May was a quiet month for the Aerial Surveillance Unit although the pilots patrolled nearly 10,000kms over the Tsavo Conservation Area spending a combined 74 hours in the air helping to keep a tight security presence over the region.

As the dry season approaches elephants have started to spread out, searching for remaining waterholes as many begin to dry up.  What has been a heart-warming sight is the large numbers of baby elephants sighted in healthy family herds throughout the month.

Cattle intrusion continues to be an ongoing threat to the park and its wildlife yet the KWS and DSWT on a daily basis deploy teams to evict the herders and livestock whilst aerial patrols help to create a security presence.  Other operations during the month included treating two elephants requiring veterinary intervention whilst aerial support was provided to the KWS within the beautiful coastal Sokoke Forest as there had been reports of an injured elephant sighted there. 

You can read about these stories and more in our monthly aerial report: