East African animals are threatened by poachers in search of ivory and rhino horn. Protecting them are the bush pilots of the Kenyan Wildlife Service Airwing. We meet Danny Woodley of Tsavo West National Park

What is the KWS Airwing and what does it do?

The Airwing was set up by the Kenyan government as a division of the Wildlife Service to support wardens and paramilitary staff on the ground. The KWS is charged with the protection and conservation of the country's fauna and flora. There is a huge amount of ground to cover in the national parks, Tsavo West itself is more than 7,000km2 (2,700 miles2).

How did you become interested in aviation and had you always seen yourself working in the industry?

I was born in the national park. My father was assistant warden. He loved the animals, but he also loved flying, and so for as long as I can remember I have been around an aeroplane. I learned to fly but I also loved the whole conservation thing. There is a lot of pressure to ensure Kenya retains this great asset. When the opportunity came to do the two things I love best - flying and conservation - it was a dream come true.

What sort of things do you do?

There is a mix between admin work and flying the aircraft. I use a Cessna 180. It first came to Kenya in the 1950s and was used to fire grenades in the uprising, then operated as a floatplane on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe and returned to Kenya as a crop duster. Our engineers in Nairobi have restored it and it is ideal for what we do for slow low flying in hot and dusty conditions and operating out of rugged dirt strips.

We fly patrols at different times of the day, looking for the telltale signs that poachers are in the park, or that there is illegal charcoal production or that there are people hunting for bush meat. All of these activities are illegal and could severely damage the fine balance that the animals and the whole life in the park need to survive. On the ground we have a paramilitary force that moves in to make contact with the criminals.

Is it dangerous?

So far this year 25 poachers and two rangers have been killed. The poachers are becoming increasingly well equipped using AK-47 attack rifles and even rocket propelled grenades. On the ground they use poisoned arrows. For them it means a fortune if they can kill an elephant or a rhino and take away the tusk or the horn. For us it is a tragedy that could ultimately affect the economic position of the country.

Do you have special training?

In the past couple of years Patty Wagstaff, the former world aerobatic champion from the USA,

has come to Kenya to help sharpen our flying skills. A lot of our flying is below 50ft (15m). Earlier this year we did an audit of all the elephants in the park. That means being able to spot particular markings of individual elephants and recognising their family groups. You can't do that from 1,000ft.

Do you have any memorable moments?

I well remember the Nairobi air traffic controllers' reaction when we were bringing in an injured and sedated lion for treatment. I called: "Cessna 180 inbound with two passengers on board and a lion." What wasn't funny was the lion stirring as were still on approach.

 

KWS Airwing

  • With 59 parks and reserves spread over a country of 585,000km2, the KWS Airwing is on permanent standby to fly into action anywhere in Kenya, either for routine monitoring and field trips or security operations, search and rescue and emergency evacuations.
  • Headquartered at Wilson airport in Nairobi, the KWS has a fleet consisting of a Cessna Caravan, two Cessna 180s and one 182, six Aviat Huskys and two Piper Super Cubs, and a Bell 206 helicopter.
  • When the Airwing was launched in 1988 there were barely 5,000 elephants left in the Tsavo ecosystem. In the aerial census this year the number has risen to 11,696.
  • The Airwing works on a budget of less than $1.5 million a year.
 

Source: Flight International

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