SWT/KWS Mobile Veterinary Units Quarterly Report October - November 2020

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

Introduction

119 Cases

29 Poaching Cases

36 Elephant Cases

20 Predator Cases

10 HWC Cases

69% Success

October – December 2020 Report for Tsavo, Mara, Meru, Amboseli and Mt Kenya Units During the October – December 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 119 wildlife cases, 36 of which included elephants.

Of the 119 cases attended to, 29 cases were related to poaching and involved 10 snares, 10 spears, 8 arrows and 1 bullet wound. There were also 10 human-wildlife conflict cases including 5 poisoning incidents. Of the poaching cases, 18 involved elephants; 1 bullet wound, 6 arrows, 8 spear cases and 3 snaring cases. Five elephants died due to the extent of their injuries. Other elephant cases included 9 treatments for natural causes, 5 post-mortems, assumed to be natural deaths and 1 collaring. There were also 3 rescues including reuniting an elephant calf with its mother after becoming stuck in mud, rescue and relocation of a calf to the orphanage and freeing a bull that was trapped in a sewage pit.

Non-elephant cases attended to included 5 snared zebra, 1 snared giraffe and 1 snared buffalo as well as 2 speared and 2 arrowed giraffes. There were 10 human-wildlife conflict cases including 9 poisoned vultures and 2 poisoned lions. Two hyenas had to be rescued after falling into a pit latrine. A leopard was relocated due to livestock predation and a lion was also relocated after it wandered into KWS offices in Tsavo East. The investigation into flamingo deaths in Magadi revealed electrocution due to poorly visible fence-lines. Other cases included post-mortems, collarings, rescues and natural injuries. Contraceptive devices were implanted in several lions to reduce overpopulation and 59 antelope were relocated for breeding purposes.

Case Details Elephant Predators Rhino Plains Game Giraffe Buffalo Other Poaching

18

5

Human Wildlife Conflict

1

5

Natural Causes

9

8

Post-mortem

14

5

3

2

Rescue

2

1

Collared

1

5 2

Relocation Grand Total

36

20

1

1 5

Technical Case

5

3

2

1

5

13

30

29 4

1

11 37 10

1 1

Total

1

2

2

7 9

3

10 6

9

2

9

119

119 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Vet Units October 2020 - December 2020 40

35

30

Other Buffalo

25

Giraffe Plains Game

20

Rhinos 15

Predators Elephant

10

5

0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Postmortem

Rescue

Collared

Technical Case Relocation

39 Poaching and HWC Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Vet Units October 2020 - December 2020 12

10

8

6

Other Buffalo

4

Giraffe Plains Game

2

Predators Elephant

Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Poison

Wildlife Encroachment

Suspected Poisoning

Relocation

Manhole

Livestock Predation

Electrocution

Spear

Snared

Bullet Wound

Arrow

0

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Vet Units October 2020 - December 2020

Prognosis Poor 7% Poaching Death 5%

Human Wildlife Conflict Death 4%

Successful Cases 69%

Died 11%

Taken to Orphanage 3% Not Located 1%

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Vet Units October 2020 - December 2020

Mt Kenya

23

Amboseli

3

16

Meru

2

2

2

2

1 1

4

2

1

18

Mara

17

Tsavo

8

0 Successful Cases

2

3

5 Prognosis Poor

1 1

10 Poaching Death

4

15

1

3

2

20

25

Human Wildlife Conflict Death

30 Died

35

40

Taken to Orphanage

Not Located

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

SWT/KWS TSAVO MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW October – December 2020

19 Cases

7 Poaching Cases

10 Elephant Cases

The previous months were hot and dry, with little food or water for animals. These conditions continued into October but thankfully the long-awaited rains arrived in November. The Ecosystem became green as vegetation regenerated and waterholes filled. Wildlife thrived and many new-borns were seen throughout the Park. Due to the availability of sufficient food and water for both wildlife and humans/livestock there was a drop in cases in November. The Tsavo Vet Unit were off during December. The majority of cases attended to involved poaching attempts on 5 elephants and 2 snared zebras. One of the elephants succumbed to a snare injury before treatment and 2 arrowed elephants were given a guarded prognosis.

19 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit October 2020 - December 2020 8 7 6

Other Buffalo

5

Plains Game 4 Rhinos Predators

3

Elephant 2 1 0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Natural Causes Conflict

Postmortem

Rescue

Collared

Relocation

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit October 2020 - December 2020

Prognosis Poor 16%

Poaching Death 5% Human Wildlife Conflict Death 5%

Successful Cases 42%

Died 21%

Taken to Orphanage 11%

SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations October – December 2020

October 2020

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

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

Tsavo Vet were on leave for the month of December 2020

SWT/KWS MARA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW October – December 2020

23 Cases

11 Poaching Cases

11 Elephant Cases

Sporadic rain showers began in the middle of October and by November the rainfall was moderate and widespread over the Conservation area which petered out by the end of December. Due to the rains, there was plentiful food and water for all wildlife species to utilize throughout the quarter. The Unit attended to 6 elephants, 1 zebra and 4 giraffes with poaching injuries, the majority of which were spear or arrow injuries as well as one snare injury on the zebra. The Unit also rescued an elephant bull that was stuck for more than 36 hours after slipping into a poorly secured sewage pit. A hyena carcass was poisoned and the Unit conducted post-mortems on 3 subsequently poisoned vultures and were able to treat and save two more.

23 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit October 2020 - December 2020 12

10 Other 8 Giraffe Plains Game

6

Predators 4

Elephant

2

0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Postmortem

Rescue

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit October 2020 - December 2020

Successful Cases 74%

Poaching Death 9% Human Wildlife Conflict Death 4% Died 13%

SWT/KWS Mara Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations October – December 2020

October 2020

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

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

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

SWT/KWS MERU MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW October – December 2020

18 Cases

6 Predator Cases

100% Success

October marked the beginning of the rainy season and after two weeks of rain the vegetation recovered providing ample forage for wildlife which are all in good condition. The rains continued into November and through December. Due to sufficient rainfall, seasonal streams began to flow and the permanent rivers increased in volume as the runoff from the plains fills their banks. The plentiful forage and browse reduced human-wildlife conflict and poaching related injuries with only 1 snared giraffe requiring treatment. The majority of cases were natural as well as 4 collarings of 4 elephants, 5 hirola, 1 giraffe and 1 lion. The Unit were also involved in the implantation of contraceptive devices in lioness’s as a means of population control.

18 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Meru Vet Unit October 2020 - December 2020 10 9 8 7 Other

6

Giraffe 5

Plains Game

4

Rhinos

3

Predators Elephant

2 1 0 Poaching

Natural Causes

Rescue

Collared

Technical Case

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Meru Vet Unit October 2020 - December 2020

Successful Cases 100%

SWT/KWS Meru Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations October – December 2020

October 2020

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

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

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

SWT/KWS AMBOSELI MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW October – December 2020

25 Cases

6 Poaching Cases

8 Elephant Cases

During this quarter, the Unit attended to 25 cases including 6 poaching and 6 human-wildlife conflict cases.

Elephants were the most common victims of poaching, with 1 arrow, 1 snare and 2 spear wounds as well as a snared zebra and buffalo. Human-wildlife conflict cases most frequently involved predators; a lion died from suspected poisoning, two hyenas were rescued from a pit, and a leopard and lion were relocated due to livestock predation and for straying into a compound respectively. The Unit also relocated a zebra that had wandered into Ukunda town, Diani and investigated the deaths of flamingos that were electrocuted on powerlines in Magadi. Other cases included the collaring of 2 lions and tagging of 8 giraffes among others.

25 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit October 2020 - December 2020 8 7 6 Other 5

Buffalo Giraffe

4 Plains Game Predators

3

Elephant 2 1 0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Postmortem

Collared

Technical Case

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit October 2020 - December 2020

Prognosis Poor 8%

Poaching Death 8%

Human Wildlife Conflict Death 8%

Successful Cases 64% Died 8%

Not Located 4%

SWT/KWS Amboseli Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations October – December 2020

October 2020

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

November 2020

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

December 2020

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

SWT/KWS MT KENYA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT OVERVIEW October – December 2020

34 Cases

4 Poaching Cases

10 Rhino Cases

During this quarter, the Unit attended to 34 cases within the Laikipia ecosystem and Mount Kenya region.

The majority of these cases were due to natural causes or non-medical cases such as relocations, technical or the collaring of one lion. The Unit also rescued a rhino that lost its mother and a giraffe that was stuck in a muddy swamp. There was also the post-mortem of a rhino, a bongo that was entangled in vines and a zebra with a heavy worm infestation – all three were deemed to be natural deaths. There were only 4 poaching cases including a snared elephant and zebra, a speared elephant and an elephant that sadly had to be euthanised due to a bullet wound. The Unit also attended a case where 4 vultures died from poisoning.

34 Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Mount Kenya Vet Unit October 2020 - December 2020 14

12

10 Other

8

Giraffe 6

Plains Game Rhinos

4 Predators Elephant

2

0 Poaching

Human Wildlife Conflict

Natural Causes

Postmortem

Rescue

Collared

Technical Case

Relocation

Outcomes of Cases attended to by the SWT/KWS Mount Kenya Vet Unit October 2020 - December 2020

Prognosis Poor 9%

Successful Cases 67% Died 12%

Poaching Death 3% Human Wildlife Conflict Death 3%

Taken to Orphanage 6%

SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations October – December 2020

October 2020

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

November 2020

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

December 2020

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