Poaching cases in the Tsavo Conservation Area (TCA) have reportedly gone down by 96%.

According to the Conservancy Assistant Director, George Osuri, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and its conservation partners’ improved monitoring and security operations in the area have contributed to this success. “We have made tremendous progress in thwarting and containing the poaching across both big and small game in the park. We intend to escalate our operations to rid the park of this menace,” Osuri said.

KWS has also strengthened its patrol teams at the Kenya-Tanzania border to stop poaching groups from crossing from Tanzania to gain access to Tsavo.

The 2017 aerial elephant census reported that there were 12 866 elephants in Tsavo.

TCA covers an area of about 43 000 sq km and is the largest in Kenya, as well as being home to the largest population of elephants in the country. The area covers Tsavo East and West National Parks, and Mkomazi National Park in the Kilimanjaro area in Tanzania.