Area of Operation

Our usual area of operation was patrolled, with constant visits into the Community to sensitize and monitor the progress of the awareness campaigns. The Primary Schools were also visited.

Participants

Patrick Mutuku Kilonzo Nzioka

Findings

There was a total of 8 snares found in January, five of them looked fresh and active and set for big animals. They were found on Marcus Dunn and Jim Heather-Hayes’ land. We noticed that the poachers were putting the snares at night and collecting them at dawn. The management at Kilalinda also reported that the poachers were using the lamping method of poaching, blinding the animal by shining a bright light in the eyes and then clobbering them. This large farm (Kilalinda) has its own desnaring team which hopefully will handle that.

We also witnessed the burying of the previously lifted snares into the new cement foundations on the Trust land.

We did some road repairs, necessitated by the rains and we opened tracks on the trust land. Two cable gates were erected to stop vehicle access onto the Trust land.

We showed two video shows at Kamunyu and Ngiluni Primary Schools. The Children were so plaesed by the wildlife films we showed them.

We also organized some football matches, to make sure the youth were busy at the weekend. Four matches were played at different locations, during which time we were able to pass the message of anti-poaching and conservation to large groups of spectators.

The reduced snaring rate can be attributed to people being busy on farms and also to our various community activities.

Compiled by Peter Wambua