Between early July and the end of September the Elephant Aware team responded to more than twenty Human-Wildlife conflict incidents with the majority occurring in the early part of this quarter and in every case prevented the situation from escalating. Each case was set under different circumstances and so a unique approach to each situation was required. Because the rangers are community members themselves, they have an important relationship with the area’s landowners and are swift to respond to any calls for assistance.
On the 17th of July one of the ranger units set out early in the morning on an extensive foot patrol over a large range of hills where no vehicle could access. Not long into their patrol they came across freshly placed wire snares that had been carefully concealed on the pathways of unsuspecting wildlife. One after another was found and removed, amounting to 18 in total that day. A suspect who had been hiding from a distance ran away as soon as he saw the rangers and disappeared. The rangers pursued him but he fled, possibly by motorbike, on the other side of one of the hills. By removing every single snare that had been put up, an enormous task in itself, and making a loud statement that the area is being watched, the rangers presented a huge deterrent to the culprits.
The rangers left the area in the hopes that the suspected poacher would return and were ready to set an ambush the next norning. No one appeared the following day but the rangers combed through more of the area in a joint patrol with the Kenya Wildlife Service and found a further 42 snares! Signs of animal carcasses, from zebras and small antelopes to elands, were also discovered but thankfully most of the snares had not caught any victims yet. The rangers and KWS questioned community members from a nearby settlement and were met with helpful cooperation but the perpetrators had not been sighted since. The rangers have continued surveying the area and in the following months no more snares were found.
July had sporadic rains that kept the rivers and natural springs in Siana replenished, allowing for a lot of elephant and wildlife activity in general. In this video we watched a beautiful scene unfold where this large aggregation of elephants made their way across one of the area’s seasonal rivers.
https://www.facebook.com/ElephantAware/videos/4004616529613097/
On the 31st of July our team celebrated World Ranger Day in the traditional style of going on their routine patrols, monitoring different groups of elephants and responding to incidents that could potentially result in conflict between people and wildlife.
Though we feel like World Ranger Day is everyday for us, this event does create important awareness for rangers and the valuable work they do to protect wildlife and wild habitats around the world. The global Covid19 crisis has impacted many conservation projects and rangers enormously, many having lost their jobs as a result, making a day to celebrate rangers all the more necessary.
https://fb.watch/1XJbu1wDjR/
In early August the rangers enjoyed spending time monitoring this young collared bull. He is one of three elephants that were successfully translocated to the Mara ecosystem from Kajiado county, south of the Nairobi area, in May this year. The decision was made to move them by the Kenya Wildlife Service at the time because the location they had found themselves in is well developed and with a large human population nearby, the potential for conflict posed too great a risk to both the elephants and people. This decision, and the effort involved in protecting these elephants, was met with much praise from Kenya’s conservation community. We were happy to see this bull, still at the beginning of his adult life, continuing to do well with his companions likely not far away. It was also great to see him integrating with other elephants in the local population. He was among about 50 other elephants and he was seen showing keen interest in a female from one of the resident herds.
Two days later a male giraffe was found lying helplessly with his foot caught tightly between the wire strands of a fence and the owners of the land called for our team’s assistance. At first it was thought by the community members that he had broken his back and that was why he couldn’t move but after assessing the situation we found no serious injuries on the giraffe, much to our relief. The Elephant Aware community liaison officer helped organize a rescue together with the land owners and everyone quickly went to work setting him free. The giraffe was visibly exhausted, probably after he tried tirelessly to escape without success. The entire ordeal must have been terrifying from his perspective and everyone worked as swiftly as possible to release him. A single powerful kick from a giraffe can be deadly and so a plan was set in motion by using a long pole to carefully untangle his leg, all the while keeping a safe distance.
Once his hoof had been released, and after some encouragement to get him back on his feet, the handsome giraffe got up and ambled away calmly. Giraffe numbers in the wild are decreasing daily across Africa and this is one of many such human-wildlife conflict incidents that sadly don’t always have a happy ending. We are so thankful for the happy outcome for this giraffe and for the exemplary joint efforts alongside the community to help save the life of this giraffe.
Our team receives reports of wildlife trapped in fences almost daily and long term solutions to this issue are being strategized. In the meantime our rapid response unit is on standby to assist wildlife and communities around the clock everyday.
On the 10th of August we celebrated World LionDay and we had the privilege of seeing some of the resident lions in the area while on patrol. The rangers were delighted to see quite a few young cubs looking healthy and thriving especially with the abundance of resources after the heavy rains early in the year.
https://fb.watch/2eZjpgNPg7/
Two days later it was World Elephant Day again and the rangers spent the day with a large aggregation of elephants. See the video for a glimpse into our amazing experience with the elephant in the rain live from World Elephant Day in August. Like other species, the elephants too have had a number of new births this year that we have recorded which is wonderful news for the Mara population.
