SWT/KWS Mobile Veterinary Units Quarterly Report April - June 2025

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SWT/KWS MOBILE VETERINARY UNITS

TSAVO, MARA, MERU, AMBO MT KENYA, RIFT VALLEY

April – June 2025 Report

April – June 2025 Report for Tsavo, Mara, Meru, Amboseli, Mt Kenya and Rift Valley Units.

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT), in conjunction with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) operate six Mobile Veterinary Units. Within the quarter, the Units attended to a total of 151 wildlife cases involving 257 animals. During this reporting period, there were 57 poaching incidents and 20 human-wildlife conflict (HWC) cases as well as 26 for natural injuries and 12 relocations.

Of the poaching incidents, 33 involved elephants (12 arrowed, 13 spear, 2 snared, 4 with bullet wounds and 2 with spike injuries). There was also 1 hyena, 12 plains game, 1 giraffe, 3 buffalo and 1 warthog treated for snare injuries, 2 giraffes with spear and arrow injuries, 3 poisoned buffalos and 1 zebra with a suspected poaching injury. The 20 cases that were attributed to HWC covered a variety of species for a range of causes including fencing and man-made hole issues, relocation of problem animals, spearing, dog attacks and litter/rubbish problems.

Relocation of animals featured heavily amongst most of the Units. The Units assisted with the relocation of 58 black rhinos that had either broken out of protected areas or relocated with the goal of population distribution and habitat management. A further 46 rhinos, both black and white, were ear notched to assist in rhino management. Solai Wildlife Sanctuary is a safe haven for several Rothschild’s giraffes. To augment and make this meta population viable, Solai Wildlife Sanctuary obtained approval from KWS for translocation of 8 more Rothschild’s giraffes which the Rift Valley Vet Unit facilitated.

Case Details

Outcomes of Cases Attended

Outcomes of Cases

Tsavo
Mara
Mt Kenya
Meru
Ambo
Rift Valley

April – June 2025

Tsavo

SWT/KWS TSAVO MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT

OVERVIEW

April – June 2025

36 Cases

18 Poaching Cases 25 Elephant Cases

During this period, May – June, the conservation area continued to experience moderate precipitation that slowly decreased over time. However, most water pans remained full, and both grazers and browsers had abundant food. The Unit attended to 36 cases, 25 of which involved elephants as well as 4 lions, 3 zebras, 1 waterbuck and 3 giraffes. There were 18 poaching cases, including 1 snared, 9 speared, 5 arrowed and 2 elephants with spike inflicted injuries as well as 1 speared giraffe. There were also 4 human-wildlife conflict cases where 3 waterbucks, 1 zebra and 1 elephant were relocated after entering community or residential areas and 1 lion was treated for a spear wound after raiding livestock. Thankfully there was only 1 poaching death and 1 guarded prognosis, the rest were successfully treated.

36 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit

Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the

Tsavo Vet Unit April - June 2025

SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations

To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of April 2025 click here

May 2025

To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of May 2025 click here

June 2025

To see the full report for Tsavo Vet Unit for the month of June 2025 click here

SWT/KWS MARA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT

OVERVIEW

April – June 2025

21 Cases

8 Poaching Cases

12 Elephant Cases

The Mara Mobile Vet Unit attended to 21 cases throughout the May – June quarter involving a variety of species. Seven elephants were attended to for poaching related injuries and two for human-wildlife conflict related injuries (speared due to crop raiding). A lion was also speared due to livestock predation, and a giraffe was arrowed for bushmeat poaching. Other cases included the rescue of an elephant calf that was taken to the SWT Nairoby Nursery after it was found alone, treatment of 2 lions for fight injuries, 1 cheetah for hunting injuries, and the postmortem of 2 elephants, 1 cheetah, 1 lion and 1 rhino all of which were deemed to be related to natural causes. Overall, the Unit had a 71% success rate and there were no deaths due to poaching or human-wildlife conflict.

21 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mara Vet Unit April - June 2025

Giraffe Rhinos Predators Elephant

Outcomes of Cases Attended

SWT/KWS Mara Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations

April 2025

To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of April 2025 click here

May 2025

To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of May 2025 click here

June 2025

To see the full report for Mara Vet Unit for the month of June 2025 click here

SWT/KWS MERU MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT

OVERVIEW

April – June 2025

9 Cases

4 Poaching Cases

3 Elephant Cases

The month of April ushered in heavy rainfall across the Meru ecosystem, breathing new life into the landscape. The parched earth, once cracked and dusty, responded with remarkable vitality. Tender green shoots broke through the soil, carpeting the terrain in vibrant hues of green. Rivers across the region, both perennial and seasonal, swelled dramatically. Some burst their banks, rendering certain roads and tracks impassable. These seasonal changes, though welcome for ecological renewal, presented logistical challenges for field operations. By the month of June, the weather had changed to drier conditions signalling the onset of the dry season. Despite the dynamic conditions, wildlife emergencies saw a marked decline likely due to the abundance of water and forage, which eased natural stressors on wild animals.

9 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Meru Vet Unit

- June 2025

Outcomes

SWT/KWS Meru Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations

To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of April 2025 click here

May 2025

To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of May 2025 click here

June 2025

To see the full report for Meru Vet Unit for the month of June 2025 click here

SWT/KWS AMBOSELI MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT

OVERVIEW

April – June 2025

17 Cases

4 Poaching Cases

7 Elephant Cases

The Southern Conservation Area and the Amboseli Ecosystem experienced a hot and dry period during this quarter with only a few rain showers in April and May. Of the 18 cases attended to, lions and elephants featured significantly. Human-wildlife conflict was evident from the cases attended and territorial dominance was also prominent amongst predators; with 2 lions dying due to fight injuries and another lion treated for bite wounds. Two other lions also died from spear injuries due to human-wildlife conflict. There were 7 elephant cases with 2 treated for arrow wounds, 1 for spear and 1 for snare injuries as well as 1 for fight wounds and another collared at the request of the Amboseli Trust for elephants and a postmortem conducted on another which revealed a twisted gut as the cause of death.

17 Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Amboseli Vet Unit

April - June 2025

Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Tsavo Vet Unit

April - June 2025

SWT/KWSAmboseli Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations

To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of April 2025 click here

May 2025

To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of May 2025 click here

June 2025

To see the full report for Amboseli Vet Unit for the month of June 2025 click here

SWT/KWS MT KENYA MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT

OVERVIEW

April – June 2025

28 Cases

1 Poaching Cases 3 Elephant Cases

The Mt Kenya Mobile Vet Unit attended to 28 cases, the majority of which involved rhinos. The Unit was able to partner with other veterinarians from different Units and Conservancies to manage clinical cases and carry out operations including rhino ear notching and translocation. The major activities undertaken included Oocyte collection and embryo transfer of the Northern White rhino into a Southern White rhino surrogate female at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, treatment of a Black rhino at Solio Rhino sanctuary, rhino notching exercise at Lewa Conservancy, and Black rhino translocation from Ol Pejeta Conservancy to Segera Conservancy. A total of 46 rhinos were ear notched and 34 were relocated either after breaking out of protected area’s or with the goal of population re-distribution and habitat management in the black rhino sanctuaries.

Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Vet Unit April - June 2025

SWT/KWS Mt Kenya Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations

To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of April 2025 click here

May 2025

To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of May 2025 click here

June 2025

To see the full report for Mt Kenya Vet Unit for the month of June 2025 click here

SWT/KWS RIFT VALLEY MOBILE VETERINARY UNIT

OVERVIEW

April – June 2025

40 Cases

22 Poaching Cases 2 Elephant Cases

The Rift Valley Vet Unit attended to 40 cases with over half related to poaching. including 11 antelope, 1 giraffe, 1 hyena, 3 buffalo and 1 warthog that were snared. The Unit also conducted postmortems on 3 buffalos that were suspected to have been poisoned to harvest the meat. A zebra was treated for a suspected poaching injury and an elephant for a spear wound. There were also 7 human-wildlife conflict cases, involving fencing injuries, relocation and spearing. Three black rhinoceros were translocated to Segera Rhino Sanctuary to reduce congestion in Lake Nakuru NP. Solai Wildlife Sanctuary is a safe haven for several Rothschild’s giraffes. To augment and make this meta population viable, Solai Wildlife Sanctuary obtained approval from KWS for translocation of 8 more Rothschild’s giraffes which the Vet Unit facilitated.

Outcomes of Cases Attended to by the

April - June 2025

Rift Valley Vet Unit

SWT/KWS Rift Valley Mobile Vet Unit Treatment Locations

To see the full report for Rift Valley Vet Unit for the month of April 2025 click here

May 2025

To see the full report for Rift Valley Vet Unit for the month of May 2025 click here

June 2025

To see the full report for Rift Valley Vet Unit for the month of June 2025 click here

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SWT/KWS Mobile Veterinary Units Quarterly Report April - June 2025 by Sheldrick Wildlife Trust - Issuu