Anti-Poaching & De-Snaring

Improving Protection in the Reserve

Due to its proximity to the Tanzanian border, the Mara Triangle is the first line of defence against poachers into the Maasai Mara. Before 2001, prior to the Mara Conservancy’s founding, many areas of the Triangle were targeted by bandits, with permanent, large poacher camps operating within the reserve’s boundaries.

In our now nine years of operation we have developed a model for cross-border collaboration with the Serengeti National Park (TANAPA), arrested and prosecuted over 1,300 poachers, cleared more than 14,000 snares, recovered 200 stolen heads of cattle, recovered and treated several animals damaged by snares and made the Mara Triangle and adjoining areas secure for the local community, wildlife and tourists.

Find below the number of poachers arrested and snares collected since 2001:

Increasing Security for the Communities

A community game scout network has been established and managed by the Mara Conservancy which has focused on covering the areas that border the Mara Triangle. These community scouts have proved beneficial to the Conservancy by developing a strong and constructive relationship between the Conservancy and the local communities, which has helped improve response times to human-wildlife conflict and incidents of banditry (in particular cattle theft), as well as enhancing the flow of information between the Conservancy and adjacent communities with regards to poaching activity outside of the reserve.

The Mara Conservancy has 15 community scouts for the population areas that border the park; an area that stretches for more than 30 km. Yet the dispersal area for animal populations that reside within the Mara Triangle goes beyond the border and several kilometres into Nyakweri Forest. To protect the forest, wildlife and also villagers’ livestock, the local communities have asked for extra community scouts throughout the area.