General
There were a few isolated storms in the middle of October but on the whole October was a dry month.
The Chief Executive was appointed onto a committee to work on Koyaki Conservation area boundaries. The boundaries were reviewed and tentatively agreed upon on 3rd. It is estimated that the conservation area will cover 60,000 hectares, an area slightly larger than the Mara Triangle.
The Chief Executive met with the Clerk on the 22nd to discuss a number of issues.
The Chief Executive spent four days with James Robertson and Leslie Roach at Namunyak and then Lamu towards the end of the month.
One fire came down off the escarpment and we had to use the grader to control it.
Wildlife
There are very large herds of wildebeest in the Triangle; this year they have moved up as far as Oloololo gate. The crossings over most of the month were into the Triangle and concentrated on the crossing points near Mara Bridge and below Serena.
There are several crocodiles nesting along the banks, at least four nests have been found, two of which are being raided by monitor lizards and mongooses.
Dr Kashmiri came up on the 11th to treat one cheetah female with mange. We were unable to find the cheetah but found an injured lioness; she was treated for wounds on the spine and limbs. The wounds were probably caused by another lion. The same lioness was then seen mating a few days later. The cheetah gave birth to four cubs around the middle of the month and was treated by Dr Kashmiri on the 30th.
One lioness had three cubs on one of the water courses near Mara Bridge, the cubs are well hidden and have only been seen on one or two occasions. There is a possibility that one or two other lionesses have given birth but the cubs have not been seen.
One ostrich nest with 27 eggs was found and the chicks hatched in the last week of October.
Staff
Mr D Sikawa left on the 6th and Mr E Nkoitoi has been promoted to Warden 1 in charge of security.
The Chief Executive took 6 days off in October.
Tourism
Tourist numbers continue to be very high with most camps and lodges reporting full occupancy over most of the month. We continue to host over 370 people per day in the Triangle, none of whom pay the Conservancy.
We continue to host large school groups and gave free entry to over 1,200 students in October.
Table 1 shows day visitors into and out of the Mara Triangle from other parts of the Mara in October
Security
A total of 12 poachers were arrested during the month. This brings the total arrests to 463 since June 2001. There were no known incursions by poachers into the Triangle during the month. A total of 184 wire snares were recovered during the month.
Three poachers arrested on the night of the 30th September by the Ngiro-are team. 16 wire snares recovered, one of the poachers was caught in his own snare as he tried to escape, he was injured on the neck and chest.
Three wa Kuria poachers were arrested on the night of the 6th by the Ngiro-are team as they entered the Serengeti. They had wire snares, spears and bows but had not killed anything. On the same day the Serena team found two wildebeest carcasses near the Mara river, downstream from Kokatende in Tanzania. The wildebeest had been dead for several days.
On the 7th 30 wire snares were recovered near the Ngiro-are swamp.
On the 7th thirteen cattle were stolen from near Angata Barrikoi by wa Kuria. They were recovered by a combined team from the Kenyan and Tanzanian police. On the same day the locals from Angata stole 9 cattle in response. This retaliatory raid led to a confrontation between the police and the wa Kuria and ended in one Kenyan policeman being killed and two wounded by arrows. Two of our community scouts were implicated in the retaliatory raid and were handed over to the Police in Lolgorien.
Four wa Kuria poachers were arrested at Masanja in Tanzania by the Serena team on the morning of the 12th. They had arrived the previous night and had 17 wire snares, none of which had been set. One of the poachers had been arrested before and had been jailed for two months. This is the first sign of poaching we have seen in Masanja for two years. The same night the Ngiro-are team arrested one poacher at 4.00 am, as a group returned from hunting in the Ngiro-are swamp.
One poacher was arrested by the Serena team in Tanzania on the night of the 24th at about 10.00 pm. He was one of a group of three who had killed three Thompson’s gazelle.
On the 24th the Ngiro-are team recovered 100 wire snares in Tanzania, no animals had been caught.
On the 27th the Serena team found 11 wire snares and rescued 5 wildebeest, a sixth was found dead in the snare.
Development
The laundry in the staff compound had been changed to a staff canteen and the laundry moved to near the shower block. A small kitchen has been constructed next to the new canteen.
The Senior Warden’s house was found to be full of bats, the ceilings were removed and the bat guano removed. The ceilings have been replaced.
We have re-covered the vehicle seats and made new canvas covers for the pick-ups.
Grader repaired all roads and is currently working on drainage ditches in anticipation of the rains.
The road team has worked on all culverts and ensured that they are clear. Unfortunately the tractor broke down and we have been informed that the spare will take one month to import.
We had a problem with KAN 706K and it was out of action for ten days, it was repaired at the end of the month.
Revenue and Accounts
September revenue was slightly higher than anticipated and it is expected that revenue for October will also be higher than budgeted.
Report on focus for October
Focus for November
· Receive audit report;
· Complete drainage on roads;
· Start work on Ngiro-are office;
· Repair tractor;
· See design for new tickets
· Earthview Audit