MTITO TEAM

De – Snaring Report for June 2007

Participants

Alex Macharia – team leader Francis Chege James Nyumu Nteritu Kapina Vincent Mutua Semeli Lolchuraki 4KWS Rangers

Areas Covered

During the course of the month of June the following areas were patrolled by the Mtito de-snaring team: Mtito River circuit, Kamp ya Faru, Ngumo area, Ngiluni, Mangerete, Yumbuni, Chyulu hills, Ngulia Hills, Lower & upper Kenani, Kanga station, Kyulu station, Athi River, pump area, Tsavo river and Kamboyo area.

33 SNARES COLLECTED 7 ARRESTS

Findings

As we patrolled the various areas covered we collected 33 snares, all of which were targeting small to medium sized game. All 33 snares were collected from the Mangerete area.

We got some information of Elephant poaching going on in the Mtito river circuit. While patrolling there we found no signs of elephant poaching however we did make seven arrests for charcoal burning and illegal logging.

We booked the offenders at Mtito Police Station. Unfortunately most of the culprits we arrest are released from police custody on the same day of arrest. This is our biggest challenge as the judicial system is very lenient on these sorts of offenders. This makes our jobs difficult as the culprits are released with no punishment and therefore go straight back to their illegal activities causing destruction to the National Park. On the positive side of things, some of the roads in the park have been graded which makes our patrols easier and more effective.

Our objectives are to try and tackle night poaching in Kanga area.

Community work

We arranged a school trip with Matulani Primary School. Unfortunately the trip was postponed to July due to school management commitments. Instead we visited Ngiluni Primary School were we screened a wildlife film to encourage environmental education for wildlife conservation.

Challenges experienced: the camera failed on us this month so we were unable to take pictures of the arrests and other events of the month.

Report by Alex Macharia