General
Some members of KAPS staff, together with those from the Conservancy and County, mounted a social media and political campaign against the resident manager, Ms Isabel Gichungu. We held a meeting with community leaders on the 16th to hear their grievances – essentially perceived discrimination against Siria Maasai, unwarranted dismissals and warnings. They insisted on her removal.A constant theme in recent meetings is that the Siria look across the river and see their Purko counterparts enriching themselves; buying land, tourist vehicles, cattle and building smart houses. They want the same and feel that we are holding them back; essentially the leaders want to have equal opportunities for the locals. I held a meeting with the Chairman of KAPS on the 19th to discuss the issue and agreed that the four key spokesmen from the community – Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) from Lolgorien and Kimentet, Mr S Sabaya (a Chief Officer with Narok County) and Mr M Koin (Assistant County Commissioner - in Government Administration)should meet with senior KAPS management and discuss their complaints. This meeting was held in Nairobi on the 26th and attended by the County Speaker, the four above mentioned, senior KAPS representatives, myself and the Chairman. In the end KAPS agreed to re-deploy Ms Gichungu and employ four members of the local community. This sets a dangerous precedent, where members of the local community feel that they can dictate management decisions in the Mara to further their own interests.
We held a lodge managers’ meeting on the 20ᵗʰ for them to have a better understanding of the Mara Conservancy and what we do, and also to introduce the Controlled area concept and the fact that we will be installing vehicle trackers in all resident vehicles.
The controlled area is a new concept brought about by the desire to improve the visitor experience, whilst still protecting the ecosystem. It recognises that this area is very heavily utilized and will allow for controlled off road driving in the area hatched in pink on the map above, but only under the supervision of one of our anti-harassment vehicles. Normal restrictions apply on the river zone, high and low use areas.
We followed up the Lodge Managers’ meeting with one for resident guides on the 29th. The meeting did not proceed well, the Chairman of the Mara Triangle Guides Association (the first we have heard of such an association) requested an adjournment, stating that the guides had numerous issues that they wanted to raise. They did not appear to be interested in what we had to say about the Controlled off-road concept, or the use of trackers in vehicles. We have suggested that the guides call for a meeting and include whoever they feel appropriate from the County. In the meantime, we have taken the Controlled off-roading proposal off the table. This is the second instance in a month where local politics is interfering in our ability to manage the Mara Triangle effectively.
When we look at the underlying causes of this political interference, we don’t have to go much further than look at trends within the Mara ecosystem (Ogutu et al,PNAS 2025 Vol. 122 No. 23 e2502418122)in a rebuttal to a paper in PNAS by Xu and Butt that stated that livestock grazing in the Masai Mara does not adversely affect wild herbivore numbers. Just look at the maps below to see the pressure that exponential increases in human population, fences and sheep and goats have placed on the Mara. The massive increase in the human population around the Mara since the 1960s translates to more pressure on resources, more expectations and hence more opportunities for political interference. There is no indication that the pressures will ease in the near future. In a way it is a shame that the maps don’t show what is happening West of the Mara, but the pressures are the same, or even greater
Collaboration Agreement
The camp we built for the GSU at Angata was completely destroyed on the 2ⁿᵈ, after a directive from the Inspector General of Police ordered that the GSU leave. Within 36 hours the community had completely dismantled and stolen every item in the camp.
We have completed constructing a VIP cottage at Sand River, it now requires furnishing before it can be used.
We have completed work on the road from Simba to Talek and the road between Keekorok and Ololaimutia.
We have paid a total of Ksh 24 million to Manchester Unforms for ranger uniforms, we have yet to receive a single uniform.
Staff
We brought in a trainer to teach our tractor drivers the proper use and maintenance of our tractors. The training was very well received.
Two members of staff each lost a parent in May, our commiserations to Naomi Ngeto and Salaton.
Wildlife
Dr Ashif treated a number of animals along the escarpment during the month, several zebra and giraffes were treated for snare, arrow and spear wounds. An elephant was treated with a spear right through his hind foot on the 16th. The spear, probably thrown by a Mkuria in Tanzania. A female elephant was found dead near Kampi ya Mungu on the27th, the tusks were intact and weighed 8 kg each. On the same day a female elephant was found dead on Mara North, it had a small calf which was rescued by the Sheldrick Trust and taken to Nairobi. Another young elephant was treated on Naibosho on the 31ˢᵗ, It had an arrow wound in the left flank. The arrow was successfully removed.
A lioness was mortally wounded with a machete slash on her spine near Musiara. There have been numerous cases of severe injury or death to lions as a result of retaliation against cattle killing in this area of the Reserve. We just have to look at the maps above to see how human pressure, livestock, fencing and settlement are severely impacting the space for wildlife – no wonder there is so much conflict. It can only get worse.
Tourism
We have purchased 150 LoRaWan trackers to install in resident vehicles and held a Lodge Managers’ meeting on the 20th to launch the project. These trackers will enable us to monitor movement, off-roading, speed and vehicle concentrations. If this trial works out, the County will install trackers in all vehicles in the Main Reserve.
We were relaxing the no off-road rule in certain areas; this would only allow controlled off-roading in these areas under supervision from one of our anti-harassment teams. The vehicle trackers were to help us keep an eye on concentrations and off-roading, but these initiatives have been met with opposition from the resident guides and have been put on hold until we find a way forward.
The first few months of this year have been much quieter than last year – last year until the end of April we had 19,785 non-resident visitors. This year we have had 14,992 – a 25% drop. The indications are that tourist numbers will remain lower for the remainder of this year.
Security
Only one poacher was arrested all month, he was arrested when our teams crossed the river and patrolled into the Northern Serengeti. This is the first time that we have patrolled this area in. nearly a year and is a welcome sign of the return to normal relations with TANAPA.
We lost Giza, one of our tracker dogs to suspected parvovirus. The other dogs have now been vaccinated.
Revenue and Accounts
May was the third month in a row with very little revenue. We have seen a slight improvement in visitor numbers in the past week and expect that June will be busy; possibly people trying to cash in on the lower park fees before the increase in July.
Report on focus for May
We have completed a draft of our Annual Work Plan for presentation to the Board on the 6th.
We have renovated all the housing at Ngiro-are and added another uni-hut to the camp at Kilo 2. We also added shade to two uni-huts at Iseiya.
We have installed a number of new signs along the roads.
We have been working on the lower road to Mara Bridge, resurfacing sections that had been worn down, repairing approaches to drifts and installing additional culverts where necessary. We are improving a section of the main road to Purungat.
Focus forJune 2025
Hold Board meeting on the 6th;
Continue with road repairs;
Finalize contracts with Wildeye and KAPS ;
Construct shade for tractors;
Start on picnic site at Purungat;
Cut grass tracks wherever possible.
Work on Collaboration Agreement
Complete work at Ol Kiombo;
Grade Ol Kiombo and Musiara airstrips;
Complete housing at Keekorok;
Follow up on uniforms;
Possibly start on a small guest house at Sand River;