SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Veterinary Report for December 2021

SWT/KWS TSAVO MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT DECEMBER 2021 - JANUARY 2022

Introduction

9 Cases

3 HWC Cases

5 Elephant Cases

December/January Report by Dr. Jeremiah Poghon The much-awaited rains finally arrived with a great relief to the wildlife and the surrounding community.

Though the rains were a blessing, many animals were either too weak to withstand the ravages of drought or their guts were not accustomed to the drastic change from dry forage to lush green sprouting forage. The Unit were off for some of December and January and this report combines both months, in which 9 cases were attended to. Cases included attending to 2 recumbent elephants which were sadly too weak to survive.

Post-mortems of two elephant carcasses, one in Tsavo West and the other in the Taita Ranches. Another elephant bull was treated for a penetrating wound in Galana Ranch. A wild dog was treated for suspected accident injuries and moved to the Nairobi orphanage, a leopard was relocated after straying out of the park, a problem lion that was preying on livestock was captured in Kilifi County and flown to Tsavo East. Lastly a lioness was treated for a strangulating deep cutting wire snare of the neck in Taita Hills Sanctuary, Tsavo.

Acknowledgement The unit acknowledges the support of its sponsors ViER PFOTEN through the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) for their huge financial support to the unit. We also thank Kenya Wildlife Service through the Assistant director of Tsavo Conservation Area and the Head of the KWS Veterinary Services Department.

Case Details Date

Species

Area Found

Reason for Intervention

Outcome

6-Dec-21

Elephant

Tsavo East NP

Natural Causes

7-Dec-21

Elephant

Tsavo West NP

Postmortem

Had lost body condition and was struggling to get up. Several attempts were made to pull him onto his feet in vain Cause of death could not be determined due to the advanced autolysis

10-Dec-21

Elephant

Taita Ranches

Postmortem

The veterinary team visited and found the heavily decomposed carcass along the river

Died

10-Dec-21

Elephant

Galana Ranch

Spear

The bull had a penetrating wound on the left hind limb with pus oozing out

Prognosis Poor

13-Dec-21

Elephant

Tsavo East NP

Natural Causes

The bull was weak and in poor condition and couldn’t get to its feet

Died

14-Dec-21

Wild Dog

Tsavo East NP

HWC

Examination revealed a traumatic injury on the pelvic area with partial paralysis

Taken to Orphanage

15-Dec-21

Leopard

Voi, Tsavo

HWC

The young male leopard was seen in Voi town under a vehicle inside the compound

Task Successful

16-Dec-21

Lion

Kilifi, Lamu

HWC

A male lone lion has been terrorizing community members by preying on livestock

Task Successful

1-Jan-22

Lion

Taita Ranches

Snared

Had a tight flesh cutting wire snare around the neck.

Successfully Treated

Died Died

SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations December 2021 – January 2022

Case 1 – 6th December 2021 Elephant

Natural Causes

Tsavo East National Park

The elephant bull was seen by KWS Rangers collapsed and struggling to wake up. They reported to the Tsavo Veterinary unit who immediately rushed to the area.

Examination The Unit found the extremely thin bull struggling to stand up. It had lost a lot of body condition due to the drought. Several attempts were made to pull him onto his feet in vain.

Management The animal was suffering and the probability of it recovering was very low and prognosis was poor.

He was euthanized on animal welfare concerns and the tusks retrieved for safe custody.

Case 2 – 7th December 2021 Elephant

Post-mortem

Tsavo West National Park

A report was made by KWS rangers of an elephant carcass spotted in Rodesia area of Tsavo West National Park.

Post-mortem examination The veterinary team visited and found the heavily decomposed carcass.

Cause of Death The cause of death could not be determined due to the advanced autolysis.

The skull was checked and found to be tuskless. Cause of the death thought to be drought related

Case 3 – 10th December 2021 Elephant

Post-mortem

Taita Hills, Taita Ranches

A report was made by Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary Rangers of an elephant carcass seen along the Riverine Area of the Conservancy.

Post-mortem examination The veterinary team visited and found the heavily decomposed carcass along the River with one tusk cut near the base.

Cause of Death The carcass was in an advanced state of decomposition with most organs rotten away. Autopsy could not confirm the cause of death due to autolysis. The tusks were removed and kept for safe custody.

Case 4 – 10th December 2022 Elephant

Spear

Galana Ranch

The elephant bull was spotted in a water hole inside Galana Ranch with marked lameness. He was with several other bulls near the water hole.

Immobilisation, examination and treatment The bull was immobilized with 18mgs Etorphine Hcl filled in a Dan-inject dart syringe. The elephant was darted in the rump from a vehicle. He went down after 9 minutes. Water was poured on the ears to cool him down from the prevailing high Tsavo temperatures. T The bull was examined and noted to have a penetrating wound on the left hind limb with pus oozing out.

The wound was cleaned with Hydrogen peroxide and flushed with tincture of Iodine before being covered with green clay. He was administered with anti-inflammatories to relieve the pain and also long-acting antibiotics.

