June 2025

General

We continued to have sporadic rain throughout the month, a few bright, sunny days followed by heavy storms or light showers.  This kept the grass green and difficult to burn.  However, we did manage to set a few fires.

A group of youths invaded some land close to one of the lodges on the escarpment on the 4th, they refused to move out and a day later were evicted by the police, one person was killed and several injured.

We held our Board meeting on the 6th to discuss the Annual Work Plan and review draft contracts for KAPS and Wildeye.  The Work Plan was approved and we hope to finalize the contracts before the end of June.

We met with a group of local leaders on the 12th to discuss community related issues, we have agreed to drill a borehole at Kawai to provide residents with easier access to clean waters.

We organized a study tour for 18 wardens from the Mara to South Africa from the 23rd until the 30th.  They spent two days in Johannesburg before visiting the Kruger National Park.  We were most impressed with the Immigration Department, they managed to issue passports for most of the wardens in record time – at times within two or three days of application.

I met with Dr Ellen Stofan on the 29th.  Dr Stofan is with the Smithsonian Institute and has considerable experience with museums and their design.  She has agreed to put us in contact with people who may help with advice on our displays for the Visitor Centre.

Collaboration Agreement

We held a stakeholdes’ meeting at the Conservation Centre on the 9th to discuss progress and plan for the coming months.  It looks like we will be busy with capacity building data analysis.  It is hoped that 51o will send someone to train the ranger team, Dr Jake Wall will hopefully send someone to help develop analytical tolls and meaningful reports.  We also hope to install vehicle trackers in the resident vehicles and have them linked to Earth Ranger.

We continue to work on the roads and have concentrated between Ol Kiombo and Musiara. We have also graded the Keekorok airstrip and are working on the road from Sekenani to Keekorok.

We completed rebuilding the Enombuai ranger post and gate, after it had been damaged by vandals.  We are now constructing a revenue/warden’s office at the Ol Kiombo airstrip.

We have furnished and equipped the VIP cottage at Sand River.

Staff

We had a training course for all our drivers, run by Glen and Kim Edmonds.

Five of our wardens joined the group to South Africa.

Wildlife 

A singe male cheetah was attacked by a coalition of males and severely injured near Oloololo, unfortunately he succumbed to his injuries the following day.

Ashif continued to treat animals, almost on a daily basis.  Several giraffe and zebra were treated with arrow and spear wounds, at least one zebra was found dead and an eland calf was rescued with an arrow through it’s neck.  The worst areas are along the escarpment, where land has been sub-divided and cleared for agriculture. 

Tourism

June was exceptionally busy and we are already dealing with numerous, very negative reports about overcrowding, concentrations of over 200 vehicles at a sighting, huge queues at the Look Out toilets and corruption in the Main Reserve.  We occasionally have to deal with an onslaught of vehicles from the Main Reserve, especially if there is such a thing as a leopard sighting.  At times it is very difficult to control these drivers, so many of them are under intense pressure to show animals from a very close range that they are prepared to break any rules.

We are not certain how the next few months will be, what with Israel/Iran at war, political uncertainty in America and across the globe, and civil unrest in Kenya.  How will this impact tourism?  It is almost certain that we will see a drop in overseas tourists, to what extent is the question.    

Security

Twenty people were arrested for poaching, almost all of them in the Northern Serengeti.  Our rangers found where nine zebra, three buffalo and an impala had been poached and butchered.  Nine wire snares were recovered.

Two people were arrested on the 9th night.  They were part of a group of four who were hunting warthog along the Kenya/Tanzania border near Konyoiki.

We have been dealing with the theft of fuel and batteries whenever the equipment is working in the Talek area and on the night of the 10th our road team managed to apprehend one of the thieves and impound the vehicle as the thieves tried to syphon fuel from the excavator.  Two people escaped but they are known.

The Ngiro-are team managed to arrest three people on the 11th near Saiyari.   Morani, one of our dogs tracked one person from a group of four during the day and two more people were arrested that night as they tried to head home.

The rangers found were three buffalo had been poached and butchered in the Lemai Wedge on the 14th.  Sadly, the poaches all escaped.

The rangers went on a two-day patrol across the river on the 18th and managed to arrest nine poachers between Duma and Serengeti Ndogo.  On the first day they arrested two people along the Mara River.  On the second day they saw 11 people approach just before dark and managed to arrest seven of them.  Two of them would probably have escaped if it were not for our dogs, they managed to track them in long grass.

Our teams returned across the river on the 23rd for an overnight, two-day patrol and managed to arrest three people.  The first was arrested at around 5.00 pm, as he and a companion were hunting near Zonzo.  That night, at around 7.40 two more people were arrested as they came in to collect meat with nine donkeys.  The rangers had found the meat earlier, it was from nine zebra.  Again,  a dog was responsible for one of the arrests.

On the 29th our rangers at Partikilat received information from a community scout that people were hunting near Sabaringo, outside the Reserve, they joined forces with rangers from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Oloisukut and managed to arrest three people who had set nine snares and killed an impala.

Revenue and Accounts

Our gross margin (revenue less KAPS commission and purchase of promotional items) for the first 11 months of the financial year was very slightly below budget, probably as a result of the lower than anticipated revenue for January to May - we had 25% fewer visitors than for the same period last year, and the fact that Governors Balloons insist on paying the County through Hemlab instead of the Conservancy.   Our expenditure was higher than budget by 19% but we still managed to retain a reasonable reserve.  All the indications are that June was significantly busier than last year and we can expect an improvement in the gross margin and bottom line.

We will increase Park fees on the 1st July from US$ 100 to US$ 200 for non-resident adults, as per the list below.  The full list can be seen on our website.

The revenue collected in May was the highest since February this year, it is usually the lowest month in the whole year.  June should be significantly better.

Report on focus for June

We continue to work on the road network and only have one major project outstanding the main road to Kilo 2.  It will probably take two weeks, depending on the weather.

We have cut two new  game viewing roads – they will be surfaced with murram once the major road works are complete.

We have  cut half the game viewing tracks with the gyro-mower, the rest should be cut by early July.

We have started on a picnic site at Mara Bridge, it will cater for up to 30 people and will stop people from picnicking in the gatehouse and immediate environs. 

Mr Yatendra Agrawal from India visited the Mara, sampled all the water supplies and donated small filtration systems that make the water drinkable.  Most of the boreholes in the Mara are saline, and/or have a high fluorine content.  These filters eliminate that, as well and bacteria. 

Focus for July 2025

  • Install vehicle trackers in all vehicles;

  • Continue with road repairs;

  • Continue with picnic site at Mara Bridge;

  • Start upgrade on students’ toilets at Mara Bridge;

  • Purchase one compacting roller;

  • Purchase two Land Cruisers;

  • Sell one Land Cruiser.

Work on Collaboration Agreement

  • Hold planning meeting for the next quarter;

  • Provide training to staff at Conservation Centre;

  • Make final payment on uniforms;

  • Repair Keekorok airstrip;

  • Complete work at Ol Kiombo;

  • Maintain workshops;

  • Grade main roads.