Kenya Wildlife Service has increased surveillance in the Mara Triangle after three rhinos died between November 12 and 19, 2018, raising concern over a possible infectious disease outbreak in the wider Mara ecosystem.
Mara Triangle administrator Liaram Molai said the 10 remaining rhinos were being closely watched while veterinary teams waited for postmortem findings. He said patrols had also been intensified across the conservancy.
“Currently, we are doing close monitoring on the remaining rhinos after the death of the three rhinos. We are yet to know the cause of their deaths but our veterinary officers are on standby do deal with any situation if in case it is an outbreak of a disease,” Mr Molai said.
Maasai Mara National Reserve chief warden Moses Ole Kuyioni said a crisis meeting was held on Thursday morning to review security and animal health measures in the reserve and surrounding conservancies, which host more than 50 rhinos.
“Even as we await the postmortem results from the Kenya Wildlife Veterinary officers, we have stepped up surveillance and veterinary offices have been dispatched to the ground to look in to the condition of other rhinos within the greater Mara, The Mara Triangle and the Maasai Mara Conservancies,” Mr Kuyioni said.
Molai said the government’s ban on darting had complicated efforts to confirm suspected illness quickly. He said the restriction also prevented blood extraction from wildlife for testing, leaving officials to depend on laboratory results from the Government chemist.
“The government banned darting, barring the extraction of blood from wildlife for testing but we are still waiting for the results from Government chemist to know the cause of deaths so as to take action,” Mr Molai added.
He said samples are most useful when collected within six hours of death, but the carcasses were discovered much later. According to him, the first was found after five days, the second after three days and the third after about a day and a half.
KWS said the carcasses were already decomposed when found, but the horns were intact, ruling out poaching. The agency said one of the dead animals was a 37-year-old rhino that may have died of natural causes linked to old age.
“At 37 years of age, it is possible that the rhino could have died of natural causes attributed to old age,” the statement read.
Another rhino, which was eight months pregnant, was found near the first carcass. Samples from that case were sent to the Government chemist for toxicological analysis, while duplicate samples were taken to the University of Nairobi veterinary school. Environmental samples from shared grazing areas were also collected.
The Mobile Veterinary Unit had not yet released the postmortem results. KWS said there were no external injuries on the partly scavenged carcasses, and that the fetus carried by the pregnant rhino also died.
Close sources said anthrax remained a leading suspicion, prompting tighter surveillance in all protected areas that host rhinos. KWS said round-the-clock monitoring of the remaining animals would continue until the cause of death is confirmed.
Officials also said scavengers that fed on the carcasses had not shown signs of dying, which has not ruled out a disease outbreak but has complicated the investigation.
