Hallo everyone!!!

It is my great pleasure to inform you that ,i shall be away for one week beginning tomorrow the 26/5/08. It has been so long since i have been with my family and therefore i decided to take a week off to see them, before the migration season starts.

Necks a cross

I wish you  all a nice working week and safe journey to all those travelling.

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Tags: Giraffes

Yesterday the 21.5.08 at around 11.00 am, a herd of zebras from the Loita plains crossed the mara river,from the Musiara side to the Mara Triangle side. The river as usual is home to the world’s largest Nile crocodiles, and largely depends on migratory game crossing the mara river.

Zebras looking for a suitable point to cross

The Loita herds who resides to the North outside the reserve are always the first to arrive into the reserve before the Serengeti herds. After crossing the mara river, they headed further to the south to meet the Serengeti herds. This southerly movement across the reserve is so beneficial to the large predators who have been starving for many days. The Nile crocodiles who since the last wildebeests migration season are so eagerly waiting for such a day to happen. The resident spotted hyaenas are also yawning for this day. The african white-back and Rupell`s griffon vultures, who normally soar in large circles over the plains looking for kills are also waiting for the big day.

African white-back vultures

Yesterday marked the beginning of this year’s migration season. The Loita herds entered into the reserve from the Musiara paradise plains to the mara river one week ago and are now crossing the crocodile infested mara river into the heart of the Triangle. Many zebras crossed yesterday successfully.

One stallion got one of its front leg badly broken while negotiating a rocky section of the river. The zebra managed to get out the river,but could not walk nor stand. It keeps trying but all in vain as narated by a Mara Siria camp driver who saw the whole crossing.

Vultures struggling to reach the carcass

The hyaenas came in immediately and ends the zebra’s journey. I arrived at 11.47am to find one hyaena and vultures still fighting over the carcass fifty metres away from the river. In the river the crocodiles are struggling against one another over a zebra foul kill. I was so surprised by their feeding behaviour that I even forgot to count them. It was so interesting that I wished my friend Deed was present. So the season has started and thus the feast.

Crocodile spinning to cut out a piece

Who will be feasting is a big question to answer. This feasting season means a lot to us here at the Mara Triangle. Yes all herbivores will come back into the reserve from the community grazing lands up the escarpment. Large predators will once again return into the reserve and peace will return to villagers. Poachers are also waiting for the arrival of Wildebeests and zebras and that is why no recent poaching activities have been detected so far this month. They are acquiring and preparing wire snares for the day to come.

Rangers are also gearing up for this season to prove their capability of protecting these visiting herds and worldwide many tourists coming to see the migration. It is indeed a big season.

We appeal to all individuals and organisations to kindly support our efforts of fighting poachers this coming migration season. The Mara Conservancy has been running because of your support and we need you now more than before, for the task ahead is so pressing and challenging. Security patrols must be maintained at day and night, so much funds are required to accomplish this.

Once again thanks to all those who have donated to us, for without your donations we couldn’t manage this far.

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Despite a period of silence, all the activities pertaining conservation in the Mara Triangle are on. Our Ranger Anti-poaching teams have been carrying out patrols regularly but no arrest made in the park, since the last arrest of the six poachers who killed the 37 Thomson gazelles.

The night patrols have been strenghtened along the Kenya-Tanzania border to protect the Thomson gazelles at moonless nights. This is alternated with day patrols and luckily on the night of 12.5.08, our Rangers successfully helped to retrieve the community cattle from the rustlers around midnight along the border. There was an exchange of fire but thankfully nobody was injured. Some standing observation patrols were temporarily established at the salt-lick ridges and have been running for a week now.

Ranger Teams on Patrol

On 18.5.08, Oloololo team with the Ann Kent Taylor Fund(A.K.T.F) scouts while on patrol along the escarpment arrested one Kipsigis, who was found to have killed a male Bushbuck. He was with a company of five others who managed to escape. The arrested man was handed to Lolgorian Police station for further actions.

On the 19.5.08, all the patrol teams from Serena, Ngiro-are and Oloololo jointly carried out a day long patrol at the Mara river riverine forest, which was so difficult this time round due to the heavy presence of elephants. They managed to walked through the forest and in some sections they were forced to cross the river by charging elephants. No poaching activities were detected and they will repeat the patrol, in two days time, just to be very sure.

Mara Triangle Patrol Teams

The tourists visiting the park at the moment are still very low and we are eagerly waiting the high season which is a month away from now. I hope to see many coming and the Mara alive again with visitors.

Once again on behalf of the Management and staff of Mara Conservancy, I wish to thank all of you for supporting us through this critical period, where we’re faced with an acute shortage of funds to finance our operations. It is only with your tremendous and generous donations we’ve come this far. Thank you so much!!

Giraffes necking in front of the escarpment.

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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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