In April, the Aerial Unit flew 139 hours and covered 19,314 kilometres. The long rains that arrived so generously in March continued into April, keeping much of the Tsavo ecosystem green and well-watered. Dense vegetation made aerial surveillance more challenging than usual — rhino in particular proved extremely difficult to locate in Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary and the Tsavo East IPZ, where they disappeared into thick, impenetrable bush.

One of the month's most significant operations took place on 26 April, when our helicopter and ground teams were deployed to the Gazi area following a bushmeat report. On arrival, five suspects were found in the act of butchering a hippo killed with a large cable snare. Working in coordination with KWS ground teams, our helicopter supported the operation as the teams crossed a flooded river to reach the scene.

All five suspects were successfully apprehended. The helicopter subsequently airlifted the teams, suspects, and recovered evidence back across the river to waiting vehicles. The suspects were charged with poaching and booked at the relevant police station. It was a textbook example of the kind of rapid, coordinated response that aerial support makes possible.

On 6 April, our helicopter responded to a report of a snared buffalo on Kipini Conservancy. The animal was in poor condition; the veterinary team was airlifted to the site, where the buffalo was darted from the helicopter and the snare removed. The prognosis was guarded.

Separately, on 20 April, the fixed-wing aircraft transported the veterinary team to Kipini to respond to a report of an arrow-injured zebra. On arrival, the vet found the arrow had pierced the bowels and no intervention was possible — the animal was euthanised. On the return journey, however, the team was flagged down by a local herder who had spotted an injured zebra wandering into his boma. On closer inspection, the animal turned out to be a zebra our veterinary team had treated the previous July for a rope snare and broken leg. Despite a permanently lame leg, the animal was in good body condition and required no further treatment — an encouraging outcome.

On 12 April, a KWS ranger was struck by an elephant in the Umbi area. The incident occurred at 9:00am, and in the confusion that followed — the elephant's whereabouts unclear, the team working to regroup — it was 9:20 before they were able to report accurately to operations. The ranger had a wound on his back and could not walk, raising an initial concern about a spinal injury. Operations simultaneously contacted the on-duty helicopter pilot and a member of our team who is a trained medic, and the helicopter lifted off with the medic on board at around 10:20am.

Due to the thick vegetation, they landed approximately 600 metres from the patient and walked in. What the medic found on arrival was far more serious than the initial report had suggested — a severe laceration to the upper leg, with a significant portion of the hamstring exposed and heavy bleeding from a wound just three centimetres from the femoral artery. Too high for a tourniquet, the medic cleared the wound of debris and packed it with two full rolls of Celox haemostatic agent before applying a dressing. The helicopter was back in the air and the patient was at a Nairobi hospital by 12:14pm — 200 kilometres away and just over three hours after the incident. Operations had coordinated with the hospital during the flight, and the patient was taken directly to the ICU on arrival. He subsequently underwent successful surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.

Human–elephant conflict continued to demand regular helicopter deployments throughout the month, with persistent problem animals recorded around Ngiluni, Kyusiani, Iviani, Lukenya University, and Kanziku. Some operations were successful — notably five bulls returned to the protected area at Kanziku on 25 April, and two bulls pushed back through a fence gap at Iviani — while others proved frustrating. The same family herd of eight elephants at Kyusiani, which has resisted every attempt to return them to the park over recent months, again refused to cooperate. This remains a challenging and ongoing situation that our team continues to monitor closely.

Aerial patrols this month painted a consistent picture of livestock pressure across a wide area, with large herds of cattle and shoats recorded in northeastern Tsavo East, and smaller numbers along the southern Tsavo West boundary near Jipe and the Tanzania border. In some areas, cattle were recorded as far as 24 kilometres inside the park boundary. Coordinates were shared with KWS ground teams for follow-up action, and by the final week of the month there were early signs of improvement, especially in Tsavo East, where coordinated operations had largely cleared the livestock. Charcoal burning on Kishushe Ranch and in the Kulalu area continued to be recorded throughout the month.

April was a productive and at times demanding month, emphasising the broad variety of work our pilots are called upon to do — from law enforcement to veterinary support and medical emergencies.