Participants:

Nicodemus Kivindyo – team leader John Mungai Abdi Adan Boru Okicha Gerald Maghanga

Area of operation:

During the month of December, the Ziwani team covered the following areas: Kishushe ranch, Oza ranch, Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and the Lualenyi ranch.

104 SNARES RECOVERED

FINDINGS During the months operations the team lifted a total of 104 snares 78 of which targeted large game and 26 targeting small game.

The team also came across the carcasses of a snared Eland during its patrols in the Taita Wildlife Sanctuary where mining was also seen to be taking place. Logging and charcoal burning are found to be taking place at Oza ranch and the Taita Wildlife Sanctuary respectively.

Observable evidence: There has been a slight decline in the number of snares collected this month in comparison to last month. This is due to the fact that the community members are busy tending to their farms and taking care of their crops. However in some of the areas patrolled, such as in the Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, the snares that were lifted had been recently set.

It was one of these snares that trapped and killed an Eland, all of which is evidence that there is active poaching going on in the sanctuary. The team patrolled the whole ranch to ensure that all active and non active snares had been lifted. Logging, charcoal burning and mining were seen to be taking place at Oza ranch and the Taita hills wildlife sanctuary respectively.

Kishushe Ranch This ranch is very important as it is home to many animals of all sizes and is a vital animal migratory corridor for animals moving from Tsavo East National Park to Tsavo West National park as well as to Tanzania through Lake Jipe, and back again. During the teams operations at this ranch we were able to lift a total of 28 snares all of which targeted large game.

Oza Ranch This ranch borders Kishushe ranch and is rich in biological diversity in that there are many species of plants, animals and other vertebrae. It also serves as a migratory corridor for animals heading from Tsavo East to Tsavo West and on to Tanzania through Kishushe ranch.

The team lifted 30 snares eleven of which targeted large game, with 19 targeting small game. Logging and charcoal burning continues to take place at an ever increasing rate. The large mammals such as giraffes and elephants prefer to browse on acacia trees, and it is these are the trees that are targeted by the loggers. If the logging continues to take place at the current rate it won’t be long before the animals in the area are displaced due to lack of vegetation for them to browse on.

Taita Wildlife Sanctuary (saltlick) This sanctuary borders the Southern area of Tsavo West National park and is home to many animal species as it has abundant water sources as well as lush vegetation both of which draw the wildlife to the area. The animals browsing in the area cross through from the park to the sanctuary and vice versa. Most of the snares retrieved in the ranch had been recently set which shows that while some community members are busy tending to their farms others are persistently setting snares in an attempt to trap the animals in the area.

A total of 33 snares were retrieved all of which targeted large game. Mineral mining and charcoal burning are also taking place in the sanctuary. Several snares were lifted close to where the miners are operating which is a sign that the miners are also engaging in poaching. The team patrolled the entire sanctuary before moving their de-snaring anti poaching activities to other areas.

Community Outreach This month the team organized two environmental conservation programs which were conducted through video shows and lectures. The video shows were presented to two different communities.

The Godoma community benefited from the program on the 6th of December, with the Msorongo community benefiting on the 7th of December. The two communities praised the initiative and found it to be both entertaining and educational for the adults and children who attended.

Report by Nicodemus Kivindyo