Participants

Alex Macharia – team leader Francis Chege Nteritu Kapina Vincent Mutua Samwel Sepeli Nyumu 4KWS Rangers

Areas Covered

During the course of the month of January the following areas were patrolled by the Mtito de-snaring team: the Chyulu gate, Mangalete, Ilitilal, the Tsavo river, Yumbuni, Kenani, Kanga, the Chyulu pump, Ngulia and along the Mtito River

6 SNARES COLLECTED 6 ARRESTS

Findings

After the heavy rains that were experienced during the month of December, most of the poachers have used the rains to their advantage and returned to their farms to tend their crops. The rains have also caused a growth in vegetation making it hard to set snares in the thick bushes. The wildlife that had entered the community lands during the dry season have now returned to the parks resulting in a decrease in the amount of poaching taking place. This is attested to by the fact that only 6 snares were collected during the course of the month.

There has also been a decrease in the number of cattle found grazing in the park as there is now adequate vegetation in the community lands.

The biggest problem this month was logging and charcoal burning due to the current climactic condition in the area.

It is for this reason that we were able to arrest 6 loggers in the park during our de-snaring operations. We have noticed that school children have also taken to logging as timber is sold at a fair price. Once again there is the presence of armed bandits in the triangle which poses a threat to the elephants and rhinos in the area. The triangle is therefore still heavily patrolled by platoon rangers.

Community work We visited various schools during the course of the month including Nzayo,

Iviani and Kikwasuni where we showed wildlife films and gave lectures about the need to conserve our natural heritage. We are planning to visit Ndarajani in order to mobilize the community and teach them about wildlife conservation, as a number of elephant poachers are believed to have originated from this area.

Due to the heavy rains many of the roads and attraction sites in the park have been rendered impassable. Once the roads have been graded we plan to take Nzayo primary school on a field trip.

Report by Alex Macharia