Participants

Patrick Mutuku – team leader Alex Macharia Hassan Aden James Lodugukiyok Mutual Koti Patrick Ekai 2 KWS rangers

Areas Covered

During the course of this month the Ithumba team patrolled the following areas: The Tiva River, Kyamanyenze, Maho, Kombo, Wamata, Tundai, Kalovoto, Logga Kungu and Shimo la Shetani

TOTAL SNARES COLLECTED 337

Findings

At the beginning of the month the team patrolled the watering points that the animals visit to drink water. We therefore camped at Tundai patrolling the edge of the Yatta and the Tiva River. Most of the snares collected targeted small game with ten of them targeting big game.

During our patrols near the Tiva River we came across shooting platforms. From our camp it was easy for us to patrol Macho Kombo and Wamata where currently there is a large amount of game animals due to the presence of water. Fortunately there was little illegal human activity in the area. We then relocated our camp to Kyamanyenze where we noticed that logging was taking place. On the community side of the Tiva River there is rampant charcoal burning taking place all the way up to the fence line. This is due to the current and persistent drought and famine. We lifted 82 snares from this area which targeted small game and had recently been set.

During the second week of our operations we patrolled Lagga Kugu and Shimoni la Shetani. There was evidence of poachers having been in the area, and we recovered 3 jerricans full of water which had been hidden in a tree.

Following a tip from a community member who lives near the fence line we were able to arrest a poacher who was in possession of 15 snares and a dead Dikdik. He was booked at Mutomo police station. It is very encouraging to see that the community appreciates our conservation efforts as they help us by giving us information that leads to the arrest of poachers.

We carried out several community awareness meetings and met up with community leaders in the following areas Kanziko secondary school, Kone primary school, Indi shallow wells and the Kijito Wind mill which is located in Kone.

In our efforts to educate the children in primary schools about conservation we showed wildlife films to Tsavo primary school in Kwambaki and to Kivuti primary school.

During these film sessions we pass anti-poaching and conservation messages on to the students and their parents. We note a lot of improvement in the community and we continued to sensitize them about the negative impacts that poaching has on not only Tsavo’s ecosystem but as on their own lives.

Report by Patrick Mutuku