So often, more than one life depends on a successful veterinary treatment. Such was the case with this mother buffalo, who had a wire snare slicing around her bottom jaw. She also had a young calf by her side, whose very survival was linked to his mum’s.
A SWT/KWS Anti-Poaching Team first spotted the buffalo during a routine patrol on Kulalu Ranch. From a distance, it was difficult to determine what exactly was wrong with her, but she was very skinny and was clearly struggling with a mouth injury.
Our fixed-wing pilot went to investigate from the air. He found her about 10 kilometres from the original sighting, in the company of several other buffalo. As the rangers suspected, the buffalo’s bottom jaw was wrapped, vice-like, in a cable snare. Based on her gaunt appearance, she had been struggling to eat for some time.
The initial sighting
With the report confirmed, the SWT helicopter flew the SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Veterinary Unit to the scene. Buffalos are tricky patients: They are powerful, stubborn, and don’t go down without a fight. True to form, the patient kept running long after KWS veterinarian Dr Limo darted her from the air.
Once the anaesthetic began to take effect, the team stepped in and manoeuvred her to the ground. Conscious that her baby and herd were nearby, Dr Limo got right to work. It was a horrifying scenario: The cable snare was cinched around the buffalo’s entire bottom jaw. While parts of it had snapped off, lengths of thick wire remained embedded in her skin. This turned eating into a torturous experience; we can only imagine how agonising every movement of the mouth must have been.
Treatment complete and newly snare-free
The team removed the snare, cleaned the resultant wounds, and administered medication to expedite healing and alleviate her pain. Treatment complete, Dr Limo reversed the anaesthetic and the buffalo got up to rejoin her baby and herd. Now that she is able to eat normally, Dr Limo is confident that she will put on weight and make a full recovery. Best of all, she is reunited with her baby — snare-free, at last.