Participants

Peter Wambua Isaiya Ndei

Within this month the team has been involved in a number of activities as well as de-snaring. The 70 trees planted next to the trust house have been well attended and are now doing very well. Transplanting of the Neem seedlings has now been completed and they will be donated to the community immediately after the short rains. The killing of animals within the community is on the increase again but this time different methods are being used other than snaring. The use of wire snares is still the most popular choice and we managed to collect a huge total of 127 snares.

Other than wire snares people are now hunting at night with bright torches, used to dazzle the animals long enough to be approached from behind where their hind legs are slit and then they are killed. Bows and poisoned arrows along with dogs is another method that poachers in the community have been using. We fear that these different ways of poaching will be used as alternative to snaring. Snaring is more expensive and the guarantees are minimal especially when the de-snaring teams are removing a large amount of the snares that are laid. The majority of snares were found on abandoned farms in the community and as there is a large amount of animals in the area looking for water they are easier to catch. We have noticed that there has been a decrease in the amount of water in the eastern part of the Mtito River. Our team joined hands with the Mtito team to monitor the movements of a rhino which had crossed the park into the community side which was very exciting. The youth in the schools are becoming more involved in sport, thanks to the equipment which has been donated over the last few months.

Report by Peter Wambua