SWT Aerial Surveillance Unit Report May 2022

AERIAL SURVEILLANCE UNIT MONTHLY REPORT

MAY 2022

AERIAL STATISTICS

MAY 2022

283 HOURS FLOWN

37,591 KMS COVERED

AREAS PATROLLED

Tsavo East and West, Chyulu Hills, Mbirikani, Galana, Ranch, Kulalu Ranch, Magram Ranch, Dakota Ranch, Arabuko Sokoke Forest, Lewa Conservancy

MAY 2022

MONTHLY AERIAL PATROL MAP

MONTHLY AERIAL SUMMARY May was a very busy month for the Aerial Unit, with six pilots uncovering all manner of illegal activities. We are approaching the busiest time of the year, and this has been exacerbated by the lack of rains regionally. Very little rain fell in November-December, which is typically the most significant rainy season in Tsavo. Add to that, the April-May rains failed almost entirely and so many farmers have now missed two potential crops.

Poaching activity was up in May with three poaching related callouts, as well as 7 different sightings observed.

Sightings included footprints, as detected during planned landings on helicopter patrols, a snared zebra carcass, which led to the discovery of 6 medium-sized snares, poaching harbours, motorbike tracks, etc. Callouts were to provide clearance flights after torch lights were observed from a remote ranger outpost, and also in aid of SWT ground teams that had been following the tracks of poachers for 4 days over 60 kilometres. Finally, the helicopter was also called out to assist in the rescue of a snared buffalo, transporting the vet to the site to dart the buffalo so that the snare could be safely removed, and the wound treated. The buffalo was given a good prognosis.

Other vet cases attended to with aerial assistance were for a bull elephant found lying on its side in obvious distress on Galana Ranch, and a Grevy’s zebra on Rukinga Ranch with an abnormal growth on one of its hooves. Neither case, unfortunately had a happy ending. The elephant was found by the vet to be suffering from a terrible ear infection and having been lying in this condition for an estimated 24+ hours, it was too weak to get to its feet and passed away shortly after the treatment. The Grevy’s zebra escaped observation on one occasion, shortly after the helicopter had begun to fly there. On the second occasion, another zebra was identified with a similar injury (in that it was limping on its foot), however, once it had been darted, it became apparent that it was a different zebra, since no visible wound could be seen. The vet concluded that the limp must be due to a sprain or strain, which should heal naturally on its own. The zebra with an overgrown hoof is still being searched for.

Charcoal burning activity continues unabated on Galana Ranch where industrial scale charcoal production is ongoing.

On every occasion that charcoal burning was observed, multiple 30-ton lorries were also seen, preparing to transport the charcoal to market.

Charcoal kilns were also observed in Arabuko Sokoke Forest (ASF), where SWT has recently positioned two teams. In some cases it is obvious that charcoal burning has been continuing for some time, with heavily worn trails leading into the Forest and to areas with dozens of old charcoal kiln sites. Logging activity was also observed in ASF, as well as along the northern end of Tsavo East and in one instance in Tsavo West towards Chyulu Hills. Wood carving and illegal grass cutting was also observed in ASF. In the case of the grass cutting the pilot observed a group of people carrying sacks and a ground team was mobilized to arrest them yet they found a group of women and children so did not arrest them, instead issuing a warning.

Various other illegal activities observed included honey harvesting, illegal fishing (in Lake Jipe), marijuana cultivation (in the Chyulu Hills), and trespassing. In the case of the trespasser, he was initially sighted by a Tsavo Trust pilot and then kept under observation by an SWT pilot until an SWT ground team could arrive on site to arrest him. As it turns out, the suspect appeared to be mentally unfit and so instead of being taken to the police station was instead taken to KWS headquarters in Voi for interrogation before being released.

Livestock incursions occurred throughout Tsavo East and West. In the northern sector of Tsavo East, a new incursion along the southern bank of the Tiva River was first detected during a fixed-wing aerial patrol. Over the course of a week or more, continued aerial patrols in both fixed-wing, to survey their location, and helicopter to drive the cattle towards the Park boundary, supported by efforts on the ground, led to the cattle being successfully removed from the area. KWS has been largely successful in repelling livestock from the middle sector of Tsavo West NP, with the help of frequent aerial patrols conducted by SWT. In most cases, a small number of enclosures (2-4 were detected), but this is a vast improvement. Also, herders are taking greater and greater effort to avoid detection, which means they are operating with smaller herds and moving frequently.

In the southern sector of Tsavo West, the livestock situation reached a peak with over 30,000 cattle sighted on a single day, between two aircraft. This marked the beginning of a weeklong operation by KWS to remove the cattle from the Park. At times, this was assisted by the helicopter, which was able to drop rangers at strategic locations to push the cattle and make arrests. Over 100 herders have so far been arrested, and KWS continues to act on sightings provided

by SWT. However, the scale of the problem has made the task particularly challenging.

Several elephant carcases were found on aerial patrols, however, most of these were old or very old. It was only the presence of ivory that suggested they had not previously been observed. A total of 4 old carcasses and 1 fresh (less than 3 days old) were found. The fresh carcass belonged to an adult male, also with tusks intact and assumed to have died from natural causes.

Three orphan rescues were conducted during May. These included an orphan elephant that had been under observation by KWS for three days before being captured and airlifted by helicopter to Nairobi, a day-old orphaned giraffe found next to its dead mother on Mbirikani Group Ranch, and another orphaned elephant that had been found in mud on Lewa Conservancy in the north of Kenya. The Lewa calf was collected in the Trust’s Cessna Caravan and transported to the Nairobi Nursery for care.

Human-Elephant conflict cases were relatively few in May with only two callouts attended to by fixed-wing aircraft sent out to survey for elephants outside of protected areas. In both cases, coordinates were provided to KWS’s Problem Animal Management Unit for action on the ground.

Highlights included a sighting of a pride of 9 lion crossing the Galana River and a leopard kill of a zebra.

Photographs copyright © 2022 The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust