Now that the intro for the Trust is uploaded its time to start blogging. I’m Susie Weeks, the Executive Officer of the Mount Kenya Trust. Right now I’m in my office in Nairobi but I divide my time between Nairobi and various parts of the Mt. Kenya region. I heard over the weekend that more snared young elephants are being sighted near Mountain Lodge. Edwin who has been volunteering for us for sometime informs me when this happens and we try to get a Kenya Wildlife Service Vet to help with the problem. Dr Chege is the KWS Vet who deals with our area but he is usually needed in a few places at once so though we need to help these animals urgently we often have to wait or he can only be present for a few days. The area he is supposed to work in is vast and his work in constant demand. Darting elephants in forest habitats to remove snares and clean wounds is extremely difficult. You have to wait until they emerge which they may take several days to do, and then you have to ensure you dart the mother of the elephant you want to help first. Edwin just told me there are currently 4 individuals who are now coming on a fairly regular basis but that there are more. This is one of the most heartbreaking sign of the kind of indiscriminate poaching that goes on. Most snares are set for antelope and buffaloes but younger elephant are also caught.

Recently the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (USA) provided us with the funding for the set up costs for a joint wildlife protection team that I am currently trying to set up. Hopefully we can help to reduce poaching incidences in the area concerned as soon as we have the team and vehicle in place. I picked up the new Land Cruiser some weeks ago and now it will be modified to carry KWS rangers, community scouts and others who will be dedicated to stemming the problem. I have another (community based team) in the North who we call the Marania Scouts, and we often work with KWS to patrol for snares in hot-spots, but the new team will have the equipment to stay in the forest for long periods of time. As a result they can ’sit’ on snares or near poacher’s dens and wait for the culprits to return. They will also have the ability to make arrests and try to reduce the number of poachers who return to the forest becuase the team will be run with KWS and the Kenya Forest Service as well as our community contingent.

I hope that I can get Dr Chege’s help before the end of the week, I will keep you posted. I will be in the Mount Kenya area next week from Thursday. I have rented a room there now so that I don’t have to do so much driving and I can spend longer periods away from Nairobi. I was going to post a pic of an amputated elephant that was taken in March this year - the result of what happens when snares are not removed in time but I have decided it is very graphic for a first ‘newsy’ post so I will post a picture of myself instead.

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