Anti-Poaching

Deploying boots on the ground for the protection of elephants, rhinos and other wild species

We currently operate twenty six Anti-Poaching Teams in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), plus our specialist Canine Unit. In addition, we fund two teams operated by Mara Elephant Project (MEP) in the Mau Forest, and one team operated by the Mount Kenya Trust. All three of these units are tasked with undertaking anti-poaching operations to protect threatened wildlife and habitats in areas of natural importance within Kenya.

29

Anti-Poaching Teams

69,187

KMs patrolled by teams in 2023

15,967

Snares recovered in 2023

1,056

KWS arrests with our teams in 2023

3,653

Weapons seized

Patrol Areas

Tsavo, Chyulus, Meru, Coast, Galana, Kibwezi and Mau Forests

22 of our Anti-Poaching Teams patrol within the greater Tsavo Conservation Area, collectively securing Kenya’s largest national park and the surrounding wilderness. Covering 60,000 square kilometres — an area twice the size of Belgium — Tsavo is home to the country’s greatest population of elephants.


In 2014, we expanded our presence up to Meru National Park, which provides sanctuary to a critically important population of black and white rhinos. Additional teams operate in Shimba Hills and Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary, Arabuko Sokoke Forest, and on Amu Ranch. Under the direction of Mara Elephant Project, we also fund two Anti-Poaching Teams based in the Mau Forest, a vital water catchment area in the Rift Valley. Further funding is provided to KWS Rapid Response Units in Tsavo and Mount Kenya, as well as a Mount Kenya Trust Mobile Patrol Team.

Our Anti-Poaching Teams in Action

Anti-Poaching Report: October 2024

Anti-Poaching Report: October 2024

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Watch: Quick Treatment to Save a Snared Elephant

Watch: Quick Treatment to Save a Snared Elephant

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Aerial Unit Report: September 2024

Aerial Unit Report: September 2024

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Threats Tackled by our Teams

Confiscated Weapons

Bushmeat Poaching
1/10

Bushmeat Poaching

Bushmeat poaching is the commercial hunting and selling of wild animals for food. It is very different from subsistence hunting done by a family or individual. The commercial bushmeat trade has exploded in recent years — in the process, becoming one of the greatest threats to wildlife.

Recovered Snares

Snaring | Poaching
2/10

Snaring | Poaching

Snaring is predominantly used to catch bushmeat or harvest animal skins. Affixed to a stable base, snares lie in wait and then cinch noose-like around their victims. They are indiscriminate by nature, capable of killing a creature as small as a dik-dik or as large as a bull elephant. Caught around an animal’s leg or neck, they inhibit the ability to eat, drink, and move. Poachers typically set snares around waterholes and well-trafficked wildlife paths.

Lamping Equipment

Lamping | Poaching
3/10

Lamping | Poaching

This means of poaching is devastatingly effective and yields immediate results. On moonless nights, poachers shine bright torches at their quarry, oftentimes accompanied by the sound of sounds of loud bells. The animal is temporarily blinded, which gives the poacher the opportunity to move in and butcher them with a panga. Through lamping, wildlife can be harvested in large numbers and then sold as bushmeat.

Recovered ivory

Ivory Poaching
4/10

Ivory Poaching

Fuelled by a global demand for ivory, which is a prized status symbol in many parts of the world, elephants are targeted and killed for their tusks. As recently as 2012, one elephants was being killed every 15 minutes for its ivory! Field-level conservation, stricter sentencing, international awareness, and bans on the sale of ivory have significantly reduced poaching, but it remains a pervasive threat.

Rhino horn stockpile

Rhino Horn Poaching
5/10

Rhino Horn Poaching

Driven by an erroneous belief that their horn has magical, curative properties — when, in reality, it is made of keratin, identical to a human fingernail — rhinos have been driven to the brink of extinction. In Kenya, the black rhino population suffered a catastrophic 98 percent decline between the 1970s-80s. Thanks to conservation efforts, rhino populations are beginning to recover, but poaching remains the number one threat to the species’ survival.

Confiscated charcoal

Charcoal Burning
6/10

Charcoal Burning

Charcoal burning is one of the greatest drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. Perpetrators cut down trees in protected areas, favouring slow growing hardwoods, which are then burned into charcoal. Not only does the illegal practice decimate indigenous tree populations and release high carbon emissions, it also heightens the threat of bushfires in key habitats.

Illegal Grazing

Illegal Grazing
7/10

Illegal Grazing

Illegal livestock incursions have emerged as a growing problem in wilderness areas, especially as climate change drives more severe dry seasons. Herders bring their livestock into protected areas to graze, often by the hundred or thousand head. These invasive species ravage the landscape, introduce disease to local wildlife populations, and deplete scarce food and water resources.

Illegal Logging

Logging
8/10

Logging

Illegal logging threatens viable habitats across Kenya. Perpetrators enter protected areas and cut down trees, which are then sold for timber. Illegal logging is an extremely destructive practice, wiping out indigenous trees and driving deforestation that can take decades to reverse. It is closely linked with charcoal burning, as trees are often cut specifically to burn into charcoal.

Illegal Mine Dscovered

Mining
9/10

Mining

Illegal miners exploit protected spaces for their precious resources. The extraction of minerals and metals from the earth is destructive in nature, leading to deforestation and habitat degradation. Due to the high profits associated, the practice is often backed by organised crime.

Elephants and Farmlands

Human-Wildlife Conflict
10/10

Human-Wildlife Conflict

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a symptom of shrinking habitats and increased competition over resources. Elephants are the greatest victims of HWC; crossing age-old migratory routes that have turned into farms and housing. These excursions can have devastating implications: A single elephant can decimate a farmer’s crops, while run-ins with humans can have fatal results for both parties.

SWT Teams in the Field

Our Anti-Poaching Teams operate across the country to protect Kenya's

wildlife and habitats. The map below provides an overview of the teams

we operated and fund.

View Reports
Mtito Team

Year Established: 1999
Current Operations: Tsavo Triangle, Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks

Peregrine Team

Year Established: 2001
Current Operations: Lands surrounding Kaluku Field HQ

Burra Team

Year Established: 2002
Current Operations: Southern sector of Tsavo East National Park and surrounding ranch lands

Ithumba Team

Year Established: 2002
Current Operations: Northern sector of Tsavo East National Park

Tiva Team

Year Established: 2004
Current Operations: Northern sector of Tsavo East National Park

Ziwani Team

Year Established: 2004
Current Operations: Southern sector of Tsavo West National Park and surrounding ranch lands

Chyulu Team

Year Established: 2006
Current Operations: Chyulu Hills National Park

Kenze Team

Year Established: 2013
Current Operations: Kibwezi Forest Reserve

Yatta Team

Year Established: 2016
Current Operations: Central sector of Tsavo East National Park, including Thabagunji

Mobile North

Year Established: 2016
Current Operations: Where needed in the northern sector of Tsavo Conservation Area

Sobo Team

Year Established: 2018
Current Operations: Central and western sectors of Tsavo East National Park

Mobile South

Year Established: 2018
Current Operations: Where needed in the northern sector of the Chyulu Hills and KARI Ranch

Chyulu Mobile

Year Established: 2019
Current Operations: Where needed in Chyulu Hills National Park, Kibwezi Forest, and KARI Ranch

Mukururo Team

Year Established: 2020
Current Operations: Northern sector of Chyulu Hills National Park and Kibwezi Forest

Thabagunji Team

Year Established: 2020
Current Operations: Northern sector of Tsavo East, Yatta Plataeu

Tsavo Mobile

Year Established: 2024
Current Operations: Tsavo Conservation Area, Shumba Land and where needed

Shompole Team

Year Established: 2021
Current Operations: Shompole, Lake Naivasha, Soysambu, and Lake Nakuru

Lake Jipe

Year Established: 2021
Current Operations: Lake Jipe area, southern Tsavo West, bordering Tanzania

Dakadima Team

Year Established: 2021
Current Operations: Southern Tsavo East, bordering Lali Hills in Galana

Kulalu Team

Year Established: 2021
Current Operations: Southern Tsavo East National Park, within Kulalu and Galana Ranches

Kapangani Team

Year Established: 2022
Current Operations: Galana Wildlife Conservancy and where needed

Umbi Team

Year Established: 2023
Current Operations: Northern sector of Tsavo East National Park

Kulalu II Team

Year Established: 2023
Current Operations: Galana Wildlife Conservancy and where needed

Kichwa Tembo

Year Established: 2023
Current Operations: Tsavo West National Park

Kwale Team

Year Established: 2023
Current Operations: Shimba Hills National Reserve

Meru Team

Year Established: 2014
Current Operations: Meru National Park and Mwea National Reserve

MEP/SWT Charlie Team

Year Established: 2019
Current Operations: Mau Forest
Conservation Partner: Mara Elephant Project

MEP/SWT Alpha Team

Year Established: 2018
Current Operations: Mau Forest
Conservation Partner: Mara Elephant Project

Mobile Camping Team

Year Established: 2017
Current Operations: Mount Kenya
Conservation Partner: Mount Kenya Trust

Amu Ranch Team

Year Established: 2011
Current Operations: Amu Ranch and Witu Forest
Conservation Partner: Lamu Conservation Trust

Each team is equipped with a modified 4x4 vehicle, camping equipment, digital radios, GPS units and cameras as well as all necessary equipment and supplies to patrol daily and spend long periods in the field. Their activities are coordinated by our 24 hour Operations Centre in Kaluku, which monitors all ground and air operations in order to ensure the safety of our personnel, identify key trends to direct future patrols and coordinate a swift and effective response to any incidents.

Accompanied by armed KWS Rangers and supported by our Aerial and Canine Units, our teams are well-equipped to deter and prevent illegal wildlife activities, as well as launch ambushes, with any necessary arrests carried out by KWS. Extensive training means each team has deep local knowledge and each ranger has graduated from the KWS law enforcement academy in Manyani, with training in mitigating human-wildlife conflict, ecosystem management, field survival, weaponry use, and capture and arrest.

Read the latest Monthly Reports from our Anti-Poaching Teams

Anti-Poaching Report: October 2024

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Anti-Poaching Report: September 2024

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Anti-Poaching Report: August 2024

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