On Endangered Species Day, Mara Elephant Project announced that we are expanding our endangered species protection efforts by bringing the Bongo Surveillance Project in house to support their worthwhile mission while they focus on growth and impact. The Bongo Surveillance Project (BSP) is the only dedicated wild mountain bongo antelope protection organization in the world. Listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, the mountain bongo is only found in Kenya and is on the verge of extinction in the wild due to poaching and habitat loss. BSP aims to secure a future for the last remaining mountain bongo antelope in the wild and engage the community to protect the forests where they live.Â
Founded in 2003 by Mike Prettejohn, BSP’s eight rangers work closely with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and county government patrolling two of the four remaining bongo strongholds, the Mau Forest Complex and Aberdare National Park. The rangers focus on de-snaring, habitat protection and monitoring the bongo using their extensive camera trap network and DNA data from dung collection. BSP also engages the next generation of bongo conservationists with a robust school program for children living alongside the forests. They prioritize community involvement to support their efforts to conserve the surrounding forests, minimize wildlife poaching activities and subsequently protect the critically endangered bongo.
MEP’s connection to this project is both personal and professional. I spent his gap year tracking mountain bongo in the Aberdares with the rangers, and the experience was so impactful it guided me into a career in conservation. Operationally, MEP and BSP rangers have led many successful joint patrols in the Mau Forest to increase protection for both elephants and mountain bongo.Â
Given this connection, MEP is committed to supporting the BSP Trustees during this transformative time. We are focused on providing the BSP community rangers with the full MEP in-house training package and new equipment, implementing an instance of the EarthRanger software system to track their assets in real-time and adding capacity to oversee operations and development.
Incubating BSP is an opportunity that has come full circle for me. These rangers are expert bongo trackers, most having monitored the population for years, and providing them with more support will only improve the chances of survival in the wild for this critically endangered animal.
In June, 30 rangers from 16 Mara conservancies completed phase two of their training of trainers (ToT) course, supported by the Basecamp Explorer Foundation–Kenya. For the first time, participants included rangers from East African Wild Life Society – Mount Elgon Elephant Project (funded by the Mount Elgon Foundation) and BSP, MEP’s partners in conservation. The advanced program built on earlier sessions and concluded with practical lessons in basic vehicle mechanics, equipping rangers with essential skills to keep patrol vehicles operational in the field.
MEP has been supporting the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute’s (TAWIRI) elephant monitoring efforts in Tanzania with the deployment of satellite tracking collars since 2018. This cross-border collaboration protects elephants that oftentimes call both Kenya and Tanzania home. In April, Elephant Conservation Organization (ECO), a MEP incubation project, supported TAWIRI and the Tanzania National Parks alongside Six Rivers Africa and deployed new Savannah Tracking collars on four elephants in the Kagera area. Their movements help to inform the deployment of resources to mitigate human-elephant conflict.
The MEP helicopter was deployed in April to move a herd of eight elephants, including three calves, that were moving dangerously close to homes and livestock within a community settlement.
In May, we deployed the helicopter to Naboisho Conservancy to assist Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Vet Dr. Ashif Hafiz in darting an injured elephant for treatment. The helicopter was key in separating the injured elephant from its herd before it was darted. An arrow, lodged deep in its back, was successfully removed, the wound was treated, and the elephant was later released with a positive prognosis.
Then, in June, the helicopter was once again deployed to assist KWS with treating a young bull elephant in the Emkutan area in Kajiado County.
Finally, in the second quarter, MEP responded to a request to support the KWS team in the air with a translocation exercise for four elephants in the Rumuruti–Naibor area. These elephants were frequently in conflict with the community and to increase their protection and decrease rising tensions, they were moved to Meru National Park. Our partnership remains rooted in our shared vision to see wildlife in Kenya thrive.
