General
October was exceptionally dry, with only 42 mm recorded at Serena, some parts of the Triangle had more but other areas missed the rain completely.
We held a meeting in Nairobi on the 12th to discuss progress on Earth Ranger, a design has been developed for the offices to be built near Keekorok.
The County Government has made two major announcements this month, both formally relayed to stakeholders at a meeting in Nairobi on the 14th October.
1. There will be an increase in Park Fees with effect from 1st January 2024.
The County will ensure that US$ 30 from park fees will go towards supporting the communities immediately surrounding the Reserve and that US$ 20 will go towards Reserve Management.
1. All camps and lodges in the Reserve will have leases with the County Government, locals who have been allocated land in the Reserve (Beneficiaries) will hold the Main Lease and investors will be given a sub-lease.
All camps and lodges will pay a fixed lease fee according to their size from Lodges paying Ksh 5,000,000 to small eco-camps paying Ksh 2,000,000 per year. On top of that all camps and lodges will pay US$ 80 per bed night.
The Beneficiaries will get 90% of the fixed Annual Lease Fee and 50% of the Bed Night Fee, the remainder will be paid to the County no later than the 10th of the month following occupancy.
The Governor held a function in Narok on the 18th entitled “Tracking the Promise” in which he highlighted the progress made in his first year in office. His achievements are extremely impressive in every sector from health and education to conservation and roads. He used the opportunity to launch the County’s new road equipment. The function must have been attended by over 15,000 people, including other Governors, MPs and all MCAs and leaders from other EA Countries.
Collaboration Agreement
We have completed our work at Olare Orok.
Work is progressing well at Look Out and the toilets should e ready for use before Christmas.
We graded most of the Phase I roads and also built a new road for the community at Olare Orok;
We resurfaced the airstrip at Ol Kiombo and graded the one at Keekorok, Governors Camp requested that we resurface the Musiara airstrip and this was done in the last week.
We have ordered and paid for 20 uni-huts, plus one metal house for Ngararu, they should be delivered in early November.
We have received a quotation for upgrading ranger housing in Narok, work might start on this in the New Year.
We installed radios in some stations and also in vehicles. The repeater should be ready to install in November, the mast is up and we have been working on a fence and supports for solar panels.
The borehole at Mpuai is not yielding sufficient water and we are weighing up the options, we might have to drill another hole.
We have ordered supplies to revamp the Mpuai ranger station, work might start in mid-November.
We have additional culverts ready for installation in the Main Reserve, we have also received new signs for our Phase II roads.
Staff
The Government has announced a new Health Tax for all employees to replace the current NHIF, people will be expected to pay 2.75% of their gross salary towards the newly formed Universal Health Care system, the amount to be matched by the employer.
Mr Samson Lenjir has been appointed as Advisor, Wildlife Management to the Governor. He is to be deployed in the Mara Triangle with effect from 20th November. Mr Lenjir was a Warden here for a while and has recently been employed by WWF.
Madison held their AGM on the 22nd for the staff pension fund.
The 30 rangers being trained at the KWS training centre in Manyani have completed their three-month course and will pass out on the 2nd November.
Tourism
There is a chance that we will have to close Kiboko Campsite, or at the very least, relocate it. Construction of the new Lodge being built on the opposite bank of the river is making the campsite unusable - this will be the third time that we have had to close a campsite because of construction on the other side of the river; first Mara Ngenche, then Ashnil, now possibly Pristine Bay - the new lodge.
Wildlife and Veterinary
The number of zebra and giraffe being injured by arrows or spears on the escarpment seems to be on the increase.
A number of cattle were killed by lions on the 8th near Musiara as they grazed in the Reserve at night. The owners retaliated and speared at least one lion, possibly as many as three.
We have managed to vaccinate 5,000 community dogs against Rabies and will see if we can find additional vaccine.
Security
A total of 14 poachers were arrested in October, 65 wire snares were recovered and the rangers found remains of two buffalo, two wildebeest and a hippo that had all been butchered.
The Iseiya team went for a extended patrol in the Northern Serengeti from the 2nd and saw very little sign of poaching. However, on the last night they managed to arrest one person.
