PARTICIPANTS

Wambua Kikwatha (also report writer) James Mbuthia John Malonza Diba Boru KWS Ranger Njero Lemarleni KWS Ranger

FIELD REPORT

During the operation, most of the waterholes within the triangle were patrolled. Also the hotspots along the river were checked. A total of 87 snares were collected during this operation. These comprised of snares for big and small game. Patrols along the pipeline and next to the adjacent waterholes yielded nil snares. Most of the snares collected were made for small game, mainly dik diks. We rescued three dik diks found struggling for life in the snares. Unlike the last operation where snares were found near every waterhole, only one waterhole yielded this high concentration of snares, leaving the rest of the area snare free. Four old snares were lifted along the river and about 10 snares collected near Mtito Andei town. All the rest came from the one waterhole.This implies that the level of snaring is still down. 87 snares compared to the hundreds collected before is actually a promising figure.

Logging was also noticed but at a very low level. A few hardwoods had been tampered with. No charcoal burning was identified unlike last year’s operation.

COMMUNITY WORK

After the main operation, we embarked on the community awareness programme. We managed to visit five communities namely KAMUNYU, NGILUNI, KYUSIANI, NTHUNGUNI, and MISANI. The respective schools were also visited. Currently, we are co-ordinating a tree planting project at the Ngiluni clinic. More than 500 holes have been dug by the community members ready for tree planting. All the schools have vowed to co-operate in planting trees. All the schools, apart from Kyusiani, benefited from video shows after our discussions.