In March, the Aerial Unit flew 167 hours and covered 22,696 kilometres. The month was defined by unusually generous rainfall across the Tsavo ecosystem — a welcome but unexpected gift, as the March-April long rains can be disappointing.

This year, the landscape transformed almost entirely into a lush field of green. The Tiva River flooded dramatically, its constantly evolving delta spreading southward into a new wetland, which first formed in 2018. Uninhibited by wet ground conditions, our Aerial Unit maintained its full programme of patrols, veterinary support, and human-wildlife conflict response.

The most persistent and troubling activity during the month came from the Nasaru Conservancy area, where a concentrated outbreak of snaring required aerial intervention on two occasions within a single week. Our fixed-wing aircraft first identified an injured giraffe during a routine patrol on 1st March — a snare cutting into the animal's hind left leg. The helicopter and veterinary team mobilised, the snare was successfully removed, and the prognosis for recovery was good.

Two days later, the fixed-wing returned to the same area and located a second giraffe, this time with a snare around its neck. On this occasion, the operation required an additional transfer flight to collect the veterinarian from Voi and bring him to our base, before proceeding by helicopter to the affected animal. The snare was successfully removed. Follow-up patrols in subsequent days checked every animal in the vicinity carefully; fortunately, no further injuries were found. The cluster of cases points to a serious and active snaring problem in this corridor, and the area will remain under close aerial scrutiny in the weeks ahead.

Amu Ranch in Lamu County also drew increased attention this month. On 15th March, one of our pilots discovered a freshly poached giraffe carcass on the far northwestern corner of Amu Ranch, estimated to be no more than a day old. The following day, a second giraffe carcass was found nearby; while the second carcass was older, it confirmed that poaching pressure in this area is considerable. The findings were shared with KWS and a community representative, and a joint inspection of both sites was subsequently carried out. Aerial surveillance of Amu Ranch has been intensified as a result.

Human–elephant conflict kept our helicopters busy throughout the month. Elephants were reported outside the protected area on multiple occasions, concentrating around communities near Ngiluni, Kamunyu, Lukenya University, and Darajani. The responses were mixed — some herds were successfully guided back through gaps in the fence, while a stubborn group near Ngiluni, well known to our team, refused to cooperate despite repeated attempts.

On 26th March, eight bull elephants at Ngiluni were finally pushed back into the protected area. The very last flight of the month, on 31st March, responded to a report of four bulls near Lukenya University — all four were successfully returned through a gap in the fence and back into the protection of the Park.

One of the month’s more heartwarming stories unfolded far from Tsavo. A two-week-old elephant calf, found abandoned by its mother in Elgeyo Marakwet, was rescued and handed over to KWS-Rimoi. In need of urgent, specialist care, the calf was airlifted in a charter helicopter to Nairobi, where our own helicopter was waiting to collect it and complete the final leg of the journey to our Umani stockade.