General
Rain in the first few days hampered road work, we had a few days of sunshine mid-month before the rains returned with a vengeance, with heavy storms around Oloololo and Mara Bridge.
The ten-year Management Plan has been signed and Gazetted. It was launched on the 23rd during a big celebration at Sekenani, attended by two Cabinet Secretaries, Permanent Secretaries, Members of Parliament and Senior Government officials. Our staff were disappointed that there was no recognition of the amazing work they have done, not only in protecting and developing the Mara, but also in the important role the Conservancy played in developing the Management Plan. We need to recognize the critical role played by Dr Rob Malpas, he was instrumental in developing the framework and in leading the whole process from start to finish, it took 5 years – this plan would never have been completed without him. I would like to also mention Ms Leslie Roach and Mr James Robertson – they both contributed the initial funds that enabled the whole process to begin.
We now need to work on a three-year operational plan and the staff input will be important.
We have held a series of meeting with Governor P Ntutu to discuss our Management Agreement. There were two key issues:
1. An extension to the Agreement due to expire in 2025 – A five year extension has been discussed;
2. Our ability to retain revenue at source. The County Government wants all revenue deposited in their account – from which our 45% will be immediately swept to the Conservancy.
There was an accident on the Sekenani – Mara Bridge road on the early morning of the 11th. A tourist vehicle skidded and rolled, killing one German tourist and seriously injuring another. The car was travelling from Oloolaimutia to Isbanyia and was obviously over speeding. Four days later a TransWorld vehicle overturned in the Triangle – killing one of our staff and injuring four other people.
We supported a celebration for Partikilat Primary on the 17th, it had the best results in last year’s KCPE (Certificate of Primary Education) exams for Lolgorien Division. The Governor attended the celebration.
The Safari Collection Foundation supported a visit to the Lewa and Borana Conservancies by a team headed by Governor Ntutu to see their work using Earth Ranger and LoRoWan on the 30th. The County will almost certainly adopt these systems to monitor activities within the Reserve.
Collaboration Agreement
We managed to connect water to the staff houses and gate at Talek – the staff now have running water in their houses for the first time in 20 years. As can be expected, the sewerage system was blocked and we had to clear it up before the toilets could be used. The camp was filthy and so we dug a pit and removed tons of litter before spreading murram around the houses.
We drilled a borehole at Keekorok so that the staff can access reliable water and we can pipe water to the airstrip. County staff at Keekorok have relied on water from the lodge and this has not been provided for years.
We have two major projects that are ongoing;
· The first one is to make a series of new roads in the main Reserve – ones that will provide easy access to key areas and hopefully help us reduce the multiple tracks that are so prevalent throughout the core section of the Reserve. We have so far shaped and graded over 65 km of new road and are in the process of giving them a surface of murram. Unfortunately this work is being hampered by the incessant rain and frequent breakdowns of the equipment. In order to speed up the work the Conservancy is providing a grader, backhoe loader and one tipper. We have ordered 20 plastic culverts for the minor drainage points and have contracted Grade A to complete 6 major drifts.
· The second, is to rebuild the ranger post at Mara Simba. We completed the outstanding jobs at Osero Sopia and then moved. We have already set 12 houses and put a roof over the first six uni-huts. We are now able to collect rain water off the roof and are installing solar power in all the houses.
We serviced and repaired all the windmills in the Main Reserve and also constructed a toilet for staff at Keekorok.
Research
As predicted, there was a fish die-off with the first surge in the River. Hundreds, if not thousands, of fish died in a stretch of river near Mara Rianta – people were collecting them in sacks and taking them to the village.
Dogs
We are hosting three members of the dog team from Ol Pejeta, they are on a weeklong exchange visit.
We will start a rabies vaccinate campaigns for dogs along the escarpment after April.
Tourism
Tourist numbers are still reasonable for the low season and we can expect slightly more than a normal low season. The prognosis for the high season is that this will be a bumper year, with almost all camps expecting full occupancy from mid-June through to mid-September.
Staff
Mr Robert Ngeno was tragically killed in the car accident on the 15th. He was returning from two weeks off and had taken a lift with a TransWorld vehicle to Serena. The driver was probably intoxicated and obviously over speeding, he lost control on a corner. Robert was a senior mechanic, a person we relied on heavily and was always known for his hard work and cheerful nature. Our heartfelt commiserations go out to his family.
Mr Andrew Kerwa was dismissed for fraud, he was the Alpha Scout at the Serena airstrip and discovered a loophole in the ticketing process. Essentially, he collected cash from a driver and conspired with the revenue clerk to issue a ticket on an unused voucher from Serena.
Wildlife
We have one young cheetah male with an injured hind leg, it was treated in the Main Reserve before disappearing and then reappearing in the Triangle. We are monitoring it, but it seems capable of catching small animals.
Dr Takita treated a zebra with a wire snare on the escarpment and buffalo with dystocia near Angama. Dead fetus which was stuck for nearly one week was successfully removed from the buffalo but unfortunately it died few hours later due to prolonged septicemia.
Security
A total of eight poachers were arrested in the Northern Serengeti during March. 111 wire snares were collected and a number of animals are known to have been killed. These included five hippo killed downstream from Lemai, six zebra, three impala, an eland and a topi.
One poacher was arrested on the night of the 10th, as he and his companion entered the Northern Serengeti near Machechwe to hunt with dogs and torches. They had not killed anything.
The rangers joined forces with TANAPA from Klein’s Camp and Lobo for a two day patrol in the Northern Serengeti on the 13th. They saw little sign of poaching during the day and some torch activity that night along the boundary between the Serengeti and Pololeti Game Reserve – a 1,500 sq km hunting area running along part of the Serengeti’s eastern boundary. The following morning , as they were making tea, the rangers saw poachers approaching. They managed to arrest four people – who had killed an impala and were heading home. Later on the same morning they came across another poachers’ camp. Four people had been camped for a week and had killed six zebra, two impala, one eland and a topi – 111 wire snares were recovered. Unfortunately the poachers had heard the vehicles but our rangers managed to arrest one person.
The head of Security from Ol Pejeta came with two others to visit the triangle for six days. They went on several patrols and ambushes and were on a patrol on the 18/19th that managed to arrest two people in the Northern Serengeti. The two were part of a group of four who were hunting with dogs and torches at around 11.00 pm.
The Police released the remaining modern weapons to our rangers on the 18th, all our rangers are now armed with automatic weapons.
We noticed that one of our remote cameras was not transmitting and when the team went to investigate, it had been stolen. It is strange that there were no images of the thief or of it being removed.
Revenue and Accounts
Our management accounts for the first eight months show a 52% improvement in revenue over the same period last year. Expenditure is running at 20% above last year and 10% above budget – this is not surprising, the Kenya Shilling has devalued by over 20% and everything is much more expensive. It would appear that the Government will step in to stabilize the shilling at around Ksh 130:1US$ and we might even expect a slight appreciation.
Repairs and Maintenance
Rain disrupted our work on the two new game viewing roads that we are making.
We hosted two senior staff from Ol Pejeta to see some of our systems and road construction for three days.
ATC Kenya have erected a 50 m high tower at Mara Bridge and we understand that it will be utilized by both Safaricom and Airtel. We wait to see how much this will improve coverage over our area of operations.
We installed 13 culverts on our main roads prior to the rain and have received another 12.
We have started constructing sections of a holding pen for livestock. This is to deal with cattle found grazing in the Reserve illegally.
Report on focus for March
Focus for April 2023
· Patch up roads damaged by the rain;
· Repair drifts;
· Install more culverts;
· Send a team to Ol Pejeta; and
· Construct cattle enclosure;
Work on Collaboration Agreement
· Plan work programme for the next quarter;
· Continue work at Mara Simba;
· Instal pump at Keekorok;
· Shape two new roads;
· Continue with road surfacing;
· Install culverts at lesser drifts;
· Engage Grade A to work on major drifts;
· Repair Ol Kiombo airstrip.