SWT/KWS Mobile Veterinary Units Quarterly Report January - March 2020

SWT/KWS MOBILE VETERINARY UNITS TSAVO – MARA – MERU - AMBOSELI – MT KENYA January – March 2020 Report

Introduction

86 Cases

19 Poaching Cases

35 Elephant Cases

2 Rhino Cases

10 HWC Cases

55% Success

January – March 2020 Report for Tsavo, Mara, Meru, Amboseli and Mt Kenya Units During the January – March 2020, 3-month reporting period, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and their five dedicated field veterinary officers, attended to 86 wildlife cases, 35 of which included elephants.

Of the 86 cases attended to, 19 cases were directly related to poaching. Of the poaching cases, 9 involved elephants; 4 poisoned arrows, 2 spear cases, and 3 snaring cases. There were also 2 human-elephant conflict cases involving an elephant that died from suspected poisoning and 2 elephants that broke out of Chyulu National Park near Kibwezi town; one elephant was successfully relocated, the other escaped. Other elephant cases included 8 treatments for natural causes, 13 post-mortems where cause of death was assumed to be natural, and 3 rescues.

Non-elephant cases attended to involved 10 poaching incidents, all of which involved snared animals. There were also 8 human-wildlife conflict cases involving 26 animals, including 21 vultures that died after eating a poisoned carcass. There were also 8 post-mortems assumed to be natural, 15 cases for natural causes, 1 rescue, 5 technical cases, and 4 relocations.

Case Details Elephant

Predators

Poaching

9

Human Wildlife Conflict

Rhino

Plains Game

Giraffe

2

5

3

2

2

1

Natural Causes

8

2

11

Rescue

3

1

Post-Mortem

13

Grand Total

35

7

Grand Total 19

5 2

10 23 4

Technical Case Relocation

Other

2

1

2

5

1

2

1

1

4

2

1

21

2

25

9

8

86

4

86 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Vet Units January - March 2020 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Other Giraffe Plains Game Rhino Predators Elephant

Poaching

Human Wildlife Natural Causes Conflict

Rescue

Technical Case

Relocation

Post-Mortem

29 Poaching and HWC Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Vet Units January - March 2020 14 13 12 11 10 9 8

Other

7

Giraffe

6

Plains Game

5

Predators Elephant

4 3 2 1 0 Arrow

Snared Poaching

Spear

Human Malice

Livestock Predation

Poison

Relocation

Spear

Human Wildlife Conflict

Suspected Poisoning

Human Attack

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Vet Units January - March 2020 Prognosis Poor 2%

Died 29%

Successful Cases 55%

HWC Death 5% Poaching Death 3% Taken to Orphanage 6%

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Vet Units January - March 2020

Mt Kenya

Meru

23

5

2

Amboseli

6

Mara

6

Tsavo

6

1

1

1

9

3

7

1

1

5

3

1

2

1

1

Prognosis Poor HWC Death Poaching Death Taken to Orphanage SWT/KWS MobileDied Vet Unit Treatment Locations

Successful Cases

1

Tsavo – Mara – Meru – Amboseli – Mt Kenya January – March 2020

SWT/KWS TSAVO MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW January – March 2020

14 Cases

4 Poaching Cases

10 Elephant Cases

The Tsavo Ecosystem experienced heavy rains in 2019 which continued into 2020. There was a short break in early March but the rain started again; something unusual as its usually the dry season. The rains are a real blessing to this semi-arid ecosystem, creating plenty of water and forage. This has seen a drastic reduction in cases. The Unit attended to 14 cases, involving 10 elephants, 1 hyena, 1 giraffe, 1 hippo and 1 security dog. Of the 14 cases, 4 were directly related to poaching; 1 arrow, 2 snares and 1 spear, as well as 1 human-wildlife conflict case, 2 due to natural causes, 5 post-mortems, 1 technical case and 1 rescue.

14 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit January - March 2020 6

5

4 Other 3

Giraffe Predators Elephant

2

1

0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Rescue

Technical Case

Post-Mortem

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit January - March 2020

Died 36% Successful Cases 50%

Poaching Death 7%

Taken to Orphanage 7%

SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations January – March 2020

January 2020

To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of January 2020 click here February 2020

To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of February 2020 click here March 2020

To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of March 2020 click here

SWT/KWS MARA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW January – March 2020

12 Cases

5 Poaching Cases

8 Elephant Cases

The rains continued into 2020 but started to decrease through February and March. Vegetation and water have been abundantly available for wildlife utilization. Few conflict cases were recorded as competition for resources has been at a minimum. There has also been decreased visitation to the conservation area by tourists and this partially led to decreased sightings of animals in need of help. The Unit attended to 12 cases, involving 8 elephants, 1 lion, 1 giraffe, and 2 plains game. Of the 12 cases, 5 were directly related to poaching; 4 snares and 1 spear wounds, as well as 2 to human-wildlife conflict, 2 rescues and 3 post-mortems.

