APU Field Report- March 2020

March was a relatively quiet month for us in the field, although one incident will remain etched in our memory for some time to come. There was a notable increase in bushmeat poaching incidents, with one topi sighted with an arrow embedded in it's head, and a zebra with a spear embedded in it's rear leg. Sadly both sightings were in the late evening and attempts to separate the injured animals from the herd for treatment proved futile. Attempts to find them on the following days were also regrettably, unsuccessful.

On the 16th of March while on routine foot patrol, our rangers came upon a suspect engaging in illegal palm wine harvesting. The suspect immediately attacked our teams with a sharp knife and in the tussle ended up causing injury to himself as one ranger disarmed him. He was taken the hospital for treatment before being booked at the station.

In total, the team issued one warning, made three successful arrests while one suspect escaped. A total of 37 wood posts were confiscated along with five snares, one motorbike, 18 catfish and a knife.

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