General
We had. A very heavy rainstorm between Mugoro and Oloololo Gate on the 6th, this flooded the Olpunyatta Plain and caused sone damage to the bridge at Sankuria. There was a similar storm on the 25th. The year the rains have bee concentrated near Oloololo and all along the escarpment, with very little from Serena to Mara Bridge.
We held our Board meeting on the 8th but were unable to resolve issues on retention of revenue with the County Government. The Board has requested more information on exactly how the system will work and another Board meeting has been scheduled for 12thJanuary 2024.
Collaboration Agreement
Our main focus was in rebuilding the road between Keekorok and Sekenani and the work is now three quarters complete. The road team broke for Christmas and will resume on the 8th January.
We installed nearly 20 culverts between Mara Bridge and Keekorok.
Heavy rains delayed construction of the bridge over the Talek River and this should now be completed in January, weather permitting.
Maintaining vehicles in the Main Reserve is an exercise in futility and frustration. The vehicles are so badly driven and managed that we can never keep up with repairs. In December alone two front axels were destroyed , as was an engine. All as a result of reckless and poor driving.
We installed a fence around the Warden’s house at Keekorok.
We completed installing a repeater radios at all the ranger stations in the Main Reserve. They now have an excellent radio network throughout the Reserve.
Staff
Ranger Francis Mako died at the beginning of the month whilst at home. The cause of death is being investigated as he was found in a water tank.
Members of the County Public Service Board held a two day meeting at Keekorok in the Reserve to train staff on appraisals and wealth declaration, as well as review promotions. They then visited the Triangle for a day and went to Nigro-are.
Tourism
The first half of December was very quiet but became busy towards Christmas and the New Year, mainly with local tourists.
We are on schedule to implement the increase in Park Fees from 1st January.
Security
A total of nine people were arrested in December, bringing the total for the year to 205. We also collected 1,985 wire snares – see table below. Both the number of arrests, and the number of snares collected are well down on recent years and our rangers are having to patrol further and further afield. We are now doing many more two/three day patrols up to 60 km into the Serengeti.
The second table, below, lists the number of animals that our rangers found poached, or in snares. The nights when large groups of poachers hunted on dark nights with torches and dogs have been drastically reduced – the risk of being apprehended now seems too high. Gone are the nights we would find up to 50 Thompson’s gazelle butchered at a time. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our rangers for their discipline and commitment but also commend them for the very strong relationship that has been developed and maintained over the years with their Tanzanian counterparts.
The first half of December was very quiet, with no arrests made. However, there were signs that people were hunting with dogs and torches. After several nights of ambushing two people were arrested on the 17th night as they hunted impala in the Lemai Wedge. Two impala had been killed by the time our rangers caught up with the poachers.
More arrests followed and on the 18th the Nigro-are team arrested one person at Olaro Nyoike. The following day one of our remote cameras was stolen and another flooded along the stream flowing from the salt-lick. We concentrated our patrols in this area and on the 20th one of our patrols came across a fresh poachers’ camp in the Triangle between the Army Drift and salt-lick. Morani, one of our dogs, managed to track the poachers and two were arrested as they tried to hide in the stream. Three people were unaccounted for and so an ambush was set on the likely route home; two more people were arrested and they confirmed that they were part of the same group.
The Ngiro-are team arrested one person, hunting alone, near the Lemai airstrip on the 21st and another person near Kokamange on the 28th.
Revenue and Accounts
November is always a quiet month and this was reflected in the drop in visitor numbers and hence revenue. Revenue was down by 34% on October but almost double that collected in November 2022.
Repairs and Maintenance
The new houses at Iseiya have been occupied and we plan on creating a new office block out of one of the houses next to the main office.
We have completely renovated the toilets at the Oloololo Gate and they were opened on the 15th.
We have replaced the roofing on houses at Oloololo and have also repainted all the houses there.
We are working on a new toilet/shower block for staff at Little Governors and have installed a new uni-hut for the County monitors.
We repaired the bridge at Sankuria afte the forst storm on the 6th, we then had to do further repairs after Christmas,
We repaired the road to Nigro-are and installed a small culvert on a flooded section near Maji ya Ndege.
We graded the main road from Serena to Mara Bridge.
We replaced the armored cable to the Conservancy headquarters and new housing to cater for the additional load.
Report on focus for December
Focus for January 2024
· Hold Board meeting on 12th;
· Complete toilet block at Little Governors;
· Build office for the rhino team there;
· Possibly re-site Kiboko campsite away from the new lodge being built in the Main Reserve;
· Work on new offices at Iseiya; and
· Start on new toilet block at Purungat.
Work on Collaboration Agreement
· Complete Sekenani/Keekorok road;
· Complete bridge over the Talek River;
· Install signs;
· Continue road maintenance;
· Start work at Ngararu;
· Start work at Mpuai; and
· Sort out the Sekenani workshops.