Prognosis Finally, the anaesthesia was reversed and the bull assisted onto his feet. Prognosis is guarded.

Case 5 – 13th December 2022 Elephant

Natural Causes

Tsavo East National Park

With the recent drought conditions, the body condition of most wildlife, including the elephants, was poor.

This led to the deaths of some of the animals, especially the old and very young. A report was received that an iconic big tusker named wide Satao, who was collared to monitor his movements, had not moved from the same spot for more than 12 hours. Rangers visited the area and found the massive bull flat on the ground and unable to stand up.

Rescue Mission Tsavo Vet Unit rushed in and found the weak bull with massive tusks struggling to stand up. His body condition was poor. Dexamethasone was administered to reduce shock from stress. Ropes were tied to a vehicle and looped around the upper tusk to try and pull him into a sitting position. Several attempts were made, and the bull was pulled into sitting position, but he was unable to stand up and fell back into a flat position. Heavy rains began and there was mud and water everywhere making the operation very difficult.

After five hours the operation was called off to be continued the next morning.

Prognosis Unfortunately, the massive bull died that night. An autopsy confirmed poor body condition as the cause of recumbence due to the prolonged drought conditions. The tusks were retrieved for safe custody.

Case 6 – 14th December 2021 Wild Dog

Human-Wildlife Conflict

Ithumba, Tsavo East National Park

This male wild dog was seen along the road that leads to Ithumba area of northern Tsavo East National Park.

The dog could not keep up with the others and was left behind by the pack. There was a real struggle as he dragged both hind limbs.

Examination The dog was captured and brought to the Vet Clinic in Voi. Examination revealed a traumatic injury on the pelvic area with partial paralysis of the hind legs. This was likely caused by a vehicle accident.

The dog was treated with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs and dewormers.

Management The dog was fed on beef and relocated to the Nairobi KWS Vet for further treatment. He will be kept in the Nairobi Orphanage during treatment. It is unknown if he will recover.

Case 7 – 15th December 2021 Leopard

Human-Wildlife Conflict

Voi Town, Tsavo

The young male leopard was seen by a resident of Voi town under a vehicle inside the compound and reported it to the KWS Tsavo East team. The Tsavo Vet and Community Rangers rushed to the home within Voi town where they confirmed the presence of the leopard.

Immobilisation and examination The leopard was darted with 1mg Meditomidine mixed with 120 mgs Ketamine. The first dart unfortunately landed on the face and didn’t discharge well. A second dart was prepared and this landed on the body and did discharge.

The leopard was removed from the premises and taken to Tsavo East National Park Vet clinic and examined.

He was found to be a young leopard probably learning how to hunt and sadly lost his way from the Park.

Relocation He was safely released inside Tsavo East National Park after being revived.

Case 8 – 16th December 2021 Lion

Human-Wildlife Conflict

Kilifi County, Lamu

The male lone lion has been terrorizing Community Members by preying on their livestock. KWS Rangers from Kilifi County tracked the lion to an area north of Mtwapa town and reported to the Tsavo Vet Unit. Due to the distance and remoteness of the area, a SWT helicopter was requested to airlift the Vet to the area.

The vet team was flown to the site and met with rangers on the ground who directed the team to a bush nearby where the last lion tracks were seen entering.

Immobilisation The helicopter flew low and suddenly the lion was flushed out of the bush. The helicopter drove the lion to a clearing so it could be darted with 4mg Meditomidine mixed with 300mgs Ketamine. Unfortunately, the first dart landed in the face and didn’t discharge so a second dart was prepared which was successful. The lion ran into a bush and vanished. The Vet together with the Rangers searched and found the partially immobilized lion in a bush. He was darted again and once confirmed to be fully immobilized, KWS assisted the Community Members in carrying the lion on a stretcher to a nearby waiting vehicle with a lion cage.

Prognosis The cage proved to be too small for the lion, so instead the lion was loaded onto the helicopter and flown to Tsavo East National Park where he was revived and released.

Case 9 – 1st January 2022 Lion

Snared

Taita Hils, Taita Ranches

The lioness was spotted by tourists in a pride of 4 other lions in the Taita Hills wildlife sanctuary with a tight flesh cutting wire snare around the neck. As a team of Rangers kept watch, the vet team rushed and found the suffering lioness along a Riverine area with the others. They were pushed out of the bush and isolated.

Immobilisation The lion was darted with 4mg Meditomidine mixed with 300mgs Ketamine and she didn’t move much after darting. The lion was moved to a shady area and the eyes covered to prevent light arousal.

The tight wire snare was cut loose, and the wound cleaned with Hydrogen peroxide, doused with tincture of Iodine, sprayed with Oxytetracycline spray and covered in green clay. The lioness was administered with Amoxicillin and Dexamethasone parenterally.

Reversal and Prognosis Finally, the anaesthesia was reversed with 10mgs Atipemazole mixed with 12mgs Yohimbine. The lioness woke up and joined the rest of the pride. She should make a full recovery.