GREY GIANTS IN NEED

Zwei Breitmaulnashörner in Lewa Downs
© B. Trachsel
 

All about horns and stripes

 
  • Lewa Downs – a visit to the lodges and camps in Lewa where the guest is treated like a king
Wildlife
 

A Catalyst for Conservation

The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (LWC) is a non-profit organization in Kenya that was founded in 1993 on former farming land. The conservancy contributes to protecting rhinoceroses from extinction and to combating poaching. As early as two years after its foundation, the Government of Kenya awarded this project the status of a National Park. Initially, the LWC was the brainchild of Anna Merz, U.K. citizen who chose to live in Switzerland. Her vision involved a park that would allow for the peaceful co-existence of people, their cattle, and endangered wildlife.

 

Together for success

The Craig family, former proprietors of the land, supported the project, which proved to be a tremendous opportunity and helped to trigger international cooperation. The goal involved ensuring that the park would grow slowly but steadily. Today, the entire surface amounts to approx. 225 square kilometers, with areas in the North constantly being added to it, because the communities situated in the northern area of the park have realized that wildlife and nature conservancy can generate interesting income. Today, the LWC is one of Northern Kenya’s most important employers and home to 71 black and 58 white rhinoceroses.

 

Lewa looses Rhinos to poachers

On the 4th of April 2012, Lewa lost another rhino to poachers. Matterhorn was an eight-year old white rhino set to deliver her second calf. Both horns were removed by the poachers.

Her three-year old male calf, June, also sustained an injury during the attack. He has since been treated by the Lewa Veterinary unit and will be monitored closely.

This is the 4th poaching incident Lewa has suffered to date.

This is a harsh reminder of the threat facing rhinos all across Africa. Lewa will continue to do its very best to avoid any recurrence of this nature.

End of November 2012, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy suffered the demoralizing loss of four rhinos to poachers. Two male black rhinos and two female black rhinos were slaughtered, bringing the population of rhino on Lewa back down to 71 individuals. In a country where the population is slightly above 600 animals, these incidents are a devastating blow to conservation efforts and show the enormous pressure that these animals are under.

Many experts highlight that Africa’s rhinos are facing the worst poaching crisis in decades, with the most serious poaching upsurges in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Although population figures for both black and white rhinos have increased since 2007, because of the increase in poaching, there is still grave concern for the rhino’s future. The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is not immune to this crisis and has lost 10 rhinos in the last three years.

 

Protection is costly

The protection of the rhinoceroses and the rare Grévy zebras makes this project particularly expensive and demanding. Poachers and profit-makers are drawn by the prospect of lucrative prey. Therefore, security is of utmost importance. Game guards and wildlife rangers need to be financed (salaries, uniforms, weapons, radio communication, binoculars), expensive jeeps and other vehicles need to be procured, paths and roads need to be maintained (road master wages, tools, clothing) and infrastructure in the main quarters needs to be ensured (residential units, repair workshops, offices, etc.).

 

Lewa – our branch in Africa

The Zurich Animal Protection Association has been supporting Lewa Downs since 1990 and is one of its most important contributors. In the summer of 2008, a substantial payment was made to finance the counting of the Grévy zebra population. Together with the Kenya Wildlife Service, the LWC collects data to allow for an update of the Red List of endangered species. A report on this meaningful activity was published in mid June 2009 and can be downloaded here.

 

Current support involves our contribution to an activity to safe a rescue mission of endangered species as well as the financing of surveillance flights of the Lewa small airplane. The extensive report shows how indispensable such airplanes are for the LWC to completing its tasks and reaching its goals. In May 2010, the board decided to finance the purchase of a new jeep for Lewa’s veterinary team. It is only thanks to the use of such vehicles that help can be provided rapidly in case of emergencies.

 

The death of Jazz, our named rhino

LWC recently informed us of the death of Jazz which occurred on the 23th of November, 2012. He was nine at the time of his death.

Jazz had been reported missing for a few days. After a long search his carcass was discovered near Lugga ya Dadaboi in the northern sector of Lewa, south of Leparua village. Predators had already ravaged much of the carcass, but it was clear from visible bullet wounds that he was the victim of a poaching attack. However, his horns were intact and have since been recovered for safekeeping.

Investigations are still on going to establish more facts that will help us track down the poachers.

As a sub-adult rhino, he had just begun to explore his territory, slowly carving it out to exert his dominance.

The poaching threat to Lewa’s wildlife has grown astronomically in recent years as the demand for rhino horn has continued to rise, reaching the highest levels in history. These incidents serve as a constant reminder of the harsh reality and rapidly escalating threat faced by endangered species of wildlife. Lewa is now more than ever determined to counter these threats by increasing our security and monitoring efforts, reinforcing the important contribution that Lewa’s wildlife is making to local communities, and minimising the risk posed to Lewa’s rhino population.