12 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit January - March 2020 6

5

4 Giraffe Plains Game

3

Predators Elephant 2

1

0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Rescue

Post-Mortem

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit January - March 2020

Died 25%

Successful Cases 50% HWC Death 1 Taken to Orphanage 17%

SWT/KWS Mara Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations January – March 2020

January 2020

The Mara Vet Unit were on leave for the month of January February 2020

To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of February 2020 click here March 2020

To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of March 2020 click here

SWT/KWS MERU MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW January – March 2020

8 Cases

1 Poaching Case

2 Elephant Cases

The Meru Mobile Vet Unit attended to 8 cases, involving 2 elephants, 3 bongos, 1 case involving 2 ostrich chicks, 1 giraffe and 1 security dog. There was 1 poaching related case involving an elephant with an arrow wound, as well as 1 human-wildlife conflict case involving 2 orphaned ostrich chicks that were raised by the community and had become dangerous and needed relocating. Other cases included 1 for natural causes, 2 post-mortems, and 3 technical cases.

8 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Meru Vet Unit January - March 2020 4

3

Other 2

Giraffe Plains Game Elephant

1

0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Technical Case

Post-Mortem

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Meru Vet Unit January - March 2020

Died 25%

Successful Cases 62% Poaching Death 13%

SWT/KWS Meru Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations January – March 2020

January 2020

To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of January 2020 click here

February 2020

The Meru Vet Unit were on leave for the month of February 2020

March 2020

To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of March 2020 click here

SWT/KWS AMBOSELI MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW January – March 2020

20 Cases

6 HWC Cases

12 Elephant Cases

The Amboseli Mobile Vet Unit attended to 20 cases, 12 of which involved elephants. The Unit attended to a total of 2 poaching cases including 1 arrowed elephant and 1 snared lion. There were also 6 human-wildlife conflict cases involving a baboon that attacked a tourist at a lodge, 21 poisoned vultures, a lioness trapped after preying on livestock and a zebra foal rescued from young boys attempting to ride it. Other cases included 8 post-mortems of 1 giraffe, 1 lesser kudu and 6 elephants. The Unit also attended to 4 natural causes cases involving 2 elephants, 1 giraffe and 1 lion.

20 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit January - March 2020 9 8 7 6 Other 5

Giraffe Plains Game

4

Predators Elephant

3 2 1 0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Post-Mortem

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit January - March 2020 Prognosis Poor 5%

Died 45%

Successful Cases 30%

HWC Death 3

Taken to Orphanage 5%

SWT/KWS Amboseli Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations January – March 2020

January 2020

To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of January 2020 click here

February 2020

To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of February 2020 click here

March 2020

To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of March 2020 click here

SWT/KWS MT KENYA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW January – March 2020

32 Cases

7 Poaching Cases

6 Elephant Cases

During the reporting period January - March, the Mt Kenya Wildlife Veterinary unit attended to many wildlife cases that required urgent veterinary intervention in the Laikipia ecosystem and Mt. Kenya region. In total the Unit attended to 32 cases, involving 6 elephants, 1 leopard, 1 lion, 2 rhino, 18 plains game and 4 giraffes.

Of the 32 cases, 7 were related to poaching; 1 arrow and 6 snare cases, as well as 16 natural causes cases, 1 rescue, 4 relocations, 1 technical case and 3 post-mortems. One of the relocations involved relocating handraised Kiko the giraffe to Sirikoi Conservancy after becoming fully grown. Another, was assisting the Ol Pejeta Conservancy relocating 2 Southern White rhinos out of the Northern White rhino enclosure.

32 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Mount Kenya Vet Unit January - March 2020 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 Giraffe

10 9

Plains Game

8

Rhino

7

Predators

6

Elephant

5 4 3 2 1 0 Poaching

Natural Causes

Rescue

Technical Case

Relocation

Post-Mortem

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Vet Unit January - March 2020 Prognosis Poor 3%

Successful Cases 72%

Died 19%

Poaching Death 3% Taken to Orphanage 3%

SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations January – March 2020

January 2020

To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of January 2020 click here

February 2020

To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of February 2020 click here

March 2020

To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of March 2020 click here