Participants

Alex Macharia – team leader Francis Chege Kathuki Ngongo James Nyumu Mutua Nteritu Kapina 2KWS Rangers

Areas Covered

During the course of the month of June the following areas were patrolled by the Mtito de-snaring team: Kaluku farm, the general Mtito area, the Rhino area, Mangalete, the Ngulia hills, Wuyuni, Upper and Lower Kenani, as well as the Kenani, Kanga and Kyulu stations.

205 SNARES COLLECTED

1 ARREST

Findings

Our main objectives are to arrest as many poachers and to conserve wildlife by lifting snares and increasing community awareness about the need to preserve their natural heritage.

We began our operations on the 4th of June. A total of 205 snares were collected during the course of month.

Most of the snares collected were medium and small in size targeting animals like Antelope and Dikdik.

We were able to arrest a poacher at upper Kenani. Unfortunately his accomplice was able to escape arrest.

We pursued him on foot for a day, following his tracks, fresh cuttings and blood stained branches, but were unable to apprehend him. A large amount of game meat from four lesser Kudus was recovered from their hideout, and knives and pangas were confiscated. The sixteen snares that they had set were lifted by our team.

While patrolling along the Mtito River we were able to rescue a Dikdik that was trapped in a snare,

which unfortunately died from its wounds after being released. We also rescued a baby Dikdik and is currently being looked after at Kaluku farm. We feel that even though poaching is still taking place our presence is being felt by the poachers. We know this by the fact that there has been an increase in the numbers and types of wildlife, such as Lesser Kudus, Gazelles, Zebras, and rare wild dogs in the areas that we patrolled which are considered to be poaching hotspots.

Observable evidence During our patrols we came across footprints, cuttings, bloodstains and poachers hideouts.

Community work Tree seedlings were distributed to Iviani primary school.

This is one of the only schools to have shown an increase in the conservation efforts, and have a very strong wildlife club. In the future we will be carrying out more community awareness campaigns through field trips, environmental cleanliness, and wildlife videos.

Report by Alex Macharia