Sixteen snares were recovered on the 5th and then on the 6th our rangers managed to arrest two people at Mbali Mbali in the Northern Serengeti.
A Kichwa Tembo driver reported seeing people near the Army Drift, on our side of the border on the 7th. The rangers were deployed but the poachers had spooked and left the area, leaving all their belongings. We set ambushes on likely routes and managed to arrest one person from a gang of three. He confirmed that he was part of the gang seen at the Army Drift earlier that day.
Four snares were collected on the 8th and 9th and then on the 10th the Ngiro-are rangers arrested one person from a group of four at Serengeti Ndogo. The rangers came across a spring trap – very unusual in this area. These traps use a sapling bent over with a snare set on the ground. There is a trigger mechanism that when touched, releases the sapling to spring upright – tightening the noose.
The Iseiya rangers came across 19 women collecting firewood in the Serengeti near Lempise on the 11th, the women were cautioned and then released. Three snares were collected that day and a further 17 the following day.
The rangers found where two buffalo had been killed and butchered in the Northern Serengeti, that night they set an ambush and managed to arrest two people from a group of five. They were carrying two wildebeest that they had killed. The following morning the Ngiro-are team managed to arrest one person in the Lemai Wedge.
Twelve wire snares were recovered on the 22nd and then on the 23rd 13 more were collected. The Ngiro-are rangers set up ambushes near Kichwa Mia Tatu (300 heads) where we once found that number of wildebeest that had been butchered. Both vehicles were deployed and each of the teams were able to arrest two poachers – one of the groups were carrying heavy spears and were obviously looking for hippo.
Our rangers received information that three poachers were on their way to camp in the Park. Both our teams set um ambushes and they managed to arrest two people – they were carrying food and were on their way to camp in the Triangle at Nyumba Nane.
One recently butchered hippo was found on the 29th, there are virtually no hippo downstream from Kogatende in the Serengeti.
Revenue and Accounts
We had 13,286 non-resident adult visitors in September, significantly better than any previous year, the next best year was in 2019 when we had 10,174 non-residents. This obviously translates into income and our first quarter accounts show this.
Not only were visitor numbers higher than anticipated but we have been helped considerably by the devaluation of the Kenya Shilling against the US$, currently trading at Ksh 150 : 1US$, up from Ksh 135 when we prepared the budget.
Repairs and Maintenance
We installed a number of culverts around Little Governors and did a great deal of work to
ensure that the ranger station there is not flooded in the anticipated El Niño rains.
We opened up as many mitre drains as possible and the road team moved towards Ngiro-are to work on the roads there.
We started on renovating housing at Ngiro-are and Kilo Two and will move some of the uni-huts.
The contractor has virtually completed six new self-contained rooms for staff at Iseiya.. This will help considerably in de-congesting accommodation in the main camp.
The canvas tailors have been here for two months, sorting out all the tentage, making seat covers and new canvas covers for the back of our pick-ups.
The spring at Oloololo is running dry after being so reliable for over 30 years – probably as a result of deforestation on the escarpment meaning that water runs off rather than being retained by forest and seeping through the soil. The only option was for us to drill a borehole, a site was found a few years ago and we started drilling on the 29th. We found an excellent aquifer and the hole will probably yield in the region of 83m/hour (8,000 liters/hour), more than enough for our needs.
The water tank at Oloololo requires work, and we will use this opportunity to repair it.
Report on focus for October
Focus for November 2023
· Hold Special Board meeting on the 6th;
· Trainees at Manyani graduate on 2nd;
· Repair water tank at Oloololo;
· Complete borehole at Oloololo;
· Install solar pump and connect to water tank;
· Possibly drill a borehole at the Little Governors ranger station;
· Complete renovations at Ngiro-are; and
· Complete renovations at Kilo 2.
Work on Collaboration Agreement
· Collect uni-huts for Ngararu;
· Collect order for Mpuai;
· Maintain main roads;
· Complete installation of repeater and base stations;
· Complete toilet block and housing at Look Out;
· Install more signs;
· Drill new hole at Mpuai; and
· Collect new Suzuki Jimnys for the Main Reserve.