SWT/KWS Mobile Veterinary Units Quarterly Report October - December 2024
SWT/KWS MOBILE VETERINARY UNITS
TSAVO, MARA, MERU, AMBO MT KENYA, RIFT VALLEY
October – December 2024 Report
October – December 2024 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 115 wildlife cases involving 186 animals. At the beginning of the quarter, much of Kenya was still dry though there was enough water and food to sustain wildlife. The onset of the rains began in November and much of Kenya underwent a remarkable transformation with permanent and seasonal rivers flowing, overflowing water pans and plenty of vegetation for wildlife. For this reason, the majority of the cases were handled in October, with case numbers declining, particularly for Human – Wildlife Conflict and Poaching towards the end of the year.
During this reporting period, there were 41 poaching incidents and 14 human-wildlife conflict cases. Of the poaching incidents, 23 involved elephants (13 arrowed, 7 spear, 2 snared and 1 bullet wound). There were also 5 snared plains game, 7 giraffes, 1 buffalo and 1 hyena, 1 rhino with a bullet wound, a giraffe with a spear wound and 2 with arrow wounds Sadly 10 animals in 6 separate cases lost their lives to HWC. These included several hyenas and a lion which were poisoned after preying on livestock, a speared lion and an elephant, a zebra injured by fencing and the death of a black rhino that ingested a plastic bag. However, the Unit were able to successfully relocate 3 buffalo that were a danger to humans and treat an elephant injured by a spear possibly during a crop raiding incident,
To reduce the elephant population at Mwea National Reserve which had exceeded the carrying capacity of the reserve, the Mt Kenya Unit participated in translocating 55 elephants from Mwea to Aberdare’s NP.
Case Details
Snared
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the
October - December 2024
Vet Units
Outcomes of Cases Attended
October - December 2024
Vet Units
Tsavo
Mara
Mt Kenya
Meru
Ambo
Rift Valley
SWT/KWS
Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
Tsavo – Mara – Meru –Amboseli – Mt Kenya – Rift Valley
October – December 2024
SWT/KWS TSAVO MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October – December 2024
27 Cases
15 Poaching Cases
16 Elephant Cases
The Tsavo Conservation Area received low precipitation in October 2024. However, several water pans were still full, and both grazers and browsers had enough food. The rest of the quarter had good precipitation all through, all the natural water pans in the area collected enough water with grazers and browsers having plenty of food. Of the 27 cases, 60% involved elephants (2 snared, 3 speared, 6 arrowed, 3 natural causes and 2 post-mortems deemed natural deaths). Other poaching cases involved 1 snared zebra, 2 snared giraffe and 1 speared giraffe. Sadly, one speared elephant succumbed to its injury whilst another was given a guarded prognosis, as was the speared giraffe, all the other poaching victims were given a good prognosis.
27 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit October - December 2024
Giraffe
Plains Game
Predators
Elephant
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit
October - December 2024
SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of October 2024 click here
November 2024
To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of November 2024 click here
December 2024
To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of December 2024 click here
SWT/KWS MARA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October – December 2024
22 Cases
12 Poaching Cases 15 Elephant Cases
The SWT/KWS Mara Mobile Veterinary Unit attended to 22 cases during the last quarter of 2024.68% of these cases involved elephants and 54% were related to poaching including 1 snared zebra, 1 snared giraffe, 3 arrowed elephants and 2 speared elephants, all of which were given a good prognosis. Overall, the Unit had a 77% success rate. The Unit also attended to 3 lions injured during territorial fights and 1 cheetah possibly injured during a hunting attempt. Sadly, one of the lions had to be euthanised as it was found to have a fracture on the left hind limb at the stifle joint. The other two had a good prognosis and will be monitored by Rangers.
