During March Tsavo has been hot and dry, awaiting the arrival of the short rains. The DSWT Aerial Unit has been busy across the range of Tsavo and Amboseli as well as flights undertaken within Lamu County where one of the aircraft and DSWT pilots patrolled the Lamu Conservation Area covering 815 miles and 9.8hrs of flying.

This month five elephant carcasses were sighted from the air. Four had been killed for their ivory whilst one elephant was sadly killed by a truck on the Mombasa/Nairobi Road. A  number of veterinary treatments took place within the Tsavo Conservation Area which  required the assistance  of  the  DSWT air  wing,  all  involving  elephants  with  arrow,  bullet  and  snare  wounds. These cases  were attended to during joint operations with the KWS, DSWT and Big Life teams and all of these life-saving treatments were further followed up by the KWS and DSWT ground teams with ongoing DSWT aerial surveillance so that any follow-up medical treatment can be considered if and when necessary.