We are witnessing more and more signs of the devastating toll the present drought is having in Tsavo and across many parts of the country where we are experiencing extremely challenging conditions that come with heart-breaking scenes daily. Despite this, efforts to keep illegal livestock out of the Parks continue to be successful in Tsavo East, the Chyulu Hills and the Northern Sector of Tsavo West. Only relatively small numbers of cattle and other livestock were observed in these areas and dealt with swiftly by KWS rangers on the ground. In the Southern Sector of Tsavo West, however, livestock remains a problem and the evidence of degradation is clear, with large numbers of both livestock and wildlife now dying in the Park through lack of food.
This lack of food has also led to a dramatic increase in abandoned and/or collapsed elephant calves in the Park and surrounding ranches. Five elephant calves were rescued during the month including on two occasions 2 calves rescued on the same day. The first two were both sighted during a routine aerial patrol along the Voi River, wandering alone. Nearby ground teams were called in to confirm the baby elephants were alone before rescues were mounted. Their very poor condition suggested they had been without their mothers’ milk for a long time.
The other pair of elephants that were both rescued on the same day were both in the Amboseli ecosystem. These two were both found in a collapsed state. One was near the town of Kimana and had been extracted from mud but was unresponsive. The calf was placed on IV fluids and airlifted to Kimana Sanctuary where he was stabilised before the helicopter proceeded to Amboseli National Park to attend to the other desperate case. An elephant that had collapsed, was as good as dead and when first sighted by visiting tourists, his ears were being ripped apart by vultures. Despite being unresponsive he was later watched over by Big Life until the SWT aerial team arrived on the scene. A drip was administered onsite, and the calf was then airlifted to the Amboseli airstrip to await the Nairobi Keepers who were due to arrive in a Cessna Caravan to transport him back to the Nairobi Nursery. While the Big Life team waited with the calf at the airstrip our helicopter returned to Kimana to collect the first young calf and fly him directly to our Kaluku Nursery. Despite all odds both have made a recovery.
The fifth elephant calf was also found collapsed next to the Rombo River by Big Life rangers. The calf was transported to Ziwani airstrip by vehicle where it was collected by the SWT Cessna Caravan and flown to Umani Springs for care. In addition to these unfortunate elephant calves, an abandoned rhino calf, which had been mauled badly by hyenas, was reported, and rescued by the SWT helicopter. The minuscule rhino calf was collected from Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia in the shadow of Mt. Kenya and transported to Nairobi for care and treatment. She had her rear end severely compromised, and her tail bitten off in the hyena attack. She was flown directly from site to our Nairobi Nursery where she is recovering.
Four adult elephants were rescued from a drying dam south of Tsavo near the Tanzania border where they had become stuck in mud on two separate occasions. The two that were first reported stuck took several hours to extract from the mud. Thankfully, despite being trapped for days they were both able to get to their feet and walk away. On this occasion SWT teams were ably assisted by KWS and Wildlife Works teams. On the second occasion, a mother and calf were found stuck in the same dam. SWT’s team arrived by helicopter and with the support of a tractor sourced from the area, the team was able to free the mother and calf from their predicament after roughly an hour of struggle. Dr. Limo who heads the SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Veterinary Unit had to dart both mother and calf to facilitate the challenging rescue. SWT proactively funded the dredging and grading of the dam in preparation for the next rains, ensuring it would no longer be a death trap for elephants.
Every single vet case attended to with aerial assistance during September involved snared wildlife. A snared bull elephant near Lukenya University on the border of Tsavo East was successfully darted, freed from his snare, and treated. Another elephant was found snared to a tree by Wildlife Works. Upon arriving in the helicopter, the elephant broke the branch that the snare was attached to and began dragging the log. With a stroke of luck it was also able to break the snare itself and escaped uninjured. Because of its proximity to human settlement, the elephant was driven a few kilometres away towards Rukinga Ranch, which is protected by Wildlife Works.
