In early September the rangers helped move this young bull out of a fenced plot of land one morning when he went down to a nearby river for a drink at around noon which subsequently led him onto the opposite bank and into someone’s fenced land, in search of some tasty vegetation and perhaps something of an adventurous whim as he appeared a little restless. Because this was in community land there was also a lot of human activity in the vicinity from livestock herders to women collecting water from the same river but luckily our team were on hand and busy keeping all people in the area a safe distance away from the bulls in an effort to avoid Human-Elephant-Conflict. The rangers managed to encourage the young bull who ventured over the fence back out to where his older and seemingly more experienced friend waited patiently, all the while trying to keep both people and the elephants calm. We are thankful for the cooperation all around and for the peaceful outcome of the situation. The work the Elephant Aware rangers do on a daily basis to help protect elephants and ensure harmony between Maasai communities and elephants is of vital importance to overall conservation in the Greater Mara ecosystem. The ultimate fact is that elephants, as well as other species, are running out of space and solutions to this enormous problem depend on the collective widespread effort by conservation stakeholders like Elephant Aware that are actively working to prevent Human-Elephant-Conflict and ensure a future for elephants in these areas.
Everyday the Elephant Aware rangers are conscientious of keeping the areas they patrol in free of litter in addition to their continuous wildlife protection work and on most days they collect a lot of rubbish discarded by people which we then dispose of responsibly, something which our team has consistently put an effort into for many years. This is very important in striving to lessen our overall human footprint and maintain an eco-friendly attitude towards this magnificent wilderness area. We would like to take this opportunity to share a friendly reminder to anyone visiting the Maasai Mara ecosystem as well to please be mindful of the environment around you and never leave behind any litter which is not only damaging to the surrounding flora but it is also detrimental to wildlife. We can all do our part to help protect these precious wilderness areas if we simply care more and if we are all more considerate of the natural world.
While the Mara Siana Conservancy and Elephant Aware ranger unit were on a routine extensive foot patrol in a range of hills on the morning of the 15th they received a report of a relatively fresh elephant carcass and soon after found the location in some nearby hills on a steep slope, in thick woodland in community land and made the initial report to the authorities. The Elephant Aware and Mara Siana Conservancy backup teams immediately responded and went to the scene, discovering an adult female elephant dead with her tusks intact. The carcass looked to be between 24-48 hours old and the signs indicated there was minimal predation. The cause of death is suspected to be from a spear. The rangers remained close to the carcass all afternoon to guard the scene so as to preserve any evidence and ensure that the ivory did not fall into the wrong hands, until the Kenya Wildlife Service arrived to remove the tusks as per lawful procedure. Investigations are underway and our teams will be continuing their routine surveillance patrols, while keeping an even closer watch on this area. One female elephant is said to represent the lives and wellbeing of as many as 10 elephants and in addition this female appeared to have been lactating before she was killed. This is yet another devastating loss for the Mara elephant population and for Kenya.
The rangers of Elephant Aware received a report on the 16th of September of an injured elephant and our team had been searching nonstop for the elephant since then in an attempt to help her. On the morning of the 19th Bushtops Camps and Conservancy informed us that they had sighted a badly injured female elephant and our team immediately responded by rushing to the location. A family herd of around 10 elephants were milling in and out of thick croton bush and eventually the young female emerged into the open though her movements were very slow and she appeared to be in a great amount of pain. We instantly saw a horrific gaping wound on her back which was clearly caused by a large spear. It is entirely possible that this poor elephant was injured during the same incident which cost the life of another female elephant recently. We called Dr. Limo and team from The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust /Kenya Wildlife Service Mara veterinary unit right away and later that afternoon the young female was successfully anaesthetized and during examination of the wound Dr. Limo discovered it was roughly 2 feet deep and very infected! The wound was carefully cleaned out and antibiotics were applied as per procedure. About 40 minutes later the revival drug was administered and she got back to her feet with great effort and returned to her calf and herd. There is no doubt that the lifesaving treatment this young elephant, still at the beginning of her adult life and with a young calf, received today has increased her chances of survival which would have otherwise been in higher jeopardy due to the severity of her injury. Dr. Limo, Felix, Vasco, the entire vet team, Nick, Liz and the Elephant Aware rangers, the Bushtops team, the Mara Siana Conservancy team and everyone present went to work under very challenging conditions and with the added complication of heavy rain (which is nonetheless quite appreciated!) which truly is a testament to the dedication of all involved in the operation. Thank you to the Mara Mobile Vet Unit, the Bushtops management for their swift reporting, the Mara Siana Conservancy, and the Elephant Aware team for the continuous great work each does for wildlife in the Mara ecosystem.
The Elephant Aware rangers and team were busy giving a Conservation Education session at one of the community schools on the 28th. The students were very enthusiastic and learned a lot from the informative discussion we had on the importance of wildlife to the Mara ecosystem and to the Maasai people, solutions on how to live more harmoniously with wild animals to avoid conflict between both and they also enjoyed the educational conservation film which has been a useful tool. Elephant Aware has continuously visited numerous local community schools through our conservation education initiative for almost 10 years now and it has proved to be an essential aspect of our daily work to protect wildlife. By portraying species such as elephants more positively to children and actively seeking solutions for a peaceful coexistence between communities of people and wildlife, we will hopefully help these young Kenyans to grow up with an increased passion to secure their own natural heritage.
September was another busy month for our team at Elephant Aware with productive community engagement and a great amount of elephant activity in the area. We were very delighted to see so many of the young calves born earlier in the year growing so fast!
With the area becoming increasingly dry water sources have equally become few and far between. The rangers are working around the clock to prevent any potential Human-Elephant-Conflict incidents which often occur in the vicinity of water – an essential lifeline for all of the area’s inhabitants. We are hoping for rain to alleviate some of the pressures brought on by drought which creates challenges for people and wildlife alike.
All of us at Elephant Aware are tremendously grateful to each and everyone of our supporters who have helped the important work of the Elephant Aware rangers and team to continue to make a difference in securing elephants and other wildlife species in the Mara ecosystem and especially within our area of operation in Siana.
