AERIAL STATISTICS
AREAS PATROLLED
MONTHLY AERIAL PATROL MAP JANUARY 2023
The general lull in illegal activity in December was short-lived as things began to heat up again in January. There was a significant increase in sightings of elephant carcasses, with a total of 10 carcasses found in January. In every case the ivory was found intact, and it is assumed that the elephants died of natural causes (most likely drought related).
There were a number of poaching incidents discovered during the month, however. A total of three poachers’ harbours were found, but none of these were fresh. A highlight for the month was the sighting and arrest of a suspected poacher escaping Galana Ranch on a motorbike. In this instance, the suspect was apprehended in the possession of 24 dikdiks (small antelope), 2 bustards (bird), 1 gerenuk (antelope), 1 African hare, and 1 motorbike used to transport himself and the carcasses.
Vet cases assisted by the Aerial Unit included a total of 3 cases. One case, an elephant with a snare on Rukinga Ranch, was attended to by two aircraft – one fixed wing to collect the vet from Kimana Sanctuary where he was attending to another case, and a helicopter to dart the elephant so that the snare could be successfully removed. On the same day, the helicopter and vet also flew to Kulalu Ranch to attend to a young giraffe that had been spotted earlier by a SWT ground team and confirmed by another SWT fixed wing pilot. Unfortunately, by the time the helicopter arrived, the young giraffe had disappeared and despite a thorough search, could not be relocated. Finally, a bull elephant was also found with an injured right leg in the Dakota area. With no local vets available at the time, a vet was flown down on a chartered flight from Nairobi as part of the SWT/KWS Sky Vet program to treat the injury.
In addition to intervening in the treatment of wildlife, two medevacs were completed in January. These were of a Tsavo Trust ranger who had been critically injured by a charging buffalo while on patrol and a young child from Kone on the East side of the Park who had suffered a snake bite. Both were flown to medical facilities for care and in the case of the ranger, it is very possible that his life was saved as a result of the quick response.
Only one orphaned elephant rescue was completed in January of a 4-month-old elephant calf found alone and severely dehydrated on Mgeno ranch in the south. The calf was airlifted by helicopter to our Kaluku nursery for further care.
A slightly different elephant rescue story unfolded to the north near Kone where a large bull elephant was found stuck in a well. A helicopter was immediately dispatched to try and find the bull based on the report received from the community and to assist in getting the elephant out. Ground teams were sent and worked well into the evening trying in vain to pull the elephant out of the muddy quagmire that he found himself. Eventually they were forced to give up for the day. The following day, a fixed wing pilot flew a backhoe operator up to Ithumba and the backhoe was transported on a rented flatbed truck to the elephant’s location nearly 100 km away so that it could be successfully removed. A gargantuan effort, involving the excavation of a ramp out of the well and scooping the bull up high and out of the mud, was rewarded when he finally stood up and walked to freedom after more than 24 hours of being stuck.
Other illegal activities observed in January were logging and charcoal activities in Tsavo East, Chyulu Hills National Park (CHNP) and on Galana and Kulalu Ranches. Also noted in Chyulu Hills were 3 marijuana plots which were all destroyed.
Livestock remains mostly under control in Tsavo East, and frequent aerial patrols and helicopter assistance, as well as a huge operation by KWS, succeeded in removing the majority of livestock from the southern half of the Southern Sector of Tsavo West National Park, for the first time in many years – a huge accomplishment. We will do our best to keep up the pressure and help KWS maintain a new status quo.
CHNP, unfortunately, came under heightened pressure from livestock. With the majority of Maasai group ranches and the Amboseli region as a whole experiencing one of the worst droughts in decades, thousands of herders have descended on the Chyulus, which has some of the only grass available.
Human-elephant conflict callouts numbered only 4 in January. Three (3) out of four (4) helicopter drives were successful in pushing elephants back into protected area. However, on one occasion, two (2) helicopters were used simultaneously to push a group of 5 stubborn elephants back into Tsavo East from the Kanziku area. This was after a previously failed attempt with one helicopter when only 1 out of 3 elephants were successfully persuaded to cross a gap in the fence.
Highlights during the month included the usual big cat sightings as well as sightings of two sets of animals caught in the act – a pair of mating elephants as well as a pair of mating ostriches!
Photographs copyright © 2023
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust