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BY PASCAL MWANDAMBO
Tsavo National Park, one of the largest game conservancies in the country and
Africa as well, is facing a serious conservation crisis.
Even though reports from the park indicate that poaching is gradually going down due to enhanced security enforcement, the menace is far from being put under control and sporadic killing of game both for trophies and bush meat continues.
Some of the criminals who are armed with sophisticated firearms, are feared to be bankrolled by cartels with ivory markets outside the country who ship out the game trophies to Asian countries such as China where a burgeoning market in ivory is reported to exist.
The most baffling poaching incident that sent shock waves in the conservation world was the killing of one of the largest and oldest elephants, nick- named Satao, in Tsavo East and its tusks spirited away, despite the fact that the jumbo was always under security guard.
This has raised concern to many conservationists who fear that some security personnel could either be turning a blind eye to wildlife crimes or they are themselves part of the problem.
To aggravate the matter, Satao’s tusks, each said to weigh slightly over 40 kilogrammes, were never recovered.
In the recent past both KWS and regular police have joined forces to combat the poachers, but according to some of the security officers, the Government should deploy more rangers to the vast park to deal decisively with the poachers who are using sophisticated firearms.
Tsavo park covers an area of more than 22,000 square kilometers the same size as Israel .
According to a KWS ranger who spoke on condition of anonymity morale of the rangers was at a low ebb due to poor remuneration saying the discrepancy in payment between the junior officers and their seniors was too wide.
As such there are reasons to believe that owing to the low morale among the security officers in the lower cadres they might be turning a blind eye when they see wildlife crimes being committed; such as poaching and the livestock menace.
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“We need the Government to come out and take stern action against the thousands of illegal livestock grazing in Tsavo especially in Tsavo West. The livestock is also intruding into local’s farms which might lead to confrontations with the herders,” said Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadeghu during a tour of Taita-Taveta county by Cord principal Raila Odinga recently.
Despite the half-hearted measures to flush the herders out of park, they have continued to move back with thousands of livestock posing a threat to the fragile ecosystem .
Some of the headers are also suspected to be engaging in poaching and other criminal activities.
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A senior security officer in the county warned the herders to confine their grazing activities within the ranches and warned that those who stray into the parks would be arrested and prosecuted and their livestock forfeited to the State.
However, what is still baffling is why despite KWS officers carrying out regular air surveillance in the park, nothing much seems to be happening on the ground as livestock continue streaming into the park due to the prolonged drought as they search for pastures and water.
bush meat
At the same time poaching for bush meat is reported to be on the rise with the meat being sold both to unsuspecting customers and those aware of the wild delicacy.
The trade in bush meat has been blamed on high poverty levels among communities living near game conservancies occasioned by the prolonged drought.
The problem is more pronounced in the ranches where security has slackened given that KWS has jurisdiction over wildlife but not the land where the wildlife live.
According to Taita-Taveta police commander Richard Bitonga, some ranch officials have been adamant to allow security officers to enter the livestock establishments to maintain security, an issue the police boss said was a major obstacle.
“Some ranch officials accuse us of trespassing on their land when we go to apprehend poachers not knowing that security officers have the right to enter any troubled area where security is likely to be compromised,” said Bitonga.
SIDE BAR
Once famed for its breathtaking landscape and unrivaled wildlife especially the big five; jumbo, rhino, buffalo, leopard and lion, Tsavo national park is slowly degenerating into an ecological crisis.
Poachers armed with powerful firearms have been butchering elephants for ivory which is being spirited out of the country to foreign nations especially in Asia, illegal herders have invaded Tsavo with thousands of livestock while bush meat poachers are making a kill, adding wild life meat to peoples’ dining tables.
“We are working together with KWS security officers to deal with the rising poaching incidents in Tsavo” said Taita- Taveta police commander Richard Bitonga at Tsavo West where a poacher who had killed an elephant was gunned down.
However, the situation on the ground indicate that security in Tsavo has slackened such that illegal herders, who are also believed to engage in poaching, are having a field day.
Some of the herders have even made temporary shelters inside the park, impunity which only points to security lapse in the vast park.
A KWS security officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said morale was low among the lower cadres of KWS staff, some of whom were now turning a blind eye to wildlife crimes due to poor remuneration.
“The discrepancy between our payment and that of our senior officers is too high and we feel very demoralized,” said the officer.
He also pointed out that the number of rangers was not enough to man the vast park.
Captions ,top down:
1:KWS security officers inspect a jumbo killed by poachers in Tsavo West. The body of a man suspected to be a poacher lies beside the elephant carcass
2:Security officers stand guard near tusks recovered from poachers in Tsavo West
3:Security officers inspect a fire arm recovered from poachers
4:A group of illegal herders arrested from Tsavo West
5:A KWS ranger drives away illegal livestock in Tsavo West
PHOTOS: i-MPACT PICTURES/FILE