1. The lion population is increasing.

When the Mara Conservancy started in 2001, the lion population in the Mara Triangle was down to around 40 individuals, and was so fragmented that there were no strong prides that could provide support to young cubs. With ongoing cooperation from the local communities, we have now seen a 50% rise in the population to more than 60 individuals over the age of one.

2. We have arrested more than 1,100 poachers.

Before the initiation of the Mara Conservancy, poaching was rife inside the Mara Triangle with permanent poacher camps inside the park’s borders, making many areas unsafe for both wild animals and tourists. Since 2001, with a security team of 40 rangers carrying out both daily and nightly patrols, poaching has been dramatically reduced. An improved ,trans-border working partnership with Serengeti rangers also better protects a larger area.

3. We collect thousands upon thousands of wire snares.

Wire snares are used by poachers to trap animals such as antelopes, zebras and hippos. Unfortunately however they are indiscriminate in what they catch, and we’ve seen many casualties including giraffes, hyaenas, lions, cheetahs and elephants. By collecting hundreds of snares weekly we have saved the lives and limbs of literally thousands of animals.

4. We have the support of the Local Community.

Cattle rustling was an enormous problem among the local communities, with hundreds of cattle lost each year to neighbouring Tanzania. The Mara Conservancy employed Community Scouts, equipped with radios, to report on all illegal activities including poaching and rustling. Rangers are then alerted each time rustling takes place and have been able to retrieve hundreds of cattle -saving livelihoods and improving security in the area.

5. We want that support to continue.

Predators such as lions and leopards frequently kill livestock belonging to the community. Until February 2008, we compensated communities living next to the Mara Triangle for cattle lost to predators, but have since not been able to do so because of lack of funds. The Cattle Compensation Scheme kept the critical balance needed between wildlife and people, and we thank the communities for their understanding so far.

6. We protect one of the highest concentrations of predators in Africa.

The Masai Mara is well known for its big cats and our work is focused on keeping these populations strong and healthy. Bad behaviour from visitors to the park can lead to a disruption in normal hunting, feeding and nursing activities, and this has become one of the biggest threats to our predator populations. Even with tourist numbers low, our Anti-Animal Harassment Patrol Teams must be out daily to ensure predator protection.

7. We work to safeguard our environment.

We believe that protecting our environment is crucial to the success and prosperity of the Mara Triangle, and are always looking for new ways to limit the environmental impact of visitors without lessening the enjoyment of their time here. We work with resident guides to help improve their game drives by maintaining or opening up new tracks that allow visitors to explore the Triangle with minimal damage to the area, and support initiatives by the Travel Foundation that encourage better guiding practices which will further protect the environment.

8. We have one of the greatest spectacles on earth.

Each year an estimated one and a half million animals migrate up through the plains of the Serengeti and into the Masai Mara. During their stay here, at any one time, tens of thousands of wildebeest will cross the Mara River with some of the weaker animals succumbing to the strong river currents or the eagerly waiting Nile crocodile. We are always working to protect the important and delicate river zone, and have fought against the development of camps along its edge.

9. We believe in transparency.

The Mara Triangle is a World Wonder and the responsibility of its protection belongs to us all, and we know that if we want you to be part of its protection we have to be transparent with our work. Since 2001 we have circulated our Monthly Reports, including accounts and revenue, and are also accountable to WildlifeDirect for all donations received through their website. We have also stopped corruption by employing Earthview to handle all park ticket sales, and in the first seven years of operation revenue collected from park entrance fees had tripled.

10. We want future generations to see the Mara Triangle.

The Mara Triangle is one of the most incredible places on earth. If you’ve read this far then you probably already have or want to visit and we want it to still be just as incredible when you arrive. And when your children arrive. And your children’s children.

It will be many months until tourism returns to a level that will sustain our work. Please help our work to continue by setting up a monthly donation today.

Thank you.

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Ngiro are Rangers with some of the collected snares

In the last two days, rangers from Ngiro-are and Serena patrol posts have collected 70 snares. Yesterday they found thirteen wildebeest caught in the snares - ten were already dead but they were able to free three.

We are still doing what we can to get the message out that the Mara needs the support of those from around the world. We have the Spanish newspaper El Mundo here at the moment and then later on this afternoon CNN are arriving and will be here until Friday.

We would also like to thank Bonnie who owns the Karen Blixen Coffee House in Nairobi who is going to put on a fundraiser in September for the Mara, as well as Gaurav who is organising a fundraising football match in Nairobi, and then later in the Masai Mara. I’ll put more news up on both events closer to the time.

Ngiro-are Rangers removing snare yesterday. 

We would also like to thank all those who have set up monthly donations to the Mara Triangle. As you know, we thought this crisis would be short term but it looks now like it’ll be several months until tourists return so we need to raise as much as we can.

Please, if you can, set up a monthly donation and ask your friends to do the same.

We need to keep up the fight.

Wildebeest dead in a snare.

Update: Rangers were out on night patrol last night and caught one poacher.

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Wildebeest on the opposite hill in Serengeti.

Tourist projection for the month of July and August is 50% occupancy.  For the rest of the year it is expected to fall back to 20% like it has been up until now. This means that our situation will remain dire until 2009, however this is not an appeal for money (although if you have some it will help a lot) but instead we need ideas on how to fundraise for the long term. We thought that things would improve, which they have slightly, but unfortunately not as much as we had hoped.

I went out with Kimojino this morning to see the wildebeest massing on the Serengeti side. I have yet to see the great migration and only saw the ends of it when I was here setting up the Mara Triangle blog in November last year. There were just a few hundred of the wildebeest left in the Triangle, leaving in long lines like trails of smoke from an extinguished fire.

Today we left before dawn and carried out an anti-animal harassment patrol from Serena to Mara Bridge. Naitoi and Kimojino have handed out a few fines these past couple of weeks and it was impressive to see the drivers now behaving. In fact they were polite and courteous, which unfortunately was not often the case. We will continue to build on our relationship with the drivers, and we are pleased that the Travel Foundation have started a Most Responsible Safari Guide 2008 Award.

Kimojino and I will be putting up the posters at park gates and also in the staff canteens of the surrounding lodges.

This morning as we approached Mara Bridge we could see large amounts of wildebeest massing in the Serengeti (see photo above), and crossed over into Narok side to where they were also gathering at the Sand River.

Wildebeest and Zebra taking water at Sand River.

We were quite far away so these pictures are at the end of a zoom, but we also managed to take a video - click here to see it.

It’s quite an incredible sight; the whole hill opposite was covered in wildebeest and the noise was, well, much more melodic than the zebras who were coming in from the North the other week.

So it looks like the Song of the Wildebeest will be crossing into the Mara soon. When it does, we’ll be sure to let you all know.

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I made a comment in yesterday’s blog post that despite all the media attention last month, the amount we have been receiving in donations has actually gone down. In May we received 50% less than we did in March and April, which is worrying as the tourists haven’t yet returned to the Mara and basic park operations such as anti-poaching and de-snaring patrols still need to be funded.

I received an email from a friend which explained “you’ve all been quite upbeat and the tone is pretty much that the crisis is almost over.. tourists are about to come back so you don’t need us type thing.”

I don’t find it easy to ask for money, but I guess we need to face facts as we still need your donations.

The Start of the Migration - Zebras return to the Mara

We do hope that the crisis is almost over, however at this time we are more broke than we have ever been. We are pretty much out of diesel to go out on patrol, and there is not a penny to pay for salaries in three weeks time.

In short, we still really do need your support. Rangers from Ngiro-are managed to arrest 3 poachers last week and are reporting an increase of snares in their area as the migration is expected to happen within the next few weeks.

Poacher with bush meat and snares.

Please, donate what you can to help protect this beautiful place. If you are new to the site, the donation box is in the right hand side column, next to this post, and all payments are done securely through Paypal. 100% of your donation, minus only a small bank fee, will go directly to supporting our work.

A great big thank you to Craig who today sponsored ranger Joshua Lempere. We now have 18 rangers sponsored in total - thank you!

Lion Cub Stretching

Other news:

Today, many of the rangers have gone to their home villages and towns to vote in the Kilgoris parliamentary by-election, as has Kimojino, and which means we are working with skeleton staff. With limited resources we were on high alert that tribes from neighbouring Tanzania may take advantage of the situation and steal cattle.

And so it was this morning at around 9am we received a message from the local community that cattle had been stolen. Immediately we deployed what rangers we had left to chase the rustlers, for the rangers only to discover when they arrived that it was a false alarm. Not only is this frustrating but also very costly, especially at this time when we have very limited resources. The plus side is that none of the community have lost any cattle.

If you have a moment, please fill in a survey for WildlifeDirect so that they can improve their services. It’ll only take a minute - click here.

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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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