Mara Triangle

• Snare removed but wound is deep.

  Posted: September 30, 2008, 9:22 pm by Naiguran

  After calling him last night, Dr Dominic Mijele was here in the early morning to treat the young lioness with the snare caught around his chest.

  It took more than an hour and a half to locate the lioness even though she was only a few hundred yards from where we had seen her kill the zebra yesterday. She had hidden herself well in some long grass and made no movement at all no matter how close we passed while searching.
  

  She was found before noon and put to sleep with a dart.
  

  Wire cutters were used to remove the snare, and then it was possible to see how much damage had been done. 

  In places the cut was as deep as an inch and a half.
  

  Dominic cleaned the wound and treated the lioness with the whole procedure taking little more than half an hour.
  

  Thank you to Dr Dominic and to KWS for their prompt response. We will be closely monitoring the lioness and giving updates on the blog.
  

  
  

• Please don't do this - it's really very dangerous.

  Posted: September 30, 2008, 4:28 pm by William

• Lion with snare found - Vet on his way

  Posted: September 30, 2008, 10:27 am by Naiguran

  The other day we reported on a young lion who had been seen with a snare caught around his chest. Late yesterday afternoon while out on patrol we saw the lion again down by the Tanzanian border.
  

  Yesterday we watched the young lion who was able to catch and kill a zebra, which had recently lost a leg in a snare.

  
  

  We have called the vet and he is already on his way. We will update later on today.
  

• Eight Poachers Arrested - 4 zebras, 10 wildebeest & 2 impala killed.

  Posted: September 29, 2008, 1:01 pm by Kimojino

  The Ngiro-are and Iseyia Anti-Poaching Ranger Teams went out yesterday on a joint patrol team with Tanzanian (TANAPA) Rangers in the Naimailubwa area, and to the source of the Balangoja stream. Much of the migration has been in this area for the last few days and so it was decided to again patrol this area.
  

  At 15:00 hours we came across a camp with nine poachers, and managed to make the arrest of eight of the men. 

  Two of the poachers yesterday.
  

  They had been camped there for one week and had come from the Merenga area in Tanzania, which is about 25 kilometres from the camp. They had managed to kill four zebras, five wildebeest and one impala, and then we found another five wildebeest and one impala caught in their snares, which they had not gone to check. 

  When we first saw this wildebeest it was in the last throes of life, but by the time our vehicle arrived, just a few moments later, it was already dead.
  

  The snared wildebeest.

   

  We have seen signs that there is a lot of poaching activity in this area. The poachers we arrested yesterday reported that the night before they had come across another six poachers although they did not know the location of their camp.

  Thank you everyone for your continued support, and to the Conservancy and Tanzanian rangers for their tireless efforts.
  

• 3 Day Patrol in Serengeti: 6 poachers arrested and a large bump to head.

  Posted: September 27, 2008, 11:00 am by William

  On Tuesday 23rd, rangers from Iseyia Station went out on a joint patrol with the Tanzanian Rangers (TANAPA). They have only now just got back to Iseyia, and Warden Edward Nkoitoi and Assistant Warden Naiguran are here to report on the patrol:

  We left on the evening of the 23rd for a three day patrol with TANAPA. We met up with the Tanzanian rangers at Balangoja, which is a small station with just three small buildings to house rangers. Nearby the Tanzanians are building a bigger, more permanent station which will be up on a hill. Maybe 200 metres away from this small station. It will be a very good station.

  On the 24th we made the arrest of two poachers at Balangoja. They were both  young, aged 18 and 16. 

   

  it was the third time that we had arrested the 18 year old, the boy in the purple trousers. They had been camped out for two days and with seven snares they had killed two zebras and one eland. 

   

  On the night of the 25th we went out again and came across six poachers. We chased them for a long time but the poachers did not realise that we were split into two groups. Up ahead in the direction that they were running half of our team were laying down ready for an ambush. Naiguran and his men carried out the chase, following the men for some time and then leaving a distance to give the impression that the poachers had made their escape.

  It was about four in the morning, with no moon in the sky, and so it is hard to see for more than just two or three metres. Naiguran radioed ahead to tell the rangers that the poachers were on their way. and then he and his team also prepared an ambush.
  

  The poachers ran close to the ambush but at the last moment they could sense the rangers and turned around to head back towards Naiguran and his men. The rangers had closed in on the men, but one of the poachers was running full speed towards Naiguran and it was only when he was a couple of metres away did Naiguran realise that he was not going to slow down and they they were going to collide head on.

  He crouched down and his head met with the ribs of the man at such a force that they cried out.

  You can see in the above picture, the man in the middle, he is still in pain. Naiguran also was in pain and there is still a big lump on his head. We are very lucky that the man was not running with his spear.
  

  We arrested three of the poachers, and three escaped. They had killed a male impala and caught two fish. They were not hunting with snares, only with sticks, dogs and spotlights.

  Here you can see Naiguran standing while the three poachers are being interviewed by the Tanzanian ranger. He is taking down all their details ready for the men to be taken to the Tanzanian police station. On our patrol we also had a Tanzanian Police Corporal who was with us for the whole patrol, and it was he who took them to the station.
  

  Yesterday we made the arrest of one more poacher in the Milima Hotel area. He was with a panga, three snares and a sword.

   

• Three pregnant Rhinos in Mara Triangle

  Posted: September 26, 2008, 7:24 pm by Naitoi

  We have seven resident rhinos in the Mara Triangle, but sometimes the number to be found can go up to ten individuals. In the last week I have been fortunate to spot five rhinos; four resident and one visiting.
  

  The first pair I saw was Naishuro with her young calf, Olpunyata. 

  Naishuro & Olpunyata.

  These two are commonly seen by visitors, and can be often found in the Northern part of the Mara Triangle. Olpunyata is becoming so big now that he has to lie down on the floor when he suckles Naishuro.
  

  We noticed a few weeks ago that Naishuro is pregnant, and we suspect that he father is the same of Olpunyata - a lone male that is resident on the Narok side of the Mara River, but from time to time he likes to come over to the Mara Triangle side.

  The Father to Olpunyata.

  This is the photo of the male which I took this week. He is sometimes very shy and so it's not always easy to see him. I have also been lucky enough this week to see the sister of Olpunyata and daughter of Naishuro - Sapparingo who is named after the stream near where she was born.
  

  Sapparingo likes to spend her time with another, younger female adult, and they have been side by side since last year.
  

  Sapparingo and friend.
  

  The pair also like to spend their time between the North of the Triangle and the Salt Lick, moving along near to the escarpment. It was just two weeks ago we noticed that both of these females are also pregnant.
  

• The Leopard of Salt Lick

  Posted: September 25, 2008, 11:18 am by Naitoi

  This is the first day that I found this leopard and he had killed a wildebeest calf, and put on top of this tree. And so here he was just lying besides the meal.

  He was watching me as I approached, opening and closing his eyes, not caring about my presence.
  

  Then the following morning I found this leopard again, and he had killed a young fawn of a reedbuck.
  

  He took the fawn to a different tree, in the same same area. He then ate all of the kill and went to lie at the top of the tree.
  

  He is such a big male, very strong. You can see that when the wildebeest are around he is probably making kills almost every day.
  

• Elephant treated for swollen foot.

  Posted: September 24, 2008, 1:23 pm by Naitoi

  The vet arrived yesterday and treated an elephant with a swollen foot, which had been injured from a spear. We were unable to locate the lion with the snare, and we think that he may have crossed the border into Tanzania. 

  The elephant is treated by Dr Dominic Mijele

  While the vet was here we were unfortunately also unable to locate the elephant with the snare caught around his neck, who did not appear until very late on in the day.
  

• In one strike, a leopard kills 30 goats and sheep

  Posted: September 23, 2008, 11:03 am by Naitoi

  At the beginning of this month, up on the escarpment in the Ololtikilte area, a leopard went into a sheep house through the roof and killed 24 sheep and 6 goats.

  The Leopard created a hole in the roof of the sheep house.

  The owner, Mr. Kotika, has suffered a great loss.

  Mr Kotika and his family and neighbours, along with the dead sheep and goats.
  

• Sick lion missing.

  Posted: September 21, 2008, 6:53 pm by William

  A sick male lion was reported near Kichwa Airstrip, which had not been feeding well for almost a week and was losing its condition. The vet was called but unfortunately was not available.
  

  There haven't been any recent sightings of the lion and so we are not sure of what his status is now. 

  We have also informed the vet of a lion with a snare caught around his body, and an elephant with a snare around its neck.
  

• And the rains continue...

  Posted: September 21, 2008, 5:24 pm by William

• Are there otters in Dupoto Forest?

  Posted: September 20, 2008, 11:10 am by William

  Asuka had some carnivore researchers staying with her last week and together they went to Dupoto Forest to check for tracks.
  

  One of the first tracks they found was the fresh print of a leopard.

  But then further along by the river they found another track..

  We think it may be a spotted necked otter, which is very possible because the river in the forest runs all year long. It would be a great find as the spotted necked otter is on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

  A Spotted Necked Otter on flickr, taken by Charlene-SJ
  

• Unusually high rainfall in the Mara

  Posted: September 19, 2008, 10:55 pm by William

  For what used to be the dry season, there has been an exceptional amount of rain this past week in the Mara.

  We've had more rain than we had in this year's rainy season, with the bottom road that runs along from Iseyia to Oloololo completely flooded. 

  There were deep trenches dug into the road from where vehicles have been passing in the wet conditions, and it has been up to our Road Team to work long days to keep the roads open. 

   

  A big thank you to the Road Team for all their extra efforts, lets hope that this rain does not continue...
  

• Fundraiser at Karen Blixen Coffee Garden in Nairobi

  Posted: September 18, 2008, 9:53 pm by William

  On Friday 3rd October there will be a fundraiser at Karen Blixen Coffee Gardens in Nairobi. The event organisers are currently looking for sponsors for the events, for the following categories:

  Big Five Title Sponsors:
  

  Exclusive branding of the car park; Exclusive Branding on the Invites; Branding in the Sponsors' Lounge; Branding in the Dinner Tent; 4 Corporate Tables of 8 persons; Full Page Cover Advert in the Event Programme; Pre-event Cocktails in the Sponsors' Lounge.  Sponsoship Amount: KSH 1,000,000
  

  Elephant Sponsor:

  Branding in the Dinner Tent; Branding in the Sponsors' Lounge; 3 Corporate tables for 8 persons; Full Page Advert in the Event Programme; Pre-Event Cocktails in the Sponsors' Lounge.  Sponsorship Amount: KSH 600,000

  Rhino Sponsor:

  Branding in the Dinner Tent; Branding in the Sponsors' Lounge; 2 Corporate Tables of 8; Half Page Advert in the Event Programme; Pre-Event Cocktails in the Sponsors' Lounge.  Sponsorship Amount: KSH 550,000

  Leopard Sponsor:

  Branding in the Dinner Tent; Branding in the Sponsors' Lounge; 1 Corporate Table of 8; Quarter Page Advert in the Event Programme; Pre-Event Cocktails in the Sponsors' Lounge.   Sponsorship Amount: KSH 500,000

  Lion Sponsor:

  Branding in the Sponsors' Lounge; 1 Corporate Table of 8; Pre-Event Cocktails in the Sponsors' Lounge; Logo in the Event Programme.  Sponsorship Amount: KSH 100,000

  Buffalo Sponsor:

  Pre-Event Cocktails in the Sponsors' Lounge; Dinner for Twol Recognition in the Event Programme.  Sponsorship Amount: KSH 50,000
  

  If you should wish to sponsor one of the above categories, donate prizes for the raffle or attend the event, please get in touch.
  

  More details to follow.
  

  
  

• Cheetah dies from mange.

  Posted: September 16, 2008, 4:13 pm by William

  In our August monthly report we reported on the two cheetahs, brother and sister, who had been found with mange and been looked at by Dr Dominic Mijele. 
  

  Unfortunately the operation was unsuccessful and the animals soon after disappeared for some time. Only recently had they been sighted again in the Mara Triangle, and rangers found that the sister had died yesterday near the Tanzanian border.  
  

  For the last two days the brother has been remaining with the carcass of its sister, protecting it from the vultures and hyenas.

• Our Ranger Teams are working all hours collecting snares, arresting poachers and cattle rustlers.

  Posted: September 12, 2008, 3:50 pm by Kimojino

  After celebrating the thanks giving party for Dr. Asuka, we went back to camp at Ngiro-are. 
  On 8.9.08 we patrolled all the areas along the border to mara river and no poaching activities detected. On the 9.9.08 we did the same but this time concentrating along the escarpment and we removed 10 wire snares. 
  In the evening, around 6.45pm, we went out to lay an ambush between Ngiro-are and Kenyangaga posts, right in the swamp where we waited until 11.00 pm and three poachers, who had already entered into the park without our notice, appeared very close to us. 
  We charged at them after they saw our car and ran away into the swamp. We manage to arrest one and two escaped. On interrogation we found out the poachers had set wire snares across the swamp a day before and had since returned to the village. They had come back to check and take any caught animals. The following morning we took him to show us where they had laid the snares, and removed 11 in total. After which we handed him over to Tanapa Rangers at Kenyangaga.
  
  On the morning of 10.9.08, we patrolled the Ngiro-are swamp towards Kishanga drift to Kampi ya Mungu area and planned to lay an ambush between the camps, along the escarpment. Nothing was seen at Kishanga area so we went back to camp for lunch and rest in readiness for the evening.
  We sent out our vehicle to a different direction and approached the intended area by foot. Two poachers were seen while entering the park from a distance and could not be apprehended due to bad terrain. After they had gone, three Rangers moved quietly to the entry point at the top of the escarpment and lay an ambush, followed by another four rangers.
  At 10.00pm the two poachers again appeared, this time ascending the escarpment carrying nothing. The Rangers at the bottom of the escarpment alerted the ones at the exit point to stay put for the poachers are heading towards them. Within twenty minutes the poachers were close to the rangers and sensed their presence. One managed to escape but rangers arrested the other, who was 18 years in age. We called off the patrol and returned to camp.
  The Young Poacher
  These poachers were coming to check their wire snares. No animal was caught in the snares ,so they were going back home. Before we went to beds around 11.00pm a radio message came in from control that cattle rustling had taken place at Oloosura area near Olkurruk airstrip. You can see the line of the old airstrip in the map below, above the line on the left hand side. 
  
  
  View Larger Map
  
  We left the camp at 1.00am to lay an ambush along the Kenyangaga- Lamai road, after being informed that the rustlers had driven the cattle into the park and were heading towards the Tanzania border. We waited until 6.00am in the morning but nothing showed up. We became so desperate because the tracking team has been confused by the tracks of the wildebeest migrations, and by 7.00am we decided to patrol inside the swamp and all the adjacent areas. 
  After a short search we saw cattle tracks and human footprints, something like 1km away from where we had laid an ambush. Another 50m away we found 3 cows with ropes tied to shrubs, and three others untied but were in a separate location. 
  Rangers and the retrieved cattle.
  
  We keenly continued searching the swamp for the rustlers and managed to find and arrest one. The total number of cows stolen was 11. We found the last five cows which had been left behind by the rustlers when they must have made their escape. It was a difficult night for us but we were happy to finish the whole operation without any exchange of fire or having casualties. 
  The arrested cattle rustler and retrieved cattle at Ngiro-are Outpost.
  We handed over the suspect to Lolgorian police station for prosecutions. The cattle were handed back to the owners and the Rangers today went to join the Maasai in celebrating the victory.

• Celebrating the Big 100!

  Posted: September 9, 2008, 2:47 pm by William

  Each time Mara Conservancy rangers make 100 arrests we celebrate the occasion by having a party at the Mara Conservancy with lots of speeches and nyama choma. On Sunday we had another one of these parties but this time not to celebrate 100 arrests, but instead the $100,000 raised by Dr Asuka Takita.
  

  Asuka and Jane at the party.
  

  To date, Asuka has now raised $112,500 through supporters and well wishers in Japan who have persistently made contributions towards our work for the last six months. It is greatly appreciated and a sincere thank you from all of us here.

  Also a great big thank you to all of those who have supported us through WildlifeDirect, you have helped raise over $60,000 and for that we are truly grateful. As those of you who receive our monthly report will know, we have recently received our annual audit for our accounts ending on 31st May 2008 and we managed to finish with only a small defecit of 110,177 Kes, approx US $1,500, which is absolutely amazing. 

  This was managed by making quite substantial cutbacks since the post-election violence in January, and of course from the massive support we have received from all around the world.
  

  Celebrating the Big 100
  

  We are very lucky that there was a return of tourists to the Mara for these past few weeks, although not as high as previous years it has been a huge help to our budget. Unfortunately I did visit all of the camps and lodges in and around the Mara Triangle last week and it seems that we will be returning to a level of uncertainty with bookings very low for the coming months. 

  We will of course carry on and we thank all of you for your tremendous support. A special thank you also to Anne Kent Taylor Fund, CMC Motors, Lesley Roach, US Fisheries and Wildlife Services and WildlifeDirect for all their support. 

  Thank you everyone.
  

• Dr Kashmiri, may you rest in peace.

  Posted: September 8, 2008, 12:49 pm by William

  We were deeply shocked to hear of the death of Dr Zahoor Kashmiri on the 2nd September.  He was killed by an elephant whilst darting it in Ethiopia.  Dr Kashmiri assisted the Conservancy in treating a number of animals that had been injured, or snared, in the Mara before the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Sheldrick Trust deployed a veterinarian in the Mara.  He was always extremely professional in his treatment and handling of animals and never failed to respond promptly to any requests for assistance.  Dr Kashmiri lived in Mombasa and would fly up at a moments notice;  he never charged for his services or time and was unfailingly gracious and cheerful when assisting us.
  

  Numerous animals owe their lives to Dr Kashmiri’s dedication and skill.  We, in the Conservancy, and many others, will always remember him as a wonderful, warm person, skillful veterinarian and dedicated conservationist.

  
  

  Brian Heath

  CEO, Mara Conservancy
  

• Why does a lioness bury her prey?

  Posted: September 3, 2008, 11:23 am by Naitoi

  I want to share with you something I saw yesterday. The lions are still many in the Mara Triangle, and in the morning I saw this lioness feasting on a kill. 

   

  She only fed  for a short time and then she started to bury the carcass using the grass around, to hide it from the vultures.

  Occasionally a lioness may do this when she is feeding by herself, as she will want to go off to find water before returning to the rest of the carcass. If there are two lionesses, then they can take it in turn, one lioness goes to water while the other guards the prey, but in this instance the lioness is on her own and has no option but to try and conceal the carcass.

  Also, a lioness may do this if she has cubs; she may be feeding on the carcass and then feel like she must go to her cubs and so will hide the carcass so that she can return shortly after to feed.
  

   

• As the migration moves, so too will poaching activity.

  Posted: September 2, 2008, 5:03 pm by Kimojino

  The wildebeest are all moving to the west of the Triangle, to the Ngiro-are swamp and the Lamai Wedge, so in this place we suspect a lot of poaching activities to take place in the weeks to come. 

  Wildebeest on the move towards Ngiro-are swamp.
  
  Two days ago we recovered 78 wire snares near the swamp and we expect this number to increase each day because of the return of the wildebeest to this area. There will be a lot of work to do, and we are currently going out on patrol every day and also every night. 

  Ranger releases wildebeest from snare.
  
  On Monday we decided to patrol along the escarpment into the deep north west of Serengeti and we could see people clearly seated along the top of the escarpment. We suspect that they were keeping watch on the movement of the wildebeest, as well as the movement of our rangers and our patrols.  

  The escarpment overlooks the Masai Mara/Serengeti
  
  We also on Monday managed to rescue four alive wildebeest near the Mara River, and saw some spots where five wildebeest had been slaughtered the previous night. We had found the heads but the rest of the meat had been taken. On Tuesday we collected a total of 28 wire snares.  

  Below is a video I took on Monday to show how dangerous it can be when trying to release an alive wildebeest from a snare.

  
  Rangers try to capture wildebeest caught in a snare. from Joseph Kimojino on Vimeo.

• What's an even better way to stop a wildebeest crossing?

  Posted: September 2, 2008, 12:22 pm by Naitoi

  Park on the crossing, and then stand on top of your vehicle.
  

  Photograph taken just this morning.
  

  NB. Nearly all wild animals are afraid of the human form.
  

• What's the best way to stop a wildbeest crossing?

  Posted: September 2, 2008, 9:15 am by William

  Park on it.
  

• The lions collide as the migration continues.

  Posted: September 1, 2008, 7:56 pm by William

  At the time of the wildebeest is when the lions' territories often overlie. As the wildebeest move across the mara plains, following the rains that fall, the lions also follow and move in and out of each others territories. 

  Two male lions march towards two lionesses.
  

  This morning in just one small area I saw fifteen lions, which started with two lionesses that had made a kill near the marram pit.
  

  The two lionesses tuck into a wildebeest.

  Further along I then saw a single male lion move into an area where there were two males and two females. I thought that the males were going to fight, but instead the females got up to leave and follow two hyaenas who were feasting on a carcass.
  

  The male follows the female across a plain.

  The female finally sits and the male approaches.

  The male then forces himself on the female.

  The two females look on as the male leaves.

  As I was coming to the end of my patrol I came across this road block near Egyptian Goose.

  And then this King was very thirsty after a feast of wildebeest.
  

  
  

  A wonderful morning full of lions at every stop.

  Wilson Naitoi
  

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes