SWT/KWS Mobile Veterinary Units Quarterly Report July- September 2020

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

Introduction

100 Cases

22 Poaching Cases

29 Elephant Cases

22 Predator Cases

15 HWC Cases

62% Success

July– September 2020 Report for Tsavo, Mara, Meru, Amboseli and Mt Kenya Units During July – September 2020, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and their five dedicated field veterinary officers, attended to 100 wildlife cases.

Of the 100 cases, 22 cases were related to poaching and 15 due to Human-wildlife conflict. Of the poaching cases, 9 involved elephants which included 6 spear and 3 arrow wounds. There were only 3 human-elephant conflict cases which involved an elephant with a bullet wound in Laikipia and a spearing in the Masai Mara.

One elephant was also entangled in wire after it attempted to cross a fence. Other elephant cases included 4 treatments for natural causes, 10 post-mortems, assumed to be natural deaths, 1 rescue, 1 collaring and 1 relocation where 7 destructive elephants were moved out of the fenced Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary.

Other cases included 13 poaching incidents, most of which were snaring incidents: 1 hyena, 1 giraffe, 2 buffalo and 8 zebra, 1 speared giraffe and 12 human-wildlife conflict cases involving 20 animals. At the Base Titanium Mines, Kwale County, 8 buffalos were relocated as they were becoming dangerous and destroying crops. A zebra was relocated after it strayed into a populated area and there was an attempt to relocate 2 problem crocodiles, but they evaded capture. 6 lions, 1 leopard and 1 spotted hyena were involved in livestock predation. 1 lion was not located despite an extensive search and another lion was sadly killed when it attacked a ranger during the search. The other 4 lions were successfully relocated in 2 separate cases. There were 30 cases due to natural causes, 9 post-mortems, 1 lion collaring and 3 technical cases.

Case Details Row Labels

Elephant Predators

Rhino Plains Game Giraffe Buffalo Other Grand Total

Poaching

9

1

8

2

2

Human-Wildlife Conflict

3

8

1

1

1

Natural Causes

4

11

3

12

3

1

34

Post-Mortem

10

1

2

3

1

2

19

Rescue

1

Relocation

1

22 1

15

1

Technical Case Collared

1

1

Grand Total

29

22

2

1

4

1

2

3 2

8

24

7

6

4

100

100 Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Vet Units July - September 2020 40

35

30

25

Other Buffalo

20

Giraffe Plains Game Rhinos

15

Predators Elephant

10

5

0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Postmortem

Relocation Technical Case

Rescue

Collared

37 Poaching and HWC Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Vet Units July - September 2020 14

12

10

Other

8

Buffalo Giraffe

6

Plains Game Predators

4

Elephant

2

0 Arrow

Snared Poaching

Spear

Bullet Wound

Fencing

Livestock Predation

Relocation

Human Wildlife Conflict

Spear

Outcomes of Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Vet Units July - September 2020

Taken to Orphanage 1%

Died 25%

Successful Cases 62%

HWC Death 5%

Poaching Death 2% Prognosis Poor 3%

Not Located 2%

Outcomes of Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Vet Units July - September 2020

Mt Kenya

14

Amboseli

1

12

Meru

7

2

1 1

Mara

2

5

2

1

16

Tsavo

1

13

0 Successful Cases

5

1

10 Prognosis Poor

1

2

1

15 Poaching Death

16

20 HWC Death

25 Died

Not Located

1

30 Taken to Orphanage

35

SWT/KWS Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations Tsavo – Mara – Meru – Amboseli – Mt Kenya April – June 2020

SWT/KWS TSAVO MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW July – September 2020

34 Cases

7 Poaching Cases

12 Elephant Cases

The 2020 rains stopped in May and from July to September, Tsavo remained dry with no rain. September saw an increase in cases of unknown deaths in zebras in Dakota and Mgeno areas of Tsavo due to suspected dehydration as a result of water scarcity. There has been an increase in post-mortems undertaken, the majority of which were inconclusive, but several were attributed to drought related ailments, territorial fights or birth complications. During the quarter, the Tsavo Vet Unit attended to 34 cases, including 12 elephants. Of the 7 poaching cases, 6 were snaring cases and 1 was an arrowed elephant. There were only 3 human-wildlife conflict cases were buffalo and a zebra were relocated, and 1 giraffe was caught in a fence.

34 Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit July - September 2020 14

12

10 Other Buffalo

8

Giraffe Plains Game

6

Rhinos Predators

4

Elephant 2

0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Natural Causes Conflict

Postmortem

Relocation

Technical Case

Rescue

Outcomes of Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit July - September 2020 Taken to Orphanage 3%

Successful Cases 38%

Died 47% Prognosis Poor 3% Poaching Death 6% HWC Death 3%

SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations July – September 2020

July 2020

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

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

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

SWT/KWS MARA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW July – September 2020

17 Cases

8 Poaching Cases

6 Elephant Cases

During July, the heavy rains began to decrease then August – September had sporadic rainfall throughout.

Water and vegetation have been plentiful for grazers, and carnivores have benefited from the annual migrating wildebeests which were still present in the Mara in September. There has been limited guest visitation to the area due to Covid-19 movement restrictions. Patrols have also decreased, resulting in fewer cases reported. During this quarter, the Unit attended to 17 cases, including 8 poaching cases, 5 spear, 1 arrow, 2 snares, and 1 human-wildlife conflict case involving a speared elephant. Of the cases, 6 involved elephants, and 6 involved predators; 1 leopard and 5 lions, as well as 3 zebra, 1 rhino and 1 giraffe.

17 Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit July - September 2020 9 8 7 6 Giraffe 5

Plains Game Rhinos

4

Predators Elephant

3 2 1 0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Collared

Outcomes of Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit July - September 2020

Successful Cases 94%

Prognosis Poor 6%

SWT/KWS Mara Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations July – September 2020

July 2020

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

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

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

SWT/KWS MERU MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW July – September 2020

12 Cases

4 HWC Cases

4 Predator Cases

The past months have been very dry with strong winds. Seasonal streams have dried up and the rivers have substantially reduced due to the lack of rain and heavy use upstream by farmers to irrigate farms. All measures are being taken to prevent fire outbreak as this would be devastating for the habitat and the wildlife. Trees began to flower In September, attracting an abundance of bees; a sign that rain is imminent.

All the wildlife is in good condition and the Vet Unit is optimistic that the remaining vegetation will see them through the dry season. During this quarter, the Unit attended to 4 lion cases involving 6 lions, as well as 6 rhinos with injuries, or requiring relocation, as well as a zebra and a crocodile case.

12 Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Meru Vet Unit July - September 2020 5

4

3

Other Buffalo Plains Game

2

Rhinos Predators

1

0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Postmortem

Relocation

Technical Case

Outcomes of Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Meru Vet Unit July - September 2020

Died 17%

HWC Death 8% Not Located 8%

Successful Cases 59%

Prognosis Poor 8%

SWT/KWS Meru Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations July – September 2020

July 2020

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

August 2020

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

September 2020

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

SWT/KWS AMBOSELI MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW July – September 2020

17 Cases

5 Poaching Cases

7 Elephant Cases

During this quarter, the Unit attended to 17 cases. 8 young male elephants were to be collared for a behavioural study in July 2019. Five males were successfully collared but the task was postponed due to heavy rains. The remaining 3 were collared in August 2020. There were also 2 elephant post-mortems, 2 treatments for spear wounds and the removal of wire from 1 elephant that became entangled when trying to cross a fence. A leopard was relocated to Tsavo East National Park due to livestock predation. Two lions were treated for fight injuries and one post-mortem of a lion cub revealed spear wound injuries. A giraffe and zebra were treated for snare injuries whilst two other zebras were treated for natural causes.

17 Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit July - September 2020 6

5

4 Giraffe 3

Plains Game Predators Elephant

2

1

0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Postmortem

Collared

Outcomes of Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit July - September 2020

Died 12% HWC Death 12% Not Located 6% Successful Cases 70%

SWT/KWS Amboseli Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations July – September 2020

July 2020

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

August 2020

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

September 2020

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

SWT/KWS MT KENYA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW July – September 2020

20 Cases

2 HWC Cases

4 Elephant Cases

The Unit were on leave in July but attended to 20 cases within Laikipia and the Mount Kenya region during August and September. There were two elephant post-mortems; 1 revealed a bullet wound likely caused due to conflict and the other possibly died from anthrax. Two other elephants were successfully treated for natural injuries. There were 4 bongo cases due to an ongoing parasite problem as well as 3 giraffe cases, 3 natural zebra cases, 1 snared zebra case, a lion with bite wounds, a hyena relocation due to livestock predation, relocation of a Colobus monkey found in Nanyuki town and one rhino post-mortem. The Unit also collected ovum from the last two northern white rhinos to aid in assisted reproduction.

20 Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Mount Kenya Vet Unit July - September 2020 14

12

10 Other 8

Giraffe Plains Game

6

Rhinos Predators

4

Elephant

2

0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Postmortem

Relocation

Technical Case

Outcomes of Cases Attended by the SWT/KWS Mount Kenya Vet Unit July - September 2020

Died 25%

HWC Death 5% Successful Cases 70%

SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations July – September 2020

July 2020

The Mt Kenya Vet Unit were off for the month of July 2020

August 2020

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

September 2020

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