Training Anti-Poaching Scouts in Amboseli

As I mentioned in my earlier post, working with local communities is crucial in our Grevy’s zebra conservation efforts. We therefore work with local community  scouts  to monitor Grevy’s zebras and other wild animal numbers, human-wildlife conflicts, poaching and other conservation related issues.

Because of our experience in working with community scouts – in particularly on community areas around Samburu, Buffalo Springs, and Shaba national reserves – I was requested by Fiesta Warinwa, African Wildlife Foundation’s Kilimanjaro Heartland Director to help recruit and train scouts to monitor wildlife in Osupuko and Kilitome conservancies.

These two conservancies lie on an important wildlife corridor connecting Amboseli National Park with Kimana Sanctuary and on to Tsavo West National Park.

Towards the end of last year, I visited the Kilimanjaro Heartland and with AWF Field Assistant Rashid Abdul, we managed to recruit and train four scouts who have been monitoring wildlife distribution, poaching, human-wildlife conflicts and other wildlife issues in Osupuko Conservancy. Last week, I visited the Kilimanjaro Heartland again to help Rashid recruit and train scouts for Kilitome conservancy, located just next to Amboseli National Park. Rashid had already dealt with all the logistical issues, and on 3rd March 2009, 13 members of Kilitome conservancy were eagerly waiting to be interviewed to become Kilitome Conservancy scouts.

Conducting interviews and selecting the best was very challenging; all the interviewees were prepared to become “community  scouts.” However, only 6 were to be selected and Rashid and myself had to decide on the best six.

The training day was on 4th March. The six new scouts who were selected the previous day were trained on the importance of wildlife, the importance of monitoring and data collection protocols. They learnt to use GPS units and to record wildlife sightings, human-wildlife conflict incidents, poaching and other illegal wildlife killing incidents, and vegetation destruction.