General
We woke up on the1st to hear that the Talek River had flooded to unprecedented levels and that the river was lapping the Gate House. By mid-morning the river had reached a level we had never seen before, had completely flooded the Gate House and was over the Bridge. At 11.00 am the river washed away the bridge – it took about two seconds and the bridge was gone. The Talek was worst affected and at least 20 camps and lodges along the river suffered considerable damage, some tents washed away, others completely destroyed and quantities of furniture floating down the river. Marc Goss from the Mara Elephant managed to rescue a number of people stranded before the Governor was able to join in the rescue operations. At least 40 people were rescued. The river started to come down by evening but additional rains the following night had it up to record levels again. The cost of damage was very considerable and it will take weeks, if not months to repair. Within a day clients that were booked into Mara Serena by road booked alternative accommodation at Sarova and Keekorok.
The rains continued after a very short break, with heavy storms on the 13th, continuing sporadically for most of the month. We had around 160 mm (6.4”) at Serena, much more elsewhere. So far this year we have had our annual rainfall, just under 1,000 mm (40”). Six months of constant, at times very heavy, rain have caused very serious damage to our roads. Especially in the Main Reserve and along the escarpment towards Kilo 2 in the Triangle. It is soul destroying trying to keep roads open with constant rain and very heavy trucks destroying them as quickly as they are repaired.
I met with the Governor on the 15th to discuss damage caused by the rains and recent flooding. I was asked to form a committee to assess the extent of damage to infrastructure in, and leading to the Mara, to prioritize action to be taken and prepare a budget.
We held a meeting at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Headquarters on the 21st to discuss boosting the roan antelope population in Kenya. In principle it has been agreed that Kenya would like to source 60 animals, potentially from populations in Uganda, zoos in Europe or from South Africa. It was agreed that no animals would be sourced from West Africa – they have a distinct species. It was agreed that Ruma National Park would look for 20 females to boost their existing population of 18 animals, heavily skewed towards males, with only four breeding females. Twenty animals were allocated to Partikilat Conservancy on the escarpment – with the long term goal of reintroducing them into the Triangle; and 20 would go to Ol Pejeta to for a breeding herd – surplus animals would then be used to supplement the Ruma and Mara populations. Males from Ruma would be used on the Mara and Ol Pejeta females. This is a huge step forward and we believe that we might be in a position to look for animals by early 2025.
We held a committee meeting at Mara Sarova on the 24th to prioritize work to be done on infrastructure in the Mara Ecosystem. We agreed on immediate action to be taken on bridges, drifts and roads and hope that these will be ready for the high season in July. The lower bridge at Purungat was considered the highest priority and work has already started. The priority road was considered to be Ololunga via Lemek, Aitong to Mara Rianta – this is the main access to the Triangle. A further meeting with the Governor on the 28th confirmed our list of priorities and set a time table for the top priority items. We have now been asked to prepare a proposal that can be shown to potential donors.
Collaboration Agreement
We have concentrated on some of the major roads inside the Reserve but the incessant and heavy rains have considerably hampered work. The new bridge over the Talek, linking Sekenani to Talek was seriously damaged and so one priority was to repair the bridge at Talek Gate, this was done in collaboration with the County. We also collaborated in repairing the bridge at Sand River and in repairing a section of damaged road near Oloolamutia. Other work done included:
· Repairing the road between Mara Simba and Talek. It is being damaged as quickly as we repair it;
· A temporary repair of the drift over Ol Keju Rongai, it has since been washed away again.;
· Servicing windmills at Musiara, Sand River and Sekenani;
· Repairing the borehole at Talek;
· Flying rations to Musiara and Ol Kiombo;
· Receiving two uni-huts and a house to complete work at Ngararu.
Our major project was to construct new housing at Keekorok, work is progressing well. Five new self-contained rooms are being constructed in one line and another two being built separately. We have decided to demolish two other houses and build six more self-contained rooms.
We have held a meeting with Mr Andrew Aho on the 30th and agreed that he will work on the following roads:
· Talek to Musiara;
· Sekenani to Oloolamutia;
· Culverts and drifts on the new roads in the northern and western part of the Main Reserve.
We will work on:
· Completing the road past Mara Simba to Talek;
· The road from Talek to Keekorok;
· Keekorok to Oloolamutia;
· New culverts where necessary.
Staff
We have just ordered uniforms for our rangers, they should be ready in early July.
Wildlife
A young female elephant was found dead near Little Governors on the 13th, there were no obvious causes of death.
Dogs
Buma was treated for a snake bite on the eye and it has taken weeks to heal.
Tourism
The loss of the bridge at Purungat has already impacted tourist numbers visiting the Triangle and will have a major impact until it is replaced. It is difficult to tell, but lodges like Serena will almost certainly suffer – a good proportion of the clients drive in. It is also unlikely that camps damaged, or destroyed, during the floods will be able to be fully operational by mid-June, when the season starts to pick up.
Last month we talked about how tourist facilities were actually severely curtailing the migration – wildebeest actively avoid human habitation – totally within a two kilometer radius but up to five kilometers. There is no section of the Talek River, indeed the Kenyan side of the Sand River or even the Mara River that does not have a camp or lodge which allows the free movement of wildebeest either into the Main Reserve or across the Talek into the northern Mara. In Tanzania no camps are allowed to be built along rivers, in Kenya over 80% of the camps are built right along river courses, more than 20 were damaged in the recent flooding. And they are being re-built in the same place!! Make no mistake, we are destroying the migration, wildebeest have nowhere to cross into Kenya and certainly no places to cross the Talek. There have been no wildebeest crossing the main crossing above Serena for four years.
Security
Eight people for poaching during the month, six of them on the 26th. One more, a cattle thief was arrested on the 29th.
Two poached buffalo were found in the Lemai Wedge on the 12th, the animals had been butchered and the meat taken.
One person was arrested on the 24th and he and a companion were setting snares near Kigonga.
Six more people were arrested on the 26th. Two people were arrested during the day, when they and 11 others were hunting Thompsons’s gazelle near Konyioke, close to the Kenya border. A joint team with rangers from TANAPA and Ngiro-are set an ambush that night and managed to arrest four more people from the same group.
Three cattle were stolen near Kilgoris, more than 60 kilometers from the Reserve and were driven towards the escarpment. The cattle were recovered by a joint police/Mara Conservancy team near Kilima Camp and one person arrested. His two companions were identified will undoubtedly be apprehended.
The Ngiro-are rangers managed to arrest one person near Lugga ya Ngiri in the Lemai Wedge on the 30th, he was on his way to hunt when apprehended.
Revenue and Accounts
The Kenya Shilling is reasonably stable against the US$ and is currently trading at Ksh 132 to the US$.
As always, April and May are the quietest months of the year. The first half of May was very quiet and we can expect our revenue to be well down. We estimate that we will end the year with a surplus of around Ksh 25 -30 million, having taken into account the Tax payable at the end of June amounting to Ksh 6.4 million and an amount owed to us by the County for work done in the Main Reserve.
Repairs and Maintenance
We repaired the Ngiro-are windmill, one of the bearings had seized, we used the opportunity to completely service the windmill. We also serviced the Oloololo windmill.
The solar pump at Oloololo stopped working, it has since been repaired.
Work was severely hampered by the rains but we did start working on the roads to Ngiro-are and Mara Bridge, We also managed to grade the main roads to Oloololo. We also installed three new culverts on the Main road, to try and stop the flooding.
The generator and pump at Purungat (Mara Bridge) were virtually destroyed in the flood, it has taken us all month to repair both and we hope to have the borehole functioning in early June.
We replaced the water tank supplying the toilets at Purungat with a larger tank.
We have started work on the approaches to the lower, concrete, bridge at Mara Bridge and hope to have the bridge open by the beginning of July.
Report on focus for May
Focus for June
· Support an aerial wildlife census of the Mara;
· Repair Purungat Bridge;
· Repair road to Kilo 2;
· Patch roads where possible; and
· Grade road to Ngiro-are.
Work on Collaboration Agreement
· Complete work at Ngararu;
· Overhaul shovel engine, repair one excavator and one tipper;
· Concentrate on roads within the Reserve;
· Work on Talek – Musiara and Sekenani – Oloolamutia roads;
· Complete new housing at Keekorok;
· Repair bridges and drifts where possible;
· Develop proposal for potential donors; and
· Support County road teams with fuel.