Finally, after 19 days of patience, persistence, and freezing nights, the KWS Veterinary and Capture team successfully captured 12 hippos at Mukindu Public Dam. Working with precision and care, the team immobilized the massive animals before carefully loading them into specially designed translocation crates. It may look effortless in the photos, but behind every image are countless hours of planning, teamwork, and determination.

This was no ordinary wildlife operation. Imagine spending more than two weeks on night vigils, enduring 19 consecutive nights in biting cold, wrapped in layers that somehow were never enough, keeping warm around crackling firewood while thick mist and stubborn fog settled over the dam. Night after night, the hippos remained elusive, surfacing only to retreat back into the murky depths before the team could move into position. Handling wildlife is a challenging job on the best of days; there is nothing predicamental about it. Every night brought fresh uncertainties, setbacks, and resolve. Regardless of the uncertainties of the job, our able vet teams always look forward to navigating the thorny aspects of the job, hoping to find the rose within.

Then technology tipped the scales. Strategically placed 360-degree night vision monitoring equipment quietly revealed the animals’ movements, helping the team identify the perfect window for a successful capture in the wee hours of the morning. The images flickered on screens as the team huddled around, watching the hippos emerge from the water, finally offering the break they had been waiting for. For the team lead, a man who lives and breathes for his next adrenalin rush, this was the moment everything came together. The years of experience, the sleepless nights, the patience stretched thin—all of it distilled into a few critical hours of action.

Capturing a hippo is never as simple as “find hippo, load hippo, and drive away.” Every translocation involves meticulous planning, from constructing the boma and positioning the crates to patiently habituating the animals over several days. Every step must be carefully coordinated to ensure the safety of both the hippos and the people involved. Success requires asking more questions than an examination paper; questions about animal behaviour, environmental conditions, equipment readiness, and contingency plans. The team left nothing to chance.

The operation became necessary after the shrinking and eventual drying of Lake Ol’ Bolossat forced the hippos to abandon their natural habitat in search of permanent water. They eventually settled in the small, unfenced three-acre Mukindu Public Dam in Nyandarua County. While the dam became their refuge, it also brought them into close contact with nearby farms, homes, and communities, leading to years of increasing human-wildlife conflict. Crops were destroyed, livelihoods threatened, and tensions rose. Relocating the hippos to more suitable protected habitats is about safeguarding both wildlife and people, giving them a chance to thrive while reducing conflict with surrounding communities.

Ensuring that wildlife are safe is the team’s wheelhouse; it is what they do. From the planning stages to the final release, every decision is guided by a commitment to protect Kenya’s natural heritage while respecting the needs of communities who share the land. The 12 hippos now journey to their new home, where they will have space to roam, water to enjoy, and the freedom to live as nature intended.

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