Several interventions were undertaken in September. Two elephants had snares removed from around their necks. The first was a 7 year old at Taita ranch with a very tight snare that had inflicted some serious injury.

The prognosis however was favourable. The other was a 3 months old calf at Taita Salt Lick in which the snare was loose. The calf was immobilised together with its mother and both were revived simultaneously to avoid a situation where mother and calf would have been separated. 

Arrow heads were retrieved from two elephants. One christened ‘Irima’ that is amongst those released to the wild after several years of rehabilitation was treated at Ngutuni sanctuary. The arrow head was deeply embedded in the left thigh and required some radical surgery to remove.

  The injury was estimated to be a few weeks old and only mildly infected. An elephant bull had an arrow head removed from the left abdominal area at Taita Salt Lick on 28^th September. Infection was heavy with accumulation of a lot of pus and tissue necrosis. The pus was drained and dead tissues debrided. The wound was cleaned and topically treated and a high dose of a penicillin based long acting antibiotic administered. The sanctuary scouts will monitor and give progress. The prognosis was guarded.

On the 28^th September, a female waterbuck was rescued from a 10 feet deep pit at Mackinnon shopping centre. The circumstances under which it fell into the pit were not clear. It was released with Tsavo East at Bachuma gate.

Two young elephant calves (both about three weeks old) were rescued at the Satao water hole

and Galdessa camp in Tsavo East after they were found alone. They were airlifted to Nairobi where they are undergoing rehabilitation after which they will be reintroduced back to the wild in Tsavo East after 4-5 years.

There was also an elephant in Amboseli reported with spear injuries but was not found. We will be informed when sighted again.

Report by: Dr. David Ndeereh

The Mobile Veterinary Unit operated by The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust working with The Kenyan Wildlife Service and funded by Vier Pfoten