General
There were one or two heavy storms around Oloololo at the beginning of the month and then we had a few days of widespread rain and thunderstorms from the 18th . This was sufficient to set the migration back to the Serengeti and by the 24th there were only a few thousand wildebeest left in the Mara, all of them along the border.
The British High Commissioner visited for the day on the 5th, she was escorted by Warden Pengo and managed to see almost everything in half a day.
We were interviewed by Nation TV on the 10th for an article they are doing on wildlife population trends in Kenya.
We received an amended contract from the County for collaboration with the Main Reserve and it will be tabled at the next Board meeting, scheduled for 23rd November. We have also received a draft contract for managing Oloololo Game Ranch, this will also be tabled at the next Board meeting.
The Governor invited some camp and lodge managers, together with the Chief Executive, to a fundraiser at Olorukoti Secondary school, on the 21st. The outcome is that we will collaborate to upgrade the school - it ranked the best in Trans Mara last year. The Governor would like me to oversee the construction of four classrooms, four dormitories, a dining hall, staff housing and the supply of water. This is a major project that will involve substantial contributions from the County, Serena, Angama, Kichwa Tembo and ourselves.
We had a visit from 30 members of the County Assembly (MCAs) on the 24th, most stayed at Mara Serena for two nights. We had a three hour meeting with them, giving them some background on the Conservancy, our achievements and challenges before answering questions. The meeting was positive and we hope it will lead to approval for a degree of management on the Main Reserve by the County Assembly. This is a critical step in getting support for the management contract.
Tourism
Although the total number of visitors was almost identical to last year, we had a lot more non-resident visitors – 10,174 against 8,937.
We received a complaint from Rhino Safaris, through the CEO of the Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO) that a driver had been wrongfully fined, with an intimation that one of our Wardens had tried to solicit a bribe. We investigated the issue and were satisfied that the driver had indeed been correctly fined – he had allowed the tickets to lapse by nearly a day and was holding on to a voucher that should have been surrendered on arrival.
One would have thought that having a float and issuing vouchers against that float for ticketing was fairly foolproof. We had the issue above, and only a few days later another attempt at using a voucher from one property to ticket guests staying elsewhere. How does this work? Clients staying outside the Reserve pay a full package, inclusive of Park Fees for the duration of their stay. The camp then issues tickets on a daily basis, retaining any unutilized Park Fee. They then either keep the money, not refunding the client, or they issue a voucher based on any unspent Park Fees – in this case to be utilized by someone else and exchanged for cash.
Staff
Mr Liaram Molai, our Administrator, was promoted to Director of Environment, Water and Natural Resources in the County and left on the 12th. We wish him all the best in his new posting. Mr David Aruasa has been promoted to the position of Acting Administrator.
I will visit India from the 8th to the 16th, I will be adjudicating on grant proposals for the Habitats Trust, a private family Trust committed to conservation in India. I then hope to take four days off before the board meeting.
Wildlife
Koilaken, one of the rhino was treated for a filarial ulcer on the 13th. These are large, plate sized, wounds on the flanks and seem to be quite common in rhino. Naishuro had a calf on or around the 20th.
Our two cheetah have been moving very extensively, one day near Oloololo two days later in Tanzania. We now lose them for days on end, but they were seen on the 24, 25th and 31st , looking healthy and fit, just on the Kenya side of the border on the 24thand then near Lemai at the end of the month.
The rhino team found a dead lion on the 28th, it was an old lioness and we presume she died of natural causes.
Security
We only arrested eight people in October, all of them in the last ten days. The Tanzanians have taken a very hard line against poachers in the past few months, resulting in a very significant reduction in poaching. We collected 283 wire snares, rescued 2 zebra, found two more dead and also arrested poachers with a reedbuck that they had killed.
A total of 18 snares were collected between the 1st and 9th and one zebra rescued. Fifty five more snares were recovered on the 16th during a joint patrol with our Tanzanian counterparts and then a further 99 on the 18th and 55 on the 19th.
We held a meeting with the newly posted Sector Warden in charge of the Northern Serengeti, Mr Robert Nduma, together with his Senior Sergeant, on the 19th. It was an excellent meeting, reaffirming our commitment to work together.
Thirty eight wire snares were collected on the 21st, one zebra was found dead in a snare, The next day the Iseiya team managed to make our first arrest of the month – a person hunting alone with dogs near Lugga ya Ngiri. On the same day the Nigro-are rangers collected 22 snares. The rangers found where a zebra had been poached on the 23rd and then saw poachers, they managed to escape.
Twelve snares were collected by both teams on the 24th and then one person was arrested across the river as he and seven others were chasing animals. One more person was arrested by a joint patrol around Lempise on the 25th.
We recovered eight snares on the 26th and 27th, and one of our community scouts found an elephant tusk hidden in a tree on the escarpment on the 26th. On the same day the Nigro-are rangers recovered 25 snares and rescued one zebra along the escarpment in the Lemai Wedge.
We intensified our patrols in the Northern Serengeti and managed to arrest two people on a night ambush near Machechwe on the 28th. They were part of a group of five who had hunted and killed a reedbuck. Two more people were arrested the following day, the first near Olaro Nyioke. Nine snares were recovered and then that night another person was arrested as he and his two companions came to hunt near the Nigro-are swamp.
Twenty three snares were collected on the 30th, all in the Lemai Wedge.
Revenue and Accounts
Table 1 below gives a summary of our income and expenditure for the first three months of our financial year. One slightly surprising thing, our revenue from Park fees was a fraction down on last year. I expected a slight increase.
Table 1: Income and expenditure for the 1st quarter 2019
There was a significant drop in revenue in September, from Ksh 135 million in August to Ksh 80 million in September. However, we continue to do better than we did in 2018 and were up by 15% on September last year. October continues to be quite busy and we will expect another good month.
Repairs and maintenance
We had to overhaul the Chief Executive’s Land Rover engine - it would appear that it came with slightly undersized pistons when new, and oil was leaking up through the pistons. There is a huge improvement in performance.
One of our drivers overturned a Suzuki Maruti Jeep on his way back from taking a sick person to Lolgorien. The Suzuki has been taken to Nairobi for repairs.
The new tipper started work on the new road near Oloololo and we managed to complete work on the 15th. This road has already become very popular and we hope that it will reduce the amount of tracking and environmental damage in this sensitive area.
We gave the main road a light grading and resurfaced a section that was beginning to be damaged by all the heavy balloon traffic in the early mornings. We also opened up all the culverts in preparation for the rains.
The Immigration Post is nearing completion – there are a number of things to be done in order to make it operational. These include: sewage, water and electricity, an access road and a parking area for aircraft.
We opened up another service window for KAPS at Purungat so that transit traffic can be dealt with separately. We also built a small shade for drivers and rangers near the barrier.
We connected water to the Wardens’ shower and kitchen at Purungat and also dug a soak pit for waste water.
We replaced one roof at Nigro-are, repainted all the buildings and replaced 30 broken window panes.
Report on focus for October
Focus for November 2019
· Hold Board meeting on the 23rd
· Finalise contract for the Main Reserve;
· Approve draft contract to manage Oloololo Game Ranch
· Start construction of staff housing at Iseiya;
· Complete construction of Immigration Post;
· Start on the school at Isokon;
· CE to take time off;
· Routine maintenance at Oloololo Gate;
· Sell Land Rover;
· Finalise payment for the new grader;
· Review Tender documents for Auditors; and
· Possibly survey Reserve boundary.