A Little Elephant With A Big Spear Wound
While on a routine patrol in August the Elephant Aware rangers got a report that a young elephant, approximately five-six years old, with a serious looking injury had been sighted by community members and before we could call for assistance, the little female disappeared into nearby hills. After searching for her every day since, the EA rangers together with the Mara Siana Conservancy rangers finally caught up with her two weeks later during a patrol on top of one of the biggest hills in the area! Her front left leg appeared visibly swollen and her movements were clearly severely impaired. Without wasting any time, the Mara SWT/KWS veterinary team was informed and responded as soon as possible. Though the young Elephant had moved to a lower part of the hill during the course of the day, still remaining in very dense bushy terrain that is completely inaccessible to vehicles. With this in mind and because of the limited daylight left, it was decided that helicopter assistance from the Mara Elephant Project would be helpful to the situation and after maneuvering the juvenile elephant out of the thick vegetation and into a open clearing, the vet could quickly get to work immobilizing and attending to her injury as per normal procedure. Due to the deep puncture nature of the wound it had to be flushed out thoroughly before the healing antibiotic clay mixture could be applied over the large opening. This little elephant has already been through a most frightening ordeal at her young age and she has experienced cruelty at the hands of humans. In September Dr. Limo of the Mara Mobile Veterinary Unit came to check on her again and after observing her he decided that a follow up treatment might do more harm than good as she appeared to be progressing, albeit slowly. We had fervently hoped for her full recovery and our team watched her every single day for two months but tragically she did not make it.
On the 26th of October the rangers found her lying on her side and though it was not uncommon for her to take naps, she was not getting up even after a long time. Many elephants in the area around her prevented us from getting close at first and when they moved away we approached her slowly. We could see signs that other elephants had tried to lift her but unsuccessfully. The vet was informed right away and he advised for our team to try and get her to her feet because every second counted and his team were not closeby. We wasted no time in trying to help the little calf up though she was clearly weak from her mysterious ordeal during the night and it required several attempts before we finally managed to hoist her to her feet.
It was was a moment of cautious relief when we watched as she slowly walked away and started browsing from her favourite Orange leaf croton bushes. The rangers continued watching her for a few hours and for a while she seemed to be back to her normal self but all of a sudden later that afternoon, without any warning, she collapsed again. We were already prepared with ropes and man power to help get her to her feet but her condition had rapidly worsened and she had no strength whatsoever, not even to lift her trunk. As we quietly sat by her, offering as much comfort as possible, she passed away peacefully. After months of watching over her, hoping for her survival and working hard to save her life it was a devastating blow to lose her so unexpectedly. Apart from her severe injury, it was not entirely clear what had caused her to deteriorate so quickly especially when she appeared to be on the long but steady road to recovery. Dr. Limo carried out an autopsy the next day and samples were sent for testing, the results of which we are waiting to hear. Our team were deeply saddened by the loss of such a special and beloved little elephant.
Since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis many wildlife related crimes have been on the rise in Kenya as well as other countries and especially bush meat poaching which has targeted giraffes in particular. In early September the rangers found a dead male giraffe with clear evidence suggesting that he had been killed by opportunist poachers in the night in a very remote location only accessible by foot or motorbike and they had taken the meat away on a motorbike in the night. The rangers carried out an investigation and worked with the community to search for any eye witnesses but reports are that the culprits were not from this area and had not been seen since. The rangers, however, have continued to keep close surveillance on the area and a community meeting was organized in the following weeks to discuss the issue and collaborate with the Kenya Wildlife Service, local leaders and community members to deter any further incidents.
International Vulture Day was marked on the first Saturday in September and we were thrilled to see so many around the world taking part in raising awareness for these special birds. As important members of any ecosystem, vultures are celebrated by conservationists everyday and it is crucial to draw global attention to their plight.
This bull elephant named Mbash was treated for human inflicted injuries in June and at the time nothing was found inside the wound. He appeared to be doing well and the Elephant Aware rangers had been monitoring him almost daily over the following three months. By early September we noticed that his mobility had still not improved and he looked unwell so we called in Dr. Limo and his team from the Mara Mobile Vet Unit to look him over on the morning of the 19th and a plan for a follow up operation was set in motion. Mbash was in a rocky hill and he had to be darted by the vet on foot, which was a very challenging feat. Once darted he started to move as fast as he could away from us but luckily Dr. Limo caught up with him almost as soon as he succumbed to the anaesthetic. Unfortunately Mbash fell on the wrong side and he needed to be flipped over using ropes and a vehicle in order for the vet to access his injury.
This was no easy task but once he was lying on the correct side Dr. Limo got to work examining the wound opening and after some careful digging he discovered the approximately 7 inch centimetre arrow head within the wound which had pushed itself closer to the surface since the previous treatment. It took some grappling to extract the nasty object and then thorough cleaning ensued. The flushing out process completed, antibiotics and the healing antiseptic clay that has come to be well known in wildlife veterinary procedures was applied. Mbash is expected to make a full recovery and hopefully he felt relief soon after. On the evening before his follow operation Mbash was very close to the Elephant Aware ranger base and we could sense that he was seeking our help. We are so thankful that he got the intervention he desperately needed. Without the hard and dedicated work of the rangers to keep up with Mbash, he would not have had this vital follow up treatment. Well done again to the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit for their great work and we are tremendously grateful for the fantastic efforts of everyone.
The third quarter of the year had a number of highs and some very disheartening lows. It is always our mission to save as many wild lives as possible and sadly certain circumstances make this impossible despite the tireless efforts by our team. However the results achieved through the good work of the rangers 24/7, 365 days a year has made a huge difference for wildlife within the Siana Conservation Area. August and September saw a decrease from July in the number of conflict incidents between people, elephants and other species such as giraffes thanks to the rapid response of the rangers to community reports.
This year has been very challenging for so many around the world with the Covid-19 pandemic and particularly for the conservation community, much of which is dependent on tourism that has been affected by the global crisis. We are tremendously thankful to our supporters for enabling our invaluable work to continue in these challenging times to secure a future for elephants and other wildlife in the Mara ecosystem.
