DSWT De-Snaring Units reporting from Tsavo

Published on the 1st of April, 2018

With the rains arriving in March it was a relatively quiet month for the teams

With the rains arriving in March it was a relatively quiet month for the teams.  The rains also caused a difficulty with vehicle patrols as muddy tracks made traversing far and wide nearly impossible, thankfully the DSWT helicopter made up for this, and was able to land rangers at hotspots to patrol on foot when needed. 

A big project in March for the teams was uncovering over 50 acres of marijuana being cultivated in the Chyulu Hills National Park.  The DSWT fixed wing and helicopter mapped out where the plantations where located and the DSWT De-Snaring teams went in on foot with support from Big Life Foundation and Tsavo Trust, to uproot and burn all the plants, which is still ongoing.

Other activities for the teams included lifting and confiscating 265 snares, destroying 25 charcoal kilns and recovering 18 charcoal sacks heading for the market.  Arrests during the month included 1 ivory poacher in possession of tusks arrested by the Chyulu team, 6 bushmeat poachers, 5 charcoal burners and several loggers and livestock herders.  In total 5 elephant carcasses were discovered, most of them old probably having perished from the drought, but thankfully their ivory was still intact and safely retrieved by the teams along with several pieces of broken tusks unearthed during routine patrols.