General
We has a few days of beautiful sunny weather at the beginning of the month, a welcome change from the wet overcast days that characterized half of January and most of February. There was sufficient rain during the month to keep the grass green – around 40 mm – but there were no destructive storms.
The Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Hon Najib Balala visited the Triangle together with Gabon’s Minister for Forests, Oceans, Water and Environment – in charge of Climate Change and Land Use Planning, Prof Lee White on the 4th and 5th. They were accompanied by the Director General of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Brig (Rtd) J Waweru and Mr Ali Kaka – Advisor to Hon Balala.
We held a meeting with the Chief Park Warden and the Administrator’s Assistant on the 10th, to go through the Collaboration Agreement and develop a list of priorities for the next three months.
We attended the Greater Serengeti Society meeting at Lobo Lodge in the Serengeti from the 26/27th. It was well attended and, as always, the Research presentation was extremely informative and raised a number of issues.
Peponi Junior school had a wildlife day on the 23rd and raised Ksh 90,000, plus US$ 800 for our dog unit. I would like to thank everyone who organised and participated in this event, with special thanks to the Headmaster, Robert Blake and to Ciara Hartley.
Collaboration Agreement
We have started work in the Main Reserve and have managed to repair and grade the roads from Mara Bridge to Sekenani and from Sekenani to Talek. We are also working on the water supply at Oloolamutia and now have running water to the main water tank and some housing. There have been problems with people spearing the pipes, and with cattle treading on the pipes before they have been buried.
We will continue to work on the roads and start renovating some of the housing in April. There are a number of broken down vehicles and we will endeavour to repair them.
COVID-19
Kenya has lifted some of the restrictions on wearing masks in public places and the positivity rate continues to be extremely low – less than 1% throughout the month. The total number of positive cases now stands at 323,423 from 3,515,875 tests. The cumulative fatalities now stand at 5,648. A total of 17 million vaccines have been administered.
Tourism
We had a large wedding group stay for five days, this boosted our visitor numbers for the month. There are reports that camps and lodges will be very busy in June and July, but there are uncertainties about August – election month.
Staff
Twelve of our staff are about to complete their Junior Commander’s course at the Kenya Wildlife Training camp in Manyani on the 5th April. Twelve, who are on the basic course still have a month to go.
Davis Lekishon, one of our rangers lost part of a finger when helping winch out a TANAPA vehicle that got stuck in the mud.
Research
The Greater Serengeti Society meeting highlighted a number of issues that should cause considerable concern to managers and users of the ecosystem. These included:
· The Loita wildebeest migration has now ceased to exist. The Loita population has declined from 150,000 to around 15,000, there is no longer the imperative to move, with most of the wet season grazing areas taken over by agriculture and fences. We officially no longer have a Kenyan wildebeest migration, when fifty years ago there were two: The Lotia and the Kitengela – Amboseli migration;
· There is considerable land degradation in the Talek catchment area, leading to significant soil erosion and flash floods. It was estimated that up to 3,000 tons of topsoil are removed every day in heavy rains and that the average is 700 tons per day. The Maps below show the extent of degradation;
· Over-tourism is seen as a contributing factor to the reduction of numbers, and duration of the migration into Kenya. Wildebeest numbers seem to be stable at around 1.3 million but those visiting the Mara have declined from nearly a million to around half that number; more alarmingly they spend 35 days fewer each year in the Mara. It was noted that no wildebeest crossed the Mara River at the Serena crossing points in 2020 or 2021. This could well be attributed to the fact that movement has been severely curtailed by development along the Mara and Talek rivers. The scientists predict that the migration into Kenya will virtually cease to exist within a few years unless something is done to address the issue.
Cattle numbers have remained fairly constant at around 200,000 over the past 40 years, but sheep and goat numbers have increased exponentially to over 600,000. Sheep and goats (shoats) have largely contributed to the land degradation shown above.
The scientists consider fire as the sign of a healthy ecosystem and that the optimum frequency in savanna, such as in the Mara and Serengeti is 4 fires in 10 years. Fires in the Serengeti tend to be more frequent, as are the ones that come across the border and into the Mara. There are some areas in the northern section of the Triangle that have not been burnt for nearly 20 years; these are areas that we want to encourage shrub growth for the rhino.
There was a lengthy discussion on Carbon Credits with an estimate that the Serengeti sequesters 700,000 tons of carbon a year. It was made clear that seeking for Carbon credits is not really an option for the protected area, be it the Mara or the Serengeti. Essentially it is a stable ecosystem and currently credits will only be given for increasing sequestration – not for maintain the level. However, it has potential in the more degraded areas surrounding the Mara and may provide an incentive for landowners to protect and conserve their habitat. The proceeds are currently US$ 8 per ton, though it seems to be increasing, and a recent pay out was made at US$11. There is talk of it reaching US$ 50 per ton within a year. There is some hope that organisations will be incentivised to maintain their level of Carbon sequestration and biodiversity – maybe at that point the protected area may be able to apply.
