Mara Triangle

Sorry everyone for the silence these last few days. There were some issues with the website last week, and now I’m currently in Nairobi and then heading back to the UK on Saturday for two weeks.

Kimojino is also very busy at the moment, I left him with a German TV crew on Tuesday and then today the BBC are in the Mara to cover the plight of the Mara Conservancy. So Kimojino will be busy showing the guys around until tomorrow.

While I’ve been here I’ve been in contact with Charles our accountant and he has given me an update on how Ranger Leyian has been doing. For those of you who don’t know, Leyian was shot twice two weeks ago and has been in hospital since. Here is the bill that we are currently facing:

01) Air Ambulance charges Kes.450,000.00 ($7,282)

02) Aga Khan Medical Costs [as at 07.05.08] Kes.250,000.00 ($4,045)

The Air Ambulance we will have to pay ourselves, but we do have insurance to cover some (not all) of the medical costs. Unfortunately we have to pay the whole thing up front before we are able to claim back from the insurance company, which is actually not possible for us to do at the moment. If you know a rich kind soul out there who may be able to help, please let us know. Also any donation, no matter how small, will help at this time.

Ranger Johnson Leyian at Ngiro-are Outpost

I hope also to be soon receiving a financial report from WildlifeDirect to know how donations have gone this month. Once I have it I will post up here.

Thank you everyone for your support so far.

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8 - 15th April

Open Donations:

Alan B. - $50; Bruce M. - $75; Charles D. - $1,000 (to Sponsor Ranger Semeiyoi) Eleanor F. - $100; Ellen K. - $15o; Jean S. - $200; Jock Anderson - $500 (to Sponsor Ranger Kortom); John R. - $100; K.E.A. - $40; Lisa L. - $50; Tim W. - $25

Monthly Donations:

Eric R. - $15; Gay W. - $20; Gloria W. - $20; Michelle L. - $20

Total for 8 - 15th: $2,365

Lioness and cubs, taken yesterday.

16 - 21st April

Open Donations:

Alicja T. - $40; Anon - $150; Anon - $500; Dana - $1,050 (to Sponsor Ranger Ngilai); Kit C. - $20; Maria K. - $20; Marjorie S. - $200; Megumi Y. - $30; Mike T. - $100; Paula B. - $20; Pirjo I. - $100; Robert B. - $20; Sherri S. - $75; Sigrid H. - $30; Susan R. - $25; Vincent C. - $100; Safaris Unlimited - $500 (to Sponsor Ranger Kortom)

Monthly Donations:

Deborah B. - $50; Julia S. - $25; Kathleen L. - $20

Total for 16 - 21st April: $3,075

Zebras near Mara Bridge.

22 - 30th April

Open Donations:

Adam G. - $50; Adeline S. - $50; Amy M. - $50; Ann T. - $100; Anon - $200; Anon - $200; Antonio C. - $80; Arnt-Ove H. - $2; Bethan J. - $20; Christine G. - $200; Dixie L. - $500; D.H. - $100; Edward J. - $20; Harald Van K. - $25; Hisako K. - $500; Iver L. - $100; J.K. - $40; James B. - $40; Jean Thomas R. - $100; John S. - $20; Karen L.W. - $25; Karen W. - $100; Linda D. - $20; Michael L. - $25; Mike M. - $200; Olwyn M. - $50; Paul C. - $20; Paula B. - $20; Peter C. - $100; Rachel S. - $50; Richard B. - $150; Ryujin A. - $100; Stephanie C. - $50; Teresa M. - $20; Tim W. - $35; World Wildlife Photos - $100;

Monthly Donation:

Dave C. - $20; Jo Anne J. - $25; Laura M. - $10

Total for 22 - 28th April: $3,517

Total received so far for April: $17,063

Grey Crown Cranes.

Thank you everyone for all your donations this month, we haven’t quite yet got the total for April but will update this post once we have.

Thank you also to Safaris Unlimited and Jock Anderson’s East Africa Wildlife Safaris for coming together to sponsor Joseph Kortom . We have 13 rangers sponsored so far out of 45, so please feel free to have a whip around at work to see if you can get another ranger sponsored.

We would also like to thank Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris, who organised the donation of a professional camera for Kimojino to use, and another digital camera for Wilson Naitoi.

Not only are Kimojino’s photos now amazing (click here to see more on Flickr) but these cameras are also vital for the work of the rangers to monitor the progress of animals should they fall ill, (stills and video taken during the recent poisoning of lions was used as part of the investigation) and also to record any offences that may occur within the Triangle.

Lion yawning.

If you have a spare digital camera let me know, I’ll be in the UK from the 18th May for two weeks and can then take it back with me: wdeed at wildlifedirect dot org

We would also like to say a big thank you to all those who have covered our story this month: BBC, Dan, Radu and Robert from Reuters, Matt from The National (UAE), Steve from The Independent (UK), Agathe from Plein-Vie (France) and Nice Matin (France - in print only).

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At 3am Wednesday morning, rangers from Ngiro-are Outpost saw torches east of their post along the border, which was an obvious sign that poachers were hunting Thomson Gazelles.

The approach to the hunting area was difficult since it was very far and a vehicle must be used. Driving without lights on is not an easy tusk, because of the tall grass but it the was only option for these Rangers to make any formidable success. They left their base and drove slowly towards the poachers’ route, where on their way they met accidentally with another group of poachers who were heading back to the villages, carrying heavy loads of killed gazelles. Immediately a chase ensued and the Rangers managed to arrest one poacher but the rest disappeared into the dark.

Rangers at Ngiro-are

According to information from the arrested poacher, this group was nine and they had killed nine gazelles which were all collected by the Rangers. He further informed them of another different group of poachers which were still out hunting. This prompted the Rangers to design an ambush in a strategic location at the bottom of the escarpment, where they knew the poachers would pass and so arrests could be made. It was also a place where the poachers would arrive by dawn, and be more easily seen.

For sure the plan worked, and by 6.30am poachers were heard talking half a kilometre away and were heading straight towards the ambush. As they got closer, one of the dogs got the Rangers’ scent and barked, but before they realised the ambush Rangers charged and immediately caught two of the men. The rest of the Rangers kept the chase and later managed to arrest another three men, making a total of five arrested as well as recovering another 28 killed gazelles, bringing the total to 37 in just one night.

These poachers were aged between 17 and 35 years, hunting with more than 10 dogs, trained to catch the gazelles and also to run away when their owners do. One of the poachers arrested said that they wanted to take advantage of the incident on Monday when our ranger was shot, thinking that our men would be too scared to patrol.

That morning saw our men make an incredible success in arresting six poachers. They were all handed to the Tanzanian park authorities who took them to Tarime police station for prosecution. The gazelles were also taken as exhibits.

The months we are in now it is so difficult for the Conservancy to finance it’s crucial activities due to lack of funds. It is already the middle of the off season with very few tourist coming, which means no money. Despite all these problems, we are very thankful for your support and donations which we have received so far and has seen us through to this point.

Our appeals for help are as before, because things are becoming more and more difficult, and if support is not availed we risk loosing this precious park and it’s beautiful animals.

Thomson Gazelles and ostriches, taken today.

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Yesterday afternoon cattle rustlers entered Kenya and stole 24 cattle and 2 donkeys from the communities living up on the escarpment. Our rangers were alerted at around 3pm and joined Tanzanian rangers and the Kenyan Anti-Stock Theft Unit in pursuit of the rustlers.

A battle ensued for more than one hour, with sporadic gunfire between both sides. During one of these bursts of fire our Ranger Johnson Leyian was shot in both legs. He suffered heavy bleeding and was immediately taken to the main station here at Mara Serena. It was not possible to arrest the bleeding and surgery was also needed, so he was airlifted by African Air Rescue to the Aga Khan hospital in Nairobi. On arrival he was given four pints of blood.

Ranger Johnson Leyian at Ngiro-are Outpost

It was extremely bold of the rustlers to attack in broad daylight. Normally these thefts are attempted at night, a week either side of the full moon. Before the financial crisis hit the Conservancy, we would often lay night ambushes for these rustlers but we no longer have the funds to put these in place.

Our reduced visibility in the area may have been an incentive for the rustlers with all our night patrols halted since January, along with a massive reduction in joint day patrols of the area with Tanzanian rangers.

Also, on March 3rd rustlers attacked at night and managed to escape with cattle from the local community. It was one of only a handful of successful thefts since the start of the Mara Conservancy in 2001, and occurred at a time when the electricity is off at the main station - due to cutbacks - this made it extremely difficult to coordinate the rangers and offer further assistance, as they were only able to use radio handsets which were out of range.

We believe that a combination of reduced visibility in the area, and the successful theft in the beginning of March, emboldened the rustlers and led to yesterday’s attack in broad daylight.

Rangers and Hippo poachers on 9th April; Ranger Leyian in the centre.

Today, Ranger Leyian’s condition is stable and he is expected to make a full recovery. Our insurance will cover the costs of medical treatment but not the costs of the emergency flight, which will be at around 420,000 Kenyan Shillings (roughly US $7,000).

Please make a donation if you are able. Thank you.

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On April 15th we reported that two lions had died within the Mara Triangle. Here is an annotated version of the findings from the investigation, the original written by Brian Heath CEO & Dr Asuka Takita:

The history of the case reveals that three out of four affected lions had fed on a hippo carcass found on the river bank on March 31st. The first signs of sickness appeared three days post-ingestion, when a sick lion (Male #1) was found to be weak, staggering and sitting under a thicket.

The following morning, Male #1 was unable to walk and showed clear signs of front limb paralysis; where the animal could not stand and walk in a normal posture. He used his hind limbs to “hop like a rabbit” in an attempt to move forward.

3.4.08 Paralysis sets in.

The condition deteriorated rapidly within the course of a day, and Male #1 was no longer able to ‘hop’ by the early afternoon. On the same day, another young male (Male #2) from the same pride began showing a more severe form of paralysis and was recumbent by afternoon. This was followed by a lesser degree of paralysis in two more males during the next five days.

The first paralysed lion was euthanised by a KWS vet for post-mortem and sample collection. The post-mortem did not reveal significant pathological changes suggestive of infectious disease, and all of the organs looked normal except for slightly hyperaemic small intestinal mucosa.

The brain sample was submitted to Kabete Vet Labs for rabies testing, in which the results came out negative. Tissue samples (liver, kidney, small intestine) together with stomach contents, were submitted to Government Chemist Toxicology Lab to test for possible poisoning. The results showed that the stomach contents revealed a high concentration of Carbofuran. The stomach content of a second hippo found dead on 13.4.08 subsequently tested positive for Carbofuran.

Hippo found dead on 13.4.08

An environmental survey was undertaken by Mara Conservancy staff from habitats in the vicinity of both lions and hippos. Water and soil samples were taken from the area, including water samples collected from a tributary where another dead hippo was found. All of the water samples tested negative for insecticides, while some of the soil samples showed traces of Carbofuran.

Based on a history collected from rangers, clinical signs manifested by all four affected lions, post-mortem findings and toxicology results, the paralysed lions are suspected to have suffered from secondary poisoning. It would appear that the hippos died as a direct result from ingesting Carbofuran contaminated plants, and that lions were then affected by feeding on the hippo carcass. It is believed that the severity of paralysis could be correlated with the amount of contaminated hippo meat consumed by each lion.

Due to feline susceptibility to chemical toxicosis, similarity in the mechanism and action of Carbamates and Organophosphates, the tendency of some Carbamates to initiate delayed neuropathy through NTE inhibition, and the absence of other alternative explanations identified for the paralysis, it is believed that Carbofuran-induced neuropathy can occur in animals.

7.4.08 Tests being done on sick lion by KWS.

The Mara Conservancy recommend an immediate ban of the use of potentially toxic chemicals (insecticides, pesticides, acaricides, molluscicide, especially Carbofuran and Organophosphates) inside conservation areas.

Based on the findings and the location of the affected animals, there is no reason to suspect the involvement of the local communities surrounding the Mara Triangle.

Thank you to everyone for both your support and your patience since our report of the lions deaths on 15th April. We ask new visitors to our website to click here to find out more about our Urgent Appeal, and also ask you to consider making a donation to help maintain basic park operations during this time of financial difficulty. Thank you.

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I spent the beginning of this week at Saruni’s home, a hand charge here at the Conservancy. His home is up on the escarpment about 6km from Oloololo Gate, and the border of the park.

The Escarpment in the background.

The escarpment makes up the third border of the park, running along the west, with the other two borders being the Mara River and the Kenya/Tanzania border.

I stayed two nights at Saruni’s and both nights there were attempts from a leopard to break into his boma.

Saruni in front of his cows and his home.

The first alarm you hear is the growl of the dog, followed by the rumbling of 50 cattle running from one side of the boma to the other, the bells around the necks now swinging madly. Before the dog was fully barking, Saruni was out of the house and chasing the leopard away, armed only with a torch and a stick.

There is a constant need to be alert, not only against lions and leopards, but on the first night six hyenas also tried to break into the boma where the goats are kept.

Putting the animals to bed.

Unlike many Maasai on the escarpment, Saruni has another income to his household coming from the work he does for the Conservancy. However, since January he has had five sheep killed - 4 by a leopard and 1 by hyenas - along with 3 cows killed - 2 heifers by leopards, and a pregnant cow was killed by a lion. In terms of money this is more than 40,000 Kenyan Shillings (US $645), but to give you a better idea of the value of this loss, for Saruni this is the equivalent to 7 months salary.

On Tuesday I stopped by at Enkereri to give them a print out of the article by Reuters, and despite all the improvements we had seen them make to their bomas on Saturday, a leopard had broken in on Monday evening and killed a goat.

Reuters at Enkereri.

I saw Ranger Kimanjoi on the Wednesday, who had been at home for 10 days. He also lives on the escarpment, about 10km away from Saruni’s home, and he also related a story how only two nights previously, two lionesses had come to his village and killed a cow.

The first reaction from the men was to hunt the lions with their bows and arrows, but Kimanjoi convinced them that the best thing to do would be to just chase them away from the village, which they did for two hours by following the lionesses and shouting.

Lions yesterday in the park, with a warthog kill.

Here are three stories collected in just a couple of days, but the escarpment runs along the park for a good 31 kilometres and is home to hundreds of small villages, each with another story to tell. I’ve only been here a short time, and have only met a few people, but the attachment I’ve seen between the Maasai I’ve met and their cows is so strong that it would be difficult to say that they are not doing their best to defend their cattle against these attacks.

Saruni and one of his cows.

As we’ve already said, at this time of year the conflict between wildlife and the human populations is at its highest, but before, rather than being a major financial loss, the local people were compensated from revenue brought in by tourist visits to the park.

As we are now experiencing, it is not always good to be dependent on tourism, but for so many years the visitors to the Mara had become an incredibly important part of keeping the balance between the wildlife and the human populations.

Since January that balance has gone, and so far the wildlife has survived and it has been the local communities, which includes those who work here at Mara Conservancy, who have had to suffer the consequences.

Saruni’s Grandfather.

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The patrol team went out this morning along the border towards Mara Bridge, it was a routine patrol without any prior information. They continued their patrol on foot for 6 kilometres along the drainage line and caught up with three poachers near the river.

The poachers were relaxing in a hide-out, and Ranger John Ntoika saw one of the poachers seated and first wasn’t sure if it was a human being or an animal. He called Ranger Jackson Singai, and just before Singai came he saw another poacher appear in a thicket.

The three poachers here at Serena Station

Immediately a chase ensued, with Singai and Ntoika running towards the poachers. Before the seated poacher was able to react and runaway, Singai had him within his grasp. The other poacher quickly ran away, and was followed by Ntoika for about 300 metres and then caught. The third poacher had covered himself in grass and was hidden in a bush. He was found and arrested by Ranger Alfonse Saris.

The three poachers are from Tanzania, and they had come to hunt warthog. As they were caught in Kenya, they will be handed over to the Kenyan authorities in Kilgoris.

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On Saturday we took the journalist, Emily, to Enkereri Cultural Manyatta up on the escarpment to talk to the local Maasai living there. Over the years, these people have become very dependent on the tourists who visit, while at the same time maintaining their cultural customs.

A traditionally built house in Enkereri

Most of the tourists who visit this manyatta are from different camps and lodges which are situated within and around the Mara Triangle. Since the beginning of the year, with the country in turmoil after the elections, the number of tourists have dramatically declined to the lowest we have see since I started working in the Mara 20 years ago.

The Maasai are also much affected like us and have always appreciated the efforts Mara Conservancy are making to protect wildlife and their cattle from poachers and rustlers respectively. Since we depend very much on gate entry fees from visitors as our only source of revenue to finance all our operations, most of our operations are currently halted, including the cattle compensation scheme.

During this time of the year, we have long rains in this part of the country, and most of the park is too wet for most of the herbivores to live in. This means they have migrated to the Maasai grazing lands where the grass is shorter and palatable. This also means that the lions have followed and are now also living among the local communities.

Since we don’t have the money to compensate for cattle losses, which is happening most days, the men are now strengthening their enclosures.

Maasai men strengthening the village enclosure.

They cut strong branches from the Camphor Bush (Tarchonanthus camphoratus), which dominates the escarpment, in order to stop the lions from entering the manyatta. And also to make it stronger and difficult for cattle rustlers to easily enter.

Entrance into the manyatta.

They make sure that all entrances into the manyatta are narrow and reinforced with extra branches. When it is complete, during the night they will close this gap with an old oil drum, chained to the poles on either side, and then more branches on the inside. If rustlers try to enter by forcing their way through the entrance, the drum will bang against the chains and act as an alarm, warning the villagers of intruders.

The lions also, if they fail to see another point to enter through the enclosure, will try to push their way through this entrance and raise the alarm.

Inside the Manyatta, there are other small enclosures to protect sheep and goats overnight.

The outside of the sheep and goat pens.

They use strong poles arranged in a line, two feet deep into the ground. At the top they fill all the gaps with Acacia branches, which have strong spikes that will act as a deterrent for lions or leopards.

Acacia branches as strong as barbed wire.

They should over these next few days and weeks see a reduction in the number of cattle, goats and sheep, lost to lions or leopards.

We hope that we shall receive donations to compensate for the cattle that has been lost over these past few months since the cattle compensation scheme was stopped in January. Combined, we are seeing cattle losses amounting to $5,000 each month.

Thank you everyone for your kind donations so far.

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While the investigation into the deaths of the lions is ongoing, our other work in the Conservancy still continues. This morning Kimojino was out on patrol in the early morning to check on the health of other lions in the area while the rangers from Ngiro-are and Serena Stations were out on patrol in different parts of the Triangle, looking for poachers.

The work must go on to ensure there is as much protection as is financially possible for the wildlife in and around the Mara Triangle, and also too we must keep looking for funds so that salaries can be paid at the end of this month. This morning Steve, a journalist from the UK’s Independent newspaper arrived and we have spent the afternoon showing him the problems that we are facing. Kimojino and I took him up to the escarpment to meet with the villagers there and so they too could have a voice in how this crisis is affecting them.

Last week Reuters interviewed Mzee Olenaigero, translated by Ben Nechalla

Since the meetings two weeks ago, when we told the local Maasai that the Conservancy is still unable to compensate for cattle killed by lions and leopards, the atmosphere was a lot calmer. The men were more open to talk about how the situation has affected them: they told us how they have been selling their cows to make ends meet, but because everybody is in the same situation the market is flooded and the price for cattle has dropped to far less than they were getting before.

This is another major blow for the local people; a drastic drop in income from tourist visits, the halting of the cattle compensation scheme at a time when cattle deaths are high due to the movement of predators, and now a drop in the price of cattle.

Steve asked what would happen if it took longer for the tourists to come back, and we didn’t see them returning in June. An Mzee said that if they don’t come back, then they will run out of cattle. The people round here will turn to bush meat.

Please everyone, don’t be alarmed, but he did raise an important point - if food runs out then what will people eat?

The situation is continuing to deteriorate, and we here at the Conservancy have been lucky enough to raise funds to pay rangers at the end of each month since January, but unfortunately this may not be the case at the end of this month, and then what can we do?

We will have to start laying off rangers. All of the rangers are local, and nearly all are Maasai, and so the suffering in the local communities will deepen.

Rangers Oletimito Kora & John Leyian

It is deeply worrying how affected the area has become from post-election violence which was elsewhere in the country. As you all know, the Maasai Mara is a National Reserve, not a National Park, which means that it is held in trust for the people and managed by the local county councils. The Maasai have, by working hard to protect and preserve the wealth of wildlife to be found here, made this such an incredible place to visit for people from all around the world, and we cannot turn our backs on them now.

Ranger Daniel Tunai with poachers last week.

I’m sorry if this is a bit heavy, but it’s been a long two weeks and this is an incredibly worrying month. Please, I know many of you are regular readers who have already donated far beyond your means - thank you so much - but we really need your help to have our plea heard by as many people as possible, so tell as many people as you know; We cannot lose the Mara.

Lion cubs playing.

Further cutbacks with electricity rationing have been made, which means we now have less hours to be online and keep you updated. Please, if you don’t hear from us for a day or so, know that the work is still continuing and your support is still needed.

Also I know that you are keen to find out more about the dead lions, but investigations are still continuing and so we are unable to release any more information at this time.

Special thanks to Hideo Ogihara from Weeds Corporation for the above design, who will be selling these as stickers in Japan to raise money for the Mara Conservancy.

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Thank you everyone for your comments of concern, we will try now to answer what questions we can at this time.

The first lion was euthanised on the 4th April, 2008, and an autopsy was done by KWS, along with blood samples taken for tests. On 8th April, tests were carried out on the sick lion by KWS. His condition had been deteriorating, but he was treated for dehydration and seemed to improve slightly.

KWS carry out tests on 8th April, 2008.

The decision was taken by KWS to feed the lion each day in the hope that he would recover. The only other lion to fall ill from this pride, the third one from a pride of seven males and five females, had by now mostly recovered without any human intervention.

The recovered lion yesterday morning, he still has the slightest of limps.

Immediately after the lion died yesterday, samples were taken and then sent to the KWS laboratory in Nairobi.

Mara Conservancy has also carried out environmental tests in the surrounding area. You can read more over on Asuka’s blog.

Lions are territorial animals, and the killing of the sick lion by the older male yesterday would have most likely been because of this.

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