SWT Aerial Surveillance Unit Report April 2022

AERIAL SURVEILLANCE UNIT MONTHLY REPORT

APRIL 2022

AERIAL STATISTICS

APRIL 2022

210 HOURS FLOWN

29,025 KMS COVERED

AREAS PATROLLED

Tsavo East, Tsavo West, Galana Ranch, Kulalu Ranch, KARI Ranch, Chyulu Hills NP, Ishaqbini

APRIL 2022

MONTHLY AERIAL PATROL MAP

MONTHLY AERIAL SUMMARY There was a notable increase in activity seen in the Parks in April including logging activity with 7 logging incidences recorded in total. In most cases, only a small number of trees had been felled (4-6), however, on one patrol our helicopter pilot discovered two areas with large-scale wood carving. A wood carver with over 200 pieces of carved wood, mostly olive, which was ready for transport was found at one of the sites. He claimed to have been operating there for the last 5 years. Other successes included the confiscation of 4 wooden beams from a logging site in the north as well as drying buffalo meat in another logging camp further south. The latter incident highlights the reality that small-scale logging, whilst seemingly innocuous, is often done in conjunction with other less savoury activities.

Charcoal burning continues to be largely controlled, with only 2 charcoal kilns sighted throughout the month in the Chyulu Hills National Park. In contrast, Galana Ranch is experiencing increasing amounts of charcoal burning. On one flight our pilot observed 167 kilns, 342 kilns in preparation, and literally thousands of charcoal sacks ready for collection. Also on the increase, which is normal for this time of the year, were sightings of marijuana cultivation within the Chyulus. Bush/forest is often cleared ahead of the Nov-Dec rains when the seeds are sown and by March-April, plants are big enough to be clearly visible from the air. This month, 4 separate plots were sighted, with KWS ground teams following up and destroying the plants. Additionally, one of our pilots was involved in assisting the local police with a search for 2 suspects that fled from a crashed vehicle full of marijuana. The police had been pursuing the vehicle down Mombasa highway when the vehicle crashed, and two occupants jumped out and fled into the park. Luckily our pilot was patrolling nearby when the request came in to aid the police. He was able to quickly identify one of the suspects attempting to hitch a ride nearby and police swooped in to arrest him. Unfortunately, the other suspect made a clean getaway.

Illegal livestock incursions continued throughout the month and our fixed wing aircraft conducted frequent patrols to survey and locate livestock within the parks for removal by KWS. The situation in Tsavo East was relatively good, with livestock being more or less under control. Much of Tsavo West, is also coming under control, however, the Southern Sector was still suffering greatly from the presence of thousands of head of livestock, predominantly cattle. Some success was realized, though, with as many as 12 herders being arrested in a single patrol, where KWS rangers were dropped at strategic places. Hundreds of cattle were also impounded in KWS holding pens.

No signs of elephant poaching were detected during April, although 2 elephant carcasses were spotted. These were both old carcasses and in both cases the ivory was still intact suggesting that they died of natural causes. Signs of bushmeat poaching were, however, evident. As earlier mentioned, one logging camp was discovered with the remains of a poached buffalo. Additionally, on one of our helicopter patrols, two suspects fled from a camp, leaving behind evidence of bushmeat poaching. Other indications of bushmeat poaching included signs of heavy motorbike traffic outside the park on Galana Ranch, as well as human tracks found during a helicopter patrol. Two shooting blinds were found on another patrol, which likely would have been used by ivory poachers, yet these were old.

A number of veterinary cases were attended to during April. The first case was of a young elephant calf spotted with a cable snare on its leg in the Shimba Hills. Due to the difficult terrain and thick forest where the calf was with its mother, a helicopter was necessary to dart first the mother for safety reasons, before the calf could have the snare removed and the wound treated. Unfortunately, there is expected to be some permanent damage to the calf’s leg, however, the young calf will be able to lead a normal life. Once the calf had been attended to, it was carried some distance back to the mother and both of them were woken up before they carried on their way.

In Tsavo East, a bull elephant was sighted on a fixed wing patrol with a deep penetrating wound on its rump. Later, the bull was darted from a helicopter and treated for what is likely a spear wound - the prognosis is good. Two other cases were attended to outside of Tsavo, the first of which was in Ishaqbini on the Tana River, where a report came in of a leopard caught in a snare. A helicopter flew to the site with a KWS/SWT vet on board. Upon arrival, the leopard had already begun to chew off its paw in a desperate attempt to escape. Fortunately, the vet was able to successfully dart the female leopard and remove the snare, giving her a good prognosis, despite part of her paw now missing.

The last veterinary case for the month unfortunately ended tragically. A well-known, big tusker, known as Tolstoy, was found collapsed, having succumbed to a spear wound that was treated only a few weeks earlier. Sadly, the wound had become infected, and possibly moved into the bone/joint. The vet was again transported to the site to try and assist in the rescue effort. Sadly, despite several hours of attempts, even employing a front-end loader to try and create a bank for Tolstoy to lean on and stand, he was just too weak. In a last ditch effort, the front-end loader was used as a crane, to try and hoist Tolstoy up onto his feet, but even this was too much for him. It was a sad day for everyone involved, especially Amboseli Trust for Elephants and Big Life Foundation, both of whom have followed and protected Tolstoy for many years.

One orphan rescue was conducted in April with the assistance of the helicopter, which was called to Mukugodo Forest in the north of the country to airlift a small, 2-month-old elephant calf that had fallen off a large rock while the herd was trying to access a water point in a steep-sided lugga. Evidence at the scene suggested that the mother had destroyed all the bush and trees around the calf trying to help and even killed a cow in her frenzy. Sadly she had eventually given up and left her calf, which was discovered with a severely swollen leg and had to be carried over 100 metres to the helicopter before being loaded and transported to the Nairobi Nursery, where sadly it was discovered to have an inoperable shattered front leg and catastrophic internal injuries.

As always, human-elephant conflict featured prominently within the greater Tsavo ecosystem. This month, we received the devastating news that a man had been trampled to death by 2 elephants that were wandering outside of the fence to the north of Tsavo East. A two-hour search was conducted with a fixed wing to locate the two elephants, which were then pushed by helicopter back into the park through a gap in the fence. These cases are particularly critical and while the loss of human life is tragic, we hope to avoid further tragedy by removing the elephants from a heated situation, which often leads to retribution. In addition to this case, the helicopter also responded to 2 other cases with success.

A highlight this month was the sighting of 14 of Tsavo East’s remaining black rhino. When one remembers that just a few years ago there were only 9 rhino left in Tsavo East, it is particularly exciting to see the free release population increase to a total of 23.

Photographs copyright © 2022 The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust