General
We had heavy and sustained rain in the last half of November, probably the heaviest for several years. This rain was countrywide and will do a lot towards replenishing dams and rivers.
The Triangle boundary was finally surveyed, eight years after we first attempted the survey. The surveyors, from Narok, Kilgoris and the private sector started on the 2nd and the task was completed by the 9th. There was only one incident, when members of the local community from near Kawai tried to stop the team from surveying an area of the Triangle claimed by the Ilkerekeshe group. The Administration and police had to intervene and the survey was completed. A Title Deed has been issued to Narok County and the Government will now install beacons along the boundary. As suspected, at least two camps purporting to be outside the Reserve are actually built inside.
We held our Board meeting in the Mara on the 23rd and signed the Audited accounts for the period ending June 30th. We also reviewed and approved two draft contracts; one for collaboration with the Main Reserve, and one for management of Oloololo Game Ranch. We have received the execution documents and will sign them in early December.
The Chief Executive met with Mr Janmohamed, Managing Director of the Serena group, on the 24th. Mara Serena have installed a new solar system to power the lodge and they would like to charge us for power used. Serena will be paying for power, as the system is not owned by them. I accepted and they will install a meter once the new system goes online in December.
Angama hosted their Masai Mara Photographer of the Year award at the Michael Joseph Centre in Nairobi on the 28th. It was very well attended and the competition has really taken off – congratulations to Angama and all those involved. The competition raised over US$ 80,000 – five times last year! The Mara Conservancy was presented with a cheque of US$ 16,300 from the Angama Foundation. We can not thank them, and the photographers who supported us, enough.
The Chief Executive met with Mr Graham Wallington from SafariLive on the 28th, they have been unable to get a new contract and unfortunately Graham will be unable to continue working in the Mara. We will assist in negotiating a price for the moveable assets, the fixed assets will remain with the landlord.
Tourism
Although October was almost the same as last year, it looks like November will have been busier than last year.
Staff
Elisha Makengei was injured by a buffalo whilst on patrol near the Salt Lick on the 23rd – he had a dislocated thumb and bruising on his chest. The buffalo was shot by the rangers. This same person was driving our new Toyota Land Cruiser when he was speeding at night and ran into, and killed, two buffalo five days previously. The car was extensively damaged.
We received uniforms for all our security staff
Wildlife
One tusk-less elephant was found dead in the river, near the Wildeye camp on the 12th. . There were no apparent injuries. Five days later another elephant was found dead near the Nigro-are junction on the main Oloololo road – again there was no apparent injury. Elephant families move into the Triangle in large numbers during the rains and this is often when we find dead, or injured elephant.
Our cheetah were seen in the Lamai Wedge on the 4th and again on the 16th. They seem to be spending most of their time near Kokamange, well into the Serengeti.
The wildebeest all moved out at the beginning of November and by the end of the month the zebra were all moving North onto the conservancies.
Security
Eight people were arrested for poaching in November. We collected 175 wire snares and 5 more made out of twine.
One hundred and eight wire, and five string snares were recovered up to the 14th during various patrols along the escarpment. One zebra was rescued, one injured and two wildebeest were dead in snares. On the 4th two people were reported carrying firearms along the escarpment but the rangers were unable to locate them.
The first arrests were made on the 15th, when two people were arrested during an early morning patrol near Machechwe in the Northern Serengeti. They were part of a group of seven, the others escaped. Four more poachers were arrested on the 16th, again near Machechwe, they were armed with machetes.
Two more people were arrested on the 17th in a joint patrol between the Nigro-are rangers and TANAPA. They were carrying three snares.
The rangers continued to collect snares and another 55 were collected on the 18th and 19th. One zebra was found dead in a snare.
Four more snares were recovered on the 24th and another five on the 27th, but most of the patrol areas are completely waterlogged, curtailing our operations.
Revenue and Accounts
One of the revenue clerks at the Little Governors barrier ticketed non-residents as residents and pocketed US$ 700. We are grateful to Warden Bett and his vigilance for spotting the fraud and to KAPS for dealing with it. This year we have managed to stop numerous attempts to defraud the system.
We went to Tender for Audit and Tax services and after some deliberation the Board approved the appointment of Deloitte as the Auditors for one more year, the decision will be reviewed before the 2020/21 audit.
Repairs and maintenance
We collected the repaired Suzuki Maruti on the 21st and took the damaged Land Cruiser to repairs on the 22nd. The Nigro-are Land Cruiser was also damaged as a result of careless driving but we managed to repair it in the Mara.
We received our new grader on the 30th , we have not found a buyer at our asking price for the old grader but may use it to maintain the roads in the Main Reserve as part of our collaboration agreement. Costs will be covered by the County.
We replaced one whole culvert on the main road to Oloololo, put down murram on a whole section and graded the newly murramed section. However, the rainstorms caused significant damage and it will probably take weeks to repair the roads once it dries out.
The Immigration Post at Angama is virtually complete. We are constructing an underground water tank, which should be ready in early December. We need to agree on a parking area for aircraft, connect power and arrange housing for the officers; everything else is ready for use.
We did some routine maintenance at Oloololo Gate, but a whole section of the stone facing is peeling away from the wall by the Warden’s office, this section will require major repair work.
We have started on new housing for mid-level staff at Iseiya, the floor slab has been poured and we will start on the walls in December.
We have received the floor plans for the secondary school at Isokon and have requested more detailed plans and a Bill of Quantities. We will then circulate to the camps and lodges that have made pledges to construct dormitories, classrooms and a dining hall.
Report on focus for November
Focus for December 2019
· Start on wall repairs at Oloololo;
· Continue with road works when possible;
· Sign contracts with Narok County and Oloololo;
· Plan to start work on contracts January 2020;
· Continue with housing at Iseiya;
· Complete water tank at Angama;
· Get Bill of Quantities for School; and
· Collect repaired Land Cruiser;