Giraffe Buffalo Other Grand Total Poaching 14 5 1 9 5 2 2 38 HWC 4 3 1 1 9 Natural Causes 6 5 2 11 4 1 3 32 Technical Case 1 1 2 Research/ Survey 1 1 Postmortem 8 2 6 1 1 18 Rescue 3 1 4 Relocation 1 1 Collared 1 1 Grand Total 36 16 10 22 11 3 8 106
47
106
Other
Buffalo Giraffe
Plains Game
Rhinos
Predators Elephant
Other
Buffalo
Giraffe
Plains Game
Rhinos
Predators
Elephant
. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Poaching HWC Natural Causes Technical Case Research/ Survey Postmortem Rescue Relocation Collared
Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Vet Units October - December 2023
Relocation Spear Arrow Human Items Snared Spear Arrow Bullet Wound Human Wildlife Conflict Poaching HWC 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Poaching and HWC
Attended
SWT/KWS
- December 2023
Cases
to by the
Vet Units October
SWT/KWS Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations Successful Cases 62% Prognosis Poor 5% Poaching Death 8% HWC Death 1% Died 21% Taken to Orphanage 3% Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Vet Units
- December 2023 15 16 9 12 6 8 1 2 2 2 2 3 2 1 7 9 2 2 2 2 1 Tsavo Mara Mt Kenya Meru Amboseli Rift Valley 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Outcomes
Cases Attended
by the SWT/KWS Vet
- December 2023 Successful Cases Prognosis Poor Poaching Death HWC Death Died Taken to Orphanage
October
of
to
Units October
October – December 2023
Tsavo – Mara – Meru –Amboseli – Mt Kenya – Rift Valley
SWT/KWS TSAVO MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October – December 2023
24 Cases
10 Poaching Cases
11 Elephant Cases
The Tsavo Conservation Area received good rainfall in the Southern Area and in some parts to the West. Natural water pans in these areas had enough water and animals also had enough forage throughout the reporting period The Unit attended to 24 cases over the three months, 10 of which were directly related to poaching due to snares and 1 spear and 1 arrow injury. Four rogue elephants were also relocated due to human wildlife conflict, another was treated for an arrow injury caused during conflict and lastly one was treated after it stepped on a metal rod. Sadly, the Unit also had to conduct 6 post-mortems on 3 elephants and 3 black rhinos but no foul play was indicated and the deaths were assumed to be natural. The other cases were also due to natural causes and all but one were treated successfully.
24 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit
October - December 2023
Other
Buffalo
Giraffe
Plains Game
Rhinos
Predators
Elephant
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Poaching HWC Natural Causes Postmortem
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit
October - December 2023
SWT/KWS Tsavo
Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
October – December 2023
Successful Cases 61% Poaching Death 9% Died 30%
October 2023
To see the full report for Tsavo
November 2023
for the month of October 2023 click here
here
December 2023
here
Vet Unit
To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of November 2023 click
To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of December 2023 click
SWT/KWS MARA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October – December 2023
18 Cases
11 Poaching Cases
7 Elephant Cases
The Mara Conservation Area is blossoming as the rainy season continues. Pasture is abundant and animals are in good health. However, despite this resulting in a fewer number of cases, human - wildlife conflict and poaching has persisted as reflected by spearing incidents Two lions and two elephants were successfully treated for spear injuries, another 2 elephants and a zebra were successfully treated for arrow injuries but sadly an adult zebra and a sub adult elephant had to be euthanised due to severe snare injuries. The other 9 cases were all attributed to natural causes, and all have a good prognosis for a full recovery. These included a lion with porcupine quills lodged in the lower jaw, as well as several lions with fight injuries.
18 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit October - December 2023
Giraffe
Plains Game
Predators
Elephant
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Poaching HWC Natural Causes
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit October - December 2023
SWT/KWS Mara Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
October – December 2023
Successful Cases 89% Poaching Death 11%
October 2023
To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of October 2023 click here
November 2023
To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of November 2023 click here
December 2023
To see the full report for Mara
for the month of December 2023 click here
Vet Unit
SWT/KWS MERU MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October – December 2023
16 Cases
5 Poaching Cases
4 Elephant Cases
In October, the Meru ecosystem received light showers which persisted across the Area into December transforming the landscape into a lush, vibrant green expanse and reinvigorating rivers that were once subdued. This favourable weather is anticipated to ensure an ample supply of forage and water and contribute to the overall well-being of the wildlife within the ecosystem in the coming months. During the reporting period the Unit attended to 5 poaching cases, 3 giraffes with snare injuries, 1 hyena with a snare injury and an elephant with a bullet wound. In addition to the other natural cases attended to, the Unit also conducted an extensive survey to investigate any potential correlation between observed elephant mortalities and diseases in local livestock.