Two snared giraffes were also attended to, the first on Sagalla Ranch and the second in Ishaqbini Conservancy on the Tana River to the north. Unfortunately, the Sagalla giraffe’s massive cable snare had squeezed its neck so tight it had ruptured the vena cava, causing massive internal bleeding, which led to its death during the treatment. The Ishaqbini giraffe had a better outcome. Dr. Limo was collected by fixed-wing and flown to the Trust’s Kaluku headquarters to proceed by helicopter to the site of the snared sub-adult giraffe. Ishaqbini is remote, close to the north coast of Kenya, so this was an hour flight each way. Fortunately the giraffe was easily sighted and was darted from the air, and with support of the Ishaqbini Conservancy scouts the snare was removed successfully.
Even further afield, the Aerial Unit was asked to respond to a snared and limping buffalo on Manda Island near Lamu. The SWT/KWS veterinary team was collected from Voi in the Caravan and transported to Manda. The snare itself had at some point broken, and a knot had become lodged in between two bones in the buffalo’s leg, making removal extremely difficult. After nearly a full hour of struggling, the snare finally came free, and the wound was cleaned, and antibiotics administered. Remarkably, despite such a serious injury the buffalo continues to recover.
One of the most challenging tasks of this dry season has been dealing with almost daily fires in the Chyulu Hills. Our aircrafts were involved in supporting the fight of several of these fires, some of which burned for days at a time. While many of these fires proved unfightable in the end, we were able to extinguish one enormous fire by employing an overwhelming response. Two helicopters were used, one to drop water on the fire line, in support of an Air Tractor, employed by the Chyulu Hills REDD+ Project of which we are partners, and a second helicopter to drop staff and firefighting equipment at strategic locations. Twenty-one (21) rangers were dropped along the fire line and by that night they had managed to put out the fire. More importantly, during the operation, the suspected arsonist was spotted by helicopter and successfully arrested by ground crews.
Many hours were spent on other fires with the SWT helicopters dropping water and personnel while searching for arsonist suspects, and our fixed wing aircraft spent numerous hours circling above the fires, identifying the greatest threats, and directing ground crews and water drops accordingly. Success was had on some occasions; however, at other times the conditions proved too difficult (including strong winds and difficult terrain) and the fires grew out of control. Firefighting in the Chyulus is a demanding job, and at times heart-breaking. Success is often followed by additional fires being set – as many as seven (7) at a time. Fires are set by livestock herders, clearing old grass before the rainy season to optimise grazing conditions for their livestock and sometimes also by poachers either to aid in their poaching activity or to create a distraction for law enforcement.
Human-Elephant Conflict was also prominent in September. Seven cases were attended to by helicopter, two of which were supported by a fixed wing spotter. On one occasion, at the conclusion of a difficult multi-day attempt to remove elephants from the communities adjacent to Kishushe Ranch, two helicopters were used to push out the last four (4) stubborn elephants out of a total of 21. The elephants were pushed out of the community initially and into Kishushe Ranch where they were then pushed through an electric fence and into Mbulia Conservancy, which is open to Tsavo West National Park.
Logging activity was noted both in the Northern Sector of Tsavo East and in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Investigations on the ground led to the discovery of a bushmeat poacher’s harbour, with cooking utensils, water containers and a dik dik hide. In Arabuko, similar follow up on the ground led to the discovery of a wood carver’s camp with dozens of finished and unfinished pieces.
Charcoal burning was primarily noted on Galana and Kulalu Ranches. On Galana, the situation has worsened over the last two months, with hundreds of active kilns as well as new kilns in preparation observed on a single flight. Much more worryingly, approximately 500,000 acres has now been affected by recent land grabbing. As many as three bull dozers were seen on a single patrol, demarcating massive plots, and clearing land for the construction of storage facilities and the cultivation of crops.
Two elephant carcasses were discovered in September during aerial patrols. One of these was carrying large ivory and was thought to have died of natural causes. The other carcass had had its tusks removed and was likely poached.
Highlights included a usual increase in big cat sightings during the dry season as well a large pack of 15 wild dog on the Yatta Plateau.
