AERIAL SURVEILLANCE UNIT MONTHLY REPORT
JUNE 2022
AERIAL STATISTICS
JUNE 2022
239 HOURS FLOWN
31,987 KMS COVERED
AREAS PATROLLED
Tsavo East and West, Chyulu Hills, Namelok, Mgeno Ranch, Kulalu Ranch, Galana Ranch, Ishaqbini
JUNE 2022
MONTHLY AERIAL PATROL MAP
MONTHLY AERIAL SUMMARY In June, the Aerial Unit responded to a large number of veterinary cases, many of these being snared animals, although one elephant appeared to have been entangled in a length of disused fence wire. The elephant was first spotted on a camera trap in Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary in Tsavo West, at which point, SWT was contacted. The following morning, an SWT fixed-wing aircraft searched for and found the elephant and the helicopter and vet were mobilised. Fortunately, the operation was successful. After removing the wire a deep flesh wound was thoroughly cleaned and antibiotics administered. A full recovery is expected. Further afield, snared giraffes were attended to with helicopter assistance in Ishaqbini and the Maasai Mara. The Ishaqbini giraffe had a snare around a foot, which had severed the foot and the very difficult decision was made by the vet to euthanise. In the Mara, however, the giraffe had a snare around the neck, which had not broken the skin, so the wire was simply removed before the giraffe was revived. On the same day, an elephant was also treated in the Mara with two very large spear wounds above and below the right eye. Unfortunately, the optic nerve was severed, so the elephant will never regain its sight; however, its prognosis for survival is good. Yet another snared giraffe was sighted by Big Life scouts in the Chyulu Hills. Once darted, the vet found that the snare had embedded itself deep into the flesh around the front left leg and would have resulted in amputation had it not been removed. Once treated, however, the giraffe is expected to make a full recovery. The final snare victim in June was an elephant calf spotted by an SWT ground team while on patrol and later spotted from the air by a fixed-wing aircraft, which remained overhead during the subsequent darting and treatment using a helicopter. The calf was immobilized and separated from its family for the treatment. Once the vet was onsite, it was immediately revived and kept restrained for the duration of the successful treatment. During the treatment another wound, suspected to be an arrow wound was also attended to before the calf was reunited with the mother and family.
Also attended to in June was an elephant with an injury to its back-right leg, causing it to limp. The elephant was first sighted by KWS and then searched for and found the following day by a fixed wing A/C so that it could be darted by helicopter and treated. Not too far from here, later in the month, another elephant’s tracks were found with a trail of blood. A fixed-wing aircraft was able to locate and dart the elephant finding it had heavy blood loss and a penetrating wound on its chest. Despite being successfully darted, the elephant sadly succumbed to its injuries, which were caused either by a spear or from a fight with another elephant. Either way, a deep penetrating wound was found on its side and chest and had nicked a lung in the process. A rather unusual case attended to by helicopter with the mobile vet team was a lion that had escaped from a cage on a moving vehicle while being translocated by KWS from Amboseli to Tsavo West NP. Dr. Limo was urgently transported to the scene by the SWT helicopter near Namelok town centre where the lion had taken refuge in a small patch of bush. Despite difficult conditions, with a large crowd forming, the vet was able to successfully dart the lion through thick vegetation and the translocation followed. One orphan rescue was conducted by helicopter in June of an elephant calf spotted alone by a Wildlife Works pilot on ranch-land. Rangers confirmed that the calf was alone on the ground before an SWT helicopter was called to rescue the calf. Wildlife Works performed a follow-up aerial patrol in the area and found the carcass of a female elephant, assumed to be the mother.
Human-Elephant Conflict cases remained low during the month, with only 3 cases attended to. One unique incident involved a bull elephant that has evaded our pilots for many months. For the last year he has been frequently reported by the community where he regularly breaks through the fence to raid farms at night. Despite finding the evidence that he left behind and being armed with photos of his very unique tusk (singular), extensive aerial searches bore no fruit. Finally, however, he was located a few hundred metres from a fresh break in the fence (back into the Park from a night of crop-raiding). With a KWS capture team on standby, as well as an SWT crane truck and members of Save the Elephant with a satellite tracking collar, our helicopter was immediately mobilised to dart the elephant and move him into a more remote part of the Park where he would hopefully no longer come into contact with farmers. The move was successful and tracking data showed that the elephant, obviously somewhat confused by his new surroundings, made a beeline to Kaloleni, a relatively short distance from the Kenya Coast. He did fortunately not go all the way to the beach but turned around and come back to Tsavo where he seems to have settled along the boundary of Tsavo East, on a neighbouring ranch. As in previous months, livestock remained relatively under control in Tsavo East, with small incursions identified early during aerial patrols and responded to swiftly by KWS. Tsavo West north of the Maktau-Taveta road was also managed proactively, however, the large number of dispersed livestock to the south in Tsavo West has proved harder to combat. North of the Taveta road, KWS has begun to win the war, and a large area of the Park has been reclaimed from herders.
Only one poaching incident was observed by the Aerial Unit, a hunting party of two with 9-10 dogs operating on Kulalu Ranch. Despite a rapid response from a nearby ground team, the men were able to disappear into thick bush and evade capture. Similarly, only one elephant carcass was discovered in June, which was an old carcass of an elephant that presumably died of natural causes. Coordinates were provided to KWS for the retrieval of the ivory. Charcoal production on Galana and Kulalu continues to increase dramatically. On just one day in Galana a total of 6,100 sacks were sighted, along with 6 loaded trucks with an estimate capacity of 300 sacks each, and 95 kilns in various stages of production.
Highlights in June included a slew of wild dog sightings. Pilots were also treated to several lion and leopard sightings as well as an unusually large gathering of giraffes of more than 45 individuals. The most unique sighing was that of a melanistic serval in the northern sector of Tsavo East. Despite being a very rare sighting, melanistic servals are actually surprisingly common in Tsavo National Park. A new born (around 1 month old) rhino was also seen during a routine patrol in Tsavo West. Every new rhino is a victory in what has been a hugely successful effort by KWS to revive this critically endangered animal.
Photographs copyright © 2022 The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust