SWT/KWS Mobile Veterinary Units Quarterly Report January - March 2025
SWT/KWS MOBILE VETERINARY UNITS
TSAVO, MARA, MERU, AMBO MT KENYA, RIFT VALLEY
January – March 2025 Report
January – March 2025 Report for Tsavo, Mara, Meru, Amboseli, Mt Kenya and Rift Valley Units.
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT), in conjunction with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) operate six Mobile Veterinary Units. Within the quarter, the Units attended to a total of 152 wildlife cases involving 222 animals.
During this reporting period, there were 64 poaching incidents and 20 human-wildlife conflict (HWC) cases. Of the poaching incidents, 28 involved elephants (12 arrowed, 11 spear, 3 snared and 2 bullet wound). There were also 20 snared plains game, 5 giraffes, 4 buffalo and 1 snared leopard as well as an eland, zebra and waterbuck treated for arrow wounds and 2 zebras with machete wounds. 3 elephants were speared, and another had a gunshot injury due to human-wildlife conflict. Several animals were relocated due to HWC including 3 buffalo, 1 waterbuck, 1 elephant, 1 lion and a rhino that strayed into community land.
The other cases attended to were mostly due to natural causes; 7 lions and 2 cheetahs were attended to for fight or hunting injuries as well as 13 elephants, 4 rhinos, 5 plains game and 2 giraffes for various ailments. The Units also assisted in the translocation of 31 antelope in Ol Pejeta Conservancy and ear notched 15 Black rhino in the Masai Mara National Reserve. Two elephant calves were also rescued after being found alone, 1 in Siana Conservancy and the other in Isiolo as well as 1 buffalo calf from Meru National Park
Of the 152 cases attended to, 70% (107 cases) were successful or given a good prognosis and 9% (13 cases) were given a guarded prognosis. There were only 2 deaths due to poaching and 8 due to HWC whilst 18 animals died due to natural causes.
Outcomes of Cases Attended
Tsavo
Mara
Mt Kenya
Meru
Ambo
Rift Valley
SWT/KWS Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
Tsavo – Mara – Meru –Amboseli – Mt Kenya – Rift Valley
SWT/KWS TSAVO MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
January – March 2025
31 Cases
16 Poaching Cases
20 Elephant Cases
The Tsavo Conservation area received moderate precipitation during this period, the water pans remained full, and both grazers and browsers had enough food to utilize. Most of the animals were in good body condition. The Unit attended to 32 cases in February and March, the majority of which were poaching related including 2 snared, 3 speared and 7 arrowed elephants as well as 1 arrowed eland, 1 snared zebra, 1 snared buffalo and 1 snared wildebeest. The Unit also attended to a lion stuck in a pit which was rescued successfully and another lion which was treated for poisoning due to human-wildlife conflict (HWC) Of the 31 cases, 71% were given a good prognosis with no poaching or HWC deaths.
31 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit January - March 2025
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit
January - March 2025
SWT/KWS
Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
January 2025
The Tsavo Vet Unit were on leave for the month of January
February 2025
To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of February 2025 click here
March 2025
To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of March 2025 click here
SWT/KWS MARA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
January – March 2025
26
Cases 13 Poaching Cases 14 Elephant Cases
During this quarter, the Mara Vet Unit attended to 26 cases. These cases saw the Vet Unit travelling not only within the Mara Region but as far as the Coast and further upcountry to Laikipia. Of these cases, 13 were poaching related including 6 speared elephants, 4 arrowed elephants, 1 arrowed waterbuck, 1 arrowed and 1 snared zebra. The Unit also rescued an abandoned elephant calf and assisted with the translocation of 20 waterbucks in Ol Pejeta as well as assisted in ear notching/tagging 15 Black rhino in the Siana Conservancy of the Mara. The remainder of the cases were natural in nature involving a White rhino, 2 elephants, 4 lions and 2 cheetahs.
