In January, 15 Mara Elephant Project rangers completed an advanced drone operations refresher training at headquarters. Held annually, the training led by Expert Drones Africa (EDA) builds the capacity of MEP’s licensed drone pilots to respond to diverse situations while operating in the field. For example, in January alone, MEP rangers deployed drones to mitigate conflict in several areas of operation, monitor elephants and conduct reconnaissance in the forests.
Overall in January, MEP rangers alongside government partners arrested 59 habitat destruction suspects and removed 14 snares. They also confiscated 320 pieces of timber, 1,579 posts and five power saws and destroyed 35 charcoal kilns and 153 charcoal sacks and mitigated 38 conflict incidents.
In January, the MEP team assisted with five total wildlife treatments. On January 7, MEP assisted Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Vet Dr. Michael Njoroge from the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) Mobile Vet Unit with two wildlife treatments. The first, a female elephant with a spear injury on her leg. The vet was able to clean the wound, administer antibiotics and recorded a positive recovery. The second, was a male juvenile zebra with a bushmeat snare around his neck. After removing the snare, the vet team cleaned the wound and treated him with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. Both animals quickly joined their respective herds, and the MEP team will monitor the treated elephant during their regular patrols. Then, MEP’s “Foxtrot” ranger team assisted the KWS Vet Dr. Njoroge from the SWT Mobile Vet Unit to treat a juvenile female elephant in Enoonkishu Conservancy that was suffering from a spear injury. Her treatment was successful, and her prognosis is good.
Collared elephant Lempiris was fitted with a new Savannah Tracking satellite collar on January 14 with support from KWS Vet Dr. Njoroge to continue his tracking for another three years. KWS has been monitoring Lempiris jointly with the Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) and MEP since 2017 and his continuous movement data has demonstrated the loss of connectivity between conservancies east of the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the Loita Forest. It’s also informed MEP ranger patrol targets in the area and identified hot spots for conflict surrounding the conservancies.
The coexistence team met with the selected farmers who are participating in the MEP ‘out-growers’ program. They are tasked with planting the identified predator proof crops with MEP’s assistance and during this meeting, the community was enthusiastic to participate in 2025. Additionally, we received great news in January that Kampur Travel Diaries has once again committed to investing in the MEP education program in 2025. Preparations are underway for that program and the team has already visited the two kitchen gardens at Emarti and Enkipai primary schools to check in on their progress. This year, we plan to continue with maintenance and support for the two gardens while setting up a new one. Five schools will be included in this year’s school program, encompassing all of MEP’s operational areas.
MEP welcomed our Trustees to the Mara HQ for a two-day strategy session in January. The sessions provided an engaging platform for MEP’s leadership to collaborate and refine the organization’s strategic approach. Also, collared elephant Edwin stopped by HQ in January to show off his latest accessory – a brand-new Savannah Tracking satellite collar. He was collared in November to effectively respond to his bold crop raiding behavior.