Tourism
We had a large wedding group stay for five days, this boosted our visitor numbers for the month. There are reports that camps and lodges will be very busy in June and July, but there are uncertainties about August – election month.
Staff
Twelve of our staff are about to complete their Junior Commander’s course at the Kenya Wildlife Training camp in Manyani on the 5th April. Twelve, who are on the basic course still have a month to go.
Davis Lekishon, one of our rangers lost part of a finger when helping winch out a TANAPA vehicle that got stuck in the mud.
Wildlife
One tuskless elephant was found dead on the 8th, there were no visible wounds and it was presumed to be a natural death. The following day it was being fed on by 6 young male lions, they were in turn joined by five more lions, three of them lionesses.
Our fears about the collared lioness were founded, the collar a piece of skin and bone shards were discovered on the 10th, she had probably been killed with a poisoned arrow two weeks earlier – when we first raised our concerns. She and two others had killed four cattle near Mpata Club, on Oloisukut Conservancy. There are unconfirmed reports of a second lioness being killed in the same area a short while before.
Dr Limo from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)/Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) veterinary team treated a young elephant with a severely damaged leg, caused by a wire snare, on the 12th. The deeply embedded snare was removed, the wound cleaned and dressed and antibiotic administered.
A routine patrol on the 31st found one dead male elephant in the riverine forest downstream from Little Governors in what appeared to be a natural death, the tusks were recovered and weighed 30.8 and 29.7 kg (67.8 and 65.3 lbs respectively).
Security
Seven people were arrested during the month, four of them in the Lemai Wedge and three across the river. Two hippo, a buffalo and a warthog are known to have been poached.
I would like to thank Dr George Powell for his very kind donation of six thermal imaging cameras, the last two were delivered in March. These have revolutionized our ability to monitor poacher movement after dark.
One poached hippo was found on the 3rd, the rangers set an ambush but no one returned to butcher the animal.
Our Tanzanian counterparts saw 10 people carrying buffalo meat on the 6th, they gave chase and called for our assistance – unfortunately all 10 escaped before our team could arrive.
Three people were arrested on the 13/14th. Two people were arrested by the Nigro-are rangers as they entered the Lemai Wedge near Lempise. One other was arrested by the Iseiya team at 1.00 am – after a cat and mouse chase that lasted five hours. He was part of a larger group who managed to kill one warthog.
Our rangers came across a hippo that had been butchered upstream from the Army Drift, in the Triangle and a few days later, on the 26th, managed to arrest three people who were hunting South of the Mara River between Binamu and Ngira. One person was arrested in daylight and two more just after dark.
The Nigro-are rangers managed to arrest one person near Lugga ya Ngiri on the night of the 28th, he would not have been caught without the assistance of Shakaria – our most successful tracker dog.
Revenue and Accounts
February revenue was well down on the same month in a normal year, but significantly higher than last year. Surprisingly, it was less than January and our share was much less than our expenditure for the month. This will now be the pattern for the next three months, as we enter the low season. We have managed to set aside a small reserve – thanks mainly to support from Wildlife Protection Solutions (WPS) and expect that we will manage until high season. We received an additional US$ 50,000 from WPS in March and they have pledged another similar tranche in April.
Repairs and maintenance
Digital Radio Ltd completed their maintenance on our radio system, we immediately noticed a huge improvement but there is still more to be done.
We completed roofing the uni-huts at Iseiya, and installed two rain water tanks.
We strengthened our armoury door, in line with Government guidelines.
Painted and repaired the houses at Oloololo.
We graded the roads from Serena to Mara Bridge, to Kilo 2 and also the main road to Oloololo and patched the road to Little Governors.
Collaboration agreement
We have developed a list of priorities for work in the Main Mara. The list includes:
· Repairing the main roads – Mara Bridge to Sekenani, and Sekenani to Talek;
· Repairing the water system at Oloolamutia;
· Renovating housing at Oloolamutia;
· Maintaining vehicles;
· Installing a radio system;
· Upgrading the anti-harassment and monitoring unit.
Report on focus for March
Focus for April 2022
· Train staff on Occupational Health and Safety;
· Start forensic audit of KAPS’ systems;
· Junior commanders return from training;
· Continue with road maintenance;
· Tidy up the staff camp;
· Repair drift near the Kichwa airstrip;
· Redirect the flow of water at Naisukut; and
· Work on the Serena airstrip.
Work on Collaboration Agreement
· Renovate three houses at Oloolamutia;.
· Complete overhauling water supply at Oloolamutia;
· Repair at least three grounded vehicles;
· Assess requirement for radio system;
· Start establishing an enforcement team
o Road works;
§ Work on road from Keekorok to Talek;
§ Grade road from Keekorok to Sand River;
§ Work on road to Ashnil; and
§ Check airstrips.