16 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Meru Vet Unit
October - December 2023
Other
Giraffe
Plains Game
Predators
Elephant
. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Poaching Natural Causes Technical Case Research/ Survey Postmortem
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Meru Vet Unit
October - December 2023
SWT/KWS Meru Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
October – December 2023
Successful Cases 75% Prognosis Poor 12% Died 13%
October 2023
To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of October 2023 click here
November 2023
The Meru Vet Unit were on leave for the month of November
December 2023
To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of December 2023 click here
SWT/KWS AMBOSELI MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October – December 2023
13 Cases
3 Poaching Cases
5 Elephant Cases
The Southern Conservation Area experienced slightly cooler weather in October which started the onset of the rainy season. The favourable weather reduced the number of cases as seen by a drop in poaching or conflict due to the abundance of resources available in the area. Unfortunately, one black rhino was autopsied and found to have died from bullet wounds and an elephant found dead from spear injuries. A hyena was also snared, and two lions speared due to conflict with the community. The Unit also rescued an abandoned elephant calf. The other significant case handled was the tagging of 15 giraffes in Kajiado County to monitor their movements and control bushmeat poaching and snaring along the newly established fences.
13 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit October - December 2023
Giraffe
Rhinos
Predators
Elephant
0 1 2 3 4 5 Poaching HWC Natural Causes Technical Case Postmortem Rescue
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit October - December 2023
SWT/KWSAmboseli Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
October – December 2023
Successful Cases 46% Poaching Death 23% HWC Death 8% Died 15% Taken to Orphanage 8%
October 2023
To see the full report for Amboseli
November 2023
for the month of October 2023 click here
here
December 2023
Vet Unit
To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of November 2023 click
To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of December 2023 click here
SWT/KWS MT KENYA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October – December 2023
21 Cases
9 Elephant Cases
3 Poaching Cases
The rains continued to pound the Laikipia and Mt Kenya region in during this reporting period which brought some relief to the ecosystem given the reduced cases of human – wildlife conflict and clinical cases reported. Despite the heavy rains witnessed in the month of November, the number of cases in the region sharply increased. The Unit only attended to 3 snare cases (1 zebra, 2 elephant) and no human – wildlife conflict cases over the two months. There were 3 rescue cases, one abandoned elephant calf and one abandoned juvenile black rhino as well as 3 elephant bulls trapped in a dam. The Mt. Kenya Vet Unit also teamed up with the KWS capture unit to translocate 10 bushbucks from Olpejeta Conservancy to Tindress Conservancy.
21 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Vet Unit
October - December 2023
The rainfall in July was a welcome relief in the Mt. Kenya and Laikipia ecosystem, the subsequent abundance of forage and water for wildlife and livestock resulted in fewer human – wildlife conflict cases and a reduction in the clinical case load. The Mt. Kenya and Laikipia region experienced light showers in September which provided some respite from the prevailing dry conditions, although the rain was insufficient. There were only 6 poaching cases, though sadly there were 3 deaths including a speared eland, snared zebra and an elephant with a bullet wound.
Other
Plains Game
Rhinos
Predators
Elephant
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Poaching Natural Causes Postmortem Rescue Relocation Collared
.
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Vet Unit October - December 2023
SWT/KWS Mt Kenya
Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
October – December 2023
Successful Cases 43% Prognosis Poor 5% Died 43% Taken to Orphanage 9%
October 2023
To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of October 2023 click here
November 2023
To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of November 2023 click here
December 2023
The Mount Kenya Unit were on leave for the month of December 2023
SWT/KWS RIFT VALLEY MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October – December 2023
14 Cases
6 Poaching Cases
8 Plains Game Cases
The Lake Naivasha area and the Central Rift Conservation Area in general received sporadic rain over the reporting period. Out of the 14 cases attended to, six involved snare related injuries. Two zebras, a buffalo and a porcupine were successfully treated however an eland and a hyena succumbed to the damage caused by the snares. The Unit also assisted with two relocations to mitigate human wildlife conflict, the first was of 11 waterbucks from Kingfisher Farm to the riparian area of Lake Naivasha as they had on various dates attacked farm workers and were known to raid crops in the farm. The second was the emergency capture and translocation of 6 hippopotamuses from the Naivasha Sewage Plant filtration ponds to Tundra Conservancy.
14 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Rift Valley Vet Units
October - December 2023
being the most common causes of interventions. There were 16 snaring and 2 spearing incidents. Sadly a buffalo and leopard were killed by electric fences, a hippo was rescued from a well and another 5 are in the process of habituation for translocation after invading the Naivasha Sewage Treatment Plant and attacking 2 people. Two ostriches were relocated due to proximity to the community. A buffalo calf was also rescued after becoming confined by a chain link fence and reunited with its herd.
Other Buffalo Giraffe
Plains Game
Predators
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Poaching HWC Natural Causes Postmortem
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Rift Valley Vet Unit October - December 2023
SWT/KWS Rift Valley Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
October - December 2023
Successful Cases 57% Prognosis Poor 15% Poaching Death 14% Died 14%
October 2023
To see the full report for Rift Valley Vet Unit for the month of October 2023 click here
November 2023
The Rift Valley Unit was on leave for the month of November 2023.
December 2023
To see the full report for Rift Valley Vet Unit for the month of December 2023 click here
