Between July and September 2019 the Elephant Aware team patrolled approximately 15,000 kilometres in total through vehicle, motorbike and ranger foot patrols. The area covered consists of vast hill ranges, dense woodland and rivers, all of which are key wildlife areas.
In July 2019 the Masai giraffe, the subspecies of giraffe inhabiting the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem and other areas of East Africa, was officially declared to be endangered. Though their numbers have been in decline for some time by as much as 50% in 30 years, mostly as the result of poaching and habitat loss primarily, the severity of their plight has been made all the more alarming with this press release. Masai giraffes are among a number of wildlife species Elephant Aware works to protect everyday and this news is a wake up call to the world that another subspecies of the the iconic giraffe needs all of our help in order to secure their future. Please share, help raise awareness, get involved and support those already trying to safeguard giraffes in the wild.
On the 17th of July our team responded to a conflict incident between elephants and community members. After receiving a report from our neighbouring community about elephants being stuck in a fenced property our team reacted immediately and once the area in question had been ascertained, we found that a small family of around 15 elephants, including Naisiai and her young calf, had entered a fenced homestead during the night to access the long, succulent grass within and could not come back out again due to the human activity surrounding them as soon as it was light. We found them huddled into a corner of the fenced paddock, normally used by cattle, trying their best to keep away from the people in the vicinity which was no easy feat. The elephants were only approximately 5 metres from the nearest house at one point as they tried to find a way out but they were driven back again by the variety disconcerting noise and smells. Neither the homestead owners nor the elephants felt comfortable being in such close proximity to each other and it was clear that something needed to be done to ease the situation. Depending on circumstances such as the size of the property and proximity between the elephants and people, in some cases we will leave the elephants to quietly move out on their own come nightfall but in the incident it was obvious that the tension was building and the elephants were eager to leave the area. The Elephant Aware ranger team quickly made a plan of action and after evacuating the entire homestead for the safety of everyone concerned, we moved in to help the elephants move out. It took just under an hour of painstaking and careful strategy but thanks to the united approach between the rangers and community members and the patience and expertise of our team, we gently guided the little family with a number of tiny babies, slowly around the houses until they found the exact path they used to get in, remembering every inch of their journey from the previous night with amazing intelligence and all without breaking a single post or wire. In these situations we always prioritize the safety of everyone and therefore the rangers must act with meticulous care at all times while working hard to achieve a happy ending. Without our team’s rapid response, things could have escalated and become dangerous for not only the people but the elephants as well. We are tremendously grateful for the wonderful cooperation displayed by the community and for the incredible patience and intelligence shown by the elephants.
https://www.facebook.com/ElephantAwareMasaiMara/videos/691787501249467/
During the third quarter of the year the Mara ecosystem was blessed with a lot of rain and with rain came plentiful resources which helped alleviate drought induced pressures on people and wildlife alike. Replenished water sources and an abundance of vegetation provided more freedom of choice for species such as elephants and they did not need to go near human settlements to meet their needs with so much availability of resources.
On the 31st of July we celebrated World Ranger Day to honour the hard working rangers across the continent for their dedication to protecting endangered species of wildlife.
https://www.facebook.com/ElephantAwareMasaiMara/videos/480528092492963/
We were delighted to find Olomunyak as well in July, one of the very few tuskless bull elephants in this ecosystem. Named Olomunyak by a Maasai community member, here is more to this elephant than meets the eye. Other than his obviously distinct appearance, Olomunyak has an equally unique character and our team have known him for many years. It is thought that male elephants without tusks struggle with certain aspects of elephant life, such as when competing with males with tusks for females but Olomunyak holds his own pretty well and we have even seen him mating with a female on one occasion! He is estimated to be in his early 30s and this means that he has a considerable amount of growing to do still. In our eyes Olomunyak is already a magnificent elephant and he is another walking treasure whom we work to protect through our daily conservation efforts.
The 12th of August marked World Elephant Day! This is an important annual event on the calendars of conservationists and activists around the world.
There was some good news from CITES for elephants and giraffes coming at the 18th Conference of the Parties or CoP18 in Geneva! All giraffe species were successfully up-listed to the Appendix II category of protection from not being listed at all previously and two proposals which we believe would have been detrimental for African elephants have been rejected thus far. This positive progress has greatly been driven by the strong conservation voice of countries like Kenya to enforce higher protection of these and other species. Though our work takes place primarily in the field, the outcome of such a legislative decision would ultimately reverberate and affect the species in question as well as those trying to protect them, in light of this we are relieved and hopeful that the outcome, though not 100% what many were fighting to achieve, rested greatly in favour of the safeguarding of many endangered species.
The rains continued in Siana throughout this three month period and the area returned to being a beautiful, vivid green again. Wildlife and Maasai cattle in the region were given the chance to recover from a very serious drought and the habitat also was transformed.
Handsome Oloropilé going about his business at a leisurely pace when we found him again one morning in September this year. Oloropilé is a truly magnificent bull elephant whom we have known for many years and yet it is always an enormous privilege to be in his presence. He is a walking inspiration to us and one of the many reasons why we are working everyday to secure a future for his species.
