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Six More Poachers Caught.

Category: Poachers, Wildebeest | Date: Jul 05 2008 | By: William

Six Poachers and Warden Kortom

The six poachers and Warden Kortom

Warden Kortom is next to me. He and his men have just come back from patrol with six poachers. Here is his report on the happenings:

Early in the morning, at around 6:30am rangers from Serena, Ngiro-are and Mara Bridge went to patrol Balangoga near Sunni Lugga where the many wildebeest have been passing and not far from where rangers caught the three poachers yesterday.

Rangers patrolled the area for two and a half hours, and came across three wire snares, one wildebeest, still alive, caught by a snare, and one already dead, and the third around the tree, without an animal. We also came across a huge male elephant, that we think died 3-4 days ago but it looks like natural causes. We called the Tanzanian rangers to come and remove the ivory tusks. 

We then caught six poachers near Balangoga river with 15 wire snares. They had arrived in the morning today, after travelling the whole night, and so it is fortunate we caught them early as not one animal had yet been snared by the men.  The men were carrying bhangi, one spear, one sword, three bows with three poisoned arrows, and cooking utensils. The men will shortly be taken to Tanzania for prosecution by the courts there.

10 Responses to “Six More Poachers Caught.”

Rob Williams, on 05 Jul 2008

Great! You should keep a running count on the blog of how many poachers are caught. Contact me if you want help with ideas. Keep up the great work!

Annie, on 05 Jul 2008

Wow………this is just an everyday occurrence …….glad to know the elephant was not poached……..

Sarah, on 05 Jul 2008

Despite having limited resorces you are all doing a fantastic job catching poachers. I’m sure you could do even more with more funds though so I hope that people will keep donating whatever they can.

Jan - Boston, on 05 Jul 2008

William and Joseph:

I am so glad to hear you’ve caught more poachers. Congratu-
tions and thanks to all of you.

Speaking of your limited resources, perhaps you could help
enlighten us about something.

I know from a knowledgeable source that prior to the clashes Maasais were able to keep the entire revenue of Maasai Mara 10 million Euros to themselves.

What happens to all that money? Why aren’t they forced to bear the brunt of paying for your rangers including salary, uniforms, quarters? Has anyone approached them about it?
If so, what has their reply been?

It would seem that if they are indeed making all the money from gate receipts from the tourists, then they should also be responsible for the upkeep (roads) and preservation of wildlife that people come to see. If they don’t start caring enough to take care of your men (so even more could be hired), there will be no wildlife left - thus no more tourists and no more money for them.

Please help me to understand.

William, on 06 Jul 2008

Hello Jan

I’m not sure where your source got his information from and I’m not sure which Maasai he is referring to but let me do my best to explain how park revenue is shared out.

The Masai Mara game reserve is split into two as it falls into two districts; Narok and Trans-Mara. The Mara Conservancy manage the Trans-Mara side, known as Mara Triangle, on behalf of Trans-Mara County Council.

Since 2001 when the Conservancy started, all park revenue on the Trans-Mara side of the Masai Mara is collected by an independent agency called Earthview Management. 55% of the revenue goes to the Trans-Mara County Council, 9% to Earthview and 36% to the Mara Conservancy.

In the first 7 years of operation, the Mara Conservancy increased revenue by three fold to over USD 3 million. Thus revenue to the Trans-Mara County Council also increased by three fold, and it became one of the few self-sustaining councils in Kenya. The Trans-Mara County Council do not contribute to running costs of the Mara Conservancy as they themselves rely on their share of revenue to meet their obligations to the council and the community.

Out of the revenue collected for the council, a large percentage of this goes to education: sponsoring students from secondary to colleges; construction of schools; running of nursery schools; employment of teachers: as well as hospitals and road construction. Trans-Mara County Council is still one of the few councils in Kenya that doesn’t run at a deficit.

I hope that helps you understand a little better how it works, and please feel free to ask more questions.

Jan - Boston, on 06 Jul 2008

Will - thank you so much for your helpful explanation.

I just hope that the rangers will be at the top of the list for funding before any of the rest of the funds are split up. Preservation of your wildlife is paramount - and your rangers are doing a superb job.

We tourists hope that the money we pay in park fees is indeed going to preserve the wildlife for future generations.

Jean-Claude S (France), on 06 Jul 2008

Each day of the bad news arrive to us by your blog. Assassinated gorillas, elephants, rhinoceros and other animals in snares. Arrests of coalmen or poachers. rebels occupying the territory and trying to hold to ransom the guards and the tourists..Sincerely I think that you realised a immense work and that the governments are aware of all the efforts which you are making, each day, to safeguard this world heritage. The heritage of our childrens… Thanks for them.

Jan - Boston, on 07 Jul 2008

Jean-Claude - I hate to disillusion you, but many African govern-
ments don’t care a damn about their wildlife, not only not protecting it, but actually partaking in hunting, selling ivory, canned lion hunts, etc. So very sad that they don’t see the magnificence in their wildlife and protect it. That is why it is even more important for those of us who live elsewhere, to try and encourage people like Joseph and his men who are so dedicated to protecting the wildlife and contribute to their work.

Patricia, on 13 Jul 2008

What happens to poachers who get caught in Tanzania?

William, on 13 Jul 2008

Poachers who are arrested in Tanzania are taken to the Tanzanian police and then, if necessary, tried by the Tanzanian courts.

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