What We Do: Our Work & Projects
1. Anti-Poaching & De-Snaring Patrols
Poaching for bushmeat is an ongoing battle with snares indiscriminate in what they catch: we have found snares on lions, cheetahs, elephant and even rhino.
We have reduced the impact of poaching but must patrol regularly to keep poaching levels down.
There are 45 rangers based in four ranger stations, from which they patrol the surrounding area, with our main teams from Iseiya and Ngiro-are regularly on joint day and night patrols together with TANAPA rangers in Serengeti.
Oloololo rangers patrol regularly with Anne Kent Taylor Scouts in the community areas next to the Mara Triangle. Read more...
2. Anti-Animal Harassment Department
Tourist vehicles can interfere with hunting animals, young families, and also damage the ecosystem.
We have three Anti-Animal Harrassment Vehicles which patrol the Triangle during morning and afternoon hours when tour companies are taking their clients for a game drive.
There are strict park rules of no more than five vehicles around one animal sighting, and vehicles are not allowed to approach closer than 25 metres to the animals.
The job of our rangers is to allow life to continue in the Mara with minimum interference, and helps you see natural phenomenon, like wildebeest herds crossing the Mara River. Read more...
3. Cattle Compensation Scheme
Before the scheme when cattle were killed by predators such as lions and leopards, the local community would take revenge by killing the animal. The scheme compensates the community for cattle killed by predators and stops revenge killing.
The scheme was stopped in January 2008 when post-election violence caused a collapse in tourism, which left no funding for compensation.
We restarted the scheme in May 2009 with new rules to ensure that bomas are properly built and secure, which will reduce the number of killings. Bomas should be protected with chain link fence, and the Mara Conservancy has agreed to pay for half of the fence needed. Read more...
4. Canine Distemper & Rabies Vaccinations
In 1994, there was an outbreak of canine distemper in domestic dogs around Serengeti National Park. The virus spread to lions and wiped out an estimated 1,000 individuals.
Other predators like cheetah and jackals are also vulnerable to the disease and so it is important to prevent outbreaks from reaching the Mara Triangle by vaccinating domestic dogs among the communities that border the Triangle.
Dr Asuka Takita has been vaccinating domestic animals since 2006 and since then has vacinated over 12,000 dogs.
Widespread vaccinations against rabies means far fewer cases among communities bordering the Triangle. Read more..
5. Tracker Dog Unit
When rangers came upon poachers while out on patrol it was extremely difficult to catch all the poachers as the hiding places were many. This meant that although your group may have been found, as a poacher your chances of escape were fairly high.
With the introduction of Tracker Dogs in June 2009 we are now arresting all of the poachers in a group, and thus chances of escape are now none.
We expect this information to quickly spread among the communities and we will most likely see a reduction in poaching activity. Read more...
6. Livestock Guardians
According to recent survey, lions avoid villages with many dogs while leopards routinely visit such a boma to feed on dogs prior to a small stock attack.
Namibia’s Cheetah Conservation Fund have been using Anatolian Shepherd Dogs as a Livestock Guardian to reduce livestock depredation by cheetah, and we are interested to see if such a dog would be suitable as a deterrant against attacks by Mara lions and leopards.
As Maasai are generally tolerant of wildlife on their land, revenge killing of carnivores can be put to an end through successful reduction of livestock depredation, and so we are very interested on the results of this trial. Read more...
7. Tree Teaching
We could plant a thousand trees ourselves, take some photos, put it on the web, and then never return to the project again, or, we could show the surrounding communities the importance of protecting the forest and growing new trees themselves.
We are currently putting together a Tree Teaching Program that will bring Seedlings and Tree Teaching Packs to all Primary and Secondary schools on the escarpment, between the Triangle and Lolgorian. Already we have been approached by community leaders who want us to extend the program to community centres.
If the project is a success we would like to extend it to other parts of the Mara. We are still in the planning stages so any support or advice is much appreciated. Read more...
8. Masai Mara Management Plan
The Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem is one of the last places on earth to support a large scale wildlife migration. The Mara is also home to Maasai traditional pastoralists and a main attraction for Kenya's tourism industry.
The Masai Mara Management plan is currently being put together by various NGOs as a way to protect this important ecosystem from over development and to make sure that this wildlife spectacle will remain for generations to come. Read more...