General
The County held a stakeholders’ meeting in Nairobi on the 12th. It was well attended by the tourism sector and the County used it as an opportunity to inform stakeholders on technological developments in the Reserve. The Governor explained the rationale behind the increase in Park Fees after requests to reduce fees from October through December. The Conservancy received recognition for our contribution to “protecting wildlife, preserving habitats and sustaining communities.”
We held a Board meeting on the 17th, followed by a party to celebrate 25 years in the Mara.
Collaboration Agreement
We signed the new Collaboration Agreement and left it with the County to sign.
We completed the new drift over the Ol Keju Rongai and will work on the approaches.
We developed a new water source at Sekenani, this now provides a very substantial amount of water to staff and the community.
We repaired the Kijito windmill at Musiara and the road team worked on the roads and airstrip in that area.
We installed solar power at the Wardens’ offices at Sekenani, at the Chief Park Warden’s residence and at the Talek gate.
We have started maintenance and repairs at Enombuai, Ol Kiombo and Ol Are Orok.
We have started the Audit on all camps within the Mara ecosystem, this work should be complete in early August.
Staff
The 25 year celebration was very well organized by members of staff and a great success.
We increased basic salaries for all staff by 5% ad reviewed special cases and the lower paid staff, some were increased by 15%.
Wildlife
Dr Ashif has been helping Ms Merel Hilderink collect ticks for a PhD study she is doing. This study will be very useful to us when managing the roan once they arrive. We should get a far greater understanding of the pathogens they carry and potential tick burdens to expect. This will enable us to manage both.
Tourism
Tourist numbers in June were down by 12.4% on June last year, it looks as if July will also be down on last July but August looks promising. The threat of Ebola seems to have subsided but ongoing concerns about the war in the Middle East, the World Cup seem to have impacted tourist numbers.
We held a guides’ meeting on the 2nd to discuss the installation of vehicle trackers and discuss general issues on guiding and expected behavior. The trackers are gaining acceptance and we now have up to 60 deployed.
We are in the middle of an audit of all camps and lodges in the Mara ecosystem. Our preliminary results show that we have around 60 camps/lodges in the Reserve. We have two permanent camps in the Triangle – Mara Serena and Mara Wilderness (formerly Little Governors) and one seasonal camp, Enkishui, open from July to November.
Security
Our teams managed to arrest 35 poachers in July. They recovered 784 wire snares, rescued 61 wildebeest, found 11 dead in snares and found where 19 wildebeest, one zebra and a warthog had been butchered.
The rangers crossed the river on the night of the 2nd and managed to arrest two people from a group of five who were hunting with machetes. They had killed two wildebeest when arrested. One more person was arrested on the 4th in the same area.
Our rangers joined forces and managed to arrest three people near Kogatende, they had four snares. One more parson was arrested carrying wildebeest meat near Tabora B on the some night.
We started seeing snares in the Lemai Wedge and recovered 118 snares between the 7th and 9th. We also managed to arrest three people on separate day and night patrols in the same period. Sixty eight snares were collected on the 10th and 11th and then on the 14th the Ngiro-are rangers managed to arrest six people after receiving information that a gang had entered the Lemai Wedge.
Two hundred and thirty eight snares were collected on the 18th and 19th and three people were arrested as they came to check snares and set others. Seven wildebeest were rescued and one had been butchered.
The Iseiya team crossed the river on the 20th for a three day patrol and managed to arrest seven people. They managed to collect 26 snares and found where six wildebeest and a zebra had been killed. The Ngiro-are team also managed to arrest one person in the same period. They collected 117 snares, rescued 12 wildebeest, found three dead and where four had been butchered. Another 30 snares were collected the following day.
Three people were arrested on the 23rd in three separate incidents. The first person to be arrested was carrying a wildebeest that he and his companion had just killed. The Ngiro-are team collected 23 snares, rescued six wildebeest and caught one person.
The Iseiya team set up an observation post across the Mara River on the 24th and managed to arrest all three people who were on their way to hunt with machetes. That same day the Ngiro-are team managed to arrest two people, one in the morning and then another at night. Thirty six snares were collected, eight wildebeest rescued and four were found dead in snares.
We continue to collect wire snares, 124 were collected on the 25th; 28 wildebeest were rescued, four were dead in snares, four had been butchered, as well as one warthog
Revenue and Accounts
We had a total of 137,278 visitors to the Triangle in the last financial year, ending 30th June. This compares with 128,439 visitors in the previous year. In the past year we averaged 49.2% non-paying visitors, compared with 47.4% in the previous year. Basically, half the people who visit the Triangle do not pay us. We have started analyzing these figures and the non-paying visitors can be categorized as follows: those with traversing rights, ie those who have paid elsewhere such as Kichwa and the Main Reserve 57.6%, Transit 23%, Complimentary 3% and Camp staff/residents 16.4%.
When we compare the financial statements for 2024/5 and 2025/6 we see that our revenue was actually slightly lower this year by 6%. Part of this can be explained by the drop in balloon royalties, Governors now pay landing fees to Hemlab, a company engaged by the County to collect revenue. Part can be explained by the drop in donations, but even so, we had a drop in Park Fees, of Ksh 18 million (US$ 141,000). This, despite slightly more visitors.
Report on focus for July.
Work is progressing well on the new road along the escarpment and this should be completed by mid-August.
We have now completed renovating five staff houses at Oloololo. One remains, together with the kitchen/mess.
Grade A completed the foundations for the Visitor Centre and work has now started on forming the rammed earth walls.
FOCUS FOR AUGUST 2026
Complete road along the escarpment;
Open culverts and drains;
Continue with renovations at Oloololo;
Start rammed earth walls on Visitor Centre;
Install more road signs; and
Work with NTSA on speed cameras.
Work on Collaboration Agreement
Complete Cabro bricking the Wardens’ offices;
Complete work on Musiara pipeline;
Complete maintenance work in Main Reserve;
Complete Audit of camps and lodges;
Support World Ranger Day;
Demolish one house at Sekenani;
Continue with developing Park By-Laws;
Provide Fuel