SWT Aerial Surveillance Unit Report October 2021

AERIAL SURVEILLANCE UNIT MONTHLY REPORT

OCTOBER

AERIAL STATISTICS

OCTOBER 2021

175 HOURS FLOWN

29,504 KMS COVERED

AREAS PATROLLED

Tsavo East and West, Chyulu Hills, Galana Ranch, Kulalu Ranch, Amboseli, Bura Ranch, Kuranze Ranch, Lunga Lunga Ranch, Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary, Shimba Hills National Reserve, Kipini Conservancy, Manda Island.

OCTOBER 2021

MONTHLY AERIAL PATROL MAP

MONTHLY AERIAL SUMMARY October was a challenging month not least because of the effects of a prolonged drought coming into full effect. Not only was wildlife suffering from lack of food, but there was also a noticeable increase in illegal activities, especially in the ranches bordering Tsavo West National Park and as far as Amboseli and Kipini Conservancy.

Three giraffes were sighted by a Wildlife Works pilot on Mgeno Ranch and were subsequently treated with assistance from SWT’s helicopter. On two of these occasions, snares were successfully removed, and the giraffes were given a very good prognosis; however, the third giraffe was extremely weak, and although it was able to stand after the treatment with considerable difficulty, it unfortunately passed away a few days later. On the same day as one of these treatments, one of the SWT helicopters was also required to fly the KWS/SWT Mobile Vet to Amboseli to treat a zebra, another victim of a wire snare (this time on the leg as opposed to the neck). Although this treatment was a success and the zebra was expected to recover from the wound itself, there was the possibility and increased risk of suffering a predator attack while in such a weakened state.

A young elephant was also reported on Taita Estate with a snare around its neck. With helicopter assistance, the subadult was separated from its herd so that it could be darted, and the snare was removed from its neck. Immediately after the treatment it was reunited with its family and with minimal damage from the snare, the calf is expected to make a full recovery. In the same area, another elephant was again darted from the helicopter to treat an unknown leg injury. Upon closer inspection the vet discovered severe ligament damage, which unfortunately could not be treated. However, the elephant is expected to lead a functional life.

Much further afield a fixed wing aircraft was deployed to transport the vet to rescue a speared hippo in Lamu County in Kipini Conservancy. Upon arrival, an extremely weak hippo was found taking refuge in a nearly dried up waterhole.

After a tremendous amount of effort from several concerned community members, KWS personnel and Kipini Conservancy rangers, the hippo was sedated and hauled out of the waterhole with a vehicle and a long strap. Once the vet was in a position to inspect the hippo more closely, it became apparent that the injuries were too severe. The hippo had been skewered by a number of spears, including in the abdomen. A huge amount of bleeding had occurred and without any chance of survival, the difficult decision was made to put the animal down.

Three orphan rescues were attended to with aerial support. Two elephant calves were rescued and transported in our Cessna Caravan to our nursery units. The first was a young elephant that had been caught in a snare and had to be treated by the KWS/SWT Mobile Vet Unit. The snare was removed, and a prolonged attempt was made to try and reunite the calf with its family; however, it was eventually concluded that the calf had been abandoned. The second young elephant calf had been chased by lions into an electric fence and eventually wandered into a ranger camp on Rukinga Ranch, manned by Wildlife Works who then reported it to KWS and SWT. This 2-3 week old calf was also airlifted in the Trust’s Cessna Caravan. The third and final orphan rescue was actually a young hartebeest which was collected from Voi by one of our aircraft that was patrolling in the area and brought back to Kaluku to be cared for.

Four elephant carcasses were also discovered throughout the course of the month. Three of these were suspected to be from natural causes, most likely drought, two of which were recent enough to have been from this season, the last appearing to be several years old. Ivory was recovered from all three (two adult bulls and one juvenile) and handed over to KWS for safekeeping. The fourth carcass appeared to have been a poaching incident, with both tusks cut-out and evidence of human activity (livestock) in the immediate vicinity. It is, however, impossible to rule out the possibility of an opportunistic ivory collection. Regardless, this incident did highlight the seriousness of the livestock situation in the Park.

Livestock has reached a boiling point as the drought continues, with tens of thousands of cattle, sheep and goats in the Park. This is a major concern as it has long been known that there is a connection between livestock incursions and other illegal activities, especially poaching. With the discovery of an elephant carcass, KWS took immediate and decisive action against the cattle, engaging in a multi-day operation to try and push them back out of the Park. Some assistance was given by the SWT helicopter; however, it was quickly decided that it would be safer for KWS to drive the cattle out on the ground due to the emaciated condition of the cattle and the risk of mortalities. While the incursions are ongoing, progress has been made in reducing livestock numbers, but the situation is unlikely to go away completely until the onset of the rains. The status in Tsavo West was even more serious in October, with over 10,000 cattle and 25 temporary enclosures being observed on several patrols.

In the Chyulu Hills, there was a relatively large incursion of livestock which coincided with a flush of green grass that appeared in the park following bushfires from the previous month. Frustratingly, these herders proceeded to light additional fires, which kept our ground teams and pilots busy. A total of 8 bushfire callouts were attended to by the Aerial Unit, in the Chyulu Hills National Park and the adjoining Kuku Ranch. These callouts were predominantly responded to by fixed-wing aircraft, assessing fires and directing firefighting teams on the ground, as well checking for flareups the mornings after night-time firefighting operations. An SWT helicopter was also used on one occasion to drop 13 buckets of water on a fire to support ground crews in extinguishing a particularly difficult fire.

Towards the end of the month a chance sighting by one of our fixed-wings of a plume of smoke in the distance, led to the discovery of an active case of arson. When the aeroplane arrived on scene there were 3 freshly lit fires and after a short period of time a fourth and fifth appeared followed by the sighting of a person walking in a straight line through the bush, lighting fires every few hundred metres. Circling from high above, an eye was kept on the suspect while two helicopters were called in, a first to pin down the suspect and prevent an escape, and the second to deploy rangers from the K9 Unit to make an arrest. It is unclear what the motive was, and it was concluded that the suspect was mentally disturbed; however, a quick response prevented further damage from being caused. The fires that were set were quickly extinguished with the help of SWT’s water bowser and fire-fighting trailer, as well as ground teams from SWT and Tsavo Trust.

A small number of logging incidents were also recorded in Tsavo East and in Galana and Kulalu ranches, where large scale charcoal burning operations continue. However, as our presence has increased on Galana Ranch, these activities have shifted further north in Galana and also onto Kulalu Ranch where an uptick was observed.

Only two Human-Elephant Conflict cases were attended to in October by the SWT helicopter. In both instances, 3 bull elephants were pushed several kilometres out of community farmland and back into Tsavo East NP. Other illegal activities observed included honey harvesting, which was investigated and confirmed by a ground team, unfortunately without a result, and suspected mining activity with a nearby fireplace.

In October our pilots were treated to a large number of sightings of wild dog in particular, with a pack of 25 being sighted on multiple occasions, as well as a pack of 20. As is typical this time of year, there was also an increase in lion sightings, with lions concentrating, along with other wildlife species, in close proximity to the remaining water sources.

Some rare civet sightings were also enjoyed.

Photographs copyright © 2021 The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust