• Report says 10 jumbos died as a result of conflict between human and elephants
• 111 suspects were arrested for bush meat and 1,576kg of bush meat seized
Image: ANDREW KASUKU
A new report has shown that 906 kilogrammes of elephant ivory were confiscated from traffickers in the greater Amboseli last year.
Big Life Foundation’s 2022 impact report recorded 43 elephant mortalities.
Big Life Foundation protects 1.6 million acres of wilderness in the Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro ecosystem. It says there was no elephant poached in the greater Amboseli last year.
This means the confiscated ivory might have been from other areas or even countries.
Ten jumbos died as a result of human-elephant conflict, 17 from natural causes, 13 from unknown but suspected to be natural causes and three from human-related causes.
All the ivory from jumbos that died was recovered.
Seven elephants were rescued.
The report notes that the Eastern Black Rhino is in dire straits.
“Poachers have decimated the population, which plummeted from about 100,000 animals in 1960 to just over 6,000 in 2021,” the report says.
It says the population of black rhinos in Chyulu Hills has suffered a similar fate, with only seven individuals left.
Big Life’s Rhino protection teams are working closely with the Kenya Wildlife Service to provide round-the-clock security.
“Seven rhinos are not a lot, but there is the potential to support many more in the 75,000-acre area where they live.”
Future translocations will provide a much-needed boost to their numbers.
The foundation says in the meantime, they are improving infrastructure to support their protection, expanding water points and improving road networks.
There was no rhino poached last year. However, one died as a result of natural causes.
There are 66 rhino-protecting rangers with 10 dedicated rhino units and 10 dedicated rhino outposts.
There are three water points, a 70km fence and 47 camera traps.
Bushmeat poaching is common during the dry season, when resources are scarce and work in local farms dries up.
Bushmeat in 2022 was very high as drought ravaged the ecosystem and put pressure on everyone.
“People poach so-called bush meat animals for two reasons: protein for subsistence or for income,” the report says.
Food and legitimate paying jobs were harder to come by as a result of the drought.
Some 111 suspects were arrested for bushmeat in 55 incidents and 1,576kg of bushmeat were seized.
The arrest was possible as a result of a growing intelligence network.
“Since 2016, our network has spread well beyond our area of operation and now helps KWS to make arrests as far north as Samburu and east as the Coast,” the report says.
“It has led to the confiscation of more than 5,000kg of ivory, permanently removing it from the illegal wildlife trade.”
More than 200 elephants succumbed to drought, and 90 per cent were calves under four years.
Some 27,973 students were provided with food across 81 schools.
The Big Life Foundation's operation base covers an area between three unfenced national parks.
These are Mount Kilimanjaro to the south, Amboseli to the northwest and Chyulu Hills to the east.
This means the wildlife and almost a quarter million people interact freely.
Living in close proximity to dangerous wildlife, such as elephants, lions and buffaloes, puts locals at risk of injuries and even death.
There were 164 crop-raiding incidents by jumbos that damaged 98 acres.
Rangers, however, avoided some 175 crop raids, while 100km of crop protection fence were maintained.
There were 63 other incidents where jumbos destroyed water tanks.
Some 30 livestock were killed by jumbos, while three retaliatory elephant hunts were prevented by rangers.
Lions in the area of Big Life’s operation are increasing due to concerted efforts by players over the last 20 years and were now 250 in population.
Big Life Foundation runs a Predator Compensation Fund, which pays for livestock lost to predators on condition that no predators are killed in retaliation.
The compensation fund is active in Mbirikani and Kimana.
The scale of the fund soared last year, with an over 40 per cent increase in payouts since the drought weakened livestock, making them easy picking for predators.
Compensation was issued for 386 cows, 3,008 sheep and goats, and 35 donkeys, bringing the total to 3,429 livestock killed and $143,026 compensation paid.
Hyenas killed 2,317 livestock (61 per cent), lions 426 (16 per cent), cheetah 267 (9 per cent), leopards 54 (2 per cent), elephants 30 (less than one per cent), caracals 17 (less than one per cent) and painted dogs six (less than one per cent).
There were two lion mortalities and two retaliatory lion hunts prevented.
Some 8,878kg of sandalwood was confiscated.