Wildlife and Security On Lewa
The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is relatively close to historically volatile areas of northern Kenya, where banditry, poaching and illegal firearms were once prolific. The threat to Lewa's wildlife and, in particular, its rhinos is ever present, although with improved security throughout northern Kenya and increasingly good relations with its neighbours, the situation has improved in recent years. The rhinoceros population requires constant monitoring and protection due to their threatened status, continued pressure and the recent occurrence of rhino poaching elsewhere in the country.
To provide a high level of protection for the wildlife, especially the endangered wildlife, as well as the people on Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, it is essential to have an extremely effective security system. Lewa's security operation includes a well-trained and highly motivated ranger force, both armed and unarmed; a tracker dog team; and reliable communications network with its neighbours, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), local government agencies, community conservancies affiliated to the Northern Rangelands Trust and private wildlife conservation projects and conservancies in the area. Regular aerial surveillance is carried out and the boundary electric game fence is maintained.
Neighboring communities, the Kenya Wildlife Service and other organisations frequently request Lewa's assistance with support and follow-up to incidents such as poaching, cattle rustling, robbery and banditry. Lewa is in a position to respond rapidly and effectively to such incidents. Lewa's internal security operations have a good record: only two rhinos have been lost to poaching on the Conservancy (Ntoiye and Tana, shooting was 26 December 2009, Tana survived until 5 March 2010). To add to this, Lewa’s anti-poaching teams have been deployed to other rhino sanctuaries following serious levels of rhino poaching and have effectively stopped rhino poaching as a result.
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