26 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit
January - March 2025
Plains Game
Rhinos Predators Elephant
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit
January - March 2025
SWT/KWS Mara Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
January 2025
To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of January 2025 click here
February 2025
To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of February 2025 click here
March 2025
To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of March 2025 click here
SWT/KWS MERU MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
January – March 2025
11 Cases
5 Poaching Cases
2 Elephant Cases
During January the previously verdant landscape rapidly transformed into an arid, dusty terrain. Numerous rivers exhibited a marked reduction in water levels, prompting wildlife to congregate at water sources in pursuit of forage and hydration. February remained dry however March signalled the onset of the rainy season in the Meru ecosystem. As the month progressed, the first showers arrived; seasonal rivers began to flow while the permanent rivers slowly swelled with newfound pride. A green symphony unfolded, carpets of fresh shoots and blossoms brought new life to the previously barren landscape. The Unit attended to 11 cases during this period including 5 poaching incidents.
11 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Meru Vet Unit
January - March 2025
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the
January - March 2025
Meru Vet Unit
SWT/KWS Meru Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
January 2025
To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of January 2025 click here
February 2025
To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of February 2025 click here
March 2025
To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of March 2025 click here
SWT/KWS AMBOSELI MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
January – March 2025
23 Cases
5 Poaching Cases
12 Elephant Cases
The Southern Conservation Area and more importantly the Amboseli Ecosystem experienced a warm and dry period during this quarter. However, it started raining during the last days of March, but the change in weather did not affect the trend during the quarter. The Unit attended to 23 cases involving 12 elephants. There were 5 poaching cases involving 1 speared giraffe, 1 snared leopard, 1 snared elephant, as well as 1 speared and 1 arrowed elephant. There were also 6 cases related to human-wildlife conflict including the relocation of a problem elephant and a problem lion, a poisoning case, an ostrich that was hit by a vehicle and a speared leopard and speared elephant.
23 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit January - March 2025
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit
January - March 2025
SWT/KWSAmboseli Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
January 2025
To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of January 2025 click here
February 2025
To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of February 2025 click here
March 2025
To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of March 2025 click here
SWT/KWS MT KENYA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
January – March 2025
23 Cases
9 Elephant Cases
3 Poaching Cases
During this quarter the Unit attended to 23 cases. There was a decrease in poaching and human-wildlife conflict with the Unit treating an elephant with a bullet wound and a spear wound as well as 1 snared zebra. Two elephants were also speared in relation to human-wildlife conflict. The Unit also collared 7 lions to help mitigate human-wildlife conflict as well as relocating a problem elephant. The Unit also assisted in the translocation of various wildlife species from Ol Pejeta to Kampi Msituni Conservancy and with the capture and translocation of a young male black rhino reported to have fought a bigger black rhino and broke the fence while trying to escape.
23 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Vet Unit
January - March 2025
Plains Game
Rhinos
Predators Elephant
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Vet Unit
January - March 2025
SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
January – March 2025
January 2025
To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of January 2025 click here
February 2025
To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of February 2025 click here
March 2025
To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of March 2025 click here
SWT/KWS RIFT VALLEY MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT
OVERVIEW
January – March 2025 17 Cases 7 Poaching Cases
Plains Game Cases
During January – March, the Unit attended to 38 cases, the majority of which were poaching or humanwildlife conflict (HWC) related. These cases involved 12 snared zebras, 3 snared giraffe, 2 snared buffalo and 2 snared waterbuck, 1 elephant with a bullet wound and 2 zebras injured by machetes in a poaching attempt. Of the HWC cases, 3 problem buffalo and one problem waterbuck were relocated as well as 1 Black rhino which strayed out of Nairobi National Park into community land. A zebra was also rescued after it became fenced in an area with no water and a lion was treated for a spear wound likely caused due to livestock predation. The other 9 in cases were natural in nature including treatment of 2 elephants, a lion, a rhino and a giraffe and a postmortem on a zebra.
Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Rift Valley Vet Unit
January - March 2025
SWT/KWS Rift Valley Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations
January 2025
To see the full report for Rift Valley Vet Unit for the month of January 2025 click here
February 2025
To see the full report for Rift Valley Vet Unit for the month of February 2025 click here
March 2025
To see the full report for Rift Valley Vet Unit for the month of March 2025 click here
