Wambua Kikwatha – team leader Henry Lekochere John Mungai Julius Mutamu Gerald Maghanga 4 KWS rangers
The areas patrolled this month were Murka, the general area around Maktau, the Mzima Springs pipeline and the Tsavo River. We also visited the Kishushe ranches, Lake Jipe and its environs, the Taita hills sanctuary and the Lumo community wildlife sanctuary.
TOTAL SNARES COLLECTED 112
This month’s operations started with the rescue of snared baby elephant in the Taita hills sanctuary. We received a report from the sanctuaries staff and we immediately informed the vet. The snare was successfully removed from the calf which was happily reunited with its family.
We have not visited the Lake Jipe area for the last five months and according to several reports poaching using the torch and horn method is taking place in the area. The main activity observed by the team during our patrols is livestock grazing by the nearby community.
The Mzima springs pipeline and the Tsavo River are the current poaching hotspots. We received a report of four poachers, three of which were armed with bows and arrows, and one with a gun. Our team was joined by the Ziwani platoon rangers and we were able to arrest one poacher.
We have observed that most of the poaching is taking place on private land. This is a result of the continuous de-snaring patrols carried out in the park by our team. As a result many livestock keepers are loosing their livestock to these snares.
Report by Wambua Kikwatha