In November, we witnessed the eventual transition from the dry season to the wet season. The onset of the Tsavo rainstorms were late this year, but gratefully received. As the month progressed, we saw some magnificent storms pass through, bringing respite in their wake.

Due to the extended dry season, the teams responded to several very late bush fires, including five in Chyulu Hills National Park and two in Tsavo East. Two of the Chyulu fires were attended to with the helicopter, which made a total of 13 bambi-bucket drops in addition to dropping off 25 pack sprayers to ground teams to fight the fire. Separately, one of our fixed-wing aircraft, while responding to the first Tsavo East fire, spotted a second fire nearby, and whilst investigating, found a harbour. Ground teams followed up and discovered a fuel tank, torch, and several other items, thought to belong to the arsonist responsible for the fire.

Another sign of the extended dry season was the addition of one more well rescue. The team was called out to rescue a five-year-old elephant calf from a shallow well on Kuranze Ranch, south of the park. Together with the KWS, the elephant was successfully rescued and returned to its family.

Livestock in the park, having been relatively under control for most of the year, made a dramatic return for the worse. Over ten thousand head of cattle moved into both Tsavo East and West National Parks to take advantage of fresh grass and abundant waterholes. The task of removing them becomes very challenging for KWS during the rainy season, as vehicles struggle to move through the bush in the muddy conditions.

The Aerial Unit responded to seven human-elephant conflict cases , including four in the same area. In all but one instance, elephants were successfully guided either back into the park or a significant distance away from settled areas. Unfortunately, one case involving a problem bull on Rombo Ranch was aborted due to the dangerous circumstances. The bull was in a heavily settled area with numerous fences and large crowds of people in the immediate vicinity. The bull was also non-responsive to the helicopter, and it was decided that the risks of attempting to shepherd him out by air outweighed the potential benefits.

Despite the delayed rains, poaching activity was already on the decline by the time November rolled around. Only two instances of poaching were recorded from the air. For the first case, a water container was spotted in a baobab tree during an aerial patrol. When ground teams investigated, they found several harbours and wire snares as well as a shooting platform in the area. The second case was a poacher’s harbour discovered inside the park.

Eight veterinary cases involved the Aerial Unit during the month. One case involved three injured bull elephants, which were spotted during routine aerial patrols and later treated. Two had arrows removed from their wound sites. One had to be darted from a helicopter due to its location, after the vet had first been flown to the sight in a fixed-wing aircraft. All three treatments were successful. A fourth injured bull was also sighted from the air, but fortunately treatment was not necessary.

Other cases included an elephant calf on Taita Sanctuary with a snare, which had to be removed. Both the mother and calf were darted before the snare could be removed and the wound treated. Prognosis is good. A snared zebra was also treated with helicopter assistance at a difference location. The deep snare wound had to be thoroughly cleaned, and antibiotics administered, but the prognosis is good. The vet was also helpful in darting a speared adult male giraffe near Amboseli. Unfortunately, the snare had pierced the giraffe’s stomach, and the prognosis is guarded. Two further vet transfers were facilitated by fixed wing: one to perform a postmortem on an old rhino that died in Tsavo West and another to treat an injured cheetah at Ol Donyo lodge, which was a success.

Other notable aerial support provided by SWT in November included a five-day rhino notching operation in Tsavo West, which for our part included two fixed-wing aircraft and one helicopter. Aircrafts searched for candidates for notching and provided aerial guidance to the helicopter and ground teams to dart and access the rhinos in thick bush.

A fixed-wing aircraft also supported the Kone community in a two-day search for a missing child to the North of Kone. Unfortunately, the search proved fruitless.

Other illegal activities noted in November include illegal fishing (fish traps) in Lake Jipe, honey harvesting on the Yatta plateau, mining on Galana Ranch, and charcoal burning in Arabuko Sokoke Forest. In a separate instance, one of our pilots was fortunate to spot a stranded tourist vehicle while on a patrol in Chyulu Hills National Park. The small car appeared to have been stuck overnight on a rain-drenched road. The SWT was able to get a ground team to their location to assist.

Highlights in November included some wonderful cat sightings as well as a small herd of critically endangered Hirola with young calves.