Giraffe
Plains Game
Rhinos
Predators
Elephant
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit
October - December 2024
SWT/KWS Mara Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of October 2024 click here
November 2024
To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of November 2024 click here
December 2024
To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of December 2024 click here
SWT/KWS MERU MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October
– December 2024
10 Cases
2 Poaching Cases
6 Elephant Cases
Early in the quarter, there were light showers that prompted local communities within the Meru ecosystem to prepare their farms and begin planting in anticipation for the short rains season. Despite these early showers, the Meru ecosystem remained predominantly dry, with some areas experiencing vegetation loss and occasional fires. The onset of rains began in November and the Ecosystem underwent a remarkable transformation. The once parched and dusty terrain flourished with vibrant green vegetation and thriving plant life. Seasonal rivers, which had dried to bare channels, flowed steadily. Due to the favourable conditions for both communities and wildlife, there was a notable reduction in cases particularly HWC Cases.
10 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Meru Vet Unit
Giraffe Rhinos Predators Elephant
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the
October - December 2024
SWT/KWS Meru Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of October 2024 click here
November 2024
To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of November 2024 click here
December 2024
To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of December 2024 click here
SWT/KWS AMBOSELI MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October – December 2024
18 Cases
2 Poaching Cases
3 Elephant Cases
The Southern Conservation area experienced warm and hot weather at the beginning of the October –December reporting period. However, the Amboseli/Tsavo and Chyulu Conservation Area received rains amid warm weather in November 2024 and good rains in December 2024. The rains likely allowed wildlife to move into areas that were impassable or had plenty of vegetation and water and hence had little interaction with humans for observation or injury. The majority of the cases were handled in October during the dry season. These included 2 poaching related injuries, both arrowed giraffe and 2 human-wildlife conflict cases where a lion and several hyenas were killed following livestock predation.
18 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit October - December 2024
Giraffe
Plains Game
Rhinos
Predators
Elephant
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the
SWT/KWSAmboseli Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of October 2024 click here
November 2024
To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of November 2024 click here
December 2024
To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of December 2024 click here
SWT/KWS MT KENYA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October – December 2024
21 Cases
3 Elephant Cases
3 Poaching Cases
During October – December 2024 the Mt. Kenya Mobile Veterinary Unit attended to 21 wildlife cases that required veterinary intervention in the Southern Laikipia and Mt. Kenya region. The Unit attended to a variety of cases within the ecosystem, notably were several rhino autopsies as well as 5 rhino treatments (one of which required translocation as it had strayed out of a protected area) caused by territorial fights and predation by lions, as well as 2 Grevy zebras treated for predation and snare injuries and treatment of a snared Rothschild's giraffe at Mwea National Reserve. The Unit also participated in the mass translocation of elephants from Mwea National Reserve to Aberdare National Park.
21 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Vet Unit October - December 2024
Giraffe
Plains Game
Rhinos
Predators
Elephant
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the
SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of October 2024 click here
November 2024
To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of November 2024 click here
December 2024
The Mount Kenya Mobile Vet Unit were on leave for the month of December 2024
SWT/KWS RIFT VALLEY MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
October – December 2024
17 Cases
7 Poaching Cases 7 Plains Game Cases
The SWT/KWS Rift Valley Veterinary Unit attended to 17 cases during the last quarter of 2024. These cases involved, 1 hyena, 2 lions, 6 zebras, 3 giraffe, 1 impala and 4 buffalo. Of these 17 cases, 7 were related to poaching – all snare related injuries which is prominent in this region of Kenya. Luckily all the snare victims were treated successfully. There were also 3 Human – Wildlife Conflict Cases involving 3 buffalo and 1 zebra. An adult male buffalo that had strayed into community land and 2 other male buffaloes that were freely roaming on a densely populated residential area were captured and translocated in 2 separate cases. A zebra sadly died after it suffered severe head & leg injuries due to entanglement in a wire fence.
17 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Rift Valley Vet Unit October - December 2024
Buffalo
Giraffe
Plains Game
Predators
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Rift Valley Vet Unit
October - December 2024
SWT/KWS Rift Valley Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
October - December 2024
To see the full report for Rift Valley Vet Unit for the month of October 2024 click here
November 2024
The Rift Valley Mobile Unit were on leave for the month of November 2024
December 2024
To see the full report for Rift Valley Vet Unit for the month of December 2024 click here
