There was very little change in the overall status of livestock in the park in June, with some areas improving throughout the month with thanks to persistent efforts by KWS ground teams especially in the northern area of Tsavo East. On the other hand, in the northern area of Tsavo West, there was gradual return of livestock, which had formerly been under control.

Very little active/fresh poaching activity was discovered in June, which is always positive. A small number of old poachers’ harbours and shooting blinds were found and later destroyed by ground teams. Additionally, a number of veterinary cases during the month indicate poaching activity along the peripheries of the park and neighbouring ranches.

A total of eight veterinary cases were responded to by the Aerial Unit in one form or another. The first was not poaching-related, but a female adult elephant with a large tumour on her right flank. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done for a tumour in the field, and the team can only hope for it to be benign. At the very least, the team was able to clean and treat the wound caused by the elephant rubbing the irritated area against trees. Due to the condition and size of the growth and subsequent wound, the vet gave her a guarded prognosis.

Around the same time, another bull elephant was sighted in the same area with an arrow wound on his left front flank. The 40-year-old bull was first sighted during a routine fixed wing patrol and later darted from a helicopter to be treated. Prognosis for this patient is good. Two other cases, this time for a snared giraffe and snared zebra were attended to on Rukinga Ranch. The giraffe has been sighted by Wildlife Works and reported to KWS and SWT. While the helicopter and KWS/SWT Mobile Vet Unit were on site treating the giraffe, the zebra was also sighted nearby. Both animals were relieved of their snares and treated for their injuries. The zebra was unfortunately only given a guarded prognosis due to the severity of its injury.

The helicopter was also instrumental in the darting of a bull elephant sighted near Ithumba with a 6-month-old arrow wound which had remained persistently infected. Upon inspection, the vet noted the wound was very deep, which may have contributed to the difficulty in healing.

There were also two unsuccessful searches for injured elephants conducted by fixed wing aircraft, both for bull elephants with reported snares. It was later discovered that one of these was not in fact suffering from a snare injury, but a long-since-healed foot injury, causing it to drag its foot, giving the impression it was dragging a log attached to a snare. On one occasion, a fixed-wing aircraft was deployed to transfer the Voi Vet Unit to Galana Ranch to treat another bull elephant with a possibly broken leg. Sadly, upon arrival, it was discovered that the bull had succumbed to his injuries. A post-mortem revealed a shattered leg bone, possibly caused by a bone infection from a spear injury.

During June, only one elephant carcass was discovered during a helicopter patrol with tusks intact and assumed to be from natural causes. The tusks were retrieved and handed over to KWS for safekeeping.

A small number of human-wildlife conflict cases were attended to during the month — and surprisingly, only one of them involved an elephant. On one occasion, a helicopter responded to a callout to search for a lion reportedly killing donkeys in the community. Thick bush in the vicinity hindered the search, which was ultimately unsuccessful.

The helicopter was once again deployed to assist a desperate community along the Athi River which had suffered the loss of two of their members, including a child, to a crocodile. Our helicopter pilot skilfully slung a lion trap onto the opposite riverbank from where the attacks occurred and where the crocodile had been seen dragging the bodies. On the first attempt, a smaller crocodile and likely not the culprit was captured and re-released deep within the park. The second attempt yielded a 13-foot crocodile, which was positively identified. Due to the size of this crocodile, it was slung in the trap from a helicopter to another location deep within the park and far away from any human population.

The final HWC incident responded to by the Aerial Unit was a report of a problem elephant breaking out of the park fence and raiding crops in the community. A thorough search was conducted without success, and it was later discovered the bull had taken to breaking out at night and then breaking back into the park before daybreak. Several breaches in the fence were detected.

Highlights during the month included multiple big cat sightings as well as a very exciting sighting of a pack of wild dogs with puppies. The population of wild dogs took a recent hit because of a suspected rabies outbreak, so new births are very positive news.

SWT Aerial Unit

In the early hours of 15th August 2024, a large elephant tusk was found in the heart of community land. Residents stumbled upon the ivory lying on the ground and reported their discovery to KWS.

The KWS Problem Animal Control Unit went to the scene and found a large tusk sitting in a pool of blood. It was a confusing situation; the tusk was whole, but there was no elephant to be found. Further muddying the waters, it was in the middle of the community, far from protected land. We didn’t know what an elephant was doing there, how he came to lose his tusk, and worse still, where he was now.

The following day, the SWT helicopter flew down to investigate the situation. Our pilot eventually found the bull on community land northwest of KARI Ranch, east of the Mombasa Road and the SGR railway. In other words, he was well and truly trapped: In order to get back to Nasaru Conservancy, KARI Ranch, and the Tsavo ecosystem, beyond, he would have to cross a highly trafficked highway and then a very busy rail line. The bull had miraculously avoided a collision getting onto community land in the first place, but we weren’t willing to tempt fate a second time.

The helicopter hovered to assess the bull’s condition. He looked unwell, listless and thin. Our pilot clocked a puncture injury beneath his right eye socket, which clearly had something to do with his lost tusk. The situation escalated later that day, when the bull knocked over a community member. He had to be moved to a more suitable environment — and fast.

KWS greenlit a translocation and we organised the operation for the following morning. Our low-loader crane truck drove to the scene, along with our SWT/KWS Anti-Poaching Team, SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit, and the KWS Problem Animal Control Unit.

As soon as Dr Limo darted the bull from the helicopter, teams moved in to load him onto the truck. Concurrently, the Vet Unit treated his face injury. They found that the injury was likely inflicted by another bull’s tusk in a fight. It went straight beneath the eye and punctured the base of his tusk, causing severe sepsis and rotting away the surrounding area, which caused the ivory to fall out.

In the course of the treatment, the team extracted fragments of bone, shards of ivory, and litres of pus, underscoring just how grave the infection was. Dr Limo is hopeful that the infection is now under control and that the bull will be able to make a complete recovery in the fullness of time.

With the tusk treated, it was time to bring the bull to safety. We were mindful that he was suffering with a major injury and sepsis, so we didn’t want him to be under anaesthesia for too long. KARI was the nearest secure landscape. This area, which is part of our Saving Habitats mandate, is ideal elephant territory and opens into the greater Tsavo Conservation Area. Protected by our field teams, with plenty of food and water, KARI would be a perfect place for the bull to convalesce and go forth.

In a slow procession, the truck drove its precious cargo south to KARI Ranch. As the sun started to sink below the horizon, the bull was revived in his new home. He walked into the sunset with better prospects than he began the day: protected, treated, and safe once more.

Given the severity of the bull’s injury, we are taking his recovery one day at a time. Our field and aerial teams continue to monitor his progress in the event that he needs a follow-up, which is highly likely. It has now been just over a week since his first treatment and translocation, and the bull looks to be doing well.

Your Support Saves Lives

Elephant conservation is not the work of a moment, but a monumental, multi-generational commitment. With health and luck on its side, an elephant can live well into its sixties or even seventies. When we look upon a newly rescued orphan, we must remember that we are seeing a creature whose own offspring will walk this earth a century or more into the future.

It is incumbent upon us to build a sustainable future for the elephants of today and the generations who will follow in their footsteps. The stakes are high: Following decades of population decline, African elephants have now been classified as endangered species. Assessments show that the number of African savanna elephants decreased by at least 60 percent over the last 50 years.

Humans may pose the single greatest threat to elephants, but we can also be the architects of their future. Across Kenya and around the world, we are inspired to see how people are taking action for elephants.

We currently have over 100 orphaned elephants dependent on our care, plus 200 more living wild. These elephants are alive today because ordinary people stepped up to save them. Each of our orphan’s stories begins with a hero — a ranger of a farmer, a guide or even a child — who raised the alarm and protected them from harm.

When an orphan arrives in our care, their new family steps in: The Keepers who will serve as their surrogate parents for the next several years, guiding them by day and sleeping alongside them by night. Untold hours, thousands of milk bottles, and boundless amounts of love are poured into each and every orphaned elephant.

These orphans will go on to reclaim their place in the wild, where they will have their own babies and grandbabies — creating dynasties in the process. All the while, their human family will be looking after them: The SWT pilots, rangers, veterinarians, and field teams who ensure they have a protected habitat to call home, and who give them help when they need it.

This monumental mission is made possible thanks to supporters like you, who fund our conservation work and ensure elephants always have a place on our planet.

As this beautiful film reminds us, the conservation work you empower matters. It has given generations of elephants a future — elephants who would never have survived, had we not stepped in. This includes not just the orphans we rescue and raise, but bulls treated by our vet teams, herds whose homes have been secured, families who have been reunited. With the support of donors like you, we are building a future for elephants across Kenya. Thank you.

Ways to support this World Elephant Day: