It was a very sad and shocking scenario today whereby a patrol came across two snared juvenile elephants, still stuck to the tree with the snare around their necks! The veterinary team were able to mobilise very quickly thanks to the rapid response from the helicopter.

There was a large, agitated elephant cow in the area, so for safety reasons the vet decided to dart the trapped animals from the helicopter. The larger elephant snapped its snare while the helicopter was hovering nearby, so they pursued and darted to ensure the snare was fully off. The elephant was safely woken up. The younger and noticeably weaker elephant was darted after that, whilst still stuck on the tree. Unfortunately when the vets reached the elephant after landing the helicopter, the second elephant had succumbed to the immobilisation, likely predicated by strangulation as the snare was incredibly tight around the neck. The snares were extremely fresh. The helicopter then flew over the nearby herd to check for any other snared individuals but luckily they were all clear. Because the herd was still around and the (likely) matriarch was still extremely agitated after the events, the ground team returned the next day to remove any other snares in the vicinity.

A sad outcome to lose one of the two elephants and another stark reminder on top of so many, about the scale of the challenges we are facing and the necessity to keep at it, collaborate and secure the region.

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Photos: Kyle Walker