SWT Aerial Surveillance Unit Report February 2020

AERIAL SURVEILLANCE UNIT MONTHLY REPORT

FEBRUARY 2020

AERIAL STATISTICS

HOURS FLOWN

KMS COVERED

AREAS PATROLLED

FEBRUARY 2020

102

11,789

Tsavo East, Tsavo West, Chyulu Hills, KARI Ranch, South Kitui National Reserve, Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary, Lamu

FEBRUARY 2020

MONTHLY AERIAL PATROL MAP

MONTHLY AERIAL SUMMARY February was a mostly calm month with the only signs of poaching detected being a few old campfires spotted during helicopter patrols; follow-ups on the ground did not turn-up any fresh activity. This positive lack of poaching activity is mostly attributed to the extended rainy season, which continued into the first week of February, having started in October.

The Park and surrounding reserves and ranches have been covered in thick vegetation and with abundant water wildlife has spread out over a much larger area than is normal for this time of year. With the addition of this overgrowth of vegetation access throughout the Park has been extremely difficult, which means that very few would-be poachers are making any attempts to poach. The Aerial Unit did locate some recent logging activity, however only one instance was inside the Park, whilst charcoal burning wasn’t seen anywhere in the Park, with a number of kilns found in a disputed section along the eastern boundary of South Kitui National Reserve as well as 7 kilns found on KARI Ranch.

One negative of all the rain has been a slight increase in livestock incursions, particularly in areas that are now inaccessible by vehicle and therefore out of reach of KWS rangers. There were a handful of incursions noted in the northern sector of Tsavo East and a more substantial invasion in Tsavo West, where KWS rangers continue to struggle to keep up with sightings of livestock and livestock bomas by our aircraft. Particularly difficult to deal with are herders who keep their cattle outside of the Park at night and then herd them into the Park in the morning to graze. It is difficult to predict where they will be and therefore make the necessary arrests. KWS has, however, made a large number of successful arrests at bomas that were reported by our pilots during the month.

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On an encouraging note, the new elephant exclusion fence is nearly complete which has been constructed around KARI Ranch and should have a dramatic effect on reducing human-wildlife conflict in the Kibwezi area. Concurrently, evictions of illegal livestock have begun in KARI and already there has been a 50% reduction in bomas sighted within the ranch. The most critical section of this elephant exclusion fence is a month away from completion and is being eagerly awaited not only by the communities that have been so hard hit by crop-raiding elephants, but also by the SWT’s helicopter pilot who spends many hours a month pushing elephants out of farms and back into the safety of the Park. In February, two notorious elephants who have repeatedly found themselves in farms all around the Kibwezi Forest, were unsuccessfully pushed on two occasions. Having become accustomed to the helicopter and learning that they can stand their ground with little consequence, it became necessary to deploy the Trust’s crane truck to physically move the elephants. The first elephant was darted from the helicopter and then pushed to the edge of the forest in which they had taken refuge and then with some difficulty the crane truck was manoeuvred into place and the elephant was successfully loaded and moved back into the forest. The second elephant was right in the middle of the forest and the team was unable to access his location, but fortunately, he made his own way back into the Park the following night.

In addition to the charcoal activity found in South Kitui National Reserve, a number of camels were also discovered with actions being taken by KWS to remove them. The exciting news was also the return of elephants to South Kitui after having been absent for nearly a whole decade. There have been signs of small numbers of bulls moving up during the rainy season, but this February, elephants were seen in large numbers on multiple occasions with over 130 being sighted in a single patrol, and many with babies!

Veterinary cases assisted by the Aerial Unit during the month totalled 3, including a young elephant with a snare around its leg in the Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary near the coast. Another elephant with a snare around its neck near Sala gate was also darted from the helicopter and successfully treated. The third case, unfortunately, resulted in a much less favourable outcome. Receiving a call from one of our ground teams about an elephant that had been found collapsed in mud on KARI ranch, the Amboseli vet was immediately called to the scene and a fixed wing aircraft was deployed with extra straps to pull the elephant out of the mud and to its feet. After freeing the elephant from the mud, , it became apparent that one of its rear legs was broken and it was unable to get to its feet so the unenviable decision was made by KWS to euthanise it since it stood no chance of survival. A fourth potential case never materialised where an elephant with an apparent snare injury on its trunk was seen and reported in the Tsavo Triangle.

Attempts to locate the elephant by fixed wing were unsuccessful.

The highlight of February was a sighting of a hippo that had somehow found its way onto the top of the Yatta Plateau and is residing in a large waterhole there.

Photographs copyright © 2020 The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust