BURRA TEAM

De – Snaring Report for October 2007

Participants:

Nicodemus Kivindyo – team leader Mathew Kiura Samuel Odero Peter Wambua John Malonza Peter Ndungu Samuel Masaku 2 KWS Rangers

Area of operation:

During the month of October, the Burra team covered the following areas: Sagala ranch, Mgeno ranch, Ndii area and the Taita ranch.

225 SNARES RECOVERED 2 ARRESTS

FINDINGS.

During the month of October the team lifted a total of 225, out of which 145 targeted small game and 80 targeted big game.

Two men were arrested for illegally burning charcoal in the park. The two were booked at Voi police station. Illegal cattle grazing and the destruction of vegetation were noticed in all the areas that were patrolled. A Duiker was found dead in a snare at Ndii are and the remains of two Dikdiks were confiscated at Sagala ranch.

Observable evidence:

Due to the ongoing drought, the snaring of wild animals has increased, especially in the community ranches, which are adjacent to the park and are home for a lot of wildlife, which migrate into the ranches in search of food and water. The reason poaching is so prevalent in the group ranches is due to the fact that the movement of poachers is less restricted. For this reason the team concentrated most of its desnaring activities in these areas.

Sagala Ranch Most of the snares lifted in this area targeted small game. Both illegal logging and charcoal burning were observed to be taking place. The perpetrators are from the community areas adjacent to the ranch.

Mugeno Ranch Unlike Sagala ranch, most of the snares lifted at Mugeno ranch targeted big game, which co-exists with the livestock that is grazed in this area.

Due to the fact that snares are indiscriminate, cases of snared cattle have been reported on several occasions. The team is dedicated to increasing it’s patrols in the area in an effort to eradicate the snaring vice.

Ndii Area Despite the fact that this area is within the protected area and is fenced to control human wildlife conflict, the community still enters the park in order to poach the wildlife and to carry out illegal logging and charcoal burning activities.

The team suspects that the majority of firewood sold along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway comes from this area of the park.

Taita Ranch This region had the least number of snares collected during the team’s patrols.

This is due to the intensive patrols carried out in the area in the preceding months. The team will continue to exert pressure on the area in order to ensure that poaching at the ranch is controlled.

Buffalo Rescue The team together with a keeper came to the aid of a buffalo that was stuck in the mud at the Lualenyi ranch dam.

Initially the buffalo was too weak to walk, due to its continuous struggles to free itself. However it soon regained strength and walked away.

Community work

In conjunction with KWS the Burra desnaring team organized a field trip for Sowa primary school.

This took place on the 13th of October and was immensely enjoyed by all the students who got to see a variety of wildlife during their outing. A video show and talk about the importance of wildlife and conservation was given to Gimba primary school.

Report by Mathew Kiura