It goes without saying that humans have significantly reduced the habitat available to elephants across Africa (as is the case for almost every wild species). Though greatly accelerated over the last century, this has been an incremental process and unpicking the strands of our influence to quantify historical and potential animal ranges is a tricky process. Newly published research from leading elephant conservation organisations clarifies the extent of human impact on elephants: Africa’s giants now occupy just 17% of their possible range.
The new paper details how multiple elephant research and conservation organisations pooled over 15 years’ worth of data on the ranges of 229 individual elephants across the continent. The work was coordinated by Save the Elephants and included researchers from the Mara Elephant Project, the University of British Columbia, Oxford University, Colorado State University, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the University of Stirling, and Elephants Alive. It goes to the heart of why long-term research and in-depth understanding of elephant movements are pivotal to elephants’ conservation. “Consistent data recorded over a number of years plays a vital role in our understanding of how elephants adapt to shrinking ranges and variable climatic effects” explains Dr Michelle Henley, CEO of Elephants Alive.
The data were collected at 19 sites across the four major biomes of Africa: Sahel (the border region of the Sahara Desert in the western section of the continent), forest (central), savannah (east), and bushveld (south). When analysing the data, the new study lays out three questions:
How do elephant home ranges vary in size across sexes, species, and biome?
How influential are the following factors on range size?
a. Individual (sex and species)
b. Biotic (vegetation and tree cover)
c. Abiotic (temperature, rainfall, water, slope/gradient)
d. Anthropogenic (human influence and protected area use) factors
How much suitable elephant habitat remains across Africa, and how much of this suitable habitat is currently occupied?
The study demonstrates that elephant range size is affected by multiple factors, including species (forest elephants utilised smaller home ranges than savannah elephants), sex (bulls occupied more extensive ranges than cows in the long term), and resource availability. The elephants were also influenced by tree cover, temperature, rainfall, and the slope/gradient of the area. Most importantly, elephant movements and range usage were impacted by human factors. From the tracking data, elephants in protected areas occupied smaller ranges. The researchers believe that this is part of a human avoidance strategy – the elephants do not feel safe roaming into areas of human habitation. However, some 57% of the current elephant range falls outside these protected areas (as per the IUCN).
The researchers then used this data to inform an elephant habitat suitability model (HSM) across the entire continent. The HSM predicts that elephants could occupy a range of over 18 million square kilometres – 62% of the whole continent. “We looked at every square kilometre of the continent,” says lead author Jake Wall of the Mara Elephant Project in Kenya. “We found that 62% of those 29.2 million square kilometres is suitable habitat.” As adaptable and generalist megaherbivores, elephants would only be precluded from occupying extreme habitats in the Sahara, Danakil, and Kalahari deserts, as well as high mountain tops and, of course, urban centres.
From the range of conditions encountered by the tracked elephants over 16-day periods, an HSM was extrapolated to each kilometre square grid of Africa (shown in green). Currently, 18,169,219 km2 is suitable range for elephants, which is 62% of the whole continent but for extreme deserts, cities, and high mountain tops. Of the HSM, 85% falls outside of protected areas. It was the likely range of elephants two millennia before the present. The current elephant range (orange) is 3,132,238 km2, according to the African Elephant Specialist Group, of which 57% falls outside of protected areas. The combined elliptical time-density 90th percentile ranges (red), of our sample of 229 collared elephants is 72,113 km2. The protected area boundaries (black hatched areas on the inset maps) are from the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA).
Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants, explains that through the model, “we used the movements of living elephants to tell us where the dead once roamed. This gave us a new line of evidence to suggest how much range has been lost in the last 2000 years”.
In essence, the study confirms that elephants would once have roamed almost the entire African continent – a conclusion supported by both historical, anecdotal evidence and recent genetic studies. The researchers detail how accounts from navigators and explorers from over 500 years ago record the presence of elephants on the Atlantic coast of North Africa and the mountainous and thickly wooded parts of present-day Tunisia. The HSM indicates that the same stretch of North Africa where elephants once roamed remains suitable habitat to this day. An analysis of ivory recovered from a Namibian shipwreck recently showed a massive reduction of elephant genetic diversity in the last five centuries.
The vast amount of data and extensive analysis demonstrates that elephants could spread back to parts of their former range if given a chance. Their habitats have been severely fragmented by fences, agriculture, infrastructure and human habitation and conflict. However, since their potential range is enormous, there is likely still room within parts of this range for peaceful coexistence between people and elephants. In particular, the authors identify swathes of land within the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose forests once held hundreds of thousands of elephants, now reduced to fewer than 10,000 remaining individuals. Naturally, the researchers also acknowledge that there are also parts of this identified range where conflict with people would make the return of elephants unrealistic.
Unfortunately, while the elephant range could expand, current trends are moving in the opposite direction. With the human population expected to grow over 25% from 2019 to 2050 (along with the associated increase in human footprint), there is an urgent need for development scenarios that take wildlife (and human) needs into account to secure the long-term survival of elephants. The researchers hope to refine the current model to aid in quantifying human densities and human-elephant coexistence and exploring the connectivity of potential habitats. The study concludes with the following sentiments:
“In the face of increasing human pressures, proactive landscape planning at the local, national, and continental scales are critical, as well as fostering an ethic of human-elephant coexistence if the future of elephants is to be secured. Is that too much to ask, to protect and conserve this signature animal even in a world where human well-being is paramount?”
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
Last week was ugly. We published a story where scientists estimate the Namibian elephant population to be several times higher than the go-to estimate by several loud keyboard experts. The data and results were peer-reviewed by the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group. The story unleashed some pretty unfortunate backlash from those whose narrative demands far lower numbers. The backstory is that the Namibian government, like many African governments, supports trophy hunting as a wildlife conservation tool. Now you know that I am no fan of trophy hunting, and I have the scars to prove it. BUT I also believe, as do my team, that science is the framework for effective conservation and that our layman opinions, while being essential tools for dialogue and problem-solving, are ultimately subject to scientific reality.
One hysterical Namibian activist took to social media to drum up echo chamber support from his adoring fans with hurtful fabrications about the veteran conservation journalist. He also laid into AG – and demanded that he be given the raw elephant population data to come up with his own statistics. He of zero relevant qualifications, experience or training. His premise is that observations from his occasional journeying through elephant territory are a more reliable yardstick for Namibian elephant numbers than what peer-reviewed science estimates, and that we (scientists, AG and those who support science) are in cahoots with the Namibian government to kill more elephants.
It is what it is.
Keep the passion
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
From our Editor-in-Chief
When I started guiding, too many years ago than I care to admit, showing my guests a kill was the ultimate goal. I’m not sure why – perhaps it was because so many nature documentaries climaxed with a takedown. The first time I saw the light leaving the eyes of a terrified impala ram with a leopardess’s jaws clamped around his trachea, I wasn’t sure I wished to see it again. In our first story below, Kenyan guide James Nampaso, treats us to a terrific photo gallery of nature’s sometimes heartrending reality.
In our second story below, we look at new research investigating the use of African grey parrots in traditional west African medicine. The Marché des Fétiches in Lomé, Togo has an astonishing array of wild animal parts for sale, including primate heads, antelope and predator skins, crocodile skulls, dried snakes, domestic dog heads and, of course, birds. A brief google image search will net you a gallery of horrors. Next step is to engage with the sellers and users to come up with sustainable alternatives.
Our third story below is more cheerful. When I was at university, I remember walking past kilometres of shelving full of masters and PhD dissertations thinking, ‘what a waste, no one is ever going to read this stuff.’ While most theses can look forward to long centuries of gathering dust unobserved, one, by an Australian ecologist called Ken Tinley, completed in 1977, resurfaced in the early 2000s. It became the blueprint for the restoration of Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique – it’s a wonderfully unlikely story.
Our Photographer of the Year gallery for this week is another marvel of African nature and human creativity. We are nearing the end of the competition, so either head into the wild and take some snaps or trawl your archives – you might like to win 10 000USD and a luxury safari to Botswana.
Finally, have a look at our video of the week. The Last Horns of Africa is a scary look at what it means to be on the frontline of defending rhino in South Africa – when rangers have to find the courage to become soldiers.
Story 1 LIONS VS GIRAFFES
This exceptional photo gallery by Kenyan guide and Photographer of the Year entrant James Nampaso showcases wild Africa at her most brutal
Story 2 PARROT VOODOO
African grey parrots are targeted for medicinal and spiritual practices in West Africa. The trade is a significant threat to wild grey parrots
Story 3 GORONGOSA
A long-lost doctoral thesis by an ecologist far ahead of his time helps unleash the massive potential of Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique
Story 4 BEST PHOTOS
Week fifteen of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
The following is the foreword by Greg Carr to a recently re-published thesis by Dr Ken Tinley who developed an ecological model for Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. The magnificent thesis was completed in 1977 and remains relevant to this day.
Introduction
I saw Gorongosa National Park for the first time from a helicopter on March 30, 2004. It looked magnificent from above. There were multiple forest and woodland types, grasslands, rivers, a lake, and fascinating geological formations. When we landed, however, it was clear we had trouble. The historic Chitengo Camp lay in ruins—former buildings were rubble. Where tourists once wandered, burned-out vehicles lay amongst grass that was higher than my head. That year, the Mozambican government asked me to help restore Gorongosa, once one of the most popular wildlife parks in all of Africa.
Devastation – historic Chitengo Camp in ruins
Process and response
In the 1960s, scientists said that Gorongosa had the densest abundance of wildlife of any natural area on the continent. This was no longer true. On our visit in 2004, we could drive an entire day and see perhaps one warthog or one baboon. Whatever other wildlife there was hidden in dense forests and had every reason to fear vehicles. Approximately 95% of the large animals were killed during and in the aftermath of one generation of war. How could we possibly restore a landscape of 400,000 hectares (one million acres)?
If we were going to help the Government of Mozambique rewild this ecosystem, we needed to understand it. We needed to create a Park Management Plan.
My very small team and I searched the literature. We found popular accounts of Gorongosa in newspapers and even in the prestigious National Geographic Magazine, dating back to the early 1960s. However, we also needed scientific data. A Harvard University friend found a reference to a doctoral thesis called Framework of the Gorongosa Ecosystem published in 1977 by a Kenneth Lochner Tinley, but not the actual thesis. At the time, Google was a ‘child’, just six years old, and one did not find nearly every imaginable piece of information online. We learned that a physical copy of the thesis existed at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. We used ‘interlibrary loan’ to get that actual document (not a facsimile) sent by the postal service to Harvard and then to us. Helping me was Sydney Kwiram—a brilliant young woman and recent Harvard graduate.
The manuscript’s abstract included this paragraph: “The chapter titled ‘Process and Response’ is the central pivot of the thesis containing the kinetic aspects of geomorphological landscape changes with coevolutionary sequences of biotic communities which change (expand, contract and recombine) kaleidoscopically in space and time, in appearance and content.”
Tourism in Gorongosa before the Mozambican civil war
Wow. I am not a biologist. I wondered if I should return to the friendly, popular newspaper articles about Gorongosa! However, the Tinley masterpiece is written by an incredible hand. It is the kind of literature that a layperson can follow if one reads carefully, even as an expert will gather much more from the same page. Sydney and I devoured this tome. The thesis had chapters on landscape setting, geology, soils, hydrology, climate, wildlife—covering an area in central Mozambique larger than the Park boundaries themselves—under the labels of “Gorongosa Mountain Summit”, “Gorongosa Mountain Slopes”, “Midlands”, “Rift Valley”, “Coast Plateau”, and “Land-sea Junction”. There were graphs of data and hand-drawn maps by Dr Tinley. He did all of this prior to the existence of the personal computer, GPS, digital photography, drones and the Internet. He with his spouse, Lynne Tinley, and their two small children lived in Chitengo (the place where I had landed in March 2004) from 1968 to 1973.
Where on earth is Dr Tinley?
We had the document, but what about Ken Tinley? Was he still alive? Did he live in South Africa? We would not find those answers in 2004.
Meanwhile, our team of scientists used insights from the Tinley thesis as we wrote a proposal to the Government of Mozambique to co-manage and restore Gorongosa. Among many critical observations, Ken Tinley—speaking through his thesis—told us that, in order to save the ecosystem over the long term, Mount Gorongosa needed to be added to the Park. Mount Gorongosa holds one of only two true rainforests in Central Mozambique, full of endemic and near-endemic species. The mountain is the critical source of most of the Park’s surface water during the dry season. At this time, it did not have protected status.
We continued our studies, our visits to Gorongosa, and our talks with the Government of Mozambique. I expanded our team. In 2005, on one of the luckiest days of my life, I met Vasco Galante. Vasco became the Director of Communications for the non-profit ‘Gorongosa Restoration Project’. He is a human connector: he makes friends, then he becomes friends with their friends. He remembers everyone, every encounter, every event. We call him ‘Vascopedia’. Vasco’s records tell me that we found Ken Tinley in 2005. I sent him an email (which, of course, Vasco saved) on November 28, 2005, that says: “We are in communication with Dr Tinley (who now lives in Australia), and we have his thesis, which you will enjoy. I’ll ask Bridget to send you a copy.”
“In communication with Dr Tinley” actually meant that we had found an email address for his spouse Lynne (from someone who knew someone) and contacted her. Lynne is equally brilliant and is Ken’s lifelong teammate. She is an artist of Nature. She wrote Drawn from the Plains, a book about living in Chitengo Camp, Gorongosa Park’s headquarters, for five years. The book includes her original artwork. We located a copy.
I remember reading my first email reply from Lynne. I now felt that the legendary Gorongosa of the 1960s was no longer just a storybook place to read about in articles. I was talking to someone who had lived there, seen it, smelled it, heard it, and breathed it. Soon, I started receiving messages on Lynne’s email account written by Ken. I was finally talking to the person who had written Framework of the Gorongosa Ecosystem when I was still in middle school.
We corresponded with Ken steadily from 2005 on, sharing ideas and receiving welcome advice. Ecologist Dr Marc Stalmans was a consultant to us and later became Director of Science for Gorongosa National Park. He helped us plan the restoration. “Ken was truly ahead of his time,” Dr Stalmans explains, “applying a landscape ecological perspective well before this approach gained popularity in the 1980s-1990s. Ken manually applied GIS principles before the electronic tool was available. Whereas many studies conventionally only provide a snapshot in time, Ken’s work takes a long term, geomorphic and geo-ecological view of the Park in terms of the formation, evolution and long-term outcome of its ecosystems and constituting components. That’s why the work is still hugely relevant one half-century later. Even more astonishing is that this magnum opus resulted from Ken spending only five years in the Gorongosa ecosystem.”
Hand-drawn images from Ken Tinley’s thesis. Clockwise from top left: Salient landscape features; Cheringoma Plateau example of geo-ecological succession; soil map; Rift Valley example of geo-ecological succession
On top of that, Dr Tinley still found time to sketch landscape perspectives of Banhine National Park in Mozambique and an area next to the Kruger National Park in South Africa that would later become part of the Limpopo National Park. Thirty years later, in the early 2000s, these perspectives became the foundation for the first landscape maps for both parks, which now form part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area.
In 1990, well after his five years living in Gorongosa Park, Ken worked with landscape architects in Pretoria. They agreed that the existence of a large number of national parks and nature reserves along the frontier between Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland opened the possibility for multi-national transfrontier resource areas (referenced by Dr Stalmans above).
It was exciting to think that existing protected areas could be linked by some of the little populated areas in between—to create one of the largest conservation zones in the world. Rural communities living within the resource areas, as well as the governments of the various countries, would benefit. Ken was one of the originators of the idea that became known as ‘Peace Parks’. President Nelson Mandela, a founder of the Peace Parks Foundation, believed national parks could link nations or regions that had previously seen conflict. His theory: The connected ecosystems would be good not only for wildlife but deliver benefits and peaceful relations to people as well.
Clockwise from top left: lioness in a tree; elephant in a natural pan; malachite kingfisher; African painted wolf; common waterbuck
We completed the first draft of our Park Management Plan and finalised our co-management contract with the Government of Mozambique. In January of 2008, I signed a 20-year agreement with the Government to co-manage and restore the Gorongosa ecosystem and to bring human development services to the communities that live adjacent to the Park. (That agreement has now been extended to 35 years, until 2043.)
In 2008 we revitalised the ranger team. The team began removing wildlife traps and snares from the Park; some left over from the war. We started a health care programme in nearby communities. We began our first attempts at tourism.
Meeting Ken Tinley
Yet, I had still not met Ken Tinley. I invited him to come and see what we were doing. In October 2010, Ken spent five days with us in Gorongosa.
Clockwise from top left: Bob Poole (camera), Mateus Mutemba, Fernando Ussene, Ken Tinley, Tonga Torcida and Vasco Galante; Ken Tinley, Vasco Galante, Fernando Ussene; Greg Carr and Ken Tinley; Ken Tinley
On the last day of his visit, Ken shared a poignant story with us. This trip was not the first time he had been to Gorongosa since 1973. In 1994, after the war ended, Ken and a man named Paul Dutton, along with José Tello (ex-warden of Gorongosa), were contracted by the IUCN to survey the condition of the National Park. Like Ken, Paul had begun his career as a Game Ranger in the Zululand Provincial Game Reserves and later continued his education to earn a graduate degree in Ecology. They became lifelong friends. In his own small Piper Cub airplane, Paul helped Ken and José perform the first aerial surveys of the vast herds of large ungulates during the first year of Ken’s research in Gorongosa. In 1994, they found what I saw a decade later: no wildlife and destroyed infrastructure.
The Future
The Gorongosa Restoration Team has made great progress from 2010 to 2019. Our rangers removed over 27,000 traps and snares. We reintroduced some species that we obtained from other national parks, such as buffalo and wildebeest from Kruger. But mostly, in a safer environment, the remaining small populations of wildlife were able to increase on their own. In 2018 we conducted an aerial wildlife survey and counted more than 100,000 large animals. (This represented just the fifteen largest species we could count from the air, not the innumerable smaller species that are also thriving.) The press has been kind to us. National Geographic refers to us as perhaps Africa’s greatest wildlife restoration story.
Clockwise from top left: A group of rangers on parade; Carol Wilson, activities coordinator at Gorongosa; Dominique Gonçalves at an elephant collaring exercise; a student researcher
We also made headway on our human development programme in the traditional communities that share the greater ecosystem with the Park. Our after-school Girls’ Clubs keep teenage girls in school and out of child marriage. We help small farmers get better yields on their land. We’re restoring the rainforest on Mount Gorongosa by planting shade-grown coffee. We provide healthcare to more than 100,000 people per year.
This idea that national parks should benefit the local people was one of Ken Tinley’s early insights and it forms the core of our philosophy at Gorongosa Park. But not only that, we also believe that local people should lead the management of these protected areas. They have knowledge and expertise about the healthy functioning of these ecosystems that they have inhabited since time immemorial. and they can combine that wisdom with 21st Century ecological science.
During the Colonial era, most Mozambicans were not allowed to go to school beyond the fourth grade. It is a painful and unpleasant fact, but one we should remember. At the Gorongosa Project, our goal is to empower the next generation of Mozambican scientists who will lead this ecosystem to the 22nd Century. They face of a new set of challenges, perhaps even greater than the wars of the 20th Century – climate change, pollution, invasive species, habitat loss and over-harvesting. Thus, we created a Master’s in Conservation Biology, a two-year program located in the park. It is the only master’s programme in the world taught entirely within a national park. We’ve already graduated our first cadre of twelve Mozambican women and men. The second group will finish at the end of 2021.
We also help Mozambicans continue their education to earn PhDs. Dominique Goncalves, a Mozambican woman who grew up near Gorongosa, is completing her PhD in Wildlife Ecology at the University of Kent in the UK. She also is the Manager of Elephant Ecology at Gorongosa Park. In October of 2018, I travelled with Dominique to Perth, Australia, to meet Ken and Lynne Tinley in their home. The walls of their apartment were covered with Lynne’s original artwork, some paintings of Gorongosa. Ken and Dominique talked for two days. He gave her unpublished notes from his research as the two of them exchanged ideas, passing the torch of Gorongosa science to the next generation.
Greg Carr
April 14th, 2021.
Ken Tinley’s thesis is available for purchase at 150 USD plus shipping. If interested, please email Megan Carolla at megancarolla@gmail.com.
The African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) is one of the most heavily-traded bird species globally, prized for its attractive looks, intelligence and propensity for mimicry. While most trade supplies the exotic pet trade, a new study confirms that grey parrots are also being sold in traditional medicine markets and consumed for belief-based use in some West African countries. Feathers, whole parrot remains, and parrot heads are traded for various medicinal and spiritual uses.
African grey parrots in the wild
According to the study and previous research, over 1.2 million wild-sourced African grey parrots have been traded internationally since the 1970s. The unsustainable trapping and trading of wild parrots, along with habitat loss, has resulted in dramatic population declines across the ranges of both African grey parrots and Timneh parrots (P. timneh). In some countries, populations have declined by as much as 90% over the past 25 years. Though there has been little research into the use of grey parrots in traditional medicine, researchers have now made inroads into understanding the dimensions of this established trade.
Researchers interviewed five vendors at the ‘fetish’ market – Marché des Fétiches – in Togo, West Africa to investigate the purpose and socio-economic drivers of belief-based use. The market is the largest of its kind for belief-based medicine in West Africa, and here wildlife trade is conducted openly, even when certain species are protected by national legislation. The vendors were selected on the basis that they had been previously observed trading parrot parts. The questions asked of the vendors focused on the body parts sold, the purpose and price, the source country, and the species availability.
Their findings suggest that approximately 900 grey parrots were traded over the past ten years in the marketplace. The majority of parrot heads were sold for improving memory and spiritual ‘protection from witchcraft’ and ‘good luck’. Feathers are purchased for spiritual use, ‘attracting clients’, ‘love’, and ‘help with divorce’. According to the vendors, parrot heads were the most valuable parts, fetching several times the value of parrot feathers. Concerningly, the majority of the vendors reported a decrease in the availability of grey parrot parts.
This use of African grey parrots for belief-based practices is not a new phenomenon, and the vendors reported that all purchases over the past decade had involved regular customers. This, in turn, indicates a local demand for the trade in parrot parts beyond the international trade in live parrots. However, the researchers emphasise that further research is needed to understand the relationship between the two different trades, as evidence suggests a degree of connectivity. It is likely that some of the parrot remains in the markets were sourced from parrots that died during the trapping/transport process for the pet trade. (The trapping and trading of wild parrots raise serious welfare concerns and is estimated to have a 40-60% mortality rate.)
Related to the relationship between the two types of trade is whether the increase in scarcity of parrots reflects the collapse of local wild populations or the recent reduction in international trade (precipitated by increased international legal restrictions). The vendors all stated that Benin and Togo were the main source countries for parrot derivatives. Yet, experts believe that wild populations of grey parrots in these countries are negligible or even extinct. The grey parrots in neighbouring countries such as Ghana have also shown a precipitous population decline. If there are small remaining populations, even low exploitation levels would be disastrous and could result in further local extinctions.
As is the case with any wildlife species, it is challenging to assess the impact of belief-based use. As the study acknowledges, aspects of the trade (such as the trade in feathers) may prove sustainable. The authors also emphasise that the study’s intention was not to determine the extent of the trade – the information provided by the vendors may have been either exaggerated or underestimated. Instead, the interviews were conducted to inform further research and direct future conservation efforts. Immediate intervention initiatives could include education initiatives and the provision of herbal alternatives.
The conservation efforts directed at saving the surviving African grey parrot populations are intricate and multi-faceted, involving everything from international trade policy to dangerous anti-poaching and sting operations. While the study identifies the need for further in-depth research into this threat to grey parrots, it is only through understanding the patterns and drivers of the trade that effective strategies can be developed to mitigate its effects.
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
I watched this trailer for an African-themed movie and was not sure whether to laugh out loud or vomit in the back of my mouth. If you can get past the horrendous type-casting of African people and gobsmackingly misinformed portrayals of predators waiting around every corner to eat you alive – then you are a better person than I. Apparently, there are rhinos in Amboseli (which attack and flip vehicles), and the hyenas there whoop like gibbons when hunting humans. Breathe deeply Simon, move on …
Back to reality, and after a really good wet summer here in the Greater Kruger region, the seasons have turned, and our autumnal grass and woodlands are rapidly turning golden brown as we prepare for a long dry winter. We are heading into the best wildlife-viewing time, and intrepid travellers are taking advantage of Covid-impacted low prices and few tourists. Need I say more?
Keep the passion
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
From our Editor-in-Chief
This week is much about the elephants – one a good news, if rather technical, story and the other, another blight on humanity’s appalling environmental report card. In the first one below, veteran Namibian conservationist Gail Thomson describes exactly how the Namibian government arrived at their population figure of 24 000 elephants. Despite what naysayers might argue, it would seem that Namibia’s elephant population is thriving and increasing. Long may that last.
Our second story below leaves me bemused. Quite how it has taken the IUCN so long to recognise the species status of the forest elephant despite science having known about it for almost 20 years, is beyond me. What on earth have they been doing? With the speed of frozen treacle oozing uphill, the politicians, lawyers and scientists have finally made it official and the news is not good – the forest elephant is critically endangered.
After all that, our third story below should be much more fun and encouraging. Mix yourself a pina colada (yes, I know you’re at work but that might make it taste even better). I’ve always had a fascination with remote ocean islands. This story of Mauritian conservation – pristine beaches, coral reefs, tropical fishes, lush forests, endemic animals and cascading waterfalls – had me yearning to feel the sand between my toes, hearing the drum of the ocean and the primordial sound of the island jungle.
Finally, our Photographer of the Year is heading into the final stages. Please send this link to anyone you know who takes good shots of Africa – they might like to win 10 000USD and a luxury safari to Botswana. Mix another pina colada and enjoy the 14th celebration of our magical continent!
Story 1 LET THE FACTS SPEAK
Namibia’s refusal to participate in the Great Elephant Census caused doubt about their claimed elephant numbers. See their peer-reviewed stats here
Story 2 HERE TODAY …
Critically endangered: Forest elephants have finally been granted species status (something scientists have known for decades)
Story 3 PROTECTING PARADISE
Mauritius – an island beach paradise that also offers volcanic mountains, ancient forest & incredible biodiversity – the perfect green safari
Story 4 BEST PHOTOS
Week fourteen of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
Kenyan guide James Nampaso entered a few startling images of giraffes and lions for our 2021 Photographer of the Year. See his submitted images in this weekly selection. We were interested to know more about what happened, and James submitted the following images and story:
“The event took place in the Maasai Mara ( Olare Motorogi Conservancy) in Kenya. During a morning game drive I saw two female lionesses watching a female giraffe and her calf from the cover of a croton bush. Soon the lions started stalking the giraffes and I told my guests to get their cameras ready. The lions managed to jump onto the calf, but the mother giraffe chased them away. Once the rest of the pride arrived they surrounded the giraffes, and after about half an hour, a lioness managed to jump onto the mother giraffe’s back and so distract her. During that separation, the lions killed the baby while the mother giraffe managed to escape.” James Nampaso
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
With over 160km of talcum-powder sand beaches, turquoise lagoons, luxury resorts and protected on all sides by an encircling coral reef, Mauritius is an island paradise. That said, there is so much more to Mauritius than just the beach. Away from sunbathing, water sports and busy beaches, the island is a world biodiversity hotspot, a land of volcanic mountains dotted with pockets of ancient forest. It is home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, including some of the world’s most threatened animals and plants. Mauritius is increasingly focusing on ecotourism and, together with several forward-thinking operators, the island has its eye on becoming a world leader in green tourism.
A spectacular view in Kestrel Valley. Away from the beaches the Mauritian interior is equally beautiful.
When you live on a small island in the Indian Ocean, you are sensitive to every tiny environmental change that happens around you. As awareness of the importance of maintaining the island’s ecosystem grows, Mauritius is working hard towards its goal of conservation and sustainable tourism. It is this side of Mauritius that I had come to experience on my travels there.
I had been invited to the opening of the Kestrel Valley Nature Reserve, a 200-hectare private nature reserve located in an indigenous Mauritian forest. Previously a deer hunting farm, Kestrel Valley is now under new management and has switched focus to conservation and the protection of endangered species. It serves as the base from which eco-volunteers participate in a variety of conservation programmes. Though the project is primarily targeted at gap-year students and conservation enthusiasts of a generally younger age group than myself (I was, in fact, old enough to be the mother of some of the other participants), I was fortunate enough to experience their hands-on approach to conservation.
The rustic setting of Kestrel Valley accompanied by spectacular views
The valley is also home to the Mauritian kestrel (Falco punctatus), once one of the most endangered birds in the world but which has since been brought back from the brink of extinction by the concerted efforts of conservationists and scientists. My fellow volunteers and I spent our first few days monitoring and carrying out census counts of the kestrels as well as the endangered Mauritian fruit bats (Pteropus niger – which also roost in the valley). We also took part in alien plant eradication, quite literally weeding in the forest by hand. This particular project, which turned out to be surprisingly rewarding, saw us pulling up and carting out armfuls of invasive plant life to make way for the indigenous plants.
A pair of Mauritian kestrels – in 1974 there were only four of these birds left in the wild.
Like most of the Indian Ocean, Mauritius has seen a sharp decrease in its coral reef, primarily due to climate change and aggressive fishing methods. When we had time out from our dry land projects, the volunteers and I got involved with some reef and lagoon conservation projects. We spent a couple of days underwater, gaining hands-on experience in saving the island’s marine environment. Donning masks and snorkels we set off, looking for signs of coral bleaching and invasive species, as well as monitoring some of the island’s critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata).
As we swam through the lagoon, we saw the devastation of previous coral bleaching incidents, times when a sudden rise in water temperatures kills off the coral, leaving it white, desolate, and somewhat depressing.
An endangered hawksbill sea turtle surfaces for a quick breath
The following day, we took part in a coral farming project that aims to grow corals and replenish these damaged areas of the island’s reefs. As part of the project, we started the day collecting small fragments of coral from a healthy section of the reef, later transporting them to the ‘farm’. A lot like an underwater garden, the coral farm consists of submerged ‘tables’ that the coral fragments we’d collected were attached to. This attachment process was a bit harder than I had anticipated, and the strong currents tossed me about as I tried repeatedly to get the job done. Eventually, I got the small coral pieces firmly anchored down and hoped they would all flourish!
These coral ‘farms’ form part of vital efforts to save the remaining reefs
On a day off from active conservation, we were given a guided tour of the tiny rocky wildlife sanctuary of Ile aux Aigrettes. Resident scientists offered a series of talks and guided walks around the islet and introduced us to some of its more endangered inhabitants, including the pink pigeon which has been brought back from the brink of extinction, along with the Mauritian kestrel and the echo parakeet (Eretmochelys imbricata). We also saw the rare olive white-eyes (Zosterops chloronothos), the brightly coloured Mauritian fody (Foudia rubra), and numerous startlingly vibrant Mauritian ornate day geckos (Phelsuma ornata) as well as the island’s extensive nursery for indigenous and native plants. The passion of the scientists here was contagious, and we left at the end of the day with a new appreciation of the dedication that goes into conservation, habitat restoration and the saving of species.
Everywhere you look, Mauritius is bursting with colour, like this blue-tailed day gecko (Phelsuma cepediana).
It was time to move on and see what is being done for conservation elsewhere on the island. After a week of ‘work’ at Kestrel Valley, I was invited to Vallée de Ferney to see their impressive plant and animal restoration project. With less than 2% of the indigenous forest ecosystems of Mauritius remaining, Ferney is one of the last nature reserves on the island – a biodiversity sanctuary where some of the rarest plant and animal species on the island are found.
The valley is another old hunting concession that has been turned over in large part to conservation. There is a stunningly beautiful lodge here and, with only four rooms, you have the feeling of having the place to yourself. Sitting by the pool that night, with our feet dangling in the water, we felt like we were in a lost valley, nestled between the mountains with fruit bats flying overhead as the stars twinkled in the night sky.
Chamarel Waterfall – few people realize that these precious ecosystems exist in Mauritius
A highway was scheduled to be constructed through Vallée de Ferney. Fortunately, before work could commence, surveys of the area led to the discovery of several plant species that were either new to science or were thought to have been extinct. Most exciting of all was the discovery of a handful of specimens of the critically endangered Bois Clou tree (Eugenia bojeri). Local protests saw the highway project scrapped, and in 2006, a 200-hectare nature reserve was established in partnership with Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF) to conserve and restore the indigenous forest in the valley.
The Ferney team have already achieved some remarkable progress. Invasive plants have been removed by hand from 10 hectares of the forest so far, and over 30,000 endemic trees have already been planted, with plans to plant an additional 4,000 indigenous trees in the valley by the end of the year. Another rare tree, Le Manglier Vert (also known as the “manglier rouge” – Sideroxylon puberulum), was also discovered to be growing in the valley and is now under protection. There is also a nursery with a stock of over 11,000 native plants, many of which are rare or critically endangered.
Plants are not the only focus at Ferney. 150 endemic birds have been released into the valley, including endangered echo parakeets, pink pigeons (Nesoenas mayeri – which have bred there successfully) and Mascarene paradise flycatchers (Terpsiphone bourbonnensis). There are also 14 or 15 pairs of Mauritian kestrels in the reserve.
Clockwise from the top left: an Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea – introduced from the Seychelles), a brightly coloured Mauritian fody, a Mauritius fruit bat (also known as a Mauritian flying fox) and a pink pigeon.
Of course, no trip to Mauritius would be complete without a trip to the beach. But even on a beach holiday, more and more travellers are now looking for a commitment to sustainable development and responsible tourism from their intended destination. Lagoon Attitude, a 182-roomed hotel that overlooks one of the largest lagoons in Mauritius on the northern side of the island, has stepped up to answer these needs. Without doing away with all the glamour of a tropical beachside resort, Lagoon Attitude has introduced a swathe of innovations to keep even the most eco-minded guest happy.
The crystal clear waters of Mauritius
In removing all single-use plastics from the resort, the hotel estimates they have eliminated 690,000 items of plastic litter per annum. The introduction of eco-workshops in upcycling ocean waste and a ‘blue net bag’ collection programme encourages guests to collect litter from the ocean. Switching the cleaning products used on their boats to eco-friendly products prevents further reef degradation, as does providing guests with 100% natural, non-polluting, and locally made sunscreen. By providing reusable water bottles, solar water heating and much more, the hotel has embraced the idea of green tourism. Plans are underway to roll out these changes in all eight other hotels in the Attitude group, making an enormous positive impact on the local environment.
Lagoon Attitude offers tourists the chance to enjoy paradise with a clear conscience
In addition, a Marine Discovery Centre within the hotel grounds houses a marine laboratory employing two full-time scientists who work with a consultant marine biologist. The lab is a base for marine research, coral reef monitoring, a coastal mangrove rehabilitation project. It regularly hosts school visits so that local children can learn about and appreciate how unique their island is.
The United Nations General Assembly declared the 2011 – 2020 the Decade of Biodiversity, aiming to promote the benefits of biodiversity, conservation, sustainability, and a vision of living in harmony with nature. As the decade draws to a close, it is initiatives like the eco-focused places I visited in Mauritius, that demonstrate that you can enjoy paradise without destroying it.
Blue Bay Marine Park in the southeast corner of Mauritius.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, SARAH KINGDOM
Travel writer, mountain guide and mother, Sarah Kingdom was born and brought up in Sydney, Australia. Coming to Africa at 21, she fell in love with the continent and stayed. Sarah guides on Kilimanjaro several times a year, and has lost count of how many times she has stood on the roof of Africa. She has climbed and guided throughout the Himalayas and now spends most of her time visiting remote places in Africa. When she is not travelling, she runs a cattle ranch in Zambia with her husband.
Counting elephants is not easy. It takes experience, skill and funding. The good news: elephants are thriving in Namibia. Gail Thomson, veteran journalist and conservationist, delves into the incredibly complex process of elephant censuses.
Based on interviews with Kenneth /Uiseb, Debbie Gibson and Colin Craig
The African savannah elephant was recently classified as Endangered[1] by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), citing a decline throughout Africa of 60% over the past 50 years. Yet in Namibia elephant numbers are increasing and their range is expanding; a testament to sound long-term conservation policies. But how do we know that they are increasing? How do you assess the status of an animal that ranges over thousands of square kilometres with any degree of confidence? I spoke to the experts to find out.
The small four-seater Cessna aircraft is full. The pilot is flying slowly in a dead straight line, maintaining an altitude of 300 feet above ground level. Behind him, two passengers stare intently out the windows; searching the ground between two black rods fixed to the plane’s wing struts. One passenger suddenly calls out: “left, elephant bulls, two,” followed shortly by the other: “right, elephant cows, ten in, five out.” The fourth person in the plane, sitting next to the pilot, decodes their cryptic messages and jots them down on a datasheet.
Once they have reached the end of this straight line (known as a transect) on their GPS, the pilot will turn the plane around, find the next parallel transect line and fly back along it – keeping flying speed and height as constant as possible. They keep it up until they have flown a planned number of transects for the morning, at which point they will return to base for a much-deserved rest. Every day for the next few weeks they will fly many transects each morning and afternoon until they have covered the target landscape sufficiently to estimate that population of elephants.
How do aerial surveys for elephants work?
There is a lot more to aerial surveys than flying around looking for big grey shapes in the savannah. Debbie Gibson, a key team member who plans and co-supervises aerial surveys in Namibia explains, “Before we even start flying, we use our knowledge of the area to identify and map strata that are sub-blocks of the whole area that we can cover in a day or two.” Strata in areas with higher elephant densities are covered with more tightly spaced transects (e.g. 2.5 km apart) than those with lower elephant densities (e.g. 5 km apart). This increases precision in areas with high densities without introducing bias into the overall count.
The strata (top map) are blocks of the overall area that can be covered in a reasonable length of time. Transects (bottom map) are then mapped onto the strata according to the expected elephant densities in each of them – the density of transects matches the expected density of elephants in each stratum. Source: (Gibson & Craig 2019a.)
“Once we get out to the survey area, we run several calibration flights over the airstrip to measure exactly how much of the ground we are seeing from the air,” Debbie continues, “and to ensure that the observers are searching similar widths of ground on either side of the plane using the rods fixed to the wing struts as guidelines.” Besides allowing for calculations of the ground covered, these rods set realistic limits for searching. Although observers can see all the way to the horizon from an airplane, they are highly unlikely to see all of the elephants in that huge, undefined area. Instead, they focus their search on the known area covered between the rods, where they are less likely to miss any distinctive grey shapes.
This small family herd of elephants are counted as “in” the sample area between the black rods.
If the sharp-eyed observers happen to see elephants outside of the defined search area, then they are recorded as “out” elephants – i.e. beyond the measured sample area. These sightings are mapped and their numbers reported, but only the “in” elephants are used in the statistical analyses to generate a population estimate. Surveys are also done in the dry season when the vegetation is less dense and visibility is high to reduce the chances of missing elephants.
Debbie further emphasises the importance of highly experienced observers – “Our regular observers, Ngoni Chitemamuswe and Fungai Muroki, have counted elephants and other wildlife on aerial surveys since the 1990s and have worked with us in Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Finding such experienced, reliable observers can be difficult for those doing aerial surveys for the first time in other countries.”
Biologists and conservation managers are rarely able to count all of the animals in their area of interest with 100% accuracy, so the more realistic option is to count the animals in a sample of the area and use statistical methods to estimate population size for the whole area. These estimates also give us an idea of how precise they are, which is expressed as our “confidence” in the estimate. In simplified terms, an estimate of 20,000 ± 4,000, for example, tells us that we are 95% confident that the actual number lies between 16,000 and 24,000.
Even with all the detailed planning, experience and analyses in the world, one aerial survey is not particularly useful on its own. Scientific wildlife monitoring of all kinds (by road, air, or even remotely using camera traps) only becomes useful when surveys are repeated many times using the same or very similar methods. While trying to get extremely precise numbers of elephants ranging over huge areas in northern Namibia is nearly impossible, repeat surveys can be used to show a trend over time. Trends are especially important in conservation because they tell us if the population is healthy and growing, or under severe threat and declining.
Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) has conducted aerial transect surveys since 1979. The earliest surveys, however, were not as refined as they are today and important variables (e.g. height above ground level) were not kept constant. Colin Craig has been involved in standardising aerial surveys in Namibia since 1994, having learned these survey techniques while working for Zimbabwe National Parks (the techniques were originally developed in East Africa). “Although our equipment has improved and we have refined our survey design over the years,” he points out, “the surveys done in Etosha and the northeastern parts using the same methods since 1994 are all comparable. The MEFT, therefore, has a fairly good handle on the trends in elephant numbers over time for each of the major subpopulations in the country.”
Aerial survey techniques have thus been developed and refined specifically for counting elephants in Africa’s savannahs over several decades by many different scientists (it is far more difficult to count their forest cousins, which are now Critically Endangered[2]). Colin compiled the best practices generated from scientists’ accumulated experience in 2012[3] for the IUCN’s Monitoring of the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) project. The Great Elephant Census (GEC)[4] in 2014-15 used these techniques for the first standardised survey of elephants completed in multiple African nations at the same time[5].
Mr Chitemamuswe and Mr Muroki, two highly experienced observers, searching for elephants during an aerial survey.
Namibia and the Great Elephant Census (GEC)
This is where the story of counting elephants in Namibia becomes strangely controversial. Thinking that Namibia’s official estimates are too good to be true, some commentators have guessed that the number of elephants in the country is much lower than official estimates (e.g. “probably closer to 5,600[6]” – less than a quarter of the official estimate). These guesses are often accompanied with the accusation that Namibia refused to take part in the GEC because they wanted to inflate the elephant numbers for nefarious reasons[7].
In reality, Namibia’s aerial surveys were done at the same time as the GEC in other countries (in both 2014 and 2015) and were coordinated with the GEC’s Botswana survey of 2014 and Zambian survey of 2015. Most of the surveys in Namibia and the 18 countries that were part of the GEC were done using the transect sample method described here (sometimes local conditions favour other methods). Not only were the data collected the same way, but all of this information was sent to the centralised African Elephant Database[8] managed by the IUCN’s African Elephant Specialist Group[9]. A team of independent experts from this Specialist Group reviewed all of the results (including Namibia’s) and collated them for the 2016 African Elephant Status Report (publicly available here,[10] pp. 169-174 covers Namibia).
Since there is a huge variation among African countries in terms of the resources they devote to monitoring and conserving wildlife, the Status Report includes an objective assessment of the quality of the data produced and the status of elephants in each country. Having trawled through the raw data and examined the methods used by aerial survey teams through the years, the expert review panel concluded that for southern Africa: “There is reliable information available for Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.” And further: “In Namibia the elephant population has increased, notably in the north-east Kavango and Zambezi Regions.” The actual estimate given for the Namibian population in this 2016 report was 22,754 ± 4,305.
Elephant distribution in Namibia from the 2016 African Elephant Status Report (Thouless et al. 2016). Dark green indicates known distribution, light green is the possible distribution, hatched areas are data input zones (i.e. areas from which data were collected, mainly through aerial surveys) and X marks individual sightings outside of their known range.
Considering the above, why was Namibia not included in the GEC’s results, which were published separately from the Status Report? Kenneth /Uiseb, Deputy Director of Wildlife, Monitoring and Research at the MEFT, shed some light on this matter. “Vulcan Inc. [established by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen] funded the GEC[11] aerial surveys in the other countries on condition that their raw data would be provided to the GEC team for analysis.” He explains further, “but we had our own budget within the MEFT for the 2014-15 surveys, and we trusted our usual team of surveyors to maintain high standards for collecting the data and doing the analyses.”
For many countries that do not have the resources to fund their own surveys, Vulcan’s support was gratefully received and the conditions were accepted. Yet as Mr /Uiseb indicates: “We had no need for external funding and consequently saw no reason to send our raw data to the GEC team for analyses that we could do ourselves. As a member of the IUCN, however, we willingly contributed our data to the African Elephant Database.” Interestingly, the Database itself received support from Vulcan at the time that the 2016 Status Report was published.
The latest elephant numbers and trends
The MEFT commissioned Colin and Debbie to do another aerial survey in the northeastern part of the country in 2019 to update the information on the elephant population in this crucial area. They also completed a survey in the northwest during 2016[12] to update the numbers for this relatively small but important elephant population. Elephant numbers for Etosha National Park are still based on a 2015 survey (published in the Status Report), but long-term trends reveal that this is the slowest-growing population in the country.
The 2019 survey produced two reports covering the western and eastern sections of the northeast, respectively. The western section[13] covers Khaudum National Park, nearly all of Nyae Nyae Conservancy and some parts of other neighbouring communal conservancies (hereafter referred to as the Khaudum survey). The eastern section[14] covers the entire Zambezi Region, including the Bwabwata, Mudumu and Nkasa Rupara National Parks, the State Forest and 15 communal conservancies (hereafter the Zambezi survey).
These maps were produced from the Khaudum (top) and Zambezi (bottom) surveys in the dry season of 2019. Darker green colours indicate higher elephant densities. Source: Craig & Gibson (2019a and 2019b)
The 2019 estimate for the Khaudum survey was 7,999 ± 3,028 and the estimate for Zambezi was 12,008 ± 2,598. The 2015 estimate from Etosha was 2,911 ± 697, while the 2016 northwest estimate was 1,173 ± 681. If we assume that elephant numbers have not changed in these latter populations between 2015 and 2019 (it is more likely that they have grown slightly), we can conservatively estimate the whole Namibian elephant population at 24,091 ± 4,107 in 2019. The claims that there are only 5,600 elephants in the whole country are easily debunked from the observers’ datasheets produced during these surveys. If one includes elephant sightings both “in” and “out” of the sample area, the observers actually saw 10,051 elephants in just a fraction of the total area for which the national estimate was generated.
Since the survey methods were standardised in 1994, the Khaudum survey has been completed six times, Etosha seven times and Zambezi nine times using the transect sample counts described here. Repeat surveys are the gold standard for wildlife monitoring and provide the all-important population trends, which tell us how successful (or not) local conservation efforts have been.
Counting elephants in the northwest is far more challenging than in the northeast, as there are relatively few elephants in a huge area and the mountainous terrain makes flying at a set level above the ground all but impossible. Consequently, counting methods have changed much more in this region than the others, as scientists are still refining their methods to balance cost-effectiveness with accuracy. The most recent count in 2016 employed three different methods that were allocated to different parts of the region based on the ruggedness of the terrain and knowledge of the elephant population. Even though this is the best count thus far for the northwest, it is still the least precise estimate of all the subpopulations. This population makes up only about 4% of Namibia’s elephants, however, so the lack of precision here has little influence on the national total.
Aerial surveys were completed in the four key elephant areas in 1995, 1998, 2004-05, 2011 and 2015-16, thus providing nationwide estimates for each of these points in time. When these estimates are plotted on a graph, we find that the overall trend for the Namibian elephant population during 1995-2016 is increasing. The slope of the trendline that runs through the estimates is then used to calculate an annual growth rate of 5.36%. This is biologically realistic, as elephant population growth rates can be as high as 7% under ideal conditions[15] that are rarely met by free-ranging elephants.
The elephant estimates for each of the nationwide surveys are represented by black dots with the confidence interval shown as lines extending above and below each dot. The black line gives the “best fit” for the data, from which we calculate the rate of increase over time. The red lines show the likely limits within which the true population lies at any time (Source: Draft Elephant Management Plan, MEFT 2020).
Under-counting elephants and transboundary movements
The national elephant estimate of about 24,000 was calculated only for those populations that have been surveyed repeatedly from the air and is therefore likely to be an underestimate. Mr /Uiseb clarifies: “Based on farmer reports[16] to us of conflict with elephants, we know that elephants are expanding their range in Namibia; they are moving into areas that have not been regularly surveyed. National population numbers also exclude elephants in private game reserves.”
Another concern that is frequently voiced is that elephants in the eastern Zambezi Region move freely between Botswana and Namibia. We therefore cannot be certain if the growth recorded for this large population is due to births or immigration, or an unknown combination of the two. Nonetheless, the aerial surveys are always done in the late dry season (September/October), which tells us that the part of the elephant population that usually spends the dry season in Namibia is increasing. Doing surveys in different seasons would only show short-term elephant movements and tell us little or nothing about long-term population health (reduced visibility in the wet season would also introduce counting errors).
Under high poaching pressure, one would expect the elephants to spend less time in Namibia and those that do come over would experience high levels of mortality, which would together result in decreasing numbers. In terms of Namibian elephant conservation efforts, which are especially focused on reducing poaching in this part of the country, the increasing elephant population is good news. This is confirmed by recent poaching statistics, which show that only 11 elephants were killed illegally in 2020[17], down from a high of 78 in 2014.
Elephant movements recorded using satellite collars on individuals captured in Namibia. Blue dots are GPS points taken in the wet season, red dots in the dry season; the arrows indicate key movement patterns. While there is occasional transboundary movement from Khaudum in the west, the main movements are from the Zambezi population into other KAZA countries (especially Botswana). Source: MEFT (2020) data from WWF-Namibia.
Since conservation policies differ from one country to another, it is important to find out how elephants are faring in each country that contributes to the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Trans-frontier Conservation Area. Nevertheless, a multi-country aerial survey of elephants in KAZA with several experienced survey teams flying simultaneously in their respective countries is high on every elephant conservationist’s wish list.
Conclusion
Elephants are highly valued within African cultures and economies, perform irreplaceable ecological functions, and are loved and revered around the world. Monitoring them to inform conservation action is therefore a weighty responsibility that the Namibian government takes extremely seriously. This is why they commission professional teams of dedicated people who plan meticulously, search carefully for thousands of hours from cramped little aircraft, and finally analyse and report their results with careful attention to detail. This work is an important contribution to our knowledge of elephants, and Namibia’s successful conservation efforts for this endangered species are an example for the rest of the world.
The forests of West and Central Africa are vibrant, impenetrable worlds of their own: breathing ecosystems bursting with life at every turn yet defined by a pervasive sense of mystery. Enfolded by towering trunks, creeping vines and lush ferns, the forests’ enigmatic creatures flutter through the canopies and wander ancient paths in an increasingly dangerous world at the mercy of human impact. Their largest residents, African forest elephants, are close to the brink of disappearing entirely.
As of March 2021, the forest elephant is officially listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The world’s smallest elephant is elusive and poorly understood while centuries of persecution have made them understandably mistrustful of humans. Our belated recognition of their species status and desperate plight has left scientists and conservationists scrabbling in a race against time to learn more about these grey forest ghosts.
Quick introduction
The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is one of two African elephant species, mainly confined to West and Central Africa’s forests from Cameroon to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Roughly 72% of the remaining populations are found in Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. Forest elephants are smaller than their savanna cousins (Loxodonta africana – also referred to as the African bush elephant) cousins. Forest bulls rarely exceed three metres at the shoulder and seldom weigh more than three tonnes. (This compared to a big savanna elephant which may reach close to four metres and weigh over six tonnes.)
Forest elephants consume an enormous variety of plants and are recognised as essential seed-dispersers in forest ecosystems. Scientists have labelled them “megagardeners” of the forests. Their movements seem to be guided by the ripening of fruits, which occurs at different times in different parts of the forest. They seek out minerals to supplement their diets and are attracted in large numbers to the salty waters of the forest baïs. As a result, much of what we know about forest elephant behaviour comes from observations at these large forest clearings.
For now, our understanding of forest elephants is primarily extrapolated from the extensive behavioural research of savanna elephants, though scientists are now more focused on learning about forest elephant peculiarities. By all accounts, their social structure is similar to that of savanna elephants, with the females living in small family herds, which display “fission-fusion” patterns of behaviour. (That is, they are not territorial and will form temporary associations with other herds or individuals for a while.)
The differences (a summary)
The ears of forest elephants are more oval than those of the savanna variety (hence the specific name cyclotis). The tusks are most distinctive, however, growing relatively straight and usually pointing straight down rather than out. The differences are subtle to the inexpert eye and manifest more as a sense of “something different” when images of the two species are viewed side-by-side. A quick way to distinguish between the two is to count the number of toenails: forest elephants have five on their front feet and four on the hind feet, while savanna elephants only have four on the front feet (occasionally five) and three on the back foot. This method is, of course, contingent on being able to see the feet.
One central behavioural and physiological difference is the breeding age and breeding rate. Savanna elephants usually start breeding at around 12 years old and, under optimum conditions, will have a calf roughly every 3-4 years. In contrast, forest elephants only have their first calves at an average age of 23 and have a birthing interval of up to six years. The estimated population doubling time is roughly triple that of savanna elephants. This intensely slow population growth rate means that it would take approximately a century to recover to their pre-2002 numbers (without continued human impact).
Left: Forest elephant, Right: Savanna elephant
Disappearing ghosts
This is a distressing thought, given our current understanding of how forest elephant numbers have declined over the last few decades. There are, at present, no reliable estimates of the overall number of forest elephants throughout their range. Researchers believe that their numbers have crashed by over 86% in the past 31 years. One study revealed that populations had declined by 62% in just nine years, between 2002 and 2011. Before then, centuries of massacres to supply the ivory trade would have resulted in the demise of untold numbers.
In recent years, much of the damage has been caused by a significant rise in poaching, often fuelled by civil unrest in certain countries. According to the IUCN, this remains the single greatest threat to forest elephants. Naturally, most of the poaching is motivated by the ivory trade, and there is a preference in specific markets for forest elephant ivory due to its higher density than that of savanna elephants. In addition, the bushmeat trade likely includes sizeable volumes of elephant meat.
Habitat loss has also been labelled a “silent killer” of forest elephants. The direct loss and fragmentation of their remaining habitats to agriculture, roads and fences are projected to increase in the coming years. Recent research also indicates that climate change may be having unforeseen effects on the physical health of the elephants.
Considering precipitous population declines and irreversible habitat loss, the IUCN’s first official assessment of African forest elephants concluded that they are now critically endangered. (The IUCN also announced the change in the savanna elephant’s conservation status from vulnerable to endangered.)
The third elephant
Given their precarious position, it seems almost bizarre that IUCN recognition of the forest elephant’s status as a separate species took so long. Especially given that genetic scientists had reached that conclusion as early as 2001. Not only are there two different species of African elephant, say recent studies, but they likely diverged between two and five million years ago (depending on the study). This would have occurred around the same time as Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and woolly mammoths began to diverge. Some researchers argue that the two elephant species may be further removed from each other than lions and tigers and that the split goes back as far as the divergence of humans and chimpanzees.
However, the idea that the forest elephant is not a subspecies of the savanna elephant was far from universally accepted or straightforward, not least because there are known hybrids. Tracing any animal’s evolutionary process through existing genetics is no small task. Hybridisation and gene flow between diverging species are common complications. (Classifications of the African golden wolf and domestic cats/wild cats have faced similar challenges). The matter was finally concluded through a series of genetic studies over the last decade and a decisive report on the limited extent of hybridisation.
The elephant in the room
So, what practical impact, if any, does the forest elephant’s new-found IUCN status have? Especially given that most ground-level research and conservation efforts were essentially treating this fact as a given already? The short-term answer is probably that little will change, apart from temporarily catapulting forest elephants onto media pages across the globe. It also begs the question of how many smaller, less iconic species we lose before they are even recognised as separate species.
However, far from being irrelevant, the forest elephant classification is one of the most high-profile examples of how science, international law, and politics all play a role in the conservation of a species. The classification should allow for more nuanced conservation policies, particularly at an international level, and a complete estimate of remaining population numbers is also likely to be forthcoming. Moreover, it changes how savanna elephant populations are measured since forest elephants were included in past counts and probably accounted for around a quarter of previous estimates.
Given that the IUCN informs CITES’ decision-making (which governs international trade in animals), a distinction between the two species should see increased restrictions to make it harder to launder illegal ivory on the legal market.
Hope for the future?
Most importantly, conservationists hope that this new classification will aid in efforts to protect African forest elephants – long overdue though it may be. It is a frightening thought that upon the official recognition of a new elephant species in 2021, it was immediately classified as critically endangered.
Fortunately, there are protected areas where forest elephant populations are stable, if not growing. Though our acknowledgement of their predicament has probably come too late to ever rectify the damage entirely, perhaps their new ‘Critically Endangered’ label will serve to galvanise the international community into action. These magnificent and unique elephants have paid the price for human greed and conflict, and their value has been undermined by the grindingly slow bureaucracy of international conservation politics. If nothing else, this should serve as a very steep learning curve for the future.
Last week: Our 2020 Photographer of the Year winners on safari in the Greater Kruger. A great time was had by all!
CEO NOTE: 09 April 2021
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
I spent much of last week with a talented and wacky group of photographers in the Greater Kruger area. Our 2020 Photographer of the Year WINNERS and their plus-ones finally got to enjoy the Covid-delayed safari prize – with my soulmate and me along for the ride. Watching them work their cameras was an education in itself, and the fantastic wildlife encounters and fun-filled moments made for an epic safari :-). More later, when we publish a portfolio of their awesome images.
Our video below is really worth watching – is this plan to mine the Okavango region just another hyped-up ‘pump-and-dump’ investor SCAM? Time will tell. Another issue to watch is the threat to open-cast mine the scenically stunning and sensitive Selati Game Reserve. Read this and weep.
Keep the passion
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
From our Editor-in-Chief
The biological travesty that is the Lion King (yes, I know it’s a good story) has created a world of pain for safari guides. Before actual animal behaviour can be discussed, the hapless guide must dissuade his guests of notions like East African dwelling suricates and birds that clean crocodile’s teeth. Let’s not start on the implications of incest that came with Nala and Simba’s nuptials. Possibly the most bizarre addition to the film was Rafiki – a mandrill who had apparently defied science in innumerable ways by coming out of the forests of Gabon to preside over the spiritual well-being of an East African lion pride and its subjects. In our first story below, we set the record straight regarding the fascinating mandrill – a primate who has achieved rudimentary tool use but not discernable contact with the spirit world.
The second story below is not quite so cheerful. It is an op-ed on the Botswanan government’s recent decision to grant 287 licenses to hunt elephants. Part of the reasoning is to mitigate human-elephant conflict, which does not seem logical. We’d be interested to know what you think.
Finally, as the week draws to a close, your escape into the wilderness (albeit digitally) in the 13th week of our Photographer of the Year. Sit back, turn on some tunes and enjoy a brief respite from work – also let it inspire your next trip to the wild! There are only two months left to win that 10 000 USD and luxury safari to Botswana.
Story 1 MAKEUP MONKEY
The mandrill is a colourful, tool-using, socially complex monkey that lives in groups called hordes in the forests of western Central Africa
Story 2 ELEPHANT HUNTING
The Botswanan government has granted 287 licenses for elephant hunting – after Covid disrupted the previous season
Story 3 BEST PHOTOS
Week thirteen of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
One relatively inauspicious day in May 2005, the alpha male mandrill at the “Monkey Islands” exhibit in the Chester Zoo in England stunned the researchers who had been filming his movements for a behavioural study. JC, a 12-year-old Czech-native (or at least, born at Usti Zoo in the Czech Republic), was observed breaking twigs, bark, sticks and wood chips and then using the splinters to clean his toenails. Unbeknownst to him, his primate pedicure was to make headlines the world over: JC had just demonstrated the necessary cognitive ability to create and manipulate a tool for a specific purpose.
Thus, the mandrill joined the elite ranks of non-human primates known to use tools alongside chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and a couple of other monkey species. JC’s pursuit of good hygiene proved that the world’s largest monkey species is more than just a pretty face (in a somewhat flamboyant outfit).
A male displaying his colourful snout
Introduction
The mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) is a large, almost tailless monkey confined to the tropical rainforests of southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of the Congo. Their morphology is superficially similar to that of baboons, so both mandrill and drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus) were once considered to be part of the Papio genus. They have since been reclassified as the only two species belonging to the Mandrillus genus, and researchers have confirmed that they are more closely related to the much smaller mangabey species.
Chacma baboons and mandrills are similar in size – the chacma baboon is fractionally taller and longer, but mandrills are heavier, more compact, and muscular. Mandrills display considerable sexual dimorphism, with the males being almost triple the mass of the females. The ferocious-looking males weigh an average of 32.3kg, with some massive individuals recorded at over 54kg. Like baboons, the mature males sport enormous canines of around 6cm (longer than those of a leopard). These they use to intimidate aspiring rivals and deter potential predators.
Mandrills are omnivorous and feed on over a hundred different plant species, with a particular preference for fruits where available. They also consume various invertebrates, eggs, birds, and reptiles and are known to hunt small antelope and rodents. They spend most of their days foraging on the ground but are equally comfortable in forest canopies, leaping from tree to tree with an agility that defies their considerable bulk.
A female with curious youngster
Multicoloured monkeys
Not only are the males larger than the females, but they are also more lavishly adorned in a spectrum of vivid colours. A strip of crimson runs down the middle of their elongated muzzles and extends over their lips, flanked by a pair of electric blue ridges. A bright yellow goatee spreads down across their chests and up over their shoulders as they mature, blending with tufts of white into an impressive mane. One would think that this alone would be sufficiently eye-catching, but both ends of the male mandrill are equally flashy. Their rainbow rumps are coloured red, pink, blue and purple in what has to be one of the least subtle examples of sexual signalling in the animal kingdom.
Such gaudy displays of colour, while prevalent in many bird species, are uncommon in mammals. Primates are one exception to this rule, and many different monkey species have colourful genitals. However, the mandrills’ colouration is so over-the-top that even Charles Darwin noted that “no other member in the whole class of mammals is coloured in so extraordinary a manner.”
A male mandrill’s ensemble is directly related to his testosterone levels and dominance within a strict social hierarchy. If a male successfully challenges an alpha, his testosterone levels will rise, and the red colours will become more vibrant. His genitals will increase in size, and a gland on the sternum will secrete an odour designed to tempt females. These dominate males are known as “fatted” males. Conversely, a fall from grace will mean the opposite for an unfortunate male as he gradually becomes “nonfatted” once again.
Colourful on both ends
Scintillating sociability
One theory behind the males’ excessive colouration is that it evolved to compensate for exceptionally high competition between males – essentially a method of conflict avoidance in the gloomy rainforest habitat. A group of mandrills is referred to as a ‘horde’ – a large and stable troop consisting of females, offspring, and young males. Research from Lopé National Park in Gabon calculated an average horde size of 620 individuals, with some hordes numbering up to 845 mandrills. One group of researchers counted 1,300 mandrills in one group, making it the single largest non-human primate aggregation ever recorded.
Mandrills are usually found in challenging habitats for bipedal researchers. This, combined with their natural shyness, has made it difficult for scientists to observe mandrill behaviour in the wild consistently. As a result, surprisingly little is known about their social structure. Most monkey troops demonstrate a strict social hierarchy, even between females. Fascinatingly, mandrill experts have yet to discern a consistent pattern of leadership, though it is clear that they have dynamic social networks and that certain females are central to the cohesion of the horde.
The females remain in their natal groups throughout their lives, while the males disperse once they reach maturity at around six years of age. Rather than forming bachelor groups, the males tend to live somewhat solitary lives outside of the breeding season. From June to October, when the females are in oestrus, the males join the hordes and follow their own strict, linear hierarchy. DNA analysis of one horde indicated that the alpha males of hordes had sired 80-100% of the offspring over five years. Disputes between males are usually resolved through posturing and threat displays, but the rare fights between equally matched males are brutal and, occasionally, fatal.
As with other monkey species, grooming plays a vital role in reinforcing the bonds between horde members and winning favours from the alpha males. Both males and females are highly vocal, expressing themselves through various sounds from mighty roars to expressive grunts and screams. Naturally, the bright colouration also serves to emphasise body language cues and facial expressions. The famed “silent bared-teeth face” is just one of their many varied communication methods, with most researchers agreeing that despite appearances, this is not an aggressive body language cue.
Communication with ‘silent bared teeth’
Protected primates?
In the wild, leopards are the mandrill’s main predator, though the likelihood of predation decreases as individuals mature. A large male mandrill is more than a match for most leopards, and males exposed to models of leopards were observed to pace back and forth, baring their impressive teeth in a threat display. Birds of prey, notably crowned eagles, and snakes also pose a threat to incautious youngsters. Interestingly, when presented with a potential threat, these otherwise noisy primates seem to follow a silent cue and noiselessly melt away into the forest canopy.
Despite limited natural predators, the mandrills are listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. While there are no current population estimates available, researchers believed that their numbers might have decreased by more than 30% over the past 24 years. This is partly due to wide-scale habitat destruction across most of their natural range but has been compounded by the more immediate threat of subsistence hunting. Mandrills, particularly large males, are a prime target in the bushmeat trade. They are a long-lived species (with a lifespan of over 30 years in captivity) and are slow to mature, so sustained hunting pressure has had a pronounced effect on their populations.
For the same reasons, the mandrill’s close cousin, the drill, is under even more pressure, and they are now one of the most threatened of all mainland Africa’s primate species. There are believed to be fewer than 4,000 left, scattered in fragmented populations in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea. Even though the mandrills and drills are listed under Appendix I of CITES and protected by national legislation across their range, these spectacular monkeys face an uncertain future.
Like gorillas, the mandrill’s best hope of survival lies in their tourism value. Fortunately, the largest populations of mandrills are still flourishing in Gabon’s protected forests. At present, there is only one habituated horde of wild mandrills in southern Gabon. There are plans in place to collar and habituate more hordes as part of a larger move towards improving ecotourism opportunities in Gabon. These last remaining sanctuaries offer eager tourists the best opportunities to meet with one of Africa’s most intelligent, colourful, and fascinating monkeys.
Conclusion
We still have much to learn about mandrills, and unravelling the complexities of their social lives promises to be a fascinating process. As intelligent primates living in enormous social groups, their individual relationships, kin bonds, and hierarchies must be dynamic and complicated. As JC and his clean(ish) toenails demonstrated, mandrills still have the capacity to surprise us and probably will for a long time to come.
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
What’s in a name? Whenever we refer to ‘painted wolf’ in our stories for what many refer to as ‘wild dog’, we come under heavy artillery fire from a few members of our tribe – even experienced safari-goers and bushveld citizens. Of course, strictly speaking, Lycaon pictus is neither dog nor wolf. Our choice of ‘painted wolf’ is because the name itself is beautiful and conjures up a positive image – whereas for many people, ‘wild dog’ symbolises feral domestic dogs that rummage through city garbage dumps. Read more about this fascinating topic here.
However you refer to these totally fascinating creatures is up to you – so long as you respect them for what they are – apex predators.
Keep the passion
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
From our Editor-in-Chief
In our first story below, some science (albeit from a small sample) shows that relocating cats that come into conflict with human beings is not particularly successful. That said, you’ll be able to find studies that show relocations can be successful. The results are not necessarily conflicting but show how important it is to understand the myriad, nuanced factors that apply to each situation.
Our second story below delves into the fascinating lives of Africa’s 11 species most closely related to man’s best friend. Interestingly, no African canid has ever been domesticated. No doubt that there are some cretinous individuals who’d love to have a fennec fox peeping out of their handbags or a painted wolf jogging with them on the beach. Let’s all make sure that Africa’s wild canids remain just that – wild, forever.
This week’s gallery showcasing the 12th week of our Photographer of the Year is a delight for the senses. It’s a perfect way for those who dream of wild places to escape their urban domesticity for a little while. One of the ways to take yourself into the wilderness is to enter – you could win 10 000 USD and a six-day safari to Khwai in Botswana. Here’s how to take part.
Story 1 ‘PROBLEM’ LIONS
Does translocating lions save them from human persecution? New research reveals the answer
Story 2 11 DOGS
The complete list of African canids – from excitable African painted wolves and shrewd jackals to tiny desert foxes
Story 3 BEST PHOTOS
Week twelve of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
Botswana has granted permission for 287 elephants to be hunted as it gears up for its first trophy elephant hunting season since the ban was controversially lifted two years ago.
With Covid-19 restrictions disrupting last year’s hunting season, 187 existing elephant licences have been tagged onto this year’s 100 licences. The licences were auctioned for up to US$43,000 each.
A variety of other species are also allowed to be shot between April and September, including leopard.
In the face of a global outcry, president Mokgweetsi Masisi reopened trophy hunting in 2019 after former Botswanan president, Ian Khama, banned it in 2014 to conserve the country’s wildlife. Masisi’s government cites that the sport provides a solution to growing human-elephant conflict and provides income for local communities.
“Human-driven habitat loss is fast becoming the ‘silent killer’, almost as big a threat as poaching is to elephants,” says Adrienne West of Political Animal Lobby (PAL). “We are losing Africa’s elephants at a rapid rate, and it is outrageous that one of their most important range states would choose to put their lives up for sale.”
Conservationists and ecological experts dispute hunting as an effective measure against human-wildlife conflict.
“Shooting these elephants will do nothing to reduce the incidence of crop-raiding in farming areas, as most of the killing would take place in trophy hunting blocks that are some distance away,” says Dr Keith Lindsay of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants.
“In fact, shooting elephants could increase tensions between farmers and elephants – they can communicate over many kilometres, and when elephants are killed in one area, the alarm and disturbance would be felt some distance away.”
Elephants are a keystone species, and scientists say there is no ecological reason to reduce their numbers by killing them as they play an important role in ecosystem health and diversity.
Over the past decade, Africa has lost more than 30% of its elephants to ongoing ivory poaching, which is having devasting effects on populations across the continent.
Figures on the CITES international trade database reveal that Botswana’s trophy hunting ban of seven years saved more than 2,000 elephants and 140 leopards from being shot.
Botswana holds the world’s largest population of approximately 130 000 elephants, which share transboundary migrations routes with neighbouring countries, including Namibia and Zimbabwe. During the hunting ban, reports of increased numbers in Botswana suggested that migrating elephants sought refuge in the safety of the then hunt-free country.
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
Over four years, Kalahari Research and Conservation has monitored the fates of 13 lions known to have killed livestock in rural Botswana. The lions were translocated into protected areas by the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) as part of a management strategy to reduce human-lion conflict. A short communication recently published in the African Journal of Wildlife Research analyses the success of this approach: of the 13 lions, ten died less than a year after release. This research adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests translocating lions does not often reduce conflict and the relocation of “problem” animals is not always a practical solution.
Kgalagadi lion
Human-wildlife conflict is undeniably one of the greatest threats facing the remaining wildlife across the planet, particularly in Africa. It is an intensely complicated issue, and conservationists and philanthropic organisations alike are eternally searching for ways to mitigate the collision between potentially dangerous animals and the people who live on the fringes of protected areas. One such potential solution is the relocation of the escaped wild animal to a place where it is less likely to come into contact with people or livestock. Unfortunately, while this may seem an ideal answer, such efforts seem to have limited success.
DWNP captured 13 lions from areas around the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Both parks are surrounded by Wildlife Management Areas and community lands used for livestock grazing. Before their release into new areas (120km or more from the original point of capture), researchers fitted the lions with satellite telemetry collars to monitor their movements.
Of the 13 lions, ten had died an average of 275 days after release. Six of these died outside of the protected areas, five killed by farmers. The cause of death of the other five was not established. The collars initially provided four locations per day, but scientists increased this to 13 in situations where the lion showed signs of returning to livestock areas. Six of the translocated lions continued to kill livestock and were recaptured and released back into the protected areas. One lion required a third translocation.
Study area and movement of 13 lions post translocation in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The DOTS represent point of release. The DIAMONDS represent the last location. In the key, letters after numbers indicate multiple translocations of the same animal.Study area and movement of 4 lions post translocation in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
A more thorough analysis of the lions’ movements and activities after their release suggests that targeting groups of adult females could potentially yield higher success rates for translocating lions. However, this could prove problematic in practice and relocating only some pride members may reduce the chances of survival for both the translocated lionesses and those that remain behind. Furthermore, the soft release of predators (that is, the translocated animals are kept in an enclosure for a period of adjustment before release) could also increase the chances of success.
The researchers conclude that their results are in line with similar studies involving the relocation of “problem” animals such as lions, leopards, and cheetahs, mainly where the animals concerned are repeat livestock raiders. These translocations are associated with a high mortality rate and also come with high financial costs. Previous studies involving the relocation of cheetahs indicate a cost of between $5,000 and $7,330 per cheetah translocation. Though the cost was not analysed in this instance, it is likely to be significantly higher for lion translocation, given the substantial size difference between the two cats.
In addition to high mortalities and costs, there is a shortage of suitable areas for translocating lions. Ideally, lions should be translocated to areas with sufficient prey, low lion densities and low poaching levels. Yet, most of the protected areas within Southern Africa have already reached their carrying capacity (itself a testament to the success of conservation efforts in these areas). In addition, translocating lions ideally requires adequate information about the lion demographics within the intended release site, which are not always available to researchers and managing bodies. The effects on the established territories and demographics of the resident lions and the potential spread of the disease are also potential concerns.
Based on these results, the authors argue that translocation/relocation is not an effective solution for addressing human-wildlife conflict. Instead, they suggest that limited available resources should be used to improve livestock husbandry, strengthen livestock kraals, and promote livelihoods beyond farming. Seizing a problem animal and putting it somewhere else may seem convenient and immediate, but overwhelming evidence indicates that it is simply not a practical approach.
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
If social media is an accurate measure of how we communicate as a species, then humankind now ranks virtue-signalling above coalface reality, and we trash distinguished track-records and careers overnight if enough cloistered people feel offended.
In the African conservation context, what does this mean for Africa’s ground zero conservation workers, who don’t have the time or inclination to participate in this race to algorithmic dominance? And what about the Internet-bereft rural people who live amongst Africa’s wild animals and carry the cost of doing so – are they considered by the machine to be irrelevant? Just asking
Keep the passion
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
From our Editor-in-Chief
For many people, bats are not creatures that conjure emotions of warmth, joy or affection. Let’s face it, few of us have willingly cuddled a bat or expressed the desire to do so. Those that have touched one have normally done so while flapping and screaming in an undignified manner while the terrified little chiropterid tried to untangle itself from hair, mosquito net or shirt. Well, cast those irrational fears aside as you read our first story below – a story of the world’s largest mammal migration in the gorgeous Kasanka National Park of Zambia.
Fairies, strictly speaking, are not of African origin. Yes, there are many other sprite-like or magical semi-humans littering African folklore – but no fairies. So it was always unlikely that a European hobgoblin would ultimately be found responsible for the strange, vegetation-free circles that litter parts of the Namib and Kalahari deserts. Well, science has come to the rescue – not fairies but Euphorbias. Our second story below is a fascinating explanation of the strange circles.
Finally, the 11th week of Our Photographer of the Year which carries a prize of 10 000 USD and a six-day safari to Khwai in Botswana. This week’s edition has everything from tiny, sparkling spiders to endless African landscapes – best enjoyed on a large screen with inspiring music in the background. Here’s how to enter.
Story 1 LARGEST
The Kasanka bat migration in Zambia is the largest mammal migration on Planet Earth. It’s a spectacular must-see for nature lovers.
Story 2 FAIRIES?
Fairy circles – Euphorbia toxins are responsible for the bizarre fairy circles in Namibia that have baffled and fascinated scientists – new research
Story 3 BEST PHOTOS
Week eleven of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
It’s the end of November, and there are at least 8 million straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) filling the skies at eye level as we perch in our tree-top hide. The annual Kasanka bat migration – the planet’s largest mammal migration – has arrived. It is one of the natural world’s best-kept secrets, and for years this startling sight remained virtually unseen by African travel enthusiasts. It is an animal carnival to astound the senses.
At 3:45am I emerged from my room, rubbing sleep from my eyes, coming face to face with a tiny lesser bushbaby, who stared at me, unblinking with surprise, gripping the spindly branch of a small tree overhanging the deck in front of our room. I’m not sure who was more startled. The bushbaby was simply doing what bushbabies do in the early hours of the morning. I, on the other hand, instead of being tucked up in bed, was off to see millions of fruit bats returning to roost after a night of foraging.
Kasanka is 39 000ha – one of Zambia’s smaller national parks.
Between October and December each year, the bats descend into a tiny patch of evergreen swamp forest inside Kasanka National Park, northern Zambia. The African straw-coloured fruit bat is the second-largest fruit bat on the continent, can have a wingspan up to a metre, and the adults weigh up to 350g. They come to feast on the pod mahogany, musuku, mufinsa, milkwood1 and other wild fruit that appears with the first rains. Scientists are not entirely sure where these bats spend the rest of the year, though they do know that for some of them, it is somewhere deep in the rainforests of the Congo. The bats in Kasanka are at all different stages of the breeding cycle, with some mating, some in various stages of pregnancy, and some with young. It’s known from observation of individual colonies around Africa that these bats are seasonal and synchronise their breeding within the colony, so the diversity seen in Kasanka implies that they are coming from various areas.
Straw-coloured fruit bats resting in the midday heat.
Eidolon helvum are predominantly recorded around the edges of equatorial rainforests, but no-one knows as yet if large colonies live deep inside the rainforest. The ecological implications of 3,500 tons of flying mammals arriving over a three month period are profound. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, who visited in 2019, say they are yet to fully explain the sheer scale of the Kasanka bat migration. Researchers indicate that the number of bats is far greater than the sum of individuals in all known colonies within several thousand kilometres. So it would seem that Kasanka’s special significance to straw-coloured fruit bats is a question that science is not yet able to answer. Hopefully, ongoing satellite tracking research will yield further information on both their migration routes and the species as a whole. While this incredible spectacle is not typically at the top of the traditional safari traveller’s bucket list’, it is a unique experience.
We arrived at Kasanka the previous evening and almost immediately headed to one of the park’s bat hides. We held tightly to the 13m of wooden handrails that wrapped around the trunk supporting the wooden viewing platform. Thirteen metres is not really that high, but it certainly gave a spectacular perspective of the area. Three white-backed vultures perched in a nearby tree. Catching sight of them, my husband, who is not fond of heights, commented that they looked like they were waiting (in vain) for us to plunge to our deaths! A beer for him and a G&T for me restored our equilibrium. We waited and watched as the sun sank.
As the sky turned orange and lightning streaked the sky in the far distance, in a hectare of forest below, the tree silhouettes began to tremble – the bats hanging from their branches started to wake. The branches were so tightly packed with bats that some of them, unable to grasp the branches, were left clinging to their neighbours.
A sunset winged carnival.
As dusk fell, they fluttered off in search of wild fruits, their large, leathery wings filling the air with loud rustling and heavy flapping. As the flock took to the sky, the drooping branches of the bat forest lifted back into place. The bolder bats took to the air first, followed in fits and starts by the rest of the colony. Some headed out, then, appearing to change their minds, turned back, only to try again a few minutes later. The sky was soon filled with chatter as the bats darted in and out of the trees, in a cloud-like mass resembling a giant swarm of overgrown bees.
We waited in our treetop eyrie until it was almost too dark to see the ladder down. By then, the sky was empty; the bats had vanished. The sound of thunder drew closer as we felt our way back down the ladder and, by the light of torches, made our way back to the vehicle. Fat drops of rain began to fall as we drove back to camp.
When morning came, it was only me, the bush baby and my guide Ruston, who seemed to be awake. My husband snored contentedly from under his bed covers. After hot tea and biscuits, I climbed onto the back of the vehicle, wrapped myself snugly in a blanket, and we set off for the tree hide in the bat forest. It was still dark as we walked through the forest with torches in hand, the bats fluttering and feasting in the waterberries above our heads – last-minute snacks before sunrise. As day broke, the bats returned to roost. It was like watching a film of the previous night’s action in reverse but even more breathtaking. Vivid splashes of scarlet, tangerine and gold lit the sky, silhouetting the bats like prehistoric pterodactyls as they flocked, in droves, back to the colony.
They tumbled into the trees pushing, shoving and clambering noisily over one other to find a space to sleep during the day. The area became so overcrowded that I could hear the occasional snap of a branch and then squeaks as a few fruit-bloated Eidolon helvum plummeted, ungracefully, to the ground. Finally, one by one, they settled, and silence descended over the bat forest again. We headed back to camp for breakfast.
Returning to roost after a night out foraging for fruit.
Researchers have found that most of the females in the colony are either pregnant or nursing pups during their migration to Kasanka. The abundant fruit helps support the increased energy they require. They gorge themselves on seasonal fruit, one study finding that they eat up to twice their body weight in a night. By the time they depart Kasanka, the bats will have consumed over a billion fruits! All this provides them with the reserves needed for their long migrations across Africa. No wonder the branches strain and crack under their combined weight, and why, at the end of the bat season, the forest they leave behind looks rather dilapidated.
Even now, scientists don’t really know exactly where the participants in the Kasanka bat migration come from and where they go. At roughly 39 000ha, Kasanka is one of Zambia’s smallest national parks, yet it is home to the world’s largest mammal migration. A small park with a massive treasure.
Wasa Lodge, managed by the not-for-profit Kasanka Trust.
FUN FRUIT BAT FACTS
– The Kasanka bat migration plays a leading role in the regeneration of forests. The bats’ role as pollinators and seed dispersers is significant, and their ability to travel great distances helps them maintain genetic diversity and connect plant populations across fragmented landscapes.
– According to GPS tagging studies by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany, straw-coloured fruit bats have the furthest migration routes of all mammals, including other bats, in Africa, travelling thousands of kilometres annually – a distance unheard of in any other fruit bat species.
– Each individual of this species has its own unique scent and call. This allows mothers to find their young in large colonies of millions
– Research by the Kasanka Trust has found that the bats fly on average 50 km from their roost every night to feed in the surrounding forests, covering an area of more than 500,000 hectares!
WHEN TO GO
The bats start arriving in Zambia’s Kasanka National Park towards the end of October. Their numbers steadily increase over the next few weeks. Mid-October to mid-December is the best time for the bats. By the end of December / beginning of January, the forest is bat free.
It’s not just the bats you will see at this time of the year. The rains bring green grass, bright flowers and plenty of migratory birds. Although Kasanka isn’t a place for the ‘Big Five’, you are almost guaranteed to see the rare and special sitatunga.
WHERE TO STAY
Wasa Lodge, located on the shores of a lovely lake, is the closest lodge accommodation for the Kasanka bat migration. There is also a seasonal fly camp, Kapabi, which is well situated. Kasanka also has several self-catering campsites.
Want to see the Kasanka bat migration? To find lodges, search for our ready-made packages or get in touch with our travel team to arrange your safari, scroll down to after this story.
Across the deserts of Namibia and the Northern Cape in South Africa, certain areas are dotted with barren sand patches where nothing seems to grow. These peculiar ‘fairy circles’ have captured the imaginations of scientists and tourists with everything, from termites to UFOs, being mooted as potential causes. A new study from the University of Pretoria, South Africa and ITMO University in Russia indicates that dead Euphorbia plants are the culprits for the famous circles. Or, more accurately, the long-term effects of these toxic succulents on soil properties and chemistry.
Fairy circle marked by Theron (a) and remains of E. damarana (b) on Giribes Plain
The multidisciplinary study began six years ago with researchers investigating the impact of Euphorbia species on the circles’ soil properties. They examined the effects on soil chemistry, germination inhibition and antimicrobial activity on rhizosphere bacteria (which many plants need to ‘fix’ nitrogen in a usable form). The researchers then compared the spatial patterns of the fairy circles with the current growth patterns of Euphorbia species, including E. damarana, E. gummifera and even E. gregaria. All of these roundish succulents contain a highly poisonous, latex-like sap.
The scientists propose that the Euphorbia species colonised the sandy soils when climatic conditions were more favourable. Research indicates that Namibia has experienced periods of significant temperature increase over the past few centuries. In the last three decades, temperatures have increased roughly three times more than the global mean. These high temperatures and increasingly arid conditions would have seen the Euphorbias competing for access to water and nutrients, particularly in soils with a low water-holding capacity. As a result, many would have died.
E. damarana and FCs in the background and the dead plant remains in the front on the Giribes Plain
However, the researchers theorise that while the plants may have died off, their legacies remained deep within the soils. As the dead plants decomposed, the sticky, toxic latex would have soaked into the soils and changed its chemical properties, making it more hydrophobic (repelling water). Other compounds capable of inhibiting plant growth and microbial activity would have entered the soil, trapped around soil particles as the latex solidified. This is an example of allelopathy – where organisms produce biochemicals that inhibit the growth of other organisms.
Their theory was supported by soil analysis which revealed that soil from the fairy circles and soil taken from beneath decomposing Euphorbia plants had very similar phytochemistry (chemicals produced by plants.)
The idea that dead Euphorbias may be behind the formation of the ‘fairy circles’ has been around since the 1970s, when botanists observed the co-occurrence of the plants and fairy circles. Researchers marked dead and decaying E. damarana plants in 1978, and these circles were not covered by grasses when rechecked in 2016. By integrating rainfall, altitude and landcover into a sophisticated suitability model, the researchers in this study were also able to predict where fairy circles would be expected to occur. This model largely overlapped with the distribution of the three Euphorbia species and also resulted in the discovery of more fairy circles in the South African section of the Kalahari Desert.
Site suitability prediction map for fairy circle distribution
However, this ‘fairy circle’ explanation has proved contentious, and there are still several scientific theories as to their origins. Sand termites (Psammotermes allocerus) were previously shown to be present in 100% of newly formed fairy circles, leading researchers to theorise that they were responsible. A recent research paper proposed that the circles are natural vegetation patterns that arose due to competition between different grass species.
For a hypothesis on the cause and maintenance of one of nature’s most mysterious phenomena to be accepted, it would have to explain all of the most important properties of the ‘fairy circles’ themselves. These include the mostly circular shape, their unusually high densities, their size and their changing diameter at different latitudes. The new study proposes an explanation of all of these characteristics, particularly given the almost circular shapes of the Euphorbia species.
If this hypothesis is correct, it also means that there is an astounding historical ‘footprint’ of hundreds of thousands of succulent Euphorbias, stretching from Angola in the north to South Africa in the south. It also explains the life-expectancy of the ‘fairy circles’ themselves. As rainfall gradually washes away the hardened latex from the soil particles, the toxins break down and allow for the natural plant succession process.
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
In this instance, I will leave most of the talking to my phenomenally capable colleague James. Just this: today some 20,075 sunrises ago, my mother gave birth to me. I don’t celebrate human dates, but I do worship the ground that my mom walks on. Peace out.
Keep the passion
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
From our Editor-in-Chief
I would suggest that before you delve into the meat of our main stories, you pour a cup of tea/ coffee/ malt whisky, don a pair of headphones and push play on our video of the week (scroll down). It’s an inspirational tribute to Namibia by some tremendously talented Namibians and will kindle your wanderlust for wilderness.
Our first story below is not quite as inspirational as the video. The Okavango has lost all its rhino in the past, and it looks like the ignominy of another local extinction is on the cards if the government doesn’t acknowledge the upsurge in poaching.
For our second story below, you might want to pour your second tea/ coffee/ malt whisky before marvelling at the magic of Laikipia – a spectacularly beautiful collection of conservancies in central Kenya. It must be one of the most progressive attempts to incorporate the needs of human beings and wildlife in one protected space; a mosaic of commercial farms, rangelands and wildlife conservancies with huge biodiversity and endless choices for travellers of every bent.
In our third story below, some extremely dedicated souls from Elephants Alive have developed a coding system for identifying individual elephants based on their ages, tusks and ear features. The system has some hugely important applications for elephant monitoring and management.
Finally, the tenth week of Our Photographer of the Year carries a prize of 10 000 USD and a six-day safari to Khwai in Botswana. It’s an eclectic collection of Africa’s exuberant life from desert to ocean. Here’s how to enter. If you’ve captured an image that makes you smile or ponder, send it in – it might just do the same for everyone else!
Story 1 SHADES OF GREY
Rhino poaching in Botswana: Is political pride hurting efforts to stop rhino poaching in Botswana? Opinion post by Melissa Reitz
Story 2 SAFARI MECA
Laikipia in Kenya – a land of staggering beauty & biodiversity – a mosaic of wildlife conservancies, ranchlands & commercial farms
Story 3 JUMBO ID
Elephant identification is a difficult task – but a new system based on ear patterns is making the task easier – research by Elephants Alive
Story 4 BEST PHOTOS
Week ten of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
To the novice eye, most wild animals of the same species look mostly identical to each other unless marred by a prominent scar or perhaps sporting a different colour variation. However, closer observation reveals that each individual, whether leopard, lion, or elephant, possesses a set of identifying characteristics as unique as human fingerprints. For researchers monitoring these animals, being able to identify individuals is extremely useful for estimating populations and understanding demographics. However, the process is often time-consuming, labour intensive and subject to human bias. For 25 years, the team at Elephants Alive, spearheaded and led by Dr Michelle Henley (last author), have developed their own solution for elephant identification: a System of Elephant Ear-pattern Knowledge (SEEK).
Despite their size, monitoring elephants to estimate populations and demographics comes with its own set of complications. Traditional capture-mark-recapture techniques are expensive, dangerous, and impractical, large-scale aerial surveys are prohibitively expensive, and dung counts vary depending on vegetation type. This has necessitated the use of alternative techniques such as mark-resighting studies which in turn generally rely on photo-identification. The use of photographic records depends mostly on manual matching techniques and human memory, and while automated software models are in use, they still require further development.
The Elephants Alive team monitor elephants across the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park and have been conducting field research since 1996. The team began putting together their own simplified coding system at the start of the period which initially entailed creating detailed drawings of the ear features of individual elephants. The study was officially registered with South African National Parks (SANParks) in 2003 and has continued until the present day.
In 2012, the first comprehensive coding system was developed. The animal was grouped first according to sex and age and then incorporated into a feature and element system. The method was refined over time, to simplify the system and exclude observer bias for more complex shapes.
Today, each elephant assigned to the database has been given a unique code that corresponds to specific aspects of that individual. The first letter of the code will be either B (bull) or C (cow) and the following two numbers place the individual in an age bracket. Following that, the presence or absence of tusks is recorded. From there, features on the left ear have been assigned numbers depending on the position on the ear itself – with the most prominent tear listed first, followed by the most prominent hole, the second most prominent tear and the second most prominent hole (in this exact order). The right ear follows the same pattern. The coding system is completed with reference to the existence of extreme features (applied to ear tears or holes that cover more than 25% of the ear) and any other special features (a missing tail for example).
So, for example, B70T01E808_-403_X00S00 is a bull elephant, born between 1970 and 1979 (B70), with a tusk on his left side but not the right (T01). The most prominent tear and the second most prominent tear are both at the 8 position of his left ear (E808). On his right ear, the most prominent tear is on the 4 position, while the second most prominent tear sits on the 3 position (-403). Neither ear has any prominent holes. He does not have any extreme features nor any special elements (X00S00).
SEEK has been developed to follow the rules of the search function of both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word, allowing researchers to rapidly narrow down their search when presented with an image of an elephant they are trying to identify. If all recorded individuals are ruled out, the new elephant is added to the system. The additional Microsoft Office Wildcard function also allows for situations where not all characteristics are observable (if presented with only one side of the individual, for example).
The extensive development of SEEK is a truly extraordinary accomplishment, born of decades worth of research and practical experience. The evolution of this method has been shaped by the pragmatic realities of fieldwork while still allowing for identification accuracy, resulting in a system that can be applied by other such research programmes as well as an extensive historical database of elephant individuals in the Greater Kruger. From behavioural studies to understanding long-term population trends, individual identification is vital in the efforts to conserve one of the most iconic animals in Africa.
Botswana’s recent upsurge in rhino poaching is reaching a crisis point. More than 100 rhinos have been poached in under two years from a population of less than 400. Yet, the government remains resolute in its denial of a growing catastrophe.
Former Botswanan president Ian Khama recently announced on social media that over 120 rhinos have been poached in the past 18 months. The post said that poachers were ‘killing rhinos with or without horns,’ and that ‘after corona (virus) there will be none left for tourists to see.’
Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) has denied the accusation – saying Khama’s announcement is irresponsible and will negatively impact tourism. In a statement, the DWNP claims that wildlife-related crimes are down by 70 per cent since the COVID 19 period from March 2020.
But on the same day as DWNP’s statement release, Bhejane Trust, a Zimbabwean rhino conservation organisation, publicised the massacre of 12 more rhinos in the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana saying, ‘Urgent action is required by the Botswana authorities, and they should bring in expert advice and assistance immediately if any rhino(s) are to survive.’
Conservationists are concerned that Botswana’s rebuttal to its growing poaching crisis is encouraging rhino horn poachers to focus on the remaining rhino in the Okavango Delta area and could lead to an absence of safari tourists.
‘The current government already has a poor conservation record, and it seems to be following the same policy of denial it used with the elephant poaching over the last few years,’ says Ian Michler, conservationist and specialist wilderness guide. ‘Let’s be clear; the poaching syndicates have seen the weakness and have turned their attention on this country. Without a strong and effective response, Botswana runs the risk of seeing rhino disappear from its parks and reserves for the third time.’
After numbers crashed in the early nineties Botswana engaged in a rhino relocation project in 2001 which spanned over ten years, introducing viable populations of black and white rhinos back into the Okavango Delta.
In June last year, the Botswanan government began removing rhino horns and relocating rhinos away from the Delta in an attempt to reduce the risk of poaching. The official count for poached rhinos was 56 since 2018, marking it the worst onslaught since the country’s black rhino population was wiped out in 1992 and white rhinos dropped to below 30 individuals.
According to Dereck Joubert, who leads the Botswana non-profit Rhinos Without Borders, the relocation of rhinos away from the Delta was essential amid the coronavirus pandemic as poachers were using the absence of safari tourists during lockdown to their advantage. Asian rhino horn traders had also begun to tout rhino horn as a cure for the virus.
At that stage, nearly 50 poached rhinos had been recorded since late 2019.
In August 2020, the poaching crisis was still showing no sign of let-up and the government went back on its decision to reduce the military capability of the arms carried by its wildlife rangers. With 17 poachers shot dead in six months in gunfire exchange with the army, it was decided to re-arm anti-poaching rangers with military weapons.
Is this what it seems to be? An attempt by the government to minimise what is obviously a devastating onslaught on the last few remaining rhinos in Botswana; a repeat of their stance on elephants just two years ago?
In 2019, the newly elected President Mokgweetsi Masisi denied that elephant poaching was at a crisis point when aerial surveys revealed that almost 400 elephants had been poached between 2017 and 2018.
“The question remains: why is the Botswanan government not engaging the international community for help? Other countries are using NGOs and civil society to assist them with wildlife crime,” says Adrienne West of Political Animal Lobby. “Botswana cannot expect to tackle an issue of this magnitude alone.”
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
Our safari industry is in tatters as extended travel bans and doubt about fundamental issues continue to plague our core markets. The past few months have seen businesses hit the dirt, and there will be many more casualties as this stalled industry sheds weight and reboots. But this is a passion-led space, and it will rise again, FOR THE BETTER. Of that, I have no doubt. The arrival of the ‘new normal’ will be an exciting time for those of us that are fortunate enough to remain – and for you, the passionate safari-goers. The future is being crafted right now – it will be what we make of it. You can help the safari industry by booking your next safari – even if it is in a year or two from now.
I have recently hinted about new AG plans – and we are deep under the hood with this exciting development that will somewhat shake things up and empower you to play a larger role in Africa. It’s coming …
Now here is an INSPIRING project. One of southern Africa’s most respected birding and walking guides plans to do a world-record 30,000 burpees in 10 days to raise funds for anti-poaching efforts. What an amazing initiative – PLEASE support him – see the video link below.
Keep the passion
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
From our Editor-in-Chief
Our first story below is a scientific marvel born of potential catastrophe. What a sad state of affairs that it has come to this. Thank goodness for forward-thinking philanthropists prepared to throw money and action at a problem rather than conferences and committees. Hemmersbach Rhino Force has created a cryo-lab (basically an uber fancy freezer and Tupperware combo) for the harvesting of and storage of rhino gametes (swimmers and eggs) for the eventuality that these ancient pachyderms do not survive the poaching onslaught. The Cryovault is a remarkable, commendable and inspiring commitment.
Our second story below, from a wildlife veterinarian with decades of field experience provides strong evidence that fences were highly unlikely to have contributed to the Botswana elephant die-off in 2020 (as reported here). More than this perhaps, the story and its design point out the value of ground-truthing, common-sense and experience. It cautions that not even the peer-review process is infallible.
Photos
Finally, the ninth week of African celebration through your images takes us on a journey through southern Africa, into the world’s oldest desert flying up through central Africa and, unusually, into west Africa. Our Photographer of the Year carries a prize of 10 000 USD and a six-day safari to Khwai in Botswana. Here’s how to enter. We look forward to your evocative, pictorial stories.
Story 1 JUST IN CASE
Just in case: The rhino Cryovault holds repositories of rhino DNA, gametes, and tissues preserved indefinitely – in case we fail to save our rhino
Story 2 FENCES & ELEPHANTS
Dr Erik Verreynne disputes the claim that fences stop elephant migration in Seronga, Botswana or contributed to the 2020 die-off
Story 3 BEST PHOTOS
Week nine of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
The rhino Cryovault is a biobank that holds the largest genetic repositories of rhino DNA, gametes, and tissues in the world; frozen and preserved indefinitely. What does it mean to save a species? What happens if, in the absolute worst-case scenario, we fail? While Hemmersbach Rhino Force is doing everything in their power to make sure that does not happen, they do have one last ace – the rhino Cryovault.
In every cell of every organism, from the smallest bacterium to the hugest blue whale, four unique, organic molecules (nucleic acids) are arranged in their millions to form a genetic blueprint that dictates the organism’s – shape, potential size, dietary needs, reproductive proclivities, propensity for language, eye structure – the list is nearly endless. Within the DNA double helix, this code holds most of the secrets to the diversity of life as we know it. Every time a rhino is poached, an entirely unique genetic fingerprint is lost.
Clockwise from top left: An endangered black rhino; a southern white rhino calf; a black rhino – not impressed
What is genetic diversity?
The term “biodiversity” has become very popular since first introduced in scientific publications of the 70s. By now, most people understand that the foundation of conservation rests on protecting biodiversity. Biodiversity refers to the variety of species in an ecosystem, their ecological complexes and their interactions within an ecosystem. The third level of biodiversity is a measure of the variety of genetic characteristics within a species – genetic diversity.
It should be relatively self-explanatory why genetic diversity is of fundamental importance to the survival of a species. In the long-term, genetic diversity underpins one of the cornerstones of evolutionary theory. Genetic differences translate to certain traits that allow some organisms to breed more successfully than others – survival of the fittest. Greater genetic diversity within a species enables adaptation to changing environments (think climate change) and confers greater disease resistance to the species as a whole.
Conversely, as individual numbers of a species decrease, inbreeding will result in a loss of genetic diversity, which will decrease a species’ robustness in the face of new challenges (parasites, climatic changes etc). Inbreeding can also cause ‘inbreeding depression’, which is the reduced biological fitness of a population. This can lead to severe genetic defects, reduced fertility and even infertility. In essence, when humans decimate biology (animals, plants, mushrooms etc), we are not only destroying individuals and their potential genetic legacies, but we are also reducing the species’ capacity to recover and overcome adversity.
The Rhino Force team at work
Hemmersbach Rhino Force
Enter Hemmersbach Rhino Force, a direct action conservation organisation dedicated to safeguarding Africa’s remaining rhinos. Their anti-poaching services are provided free-of-charge and utilise a combination of innovative tactics, cutting-edge technology and old-fashioned boots-on-the-ground to tackle wildlife crime in Southern Africa. Rhino Force is operational in the Greater Kruger region (where some 50% of poaching events in Africa occur). They work with local authorities, private entities and anti-poaching operations on everything from surveillance and intelligence to proactive prevention and forensic work. In addition, their Zambezi Black Rhino Project in Zimbabwe is geared towards restoring a wild haven for the reintroduction of black rhinos, once abundant before poaching devastated their numbers.
Rhino Force’s holistic approach to protecting rhinos includes extensive work with local communities, promoting education and employment and tackling anti-poaching through anti-poverty strategies. Improving living conditions, restoring and equipping schools, litter removal, and supporting community engagement are just some of the initiatives that the Rhino Force has thrown their weight behind.
However, the sheer severity of the rhino poaching crisis prompted the creation of the Hemmersbach Rhino Force Cryovault in 2018, a biobank of vital biomaterial including DNA and viable sperm. As unsettling as it is, we must face the reality that we may not be able to stem the tide of poaching. This proactive approach is intended to create a genetic backup before it is too late.
The Cryovault field laboratory
The Cryovault and Veterinary Unit
The Cryovault team consists of Dr Imke Lüders, a specialist veterinarian from Germany and Dr Janine Meuffels, a veterinarian from South Africa. The team members all have long-standing backgrounds in animal reproduction and wildlife medicine. They are, at present, the most experienced team in Africa at executing large-scale gamete conservation projects. Together, they have successfully collaborated in collecting semen from elephants, giraffes, and rhinos, from both live (intra-vitam) and deceased (post mortem) animals in wild and captive situations.
As with any other Rhino Force projects, the Cyrovault is not a commercial operation. Instead, it provides specialist veterinary wildlife reproduction and biotechnology support services to other scientists, veterinarians and their clients. The laboratories are equipped with the resources necessary to evaluate gametes’ viability and store tissues, gametes, and DNA indefinitely through cryo-preservation.
Inside the Cryovault laboratory
The ART of reproduction
Assisted reproduction technologies (ART) including artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer are techniques that have been used successfully for years, particularly in the agricultural industry with livestock. There is a perception that because these techniques have been so effectively applied in both humans and livestock, it should be simple to transfer them to wild species. However, this is far from the case. Every species has evolved a unique anatomy and reproductive physiology. Successful ART requires extensive research and the development of species-specific protocols. Unravelling secrets of ART for the African rhino species is the calling of the Cryovault team.
Theriogenology – which concerns the study of veterinary reproductive medicine and surgery – is a field subject to continual refinement. Conservation-minded reproductive specialists are continually searching for ways in which these techniques can be used to balance the odds for threatened species. Viable semen has been collected and cryopreserved, leading to successful artificial insemination (using both fresh and frozen semen) of elephants, giraffes, and southern white and Indian rhinos. However, most advancements in wild species have been made in captive settings where scientists have unrestricted access to the animals.
The Cryovault team continues to offer tremendous contributions to this knowledge base, and in 2020, they collected, processed and cryopreserved free-ranging (wild) black rhino sperm samples – a world first. They have teamed up with Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) for a three year project to collect and store samples from as many black rhino individuals as possible.
Where rhinos are concerned, the Cryovault team’s approach to gamete collection is largely opportunistic currently. When a live bull rhino is anaesthetised for a routine process such as a dehorning or ear notching, the team applies a low-voltage stimulation to the prostate gland in a process known as electroejaculation. In the case of poached, hunted, or euthanised animals, the testes are harvested in their entirety. Once the samples return to the lab, the viability of the sperm is tested and, if shown to be suitable, it is transferred to sperm straws and frozen using liquid nitrogen. It is even possible to separate the sperm cells according to whether they carry an X or Y chromosome, thus controlling the sex of potential offspring.
The process of ovum (egg) collection from a live female rhino is known as an ovum pick up. This is a highly specialised technique and requires the regulation of several physiological factors. The team can also harvest oocytes from deceased animals, but with only a six-hour window in which to do so. This is logistically complicated – with a low success rate.
The Cryovault field team harvesting semen for analysis and storage
Managed wildlife breeding – a conservation tool
What does this science mean for the future of our rhinos? The reality is that there are few self-sustaining wild rhino populations left throughout the world. In South Africa, home to most of Africa’s rhino, roughly a third are privately owned. Most of these populations are already intensively managed. Suppose the captive growth rate, and the poaching rate continue along the same trajectory. This eventuality could quickly shift the proportion of privately-owned rhino to 50%. The onus will be on private owners to protect the remaining rhinos. Intensive breeding management programmes are an inevitable part of a survival plan for a species approaching the brink. Accepting that rhinos are on that list must happen sooner rather than later.
One of the primary objectives is for the Cryovault facility to be the largest of its kind for African rhino genetics. This massive archive will contribute enormously to DNA population genetics research and act as a reference database for the species. Most importantly, it can be applied to both current and future rhino breeding. Expanding our collective knowledge of rhino reproductive physiology, gametes’ parameters and developing protocols for successful, repeatable methods of assisted reproduction that can be applied to rhinos, is of paramount (and urgent) importance.
Back from the brink (again?)
In the past, the call for reproductive specialists to save a species on the brink has generally come far too late, when just a few individuals of the species remain. Developing appropriate techniques and protocols at this stage is impossible, and the rhino Cryovault team is entirely focussed on ensuring that this time, the approach is a proactive one.
While it may be impossible to freeze time, the Cryovault offers the next best thing – a way to ensure that, in the worst-case scenario, we can preserve some of the genetic legacies of our rhinos before they are lost forever.
[Hemmersbach Rhino Force is one of the two direct action projects of the social purpose IT company Hemmersbach, driven by a desire to fight injustice where authorities fail. Hemmersbach does this through Direct Action: their projects and actions are purely self-financing and reliant on the commitment of their team members, without the need for external donations. Hemmersbach is committed to using 20% of the company’s annual profits for these Direct Action projects, directed towards a good cause with the assurance that this revenue is focused where needed.]
We asked Botswana-based wildlife veterinarian Erik Verrynne to shed light on the issue of whether fences prevent elephant migrations and restrict their movements in northern Botswana. This clarification is required after this research paper ‘The 2020 elephant die-off in Botswana’ by van Aarde et al, on 11 January 2021 [1] and our summary . In it, the authors claim that fences are an underlying cause for the elephant mortalities in NG11/12 (Botswana) in 2020.
Map of the affected Seronga region (courtesy, the African Elephant Specialist Group)
Wildlife vet Erik Verrynne:
Introduction
The scientists used movement data from 13 collared elephants in the Seronga area between 2003 and 2006 to prove that the elephant population is unable to cross barriers formed by surrounding fences, deep-water channels of the Okavango River and human activity (harassment).
The study concluded that the ‘boxed-in’ effect created by the boundaries prevent elephants from migrating to other areas during times of food pressure, or from regularly reaching the fresh water of the Okavango River.
The elephants are therefore forced to drink the stagnant water of the waterholes which increases stress and the risk of drinking pathogens such as cyanobacteria toxins or infectious agents.
The underlying stress in a growing, boxed-in elephant population is a potential cause of increased disease susceptibility and contributed to the die-offs.
They postulate that the ‘boxed- in’ effect would have enhanced the fast spread of the agent within the population but prevented the spread to other populations outside the Seronga area.
The article places the die-offs and the underlying ecological drivers within the context of the resistance hypothesis and the metapopulation theory by proposing the realignment of veterinary fences to promote dispersal.
Botswana relies on the dispersal of elephants into the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) to reduce its large elephant population. At the same time, it is trying to prevent cattle contact with potentially disease-spreading cloven-hoofed wildlife species in order to protect beef export markets. More than 20% of the elephant population in Botswana shares land with subsistence beef and crop farmers where fences are used to protect cattle against disease. The Seronga area, with 15 000 elephants, is an area where both elephant crop damage and disease restrictions have socio-economic implications for the communities.
The potential of commodity-based trade is currently being investigated in Seronga as an alternative to veterinary fencing. Additionally, the Government of Botswana (GoB) has been looking into designs of species-specific targeting fences, while NGOs are working hard on programmes such as Ecoexist to promote coexistence between communities and elephants.
Despite all efforts, the dispersal of elephants away from Botswana as a long-term solution remains a challenge. Figures released by GoB indicate that only about 20% of the large KAZA elephant population is dispersing freely between countries, mainly between Botswana and Zimbabwe. The challenges are further illustrated by dispersals deeper into Botswana during the drought of 2017/2018 rather than into neighbouring range states.
Clockwise from top left: One of the 2020 mortalities; carcass on the flood plains May 2020; remnants of the 2020 die-off
What is causing the resistance to dispersal and do fences and channels play a role?
The reasons for the low dispersal levels in many areas seem to vary. Proposed solutions follow a large-scale approach based on general assumptions, often ignoring local factors.
The article suggesting that fences facilitate elephant deaths illustrates the challenges we face. Remote sensing data is used to postulate drivers and causes, and to offer solutions, while local knowledge or fieldwork critical to verify the collected data is ignored.
The fences around the area are the double veterinary border fence between Bwabwata NP in Namibia and the Seronga area of NG11/NG13 in Botswana, and the northern buffalo fence. The latter fence was erected in 1995/96 to prevent the spread of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) that came across from Namibia. CBPP was declared under control in 1998 only after the mass slaughter of 320,000 cattle.
Albertson (1998) reported how the northern buffalo fence cut off migratory patterns of zebra and elephant, causing the death of migratory species and even an elephant cow and calf. The original fences consisted of sturdy 1,2 m – 1.4m high wooden posts and intermediate wooden droppers connected with strands of steel wire and a single strong steel cable to strengthen it against elephant damage. At the time the fences were regularly maintained to prevent the crossing of any cattle or buffalo. After CBPP containment and the subsequent removal of the Setata fence in 2003, seasonal migrations of wildlife across the removed fence resumed. Therefore, in some cases, fences can present effective barriers to elephants.
The authors of the article stated that the fences in question are still being maintained and therefore present impermeable barriers to elephants wanting to disperse. A quick visit would have immediately shown that this is not the case. Even the current condition of the international boundary fence is not capable of blocking the movement of cattle or buffalo in certain places although in general, it appears much sturdier than the northern buffalo fence.
Over the last few years, I have visited different parts of the fences in question with the exception of the western section of the international boundary near Mohembo, and the section of the northern buffalo fence from the Selinda gate to the north through NG13.
The sections of all the fences I visited had gaps where the fence was either on its side, or most steel wire strands and wooden intermediate droppers were missing. In many cases, the connecting steel cable was on the ground, covered by vegetation. Elephants and antelope were crossing the northern buffalo fence at will while I saw tracks of a few solitary elephants crossing the double vet boundary with Bwabwata NP.
The presence of active photographic tourism lodges and sporadic patrols by the Botswana Defence Force may account for the fact that there is reportedly little poaching in NG12. Neither the fences nor the small amount of human activity on the southern boundary are likely to restrict the movement of elephants out of the Seronga area.
Realignment of the current veterinary fences, even removal of the international boundary fence would not, in my opinion, have a significant impact on, or resolve future cases of disease outbreaks in elephants in the area as claimed by the authors.
Elephant reluctance to move across the deep channel at Seronga remains a mystery. Elephants along the Chobe River cross deep water at will. We regularly see bulls and family herds crossing over onto the sinuous islands, wading chest-deep across the deep channels around Kadizora and Xanaxara. The reluctance to cross water may simply be driven by individual behavioural preferences.
Clockwise from top left: A section of border fence pushed over by an elephant crossing; elephant tracks crossing the border between Botswana and Namibia; fences destroyed by water; an elephant on his way to crossing the northern buffalo fence
If it is not the fences, why are the elephants not moving?
Verifying the movement data to see if the elephants are indeed not moving out of the Seronga area should be the first reaction. Unfortunately, it is difficult to see if the presented data support the statement of a ‘boxed in’- effect.
The authors present data of only 13 elephants within the Seronga and adjacent areas between 2003 and 2010 while reference to 25 more collared elephants was not supported with data and therefore could not be considered. Therefore, the lack of access to raw and other referred movement data, and the historical nature of the data makes it difficult to place the claims in perspective.
However, other collaring data and anecdotal evidence and observations confirm the lack of mass dispersals of elephants in and out of the Seronga area. Local seasonal movements between food and water sources inside the Seronga area by a large part of the population and very localised seasonal movement of small numbers between NG12 and NG16 are regularly-reported occurrences.
Dispersal does not happen spontaneously. It must be driven by a catalyst usually generated by a change in resources, environmental conditions, or threats strong enough to elicit a group response and overcome memories of any previous hindrance. The response must have the potential to correct or improve the situation both to the individual and the population.
Thirst is a major driver for elephant migrations or dispersals. The restricted access to water is acknowledged in the article in supporting the need to disperse. However, the authors failed to consider the opposite situation where sufficient key resources and safety may nullify the sustained pressure to disperse. In short, the elephants may not want to move because the food, water and shelter is enough for most of the year, while the conflict and harassment by people is short-lived and can be mitigated without the need to migrate.
Clockwise from top left: elephants entering the Terminalia woodlands in the dry season; elephant highways fanning out across the impact zone in the dry season; eating mopane in the dry season; crossing the impact zone during the drought
How sustainable are the key resources?
Key resources in the Seronga area are provided by both the seasonal floodplains, long sinuous islands, and the woodlands.
NG12 is the area to the south of the line of fields and villages and is covered by the seasonal floodplains which vary in width from 3 to 10 km. Across the floodplains NG 12 transitions into a series of long sinuous islands. It ends in the sandy Kalahari apple leaf islands and shrub mopanes towards Vumbra Plains (NG22) in the south, the reedbeds of the deeper channels of NG23 to the southwest and mopane belts to the east into NG16. Many circular islands on the seasonal floodplains accommodate a variety of large riverine forest trees, with jackal berries (Diospyros mespiliformis) and water berries (Syzygium cordatum) providing much sought-after fruit in late winter and early spring. The browse potential for elephants on the circular islands is relatively low and during the dry season, some herds cross over the seasonal floodplains onto the long sinuous islands in search of food.
The most important resource on the seasonal floodplains is therefore fresh water during the dry season of May to October, and during droughts. Water in the woodlands is only available at the latest up to July. The river starts flooding the floodplains at Gunistoga in late March or early April, retracting in June but water in large pans and deep channels remains, sustaining the elephants, wildlife, and cattle until thunderstorms provide water in the north again. While the Okavango River is flowing, the channels provide water, and the floodplains remain the most important sustainability factor during drought. The woodlands to the north in NG11/ NG13 and long sinuous islands to the south provide the other key resources.
The major impact zone is the line of fields and villages along the road and banks of the floodplains where 16 000 people live in 13 villages and numerous settlements. Fields for subsistence crop farming stretch up to 15km, but on average about 6km from the villages towards the woodlands in the north.
Once past the 10 to 15km impact zone, the woodland vegetation transitions into a mosaic of deciduous broad-leaved trees in the deep Kalahari sands, alternating with more claylike soils, where a combination of shrub and cathedral mopane dominates. The woodland vegetation is lush and dense during the wet season but most of the trees lose their leaves at the height of the dry season (July, August and September). As result, a part of the elephant population crosses the floodplains to the sinuous islands where they feed on a variety of trees and mopane shrubs.
The largest part of the elephant population switches back to remain in the woodlands almost immediately when the first thunderstorms fill the pans. Only a small part of the population remains close to the impact zone, drinking from the water on the floodplains. They remain invisible most of the time, their tracks crossing the main road at night as they move between the nearby browse and the waterholes on the floodplains past the fields and villages.
Numerous waterholes or pans formed in the clay soils of the mopane woodland fill during the rainy season between November and April and provide water to the wildlife and livestock that move north into the woodlands for the wet season.
It is some of these waterholes that were implicated as sources of the cyanobacteria toxicity in the mortalities amidst much speculation. However, indications are that mortalities had already started in March when it was still raining, while some carcasses were found in flowing water on the floodplains. Both conditions are less favourable for algal blooms. In my opinion, the true cause of mortalities remains unknown and open to speculation.
Overlapping and sustained utilisation by elephants, other wildlife, people, and livestock, have created the high-impact utilisation zone with many trees destroyed and mopane reduced to shrubs. This zone represents high risk and low resource use to the elephants in the dry season because they are forced to cross the zone daily between available resources. Risk is avoided by moving mainly at night and at speed, using elephant highways and the 13 corridors demarcated by Ecoexist as known routes past the field and village lines. By this time, crop harvesting has fortunately finished. By mid-May, most fields are empty. (Crop raiding happens from January to mainly April and seems to involve a small part of the population that remains close to the impact zone.)
Clockwise from top left: enjoying the waterholes during the rainy season; lush woodlands in the north during the wet season; a herd on a ‘long sinuous island’; typical circular islands on the floodplains near Eretsha
Why are they not dispersing during the drought and will elephants eventually move?
Elephants are hindgut fermenters that digest cellulose in their massive colons. This evolutionary adaptation does not need quality feed, but quantity – something the high-biomass mopane and apple leaf areas can provide in abundance. The adaptation also allows them to utilise twigs, branches, and bark in the absence of leaves during the dry season or drought. They can push tree resources beyond normal resilience thresholds to levels of advanced deterioration before it negatively affects the nutritional intake values, provided the elephants have access to enough water. The thermoregulatory needs of such large animals when ambient temperatures are high, also necessitate water. Elephants are able to travel more than 20 km a day between food and water, an ability that mitigates their water dependency during droughts.
Drought, impact from an increasing elephant population, and an increase in human utilisation of resources around village lines in the impact zone, are causing deterioration which is gradually widening the impact zone into the woodlands, onto the floodplains and even onto the fertile long sinuous islands. Eventually, it may reach a threshold where the abilities of the elephants to negotiate the distances to water, and the increased conflict-related harassment will be sufficient to drive dispersal or migration. Only then is it likely that they will consider moving closer to the water resources of the Linyanti, Kwando or Zambezi Rivers.
The dispersal thresholds are unknown, as the resources appear to be more resilient than the tolerance of the villagers. The ensuing conflict may burst the dam wall long before the resources give in. Managing co-existence is a challenge for Botswana
For now, the elephants seem to be staying. Not because of fences or deep-water channels, but simply because the available resources suit them. Alternative key resources may not be close enough, and they may have adapted local strategies to mitigate droughts and human conflict risks. Drivers or memories of good places far away may not be strong enough to justify dispersal despite disease or harassment. Memories of some of the old barriers is still strong enough to remove the immediate need to move to other unknown areas.
The behaviour of the Seronga area elephants raises some questions about our theories on the metapopulations and dispersal within KAZA. Maybe it is time to acknowledge that elephants exert a choice based on the available resources or even memories of what appear to be boundaries. Our expected thresholds on resource utilisation may be wrong and elephant migration preferences may be more localised. Promoting dispersal across KAZA may require stronger drivers than simply removing fences. Elephants may consider our proverbial grass as not always greener on the other side of our fences.
top: crossing the floodplains to the water October 2019; bottom: enjoying the relief of water after a long walk
About the author
Erik Verrynne is a veterinarian and agricultural consultant who been working in Botswana since 2003. He is a wildlife and livestock vet with an MPhil in wildlife management.
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
Here’s something for us all to think about: One is made of compressed carbon and the other of compressed keratin. And yet, both are highly valued as status symbols because manipulative marketing campaigns have duped humans into believing the fairytale. Both are extracted at massive ecological cost amidst a plague of bloodshed and criminal activity where a few individuals scoop the financial windfall, and others pay the price. Think about that next time you check out that diamond or criticise someone who does the same with rhino horn—mea culpa.
The on-off journey continues! Distressing news is that the green light has now been given for large-scale open-pit mining in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park. This saga has so many twists and turns it’s tough to keep up! Don’t get me started.
Keep the passion
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
From our Editor-in-Chief
The saga of the Namibian elephant auction continues. The auction is complete but it is unclear who has bought the elephants, how many were sold or where they will go. There has been widespread anger and criticism from various armchairs, keyboards, conservation NGOs and journalists. The Namibian Ministry of Environment Foresty and Tourism, meanwhile, has taken exception to the auction being portrayed as a corruption-driven scam and painted many objections as the hysterical rantings of people utterly bereft of on-the-ground realities. In our first story below, Gail Thomson, an independent Namibian environmentalist, reviews the reasons for the sale.
After that rather heavy yet necessary read, our second story below will have you daydreaming of being suspended in the verdant forest canopy of the Albertine Rift; the ancient cacophony of screeching primates and avian choirs lulling you to peace. Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda is home to bird megaticks, breathtaking vistas, waterfalls, trails and rare primates. There are options for all budgets so sit back and immerse yourself in the mystical magic of the forest.
Finally, the eighth week of celebrating the beauty of Africa through our Photographer of the Year, which carries a prize of 10 000 USD and a six-day safari to Khwai in Botswana. Enter here. Remember you don’t need a boat-load of obscenely expensive kit to take a good pic. You might even be lucky with your phone! Your image needs to tell a story and evoke an emotion.
Story 1 JUSTIFICATION?
Namibian elephant auction: The background, context, and reasons provided for the controversial sale by auction of 170 wild-caught elephants
Story 2 WONDERLAND
Nyungwe National Park is one of Rwanda’s best-kept secrets – a magical tract of montane forest bursting with extraordinary biodiversity
Story 3 BEST PHOTOS
Week eight of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
The recent decision by the Namibian government to sell 170 elephants has been met with public outcries, media articles full of unsubstantiated accusations and considerable confusion. In order to judge why this decision was taken and what other options could be available for these elephants, we need to consider the historical and current context, rather than simply assume the worst of the accusations to be true.
Towards the end of 2020, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) announced their intention to sell a total of 170 elephants[1] from four different locations in Namibia (see map below). The stated reasons for the sale were increased human-elephant conflict[2] in the four areas, which has been exacerbated by the recent drought. In each area, the elephants to be taken were entire family groups (i.e. females and young) plus a few bulls. Those wanting to buy these elephants had to employ qualified Namibian game capture teams and move them to a suitably fenced private reserve in Namibia, or if they wanted to export them to another country, adhere to all CITES export and import requirements.
The four human-elephant conflict hotspots falling on freehold farmlands from which the 170 elephants would be taken, shown on inset map of elephant distribution across northern Namibia (darker green = higher densities). The south-eastern conflict hotspot is caused mainly by bull elephants moving from the far eastern population primarily during the wet season (the elephant counts are done during the dry season). Note that 31% of the elephant population in Namibia occurs outside National Parks, and all of target populations for removal are far from the international boundaries and are not part of the transboundary elephant population in the Zambezi Region. (Source: MEFT 2020)
The important points to note from the tender advert are MEFT’s insistence on taking whole family groups (rather than individuals) and their concern that the buyer and destination abide by national and international law. The requirements set forth here would weed out the unscrupulous buyers who would prefer to take young individual elephants that can be tamed (or broken) for the purposes of human entertainment. The requirements for proper fencing in Namibia are likely to ensure that the elephants do not simply start causing conflict in other areas of the country, or return to the capture location.
There are some details left out of the tender advert that are nonetheless crucial to understanding the thinking behind the decision. I have obtained a draft copy of a document called “An Overview of Elephant Conservation and Management in Namibia” that accompanies the Draft National Elephant Management Plan. This document details all of MEFT’s recent public consultations, past and present elephant research and monitoring, and approaches to reducing human-elephant conflict by MEFT and non-governmental organisations. The information contained in this extensive document (commissioned by MEFT, but prepared by an independent consultant) provides valuable insight into the reasoning behind MEFT’s intention to sell 170 elephants.
Understanding the historical context
The history of elephants in Namibia, as with most things in Africa, is tied up with the history of colonialism, war and land development. Rock art engravings reveal that elephants occurred throughout the country before waves of colonisers eradicated almost all of them in the southern half of the country during the 1800’s. The remaining elephants in the more remote northern regions were killed in high numbers by the South African military, colonisers, and local people in the mid- to late-1900’s. Severe drought in the north-west during the 70’s and 80’s added to the elephants’ woes in this region. Even elephants in Etosha National Park were not safe, and this population was eradicated in 1881, only to return 70 years later.
Around the same time that elephants were pushed out of the central parts of Namibia that are most suitable for agriculture, the land was settled and fenced. Today, these farms are still privately owned (known as freehold land), and the people living on these lands usually farm for commercial purposes with livestock or wildlife. The infrastructure on the livestock farms includes windmills and diesel pumps to provide water for cattle troughs and fences within livestock farms have been erected to manage livestock grazing. The farms that have converted to wildlife are fenced with high game fences to keep valuable wildlife in, and while internal fences have been dropped, water is still pumped for game species to drink (some of these species are particularly expensive, such as sable and roan antelope).
In the communal “homelands” established during apartheid, rural Namibians were dispossessed of their traditional rights to hunt and were branded as “poachers[3]” when they hunted to survive the severe drought of the 70’s and 80’s. Today, nearly 60% of these communal lands have been gazetted as communal conservancies[4], as a means for the people living there to regain their historical rights to using wildlife on their land. This programme has reduced elephant poaching tremendously, particularly by allowing people to benefit from photographic and hunting tourism.
The current situation
A dam and gate destroyed by elephants trying to access water on the Kavango Cattle Ranch.
All of these historical details are necessary to understand the situation with Namibian elephants today. Elephants have not only recolonised Etosha, but have recovered in the communal conservancies in the north-western and north-eastern parts of Namibia. Until recently (1990’s and 2000’s), however, the freehold farmlands have remained free of elephants. The infrastructure mentioned above has thus been developed without the need to protect it from thirsty and often destructive pachyderms.
Human-elephant conflict is continuously managed in the communal conservancies by their game guards[5] and Event Book[6] monitoring system, and the Human-Wildlife Conflict Self-Reliance Scheme has been set up to assist farmers in communal areas that lose crops to elephants (note that water infrastructure is not covered). Further, the wildlife-based industries in conservancies create a direct link between elephant presence and benefits in the form of conservancy income, tourism jobs and elephant meat. While mitigating conflict will always be part and parcel of the communal conservancy programme, these efforts have generated a fairly high level of tolerance for elephants among conservancy members.
The human-elephant conflict that is addressed in MEFT’s tender for selling 170 elephants is targeted at elephant populations that have moved onto freehold farmlands from neighbouring communal lands and National Parks. Farmers that operate commercially are generally wealthier than their communal counterparts and elephants have been absent for many years on freehold lands. The government’s focus has therefore been to help poor communal farmers living with elephants in conservancies, but the recent drought has brought elephants back to the freehold lands they lived on 50-100 years ago. The elephants that arrived recently have found a land of plenty – water all year round (albeit pumped for livestock) and many large trees that have grown in their absence. More and more elephants have found their way onto these farms in the last few years as the drought has pushed them to search for greener pastures.
The damage to infrastructure by elephants dwarfs the crop damages reported in communal conservancies. During the consultations held for input into the Elephant Management Plan, several freehold farmers calculated losses amounting to N$ 100,000-200,000 (US$ 6,800-13,600) per year. Fixing a single windmill damaged by elephants costs N$ 30,000-50,000 (US$ 2,000-3,400). With an estimated 180 freehold farms affected by elephants, infrastructure damages could come to N$ 9 million (US$ 600,000) using a conservative estimate of N$ 50,000 per farmer per year. By contrast, the payments to offset the cost of crop losses throughout communal conservancies amounts to about N$ 2 million (US$ 140,000) per year.
This windmill that was broken by elephants will cost N$ 30,000-50,000 to repair.
Given the costs of living with elephants, it is unsurprising that the farmers MEFT consulted were requesting a solution. Urgently. Farmers suggested that MEFT reduce elephant numbers, allow elephant hunting to cover costs incurred, and assist with the costs of infrastructure repair and protection. The resounding cry from the consultations was: HELP!
Short-term options for helping farmers
The situation as it stands is untenable; doing nothing is not an option. Long-term mitigation plans (discussed in the next section) are necessary, but farmers cannot keep haemorrhaging money until these plans come to fruition. Since MEFT does not have the resources to compensate farmers whilst awaiting a more permanent solution, something else must be done in the short-term to help these farmers.
The advert to sell the elephants and translocate them elsewhere reveals MEFT’s first choice of action. Elephants have been sold and successfully moved to private reserves in Namibia in the past (for example, some of the elephants on Erindi Game Reserve[7] are privately owned and others are leased from the government), so this sale seems to be an effort to replicate past success. If elephants can be moved from where they are not wanted to where they can live in peace and generate tourism revenue, we have a win-win situation.
The recent drought and damage to the tourism industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic may, however, undermine this plan. If no Namibian buyers could be found, then perhaps reserves in other countries that have experienced elephant declines would be interested. Angola and Zambia come to mind, as they have habitats similar to parts of Namibia and could be interested in restocking some of their protected areas. The costs involved in moving entire family groups over large distances may prove prohibitive, however.
The simplest and cheapest option would be to cull the elephants currently occurring on freehold farms and sell the meat to recoup the costs. Several farmers suggested this course of action during the public consultations. This is clearly not MEFT’s preferred option (as they would have done it already), but it might become necessary if there are no willing takers for the elephants in the conflict hotspots.
Others have suggested chasing the elephants out of the farmlands, but this is impractical and inhumane. The distances one would have to chase these family herds to get to the nearest protected areas from the conflict farms would cause much more severe stress than culling. There is also no guarantee that the elephants would stay in the protected area – the same drivers that are causing elephants to leave these areas (too many other elephants, need for food and water) would still be present and some parks do not have sufficient fencing to prevent future breakouts.
Long-term options for conflict mitigation
Water points can be protected from elephants by building walls around them, but it will take time and money to protect the large number of vulnerable water points in northern Namibia.
The proposed sale of 170 elephants is meant to take about half of the elephants in each of the populations that are being targeted. So it is clearly a measure to try and limit damages in the short-term whilst searching for longer-term solutions. Building walls around water points[8] have proven to be successful in conservancies, particularly if a solar pump is installed (diesel pumps get expensive when elephants are drinking the water). Adding a strand of live electrical wire around the perimeters of farms where elephants are not wanted may also be feasible in certain areas.
A few of the farms in the Kamanjab area south of Etosha have turned to tourism for their income, but these elephant-tolerant farm owners are surrounded by others that are still farming livestock. Transforming the Kavango Cattle Ranch in the north-eastern conflict hotspot into a game reserve might also work if sufficient funding is available to make the transformation (this Ranch is managed by the Namibia Industrial Development Agency on behalf of the Ministry of Trade and Industry). An elephant-proof fence would then need to be erected around the Ranch to prevent elephant movement onto neighbouring freehold farms. In all four conflict hotspots, however, there are farmers who are not interested in developing their farms for tourism, especially in the wake of COVID-19 that has devastated the tourism industry.
Farms that are part of the Kavango Cattle Ranch are highlighted. Collared elephants (coloured dots) spent most of their time on the Ranch and did not enter the Mangetti National Park to the east (Source: MEFT 2020, data supplied by N/a’an ku sê).
Several farmers suggested that the government supports private elephant ownership, which at the moment is limited to only a handful of farms. This would give farmers greater freedom in terms of managing their elephant populations through hunting, culling, or live sales to other farmers (these actions would all still require permits, as elephants are specially protected in Namibia). Freehold farmers could then access similar elephant-related benefits to communal conservancies, which would help to offset the costs incurred from living with them.
Support rather than criticism
Considering the substantial recovery of elephants since Namibia’s independence, the nature of the current conflict, and MEFT’s efforts to resolve it without culling elephants, one would think that the elephant sale would be met with international interest and support. While previous elephant translocation efforts[9] in other African countries have been heralded as wonderful conservation initiatives, this offer to translocate elephant herds to suitable locations has been met with harsh criticism.
One of the key sore points is the conflict hotspot near the village of Omatjete, as concerned parties assume that the elephants targeted by this action are those roaming west of Omatjete in the Ugab River. These desert-adapted elephants have a high tourism value; the communal conservancies in this area benefit from their presence and therefore tolerate them. Elephant Human Relations Aid[10] (EHRA) has invested heavily in protecting the water points in this area and monitoring these elephant herds.
This particular criticism would thus be well-founded if it were not based on a misunderstanding of which elephants are being targeted. The elephants in the lower reaches of the Ugab (west of Omatjete) are not the same ones that are causing havoc on the freehold farms east of Omatjete, which are the ones that MEFT is targeting (see map below). If the elephants that are currently on the freehold farms are sold, as per the tender advert, one could use that money to electrify the fence line between the communal conservancies and the freehold farms and thus establish a longer-term solution.
The purple areas are communal conservancies; the polygons with grey outlines are freehold farms; blank white space is communal land that is not in a conservancy. Elephant monitoring data from EHRA sightings (triangles) and collared elephants (dots) shows their focus on communal lands in the west. The highlighted farms have all reported problems with elephants that are from a different population to the desert-adapted elephants in the west. (Source: EHRA)
With some context and a better understanding of the situation, my hope is that those reading this article would consider ways to support MEFT and the farmers. Long-term investment into conflict mitigation and tourism is required in all four of the conflict hotspots. Near Omatjete, some of the communal conservancies need joint-venture tourism partners to realise the same benefits as those located further west. There are also many communal farmers here that have not established conservancies, and they require assistance as much as the nearby freehold farms. All of the hotspots on freehold land require protection for their water points, while strategically placed electrified fencing would ensure that the elephants stay where they are welcomed (or at least tolerated).
In the wake of a devastating multi-year drought and the COVID-19 pandemic that has crippled tourism, Namibian farmers on both freehold and communal lands stand in dire need of support. MEFT and its partners have stepped in to help the communal conservancies with the COVID resilience fund[11], and the tender advert is intended to provide much-needed relief also to freehold farmers suffering from elephant damage. At this moment in time, Namibian conservation efforts could do with fewer critics and more genuine supporters.
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
I have a brief story to tell, and it goes some way to explaining why conservation is in such a mess these days.
Two talented, passionate people have taken up the cause of lion conservation and made a career of it. Neither lives in Africa. Both have recently featured regularly on international television and news media. BUT they occupy opposite ends of the acrimonious debates about the role of trophy hunting in wild lion conservation. And they regularly slag each other off on social media – often flinging out reams of information at their adoring followers.
We approached each to write a story for us, including providing FACTUAL evidence backing up their oft-repeated claims about the evils/benefits of trophy hunting of wild lions. Neither knew that we had approached the other. Both submitted their stories to us, but neither has responded to our fact-check questions, despite repeated requests going back many months.
And there you have it. While INFLUENCERS slug it out for dopamine-infused social media fame, Rome burns. It is what it is.
Keep the passion
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
From our Editor-in-Chief
In the wake of Hukumuri’s death, lots of people are now interested in human-wildlife conflict (HWC). Many wanted to replace Romina Mathonsi’s livestock. The issue of compensation for livestock killed by wild predators is complicated. Some research shows it exacerbates HWC. Other research indicates precisely the opposite. I went to find out how or if compensation is given on the Greater Kruger National Park’s western borders by the national park, the private reserves, and the provincial governments. I also spoke to NGOs working in the HWC space. I doubt Romina Mathonsi (or anyone who has lost livestock) gives a flying hoot about the reams of research, conferences and committees deciding whether or not compensation is a good idea. She needs goats. Thornybush River Lodge, didn’t muck about. They bought two goats and delivered them quietly to her. So as the debate rages, at least Ms Mathonsi has some comfort. Find out more in our first story below.
Our second story below tackles the conservation effect of farming wild species and legalising trade in their parts for human consumption. Interestingly for me, apparently stigmatising wildlife consumption helps reduce demand.
The subject of our third story below, looks at the slightly taller, red-eared version of the domestic moggy, but, to paraphrase Basil Fawlty…cuddle that, and you’ll never play the guitar again.
Finally, the seventh week of glorious African celebration through your images in our Photographer of the Year, which carries a prize of 10 000 USD and a six-day safari to Khwai in Botswana. Here’s all you need to know about entering. We are looking for pictures that evoke emotion and tell an African story.
Story 1 HUKUMURI FOLLOW-UP
Is there compensation when rural villagers lose livestock and crops to wildlife on the western border of Kruger NP? We ask questions and find out
Story 2 TOUGH MOGGIES
The African wildcat is one of Africa’s “Secret 7” – tough little cats are just as untamed and fierce as their iconic big cat cousins. Read more here
Story 3 SUSTAINABLE?
Farming and legal trade of wildlife could increase demand for wildlife products and so be negative from a conservation perspective – research
Story 4 BEST PHOTOS
Week Seven of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
Clockwise from top left: A domestic bull watches a buffalo calf through the reserve fence; a fence broken by an elephant bull; tracks of an elephant herd in communal grazing lands; an elephant bull making himself at home in communal grazing land – the remnants of the fence he broke are bottom left; a domestic calf killed by lions.
A cure while searching for prevention
On the 12th of February 2021, we posted a story on the circumstances surrounding the death of a famous leopard Hukumuri. Many people asked what they might do to help all concerned (animal and human). This article attempts to explain the complex issues around compensation for damage caused by wild animals.
An outpouring of emotion
The death of Hukumuri unleashed a wave of emotion: outrage, sadness, helplessness, fear.
There was also an outpouring of reasoned compassion. Sympathy extended to Hukumuri, to African people living in close proximity to potentially dangerous animals and to Ms Mathonsi who, to remind you, has seven children and lost two pigs, two goats and a dog to Hukumuri. Some wanted to know how they might help to stop this sort of thing from happening again. Many expressed an earnest desire to give money to Ms Mathonsi in order that she might replace her herd.
I wish we could simply have posted her PayPal account on social media, and told those generous souls to have at it. Ms Mathonsi would no-doubt have replaced her herd many, many times over. Unfortunately, it simply ain’t that simple – in 2021 it should be, but it ain’t.
Firstly, Mrs Mathonsi has never heard of PayPal. She might have a bank account but will have no digital access to her bank because of a combination of ridiculous data costs, poor education, and physical separation from an actual bank. Secondly, Ms Mathonsi is not the only one who lost livestock to leopards in the recent past – perhaps to Hukumuri, perhaps to others, no-one really knows. Thirdly, Ms Mathonsi lives in a village awash with cultural complexities that I’m not going to vaguely attempt to delve into save to say that were she suddenly to receive a windfall, she’d immediately become a target.
So what can those kind souls who want to help do?
Well, I think the best thing we can do is explain how compensation for wild animals is effected on the western borders of the greater Kruger National Park, and then provide a few guidelines.
Compensation pros and cons
In this case, compensation means a cash (or kind) payment for a loss incurred to a Damage-Causing Animal (DCA) that has escaped from a reserve. It must be remembered that compensation is just one part of a very complex set of interventions used to mitigate human-wildlife conflict (HWC). It is a deeply emotive and powerful intervention however.
A look at the literature around financial compensation for incidents involving wild animals indicates mixed effectiveness in Africa and beyond. In summary, if managed correctly with effective reporting, adequate resources, a proper legal framework and long-term commitment, compensation has a positive impact on conservation. That said, if reporting is open to abuse and there is no legal framework then compensation can result in people encouraging DCA incidents or inventing them – nothing earth-shattering there [1][2][3]. A little more earth-shattering are reports of incidents where people will specifically cut fences and chase elephants out, claiming that they are DCAs so that the animals will be shot and the meat can be consumed.
The greater Kruger boundary
The border of the greater Kruger National Park in South Africa is more than 700 kms long. There are in excess of two million people living in rural villages living along the borders. There are many more in the region but not all live close enough to the park for DCAs to be an issue. It is important to understand that the KNP in South Africa is fenced along the entire border – this is unusual in Africa. The fence provides a hard boundary and often there is no buffer zone separating people from the fence.
The people living in these villages are poor. Villagers survive on a combination of government grants (for the elderly, unemployed mothers, the indigent and the disabled), livestock, gardening or small-scale farming. Unemployment is above 70% in many areas.
Most villages have electricity but few residents can afford it. Potable water is normally collected from communal taps which frequently run dry. Medical care is appalling and often far away. Schooling, provided by the government, ranks somewhere near the bottom of the world in various measures[4].
The purpose of this rather detailed socio-economic description is to illustrate how utterly devastating it can be when a wild animal comes out of the park and kills livestock or destroys crops – when your livelihood and those of your children is tied up with your little maize crop, your herd of goats or your cattle.
Who gives what to whom?
Although a number of reserves and lodges do not offer direct compensation for incidents involving DCAs, they do provide support for a number of community projects (water provision, education bursaries, game drives for local children, farming, medical etc.). The effectiveness and proportional generosity of these interventions form the basis for countless PhDs, endless conferences and reams of politically-charged commentary. Support of this nature comes from the lodges themselves and not the reserves they are on.
With all this in mind, we wanted to find out about the compensation policies of SANParks (operators and custodians of the Kruger National Park), the private reserves on the western boundary, and the state-operated Manyeleti Game Reserve.
By law, when an animal escapes from the greater Kruger, it becomes a problem for the province in question. In the Kruger that is either the MTPA (Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Authority) or LEDET (Limpopo Economic Development Environment and Tourism). One of these authorities has to decide what to do with escaped animals and whether or not they are declared DCAs. So when an elephant, for example, breaks out of the Kruger, it becomes the responsibility of the province – not SANParks – although often SANParks will be brought in to help with the situation because the provincial authorities cannot deal with the situation for financial or logistical reasons.
Community members of Phalaubeni Village discuss damage-causing animal incidents
South African National Parks (SANParks)
SANParks – Kruger National Park is responsible for the longest length of boundary bordered by rural villages. They have a compensation plan that, in broad strokes, does the following:
When claims can be verified compensation is given for livestock killed by escaped lions, spotted hyenas, cheetah and wild dog.
Livestock killed by leopards is generally not compensated for, as these cats are free-ranging and found outside of reserves.
No compensation is given for crop destruction due to the difficulty in verifying such incidents.
Each incident and request for compensation must be investigated by the relevant conservation agency official (provincial or SANParks). Photographic evidence and other forms of information must form part of the submitted claims.
Compensation can be difficult to do effectively. It is complicated and requires on-going discussion and engagement both inside and outside of the organisation. However, livestock compensation next to Kruger is necessary, has born positive results and will continue to do so as it adapts through the various lessons learnt.
To summarise what a highly experienced conservationist once said to me: if you are going to treat animals as assets, then the custodians or owners of those assets must take responsibility for them. If your asset causes damage, then you have a moral duty to try to reduce the impact felt by the person in whatever way you can. This creates goodwill. Without goodwill, your asset simply becomes a hindrance to the person’s livelihood and when that happens, people may take matters into their own hands.
The financial cost of the compensation is most likely relatively low compared to the benefits. Especially when considering that only a relatively small fraction of people actually own cattle, and have likely been affected by predators directly and would need compensation. In contrast, many more people express a perceived fear of stock loss or danger from wild animals. So addressing the impact through actions such as compensation can go a long way in influencing perceptions at a broader scale.
There is no compensation given for human-wildlife conflict. The Sabi Sands defers to the MTPA for all incidents involving DCAs. That said, the Sabi Sands will fund helicopter and capture operations if their fence is breached provided such operations are deemed viable and appropriate.
No compensation plan – deferral to the MTPA or LEDET depending on where a DCA animal escapes.
Balule Game Reserve
There are no rural communities that live near the Balule fence. The reserve does not have any specific compensation policies in place for DCA incidents. Since the surge in rhino poaching, the boundaries are monitored constantly – at least twice a day on foot, continually with digital alarm and camera systems. Any breach of the fence by human or animal is immediately acted upon which lessens the chance of predators escaping. This is more or less the case for the Sabi Sands, Timbavati and Klaserie.
Manyeleti Game Reserve
The Manyeleti defers to their land custodians, the MTPA. They do not pay compensation or make any decisions on DCA incidents.
The Klaserie does not have a compensation plan because, as an official told me, they do not have villages directly on their borders.
Abelana Game Reserve
Abelana (the business) does not have a specific compensation policy. That said, the landowner is the community on the eastern border of the reserve. Relations with the community are of the utmost importance to the well-being of the business. Because of this priority, the eastern fence line is patrolled almost permanently and repaired continuously. To date, Abelana has not had any DCA incidents. They will, however, treat any DCA claims on an ad hoc basis and consider compensation.
Makalali Game Reserve
Makalali, does not have any villages on the borders and therefore does not have a compensation scheme. There is a big buffer zone between Makalali and the nearest village. They do however have insurance that should cover them in the event of an animal causing damage in a village or on the main road. In instances where elephants have broken out and caused damage to the fences of neighbouring properties, the reserve has reimbursed the owners and reclaimed this from their insurance.
They do have breakouts of animals from time to time because, as the warden admitted, it is very difficult to maintain 90kms of fence in permanent, perfect condition. None of these breaches of the fence has resulted in a DCA incident.
The provincial authorities
The MTPA, through their spokesman, told me emphatically that ‘…the MTPA doesn’t pay community members who lost livestock due to wildlife.’ That said, there is anecdotal evidence that ad hoc compensation has been paid from time to time. It is possible that the MTPA does not want a flood of compensation claims and therefore does not have an official policy for compensation but this is a guess.
I made multiple attempts to contact LEDET and was promised some information but none was forthcoming. Going on hearsay from people intimately involved with HWC issues, it would seem that LEDET does not pay compensation.
Clockwise from the top left: K2C environmental monitors (EMs) learning about conservation; EMs patrolling the fence; EMs investigating a broken piece of the boundary fence for incursions; a long piece of fence pushed over by elephants.
Ye olde adage – prevention is better than cure.
It would seem that compensation is a cure or medicine required for as long as the ‘sickness’ that are DCA incidents occur. The better we become at preventing DCA incidents, the less this cure will be required. Until then, compensation – well managed, funded and equitable – has shown some positive results, not only in improving relations between people and parks but also helping reserve authorities to identify hotspots where fences are regularly breached. These areas are monitored and this has reduced DCA incidents in hotspots on the western boundary of the greater Kruger.
I spoke with Mike Grover of Conservation South Africa and Vusi Tshabalala of Kruger to Canyons Biosphere (K2C), both of whom are dedicated to making the confluence of people and parks amicable, equitable and mutually beneficial.
One of the programmes that K2C facilitates, involves employing a number of environmental monitors from 74 communities on the western boundary. A pilot project in five villages, sees the environmental monitors deployed specifically to assist with human-wildlife conflict. Their role is to educate community members, identify problems through patrols and tracking, and then facilitate communication with the right authorities when an issue is identified.
Further afield, in the Mozambican part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a specialised herding scheme allows for community members to graze their cattle in the reserve. The scheme, using specialised bomas and highly-trained herdsmen has reduced cattle losses to predators from 22 animals a month to zero – and this is INSIDE the Transfrontier Conservation Area!
It is initiatives like this that will ultimately provide the prevention and negate the need for the difficult-to-administer cure that is compensation.
So how can you help?
Your best bet is find an NGO (not for profit), research what they do, and contribute to their work trying to mitigate human wildlife conflict – arguably Africa’s greatest conservation challenge. There are some highly experienced, specialised and knowledgeable people with decades of experience in this space and they need support. In many cases they are having measurable success in making sure that tragedies like the death of Hukumuri, become less and less frequent.
Also, of course, you can travel responsibly. Research the lodges and reserves you visit. Make sure that their initiatives align with efforts to reduce human-wildlife conflict.
[1] Maclennan, S. D. et al. 2009. Evaluation of a compensation scheme to bring about pastoralist tolerance of lions. Biological Conservation.
[2] fao.org/3/ap537e/ap537e.pdf
[3] Bauer, H. et al. 2015. Financial compensation for damage to livestock by lions Panthera leo on community rangelands in Kenya. Oryx, volume 51, issue 1.
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
“In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods. They have not forgotten this…” ~ Terry Pratchett
A cat stretched out on the best seat in the house, lazing in the sun, is the very picture of domestication. They purr contentedly and rub up against their human servants’ ankles, demanding to be timeously fed, or regard the excitable family dogs with a kind of contemptuous smugness from a place of safety. Yet as every cat owner knows, there are times when these cats stalk their surrounds, pupils wide and teeth and claws at the ready, embroiled in their own hunts, scuffles, and romances. In these moments, domestic cats don’t appear particularly domestic.
Their instincts are a throwback to a time when their ancestors stalked Africa and Asia, surviving by their wits and reflexes, and preying on any number of small mammals, birds, amphibians, and arthropods. Some of these cat ancestors were drawn to human settlements and abandoned their wild existence to enslave their human owners. Yet others remained wild and, to this day, African wildcats continue to live as they have for thousands of years. Rangy and hard-bitten, they slink through the continent’s savannas, forests, and wetlands – seldom seen and often overlooked but every bit as wild as the other members of the feline family.
Stealth, speed and strength – hallmarks of all members of the cat family, no matter how small they may be. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa
The true ancestors of domestic cats
In many ways, African wildcats are to cats what wolves are to dogs, with some important differences. While a history of domestic cats may seem out of place in an article on a wild creature, it goes to the heart of understanding the challenges faced by conservationists in classifying and protecting African wildcats.
The process of cat domestication was a complex one, and fossil evidence is in short supply, making piecing the events together somewhat tricky. Historians and scientists now believe that domestic cats went through two different periods of domestication – first in south-west Asia around 10,000 years ago and then, once again, in Egypt about 3500 years ago. Genetic analysis indicates that domestic cats may have two different source populations that can be traced to different periods but confirms African wildcats are the true ancestors of domestic cats.
As with dogs, scientists believe that cats were domesticated along a commensal pathway. Essentially, the wildcats (initially in Egypt and the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East) would have been attracted to human settlements for a variety of reasons, including warmth and increased food availability. Over time, people realized the benefits of keeping cats for pest control and gradually a shift took place from a purely pragmatic mutualistic relationship to one that extended to companionship (and selective breeding). A skeleton of one wildcat uncovered in Egypt and dated to somewhere between 3,600 and 3,800 years ago shows evidence of healed fractures that suggest the injured cat was cared for by a human.
Unlike dogs, modern cats have retained more genetic and behavioural similarities with their wild relatives, most likely because, while domestic dogs have been largely isolated from their ancestral wolf populations for thousands of years, domestic cats have continued to breed with their wild cousins. This, in turn, has ultimately led to one of the greatest threats facing wildcat populations not only in Africa but across the globe.
Close similarities between African wildcats and their domestic cousins speaks to an interwoven evolutionary history. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa
What’s in a name? Everything.
Given that domestic cats have only been “domesticated” for around 4,000 or so years and have continued to breed with their immediate wild neighbours, they are almost indistinguishable genetically from wildcat populations. These genetic and morphological similarities have made the classification of several smaller cat species extremely complicated and often contested. So much so that even the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature only confirmed the domestic cat as a separate species in 2003.
The Felidae family or cat family evolved around 10 million years ago, and the Felis genus diverged some 7 million years later. This genus of small and medium-sized cats encompasses several different species and subspecies including domestic cats (F. catus), the jungle cat (F. chaus), the black-footed cat (F. nigripes), the sand cat (F. margarita) and the African wildcat (F. lybica).
The IUCN Red List still lists the African wildcat as a subspecies of the European wildcat (F. silvestris), which in turn has been allocated a conservation status of “Least Concern”. However, this is likely to change after a 2017 report by the IUCN’s own Cat Specialist Group recognized the African wildcat as a separate species – Felis lybica. The report also tentatively proposed three different subspecies distinguished primarily on distribution: F. l. lybica (found in North Africa), F. l. cafra (the Southern African wildcat) and F. l. ornate (found in Asia).
Species and subspecies distinctions may seem pedantic in animals that are almost identical on so many levels, but these distinctions are fundamental to conservation efforts. Classification as a separate species allows zoologists to draw substantive conclusions as to the animal’s conservation status. It also makes the process of identifying specific threats more selective. In the case of the African wildcat, it is the threat to its genetic integrity that menaces the population.
The conservation (cat)astrophe?
In a 2010 study by the Ecology Global Network, scientists estimated that there were some 600 million domestic cats in the world. By contrast, while there are no estimates of African wildcat populations (the logistics and their widespread distribution make counting them an almost impossible task), there is no doubt that they are massively outnumbered.
As available wild spaces have vanished one by one, human populations have expanded, bringing domestic and feral cats with them. Given their genetic similarities, sexual encounters between domestic cats and wildcats are inevitable, and hybridization is common on the fringes of wildcat distribution ranges.
In a 2014 study, researchers concluded that in South Africa at least, levels of hybridization are still relatively low, especially in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park which is a population stronghold for the African wildcat. The DNA samples collected from wildcats that indicated the highest levels of interbreeding came from individuals in the Kruger National Park. Given the high human population density on the Park’s border, this is hardly surprising.
A project such as Alley Cat Rescue aims to mitigate this impact through domestic and feral cat sterilization programmes, focussing their attentions on specific border areas. These programmes also implement vaccination schemes to reduce the risk of disease transmission between domestic and wildcats.
African wildcats can be identified by reddish shading on the back of their ears. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa
Is it a wildcat or an escaped moggie?
To the uninitiated, an African wildcat could look for all the world like a slim domestic cat. There are, however, subtle differences between the two. African wildcats are slightly taller than the average domestic cat, and their legs are proportionately longer, which gives them a more upright posture, particularly when sitting. Their walking gait is more like that of a serval or cheetah than the average domestic cat.
The variety seen in domestic cat coat colours is a product of selective breeding, and this variety is not reflected in the coat colours of the African wildcat. Instead, their almost uniform colour ranges from red to sandy and brown to grey, with very faint stripes known as the mackerel-tabby pattern. The end of their tails is ringed with black, the backs of their ears are characteristically russet, and the underside of their paws are pitch-black.
African wildcats are highly efficient little hunters in their own right. Chobe National Park, Botswana
Behaviour
Like their domestic congeners, African wildcats have proved to be extremely adaptable and, as a result, occupy a wide number of different habitats from deserts and grasslands to savannas (though their range does not extend to rainforests). Their diets are varied and unselective – anything, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, and arthropods are all targeted. Some individuals have even been known to prey on young livestock animals such as lambs or kids, putting them at risk of conflict with farmers. African wildcats are reliant on keen senses, particularly their hearing, to identify prey. Their ambush approach is well-honed, and they demonstrate extraordinary patience in stalking – often biding their time for hours at a time.
Unusual circumstances for an opportunistic jackal. Erindi Private Game Reserve, Namibia
One of the common effects of domestication (seen in domestic dogs, cats and other animals) is an increased breeding frequency. Female domestic cats reach sexual maturity as early as four months old and are capable of producing three litters of kittens every year. In contrast, the African wildcat generally only produces one litter during the wet season.
Being one of the smallest members of the cat family, their natural predators are numerous and include the larger cat species and birds of prey.
Conclusion
For the most part, African wildcats are somewhat underappreciated – they look so similar to feral cats that they are often dismissed as such, despite their status as one of the “Secret 7” (serval, wildcat, large-spotted genet, civet, porcupine, aardvark and pangolin). Yet these gangly, tough little cats are just as interesting, untamed, and fierce as their iconic big cat cousins.
The debate surrounding the farming and regulated, legal trade of wildlife is one of the most polarizing discussions in conservation. Supporters of both sides have reached an effective deadlock over the historical and perceived advantages and disadvantages of each approach. A new study by the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife in the USA investigates the effects of bans/legalisation on the Chinese consumption of animal parts. The results caution against legalising trade.
In summary, the findings show that:
The legalisation of trade impacts personal and social perceptions of the use of wildlife parts;
The legal trade of wildlife reduces the stigma and increases the personal acceptability and social approval of animal parts’ consumption for both medicinal and non-medicinal purposes;
The effects of wildlife farming are more pronounced on the perceptions surrounding the use of mammals: farming mammals reduces the stigma attached to using mammal parts;
Reducing the stigma attached to the use of animal parts could see a massive increase in demand;
Trade and farming of one species has knock-on effects on the stigma attached to other, non-target species; and
For bans to be effective, they need to be purpose-specific – directed at both medicinal and non-medicinal use.
The background
One of the primary questions at the heart of the wildlife trade debate is the effect that legalisation has on demand for the animal part concerned – does a legal wildlife trade saturate the market or increase it? Following on from this question is whether or not farming wildlife can meet this demand and reduce poaching of wild populations. Yet even though these conversations dominate conservation circles, little empirical evidence exists to answer these complex questions. The study by Dr Rizzolo, an expert in conservation criminology, is based on an experimental vignette survey conducted in Mainland China to address some of these unknowns in a more quantifiable manner.
The survey
When used for research purposes, vignettes are essentially short stories about a hypothetical person or situation presented to the participants of the survey. The participants are then asked a series of questions based on the context of their specific vignette. In this case, the various scenarios presented in the vignettes focussed on four species (bears, tigers, snakes, and turtles) and two different uses of the animal product (medicinal or non-medicinal). It also dealt with three legal situations: the product is illegal; the product is legal and from a farmed animal; or the product is legal and from a wild animal.
Once the respondents had read the vignette, they were presented with a series of questions around the acceptability of wildlife consumption, the social approval of wildlife consumption and the legal repercussions for the various wildlife species. The survey was conducted online with a sample of 1002 adult respondents, and the demographic variables (age, gender, and income) were approximately representative of China’s population as a whole. The sample did include more highly educated respondents than is representative of China as a whole. However, given the link between social status and wildlife consumption, the researchers were comfortable that the survey captured the demographic relevant to the questions at hand.
Legal trade of wildlife = increased acceptability and social approval
The results of these surveys provide empirical evidence for the stigma effect on wildlife consumption. There is strong evidence that the legal context of a particular animal part affects not only influences perceptions of legal punishment, but also the level of acceptability and social approval for wildlife consumption. Naturally, while this acceptability does not automatically alter behaviour (purchasing and using animal parts), it does act as a decisive motivating factor. The fact that illegality decreases both acceptability and social approval challenges the idea that demand can be saturated through legal products – because demand will invariably increase with legalisation.
Interestingly, the study also indicates that legalisation and wildlife farming are related but distinct policy contexts. Hypothetical bans had a uniform effect on the survey responses for all species concerned, but the impact of legal wildlife farming was more nuanced. Where parts from mammals (in this case, bears and tigers) were concerned, wildlife farming increased the acceptability of their consumption and reduced the stigma surrounding their use.
Furthermore, wildlife farming and wildlife trade bans can also impact the consumption of non-target species. For example, in a hypothetical scenario where snake consumption was banned, this correlated with increased acceptability of the consumption of bear products and social approval of the use of tiger bones. On the other side of this spectrum, legal bear farming was associated with the increased acceptability of tiger bone and skin. The reason for use (medicinal or non-medicinal/consumptive) also affected perceptions of the use of non-target species. This demonstrates just how complex the effects of wildlife farming and trade bans can be for all wildlife, even those species not directly under discussion.
The conclusion
The author acknowledges that there are limitations to this research, including the lack of qualitative data that could have provided some insight into the respondents’ motivations. In addition, the stigma attached to the use of wildlife products is only one of several factors that influence the acceptability of consumption.
However, the study offers important insights into how the legalisation of wildlife trade and wildlife farms affects consumers and, ultimately, the demand for wildlife products. The data indicate that for bans to be effective, they need to be tailored to the species, the product, and the type of use. Where mammal-based medicinal products are concerned, a ban that explicitly targets medicinal use is needed to reduce demand, rather than just a species-level consumption ban. Notably, the study concludes by suggesting that “bans on wildlife consumption and decreased wildlife farming of mammals can have conservation benefits”.
Studies such as this are of profound importance in the realm of African wildlife conservation, as conservationists and policymakers debate the legal trade in rhino horn (both from wild and farmed animals) and the farming of lions for their bones. Understanding the real demand for animal parts once the illegal stigma is removed is vital to determining whether there is any truth to the popular theory that farmed wildlife will keep wild populations safe.
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
Turn up the mic; I’ve got something to say.
It’s no secret that Covid-19 and other viruses originated in the wildlife markets of China. Of course, this needs to be officially confirmed so that society can find a way to avoid further illness, death and economic misery – as we are currently experiencing. But here’s the thing: this pandemic was forecast by health experts and China was warned about the ‘wet’ markets. Despite that, what are the chances that the government of China will be held ACCOUNTABLE for the tidal wave of death and economic misery that has swamped us all? The world surely needs to keep the government of China in a good mood if our stuttering economies are to recover, and we will all certainly continue to buy mobile phones, computers, clothes and other goods made in that country. Expect a light slap on the wrist for the government of China, for the evil wildlife trade to continue unabated (it has already recommenced, after a brief hiatus) and for the next wave of viruses to come rolling off the factory floor.
On a lighter note, check out the NEW FEATURE on our website where you can easily find our best stories – based on species, places, safari tips and safari report-backs. From our home page, go to ‘Our stories’ on the menu and see the drop-down menu of delicious content offerings. Off you go!
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
From our Editor-in-Chief
Our two stories below will invoke entirely disparate emotions.
The first will leave you frantically making excuses to your employer for why you need a few weeks off. My wife and I honeymooned in the Kgalagadi last year (note: camping in the desert is an excellent test of whether newlyweds have made a great choice or a catastrophic mistake). It is a mystical desert of astonishing life. Whether you camp or choose more salubrious accommodations, the Kgalagadi will plug you right back into wilderness.
The second story is a tragedy on multiple fronts. A tale that has created heated debate, anger, sadness, compassion, learning and, lamentably, vitriolic attacks. Most people reacted with compassion, expressing a desire to help. Hukumuri was a magnificent leopard. He died too soon. If there is an atom of positivity to be taken from Hukumuri’s tragic demise, it is that his fame has created an awareness of human-wildlife conflict challenges; a greater appreciation of the fact that there are people, straining well below the breadline, who must live with beautiful, threatened but potentially dangerous African wildlife.
Lastly, another stupendous collection of images in our Photographer of the Year, which carries a prize of 10 000 USD and a six-day safari to Khwai in Botswana. Send in your images. Here’s all you need to know about entering. The only criterion is that the pictures must be a celebration of Africa. (They should not include, as one hopeful submitted, a selfie using nothing but a coat hanger to cover the bits no-one wants to see. That’s just odd).
Story 1 PREDATOR HEAVEN
Safari on your mind? The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park offers one of the most spectacular and intimate immersions in nature imaginable
Story 2 DEATH OF THE KING
Hukumuri, the beloved leopard, is dead- shot by the authorities because he was killing livestock & posed a threat to people in rural villages
Story 3 BEST PHOTOS
Week Six of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
As dusk descends over the red sands of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, her animal choir prepares for another encore-worthy performance. First, the barking geckos emerge to set up the staccato rhythmic accompaniment for what is to come. The pennywhistle arpeggios of the pearl-spotted owlet – disproportionately loud for such a small bird – weave through the gracenote “brrps” of the scops owls and trills of the rufous-cheeked nightjars. Waiting patiently in the wings, a lion adds a booming baritone that echoes over the ancient, ephemeral, rivers, setting the stage for the main performance of the evening.
As the sun dips below the horizon, the scenery is bathed in the colours of the Kalahari, and a solitary jackal howls. One by one, its neighbours add their voices to the call and response melody, a haunting, lupine soprano that cuts through the night and raises goosebumps on human skin.
This is the song of the Kgalagadi
A lanner falcon takes exception to a black-backed jackal’s thieving.
The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park covers an enormous 35,551km2 (3.5 million hectares) in the Kalahari Basin, incorporating national parks in South Africa and Botswana. In Botswana’s southwestern corner, the Gemsbok National Park covers nearly three-quarters of the Kgalagadi (28,400km2) while the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park and the !Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park together comprise the South African section in the Northern Cape.
As the oldest transboundary protected area in Africa, the Kgalagadi enjoyed a de facto existence from as early as 1948, when informal agreements between the national parks ensured that the entire ecosystem was holistically managed. However, it was only in 1999 that South Africa and Botswana legally formalised these agreements, and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park was officially opened in May 2000. Visitors are free to travel between the two countries within the park without a passport, provided they exit from their original country of entrance.
While the rolling red dunes and Kalahari sandveld plains are spectacularly beautiful, life in the Kgalagadi centres around its two ephemeral rivers: the Nossob and the Auob. The rivers hardly ever flow at surface level; instead, underground water supplies the surrounding camelthorn trees and other vegetation which, in turn, provide essential nutrients to the park’s herbivores at the end of the long dry season.
The basics
The Kgalagadi – which possibly translates as ‘the land of thirst’ – is not an appropriate destination for spontaneous exploration or the inadequately prepared visitor. Main camps aside, most of the wilderness camps and campsites offer only basic facilities and little in the way of phone signal. Though there are entrance gates on both the South African and Botswanan sides, most of the park infrastructure and camps are dotted throughout the South African portion of the park. In contrast, the Botswana side is vast and wild. Large distances and limited roads separate campsites with few facilities and no fuel. This section is only accessible with 4X4 vehicles.
Three main or “traditional” camps in the Kgalagadi are equipped with shops and fuel, as well as electricity (though only Twee Rivieren offers 24-hour power). Twee Rivieren, Nossob and Mata Mata are connected by the park’s main roads which are corrugated but accessible to 2X4 vehicles unless there has been unusually high rainfall. These main camps are the hub of park activity, and visitors can book guided drives (including night drives), guided 4X4 trails and walks.
The wilderness camps (powered by solar and gas) and isolated campsites are unfenced, offering an entirely immersive experience free from the trappings and distractions of modern life – including, in some luxurious cases, flushing toilets. As a result, the Kgalagadi is one of the few remaining wild spaces where visitors can lose themselves in nature and revel in the wildlife’s authenticity; especially the ubiquitous, bright-eyed ground squirrels that have learned to capitalise on the generosity (or messiness) of passing campers.
Clockwise from the top: Tashebube Rooiputs; Camping at Nossob; ‘Nothing to see here…’ a young lion finishes his shower at Mabuasehube. Campfire at Rooiputs.
The wildlife
Arid it may be, but the Kalahari ecosystem is a complex web of life well-adapted to extremes. The Kgalagadi itself is probably not suited to first-time safari-goers, particularly not those intent on ticking off the Big 5, because elephant, rhino and buffalo are not present in the park. Nevertheless, the wildlife viewing in the Kgalagadi is exceptional for two main reasons: the profusion of predators and the opportunity to appreciate the underappreciated.
A quenching puddle before the evening hunt.
A predator profusion
Of the 60 or so recorded mammal species in the park, nearly a third of these are predators. For most people, top of the list are the lions of the famed Kalahari black-maned pedigree. The Kgalagadi is considered a vital Lion Conservation Unit (as designated by the IUCN Cat Specialist Group) and it is not uncommon to fall asleep to their roars only to wake up in the morning and discover their tracks crisscrossing the previous night’s braai site. Cheetahs and leopards complete the big cat trifecta, especially during the dry season when the desolate landscape makes it somewhat easier to pick them out at a distance. Russet-coloured caracals with their characteristic black ear tufts are relatively common and the Kgalagadi is home to one of the largest (and genetically purest) wildcat populations in Africa.
Of the other large predators, brown hyenas are particularly well-adapted to desert habitats. These shaggy predators patrol the dunes and scrublands in a constant search for their next carcass or moisture-rich tsamma melon. Their spotted cousins are less numerous but more vocal and conspicuous, often wallowing in pans during the heat of the day.
The smaller canid species are some of the Kgalagadi’s most captivating residents. When not serenading each other, black-backed jackals use their canine wiles to eke out a tenuous existence in the inhospitable landscape. Whether they are scrapping over a leftover piece of leathery skin, bravely snatching a morsel of meat from beneath a lion’s nose or launching acrobatic attacks to catch unsuspecting sandgrouse, time spent with jackals is never wasted.
Like the jackals, Cape foxes (also known as silver-backed foxes) can be equally entertaining, particularly for those fortunate to spend time at den sites with young kits, which must surely rank among the world’s cutest baby animals. Unlike the insectivorous bat-eared foxes (which are also present), the Cape fox is the only true fox species in sub-Saharan Africa.
Clockwise from left: A normally nocturnal caracal scouring the midday; A delightful Cape fox kit draws comfort from mum; Suricate mum and young always alert and watchful; A terrifying looking but utterly harmless armoured ground cricket.
The underappreciated
The Kgalagadi experience is one of quality over quantity, and rushing from sighting to sighting is not a recipe for success. Instead, time, patience and attention to detail yield greater rewards to the discerning visitor, especially if it means a few hours spent at one of the waterholes at dusk and dawn.
Even within the confines of the camps themselves, life abounds. The aforementioned ground squirrels are so commonplace that they are often overlooked. Close observation of familiar individuals, however, reveals that they lead complex and intriguing lives. Their habit of using their tails as built-in parasols and charismatic personalities make them extraordinarily endearing. Yet, they are also consummate survivors, and their reflexes are lightning-fast, as this brave mother demonstrated in her battle with a Cape cobra.
From honey badgers, meerkats, and mongooses to elephant shrews, whistling rats and chameleons, appreciating nature in all her glory is the very essence of exploring the Kgalagadi.
Clockwise from top left: The flowers of the three-thorn (Rhigozum trichotomum) are a delicious spring treat for a springbok; A spectacularly lucky Kgalagadi sighting of mum and two cubs in spring green; A posing oryx completes an atmospheric shot at Lesholoago.
Jumping for joy…
At the risk of repetition, the best wildlife viewing is at the end of the dry season. The animals are forced to congregate around available water resources (particularly the pumped pans), and vegetation is sparse. However, the park is magnificent regardless of the time of year and the transformation effected by the seasons and the arrival of the rain around December is remarkable. Seemingly overnight, the barren, desiccated landscape is revitalised and carpeted in new life’s green flush. As the thunderstorms roll overhead, annual flowers spring up out of nowhere, painting the scenery in flamboyant colours that seem decidedly out of place in a desert.
Herds of blue wildebeest, gemsbok, red hartebeest, and eland congregate in celebration of the rains, migrating within the park to secure the best resources for the birthing season. There is a palpable sense of relief among the animals that survive the savage dry season, and this is particularly apparent in the herds of springbok that seem to jump for joy. Their unique, pronking leaps provide hours of entertainment. While there are solid biological explanations for this behaviour (displaying physical fitness to predators and potential mates), to many of us, these antelopes simply seem to be enjoying themselves.
A bateleur demonstrates the perfect landing technique.
The experience
The only luxury lodge in the Kgalagadi is !Xaus Lodge which is found on the border of the southern section of the park, in the !Ae!Hai Heritage Park. This 580km2 section of land was set aside for both the ‡Khomani San and Mier communities, and profits from the lodge are fed back to these communities.
The Kgalagadi is a land of extremes, and visitors should be prepared to face them. At the height of summer, the temperatures soar above 40˚C every day, and the relentless sun beats down on the red sands, lifting temperatures to around 70˚C on the surface. As already mentioned, most of the camps are rudimentary, and few are equipped with fans, let alone air conditioning. By contrast, the temperatures at night in winter can drop to well below freezing and where there is plumbing, it is not unusual to wake to pipes frozen solid. Comprehensive planning and research will ensure that visitors get the most out of the Kgalagadi experience.
A stroll around the campsite at night with a UV light will reveal the scorpions emerging to take advantage of the cooler temperatures. This, combined with regular snake sightings, should be sufficient to convince even the most experienced camper to wear sensible footwear at night and carry a powerful flashlight.
Want to go on a safari to Kgalagadi? To find lodges, search for our ready-made packages or get in touch with our travel team to arrange your safari, scroll down to after this story.
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
WOW, our tragic breaking news story of a few weeks ago about the plummeting Kruger rhino populations has certainly rattled a few cages and grabbed worldwide attention. Many international news media and conservation/activist organisations took up the story and made it their own. My team and I are proud of this role we play – as originators of factual content.
Our own Jamie Paterson (scientific editor) conducted two radio interviews and helped spread the actual situation to an even larger audience. Listen to her brief interviews below. I was particularly affected by her story in the one interview of takeaway food packaging strewn around the bloody poached rhino carcass – another day at the office for these evil ones.
The South African government’s high-fiving press releases about fewer rhinos poached will now fall on a few more EDUCATED ears and be treated with caution. That said, I see that many news media platforms simply cut-and-paste this misleading information to a gullible public desperate for good news.
Our first story below features the region in Kruger National Park favoured by those in the know. The Makuleke Contractual Park is a special place if you seek remote areas with huge trees, giant elephant bulls, JAW-DROPPING biodiversity and fascinating human history. Next, we celebrate the discovery of a tiny chameleon in Madagascar – although of course nature has known of its existence for a while. Our third story is what you need to know about the aardwolf – that seldom-seen hyena that so many ardent safari-goers have yet to see. What a fascinating creature!
And, finally, we celebrate yet another week of entries to our Photographer of the Year. Competition for the US$10,000 cash prize and a rather special Botswana safari is hotting up. PLEASE send the link below to photographers you feel may benefit from the exposure and prizes 🙂
Story 1 SAFARI SECRET
Two rivers and three countries merge in northern Kruger – expect spectacular biodiversity and a historical hotspot at Crooks Corner
Story 2 TINY GEM
This dwarf chameleon is officially the world’s smallest chameleon, measuring just 22mm. Found only in Madagascar, this is Brookesia nana
Story 3 KNOW MORE
The aardwolf is one of the most specialised carnivores on the planet – and a highly sought-after species on game drives
Story 4 BEST PHOTOS
Week five of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
DID YOU KNOW: There are eight recognised species of baobab: six native to Madagascar and one native to each of mainland Africa and Australia. Read more about baobabs here.
Hukumuri, a famous Lowveld leopard, is dead. He died on 16 January 2021 – shot by the local authorities in a rural village after he killed livestock and a dog. These are indisputable facts, and an ongoing investigation may reveal more detail. Huk, as some know him, was a favourite amongst tourists to the northern Sabi Sands Game Reserve and amongst online live safari followers. He was not in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve at the time of his death, and the game reserve management had no hand in his death.
We have, as far as possible, in the short time available, tried to establish exactly what the facts surrounding Hukumuri’s death are. We have spoken to park officials, and yesterday Jamie visited Mr Nabot Mathonsi, the village headman, and the homestead of Romina Mathonsi who lost valuable livestock – almost her entire life’s savings. Here then are our findings, followed by our personal thoughts about a leopard we knew and loved.
Hukumuri’s body was removed by authorities. He was killed with one shot.
This, then, is what we know with relative certainty:
The Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Authority (MPTA) has confirmed to Africa Geographic that Hukumuri was shot by staff of the Manyeleti Game Reserve with the full authority of the MPTA. Most importantly, this was a ‘last resort’ decision. The staff of the Manyeleti made multiple attempts to catch the leopard under challenging circumstances. If further details become available, we will share them.
He was shot in a village a few kilometres north of the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, some 200 metres west of the Manyeleti fenceline.
Hukumuri killed several goats, pigs and at least one dog, causing a potentially devastating loss for more than one family.
Ms Mathonsi, who has seven children, including young toddlers and lives in abject poverty, lost all of her female livestock and one of her dogs when it tried to chase Hukumuri from her home. The animals had been placed in a ‘kraal’ for the night, and she cried when relating the story to us. When the leopard was tracked down, he was lying beneath a buffalo thorn just 100 metres from her homestead.
Despite the obvious frustration they felt, the community did not take matters into their own hands but called the relevant conservation authorities.
Many of the people living around the game reserves in the area are resentful about the lack of benefit (employment) and the perceived lack of help with compensation when livestock is lost to wild predators. The process of applying for compensation requires a certain level of literacy from the applicants, yet few of the villagers have had any formal education.
The potential for conflict in the area where Hukumuri died is very high. There is no buffer zone between the fence and the villages – there is no soft boundary, and people live virtually up against the fence.
We know, as a hugely experienced guiding friend reminded me, that Hukumuri had become a potential danger to human life. It is often small children who look after livestock in the villages and a non-territorial, possibly injured or sick leopard is not only a threat to livestock but also villagers – especially young children herding livestock. Both Mr and Ms Mathonsi told us that they were terrified for the lives of the village children.
We know that Hukumuri was being pressurised by other males in his area and had probably lost his territory – maybe even more than once. This comes from guides who work in the area and have spent extensive periods with him.
We know that darting and then relocating leopards back to reserves they have left, because they’ve been excluded from territories, seldom works. The costs of relocation are also very high. Despite this, the Manyeleti did make multiple attempts to catch Hukumuri.
Sadly, we also know that this will not be the last time something like this happens despite many people’s best efforts.
One of Romina Mathonsi’s remaining goats in the kraal. Hukumuri jumped in and killed two animals before dragging the carcass of one into her yard.
When a leopard such as Hukumuri dies, many of us who knew him, feel devastated. It feels like we have lost a close friend, or even, dare we say it, a beloved pet. Hukumuri, of course, would not have mourned our passing because he did not seek out the company of the countless humans he met in the way that a pet might have. But that doesn’t make it any easier for those of us who mourn the loss of a favourite leopard.
We knew Hukumuri for many years – we watched him forge his first territory – full of youthful exuberance and powerful, uncompromising energy. We watched him hunt warthogs to the delight of a live, international, television audience. We noted with trepidation the conflict that left him blinded in one eye – we wondered if he’d manage to hold onto his territory. He became a figure of admiration as he overcame this disability, and then we delighted when he fathered cubs. Sadly, we also noted that despite his relative youth, he seemed to be feeling the pressure from several other male leopards in his area, and his future became uncertain.
It is this sort of rollercoaster drama that makes the lives of animals like Hukumuri so compelling. There will be those who argue we should watch in a detached ‘scientific’ manner. Then again, there are plenty of scientists who have shed tears at the loss of a favourite animal.
When the death of a beloved animal like Hukumuri comes brutally, the pain is that much worse. (We must remember that, in the wild, death very seldom comes peacefully). When the death is brutal and at human hands, the pain we feel often spills over to rage. Anger and pain create mists through which it is very difficult to evaluate situations objectively.
None of this will help the feeling of loss that many of us feel – be it a sense of loss because we knew him, or because we simply love these mystical, spotted cats and can’t bear the thought of them being destroyed in a time of such wanton environmental carnage. But these are the realities of conservation in Africa.
Romina Mathonsi has seven children to support. The two goats and two pigs represented most of her life’s savings. She is cynical about her chances of compensation.
Human-wildlife conflict is one of, if not the greatest challenge facing African nature conservation. There are some very complicated situations at play where people and parks meet. In a simplistic nutshell, the people living on the borders of conservation areas are usually impoverished. They have often been removed from the land or excluded from benefiting directly from it. This has created a situation where conflict with wildlife and wildlife authorities is all but inevitable. If disputes are not quickly and timeously resolved, poor people who bear the brunt of the conflict with wildlife, take matters into their own hands.
In this case, the villagers concerned, while frustrated, further impoverished and also fearful, did not do so and they are to be commended for their patience. Remember that this is a village where the unemployment rate probably exceeds 70 percent. Those who do have jobs are frequently employed in ecotourism. The positive attitude that many community members show to conservation and game reserves is partly a function of this employment.
Top: behind the pigsty, in the treeline, is the fence between the village and the Manyeleti Game Reserve – Hukumuri’s final hiding spot is visible in this picture, to the right of the marula tree. Bottom: Hukumuri was found hidden in a thicket near a waterhole. It was an extremely inaccessible area.
The loss of Hukumuri is a tragedy; there are no two ways about it. He was only around nine-years-old when he died. In a perfect world, he would have sired more cubs, established himself in another area and continued to delight us with his one-eyed belligerence. But this is nowhere close to a perfect world, and because of the realities of nature conservation in Africa, we have lost a leopard – to many almost a friend.
However, we do not believe that the sadness of this tragedy should overshadow the realities of the situation or override an objective perspective. Hukumuri was pressurised in his territory; he left the protection of the reserve; he killed livestock and posed a genuine threat to human life; the Manyeleti staff did what they could to mitigate the situation; they took the last-resort decision to destroy Hukumuri because they did not see another option.
Were mistakes made? Possibly – we’re all human. Will this happen again? Almost certainly. We must work tirelessly to inform ourselves – to understand the wildlife, the people who live beside it and the myriad factors at play in the complex arena that is African nature conservation. We need to learn to treat the people most affected by conflict with wildlife with the same compassion we would show the animals concerned. Only then can we hope to avoid further tragedies like this one.
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
Scientists have discovered a new contender for the title of world’s smallest reptile: a minute Madagascan chameleon species that can balance comfortably on the tip of a finger. The newly described Brookesia nana male has a body length of just 13.5mm and overall length of 22mm (including the tail). It is the smallest known adult male reptile species. Astonishingly the male’s genitals make up 18.5% of its body length.
The tiny chameleon was discovered by a joint team of German and Malagasy scientists on an expedition to northern Madagascar in 2012. Extreme miniaturisation is relatively common in Madagascar, home to some of the smallest primates, frogs, and chameleons.
The B. nana specimens were collected in a degraded montane rainforest where they spend their days hunting for mites and springtails on the forest floor. At night, the chameleon hides on grass blades. Despite the scientists’ extensive efforts, the team could only find two specimens – a female and a male. The female is slightly larger, usually the case with smaller chameleon species.
Micro-CT scans reveal the internal structure of the chameleons, including the reduced tail length.
One of the most critical tasks was to confirm whether the specimens were mature adults or juveniles. Micro-CT scans of the female revealed two developing eggs, confirming her maturity, but the process for the male was somewhat more complicated. As male chameleons mature, their reproductive structures, termed ‘hemipenes’, change, becoming more intricate. In this case, the male’s hemipenes were sufficiently well-developed for scientists to conclude that he had reached maturity.
The explanation behind the extraordinary size of male genitals most likely lies with the reversed sexual size dimorphism in smaller chameleons. The outsized hemipenes ensure a better mechanical fit during mating.
Of further interest to scientists is just how small complex vertebrates can get, as many of the tiny frog, gecko and chameleon species seem to converge around a similar size. The Brookesia genus (the Madagascan dwarf or leaf chameleons) all demonstrate similar reduction of particular body parts and a lack of head ornaments such as crests or cones. Though there are several theories, the reason the miniature chameleons of Brookesia are as small as they are remains a mystery.
Brookesia nana male (top) and the female (bottom)
Equally unknown at this point is just how many of the newly discovered B. nana chameleons exist in the wild and whether or not their populations are sustainable. Other members of the genus have a limited distribution, and all are threatened to some extent by habitat loss. While Madagascar is home to around half the world’s chameleon species, it is estimated that less than 10% of island’s forests remain. Of the Madagascan chameleons, 52% are threatened, and 70% are considered threatened or near-threatened. Fortunately, the tiny, new chameleons live in a newly proclaimed protected area ‘Resérve de Ressources Naturelles du Corridor Marojejy-Anjanaharibe Sud-Tsaratanàna partie Nord’, thankfully abbreviated to COMATSA Nord. However, the report recommends that B. nana be classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List.
“Unfortunately, the habitat of the nano-chameleon is under heavy pressure from deforestation, but the area has recently been designated as a protected area, and hopefully that will enable this tiny new chameleon to survive,” says Oliver Hawlitschek from the Centrum für Naturkunde in Hamburg.
Until now, the Brookesia micra was considered the smallest chameleon in the world.
The word carnivore in Africa instantly conjures images of long canines and sharp claws – powerful predators like lions or leopards, capable of rending flesh from bone or enthusiastic painted wolves coursing after their equally speedy prey or perhaps even the sinuous athleticism of Madagascar’s fossa. Yet one of the most highly specialized carnivores on the planet wanders the grasslands, deserts, and savannas of the African continent, largely unnoticed and unrecognized. This is the Aardwolf.
Africa’s aardwolf is one of the continent’s most underappreciated yet charming characters. Unlike their larger, spotted cousins, aardwolves are, for the most part, extremely shy and often elusive – few visitors are fortunate enough to spend any time with them and even fewer genuinely appreciate just how lucky they are to do so. For out of all the hyena species, the aardwolf is unique: the last of the dog-like hyenas to survive an evolutionary purge by virtue of its somewhat unusual diet.
The black sheep of the family
The aardwolf (Proteles cristata) is a member of the Hyaenidae family, along with the spotted hyena (Crocuta Crocuta), the brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) and the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena). Of all the hyena species, the aardwolf looks most like a striped hyena, though this is where the similarities end.
The ancestral origins of all four species can be traced back to a civet-like hyena species known as Plioviverrops that thrived throughout Eurasia around 20-22 million years ago. Devoid of canine competition at the time, the early hyenas provided a particularly neat example of convergent evolution – steadily developing longer legs and pointed jaws like those of the canid species in North America. From there, evolution began to follow two different specializations, producing a dog-like hyena lineage that chased down smaller prey and a bone-crushing lineage of hyenas capable of capitalizing on the kills of the large felid species. By 15 million years ago, 30 different species of hyenas roamed early Earth, most of which were dog-like hyenas not dissimilar to jackals.
Then, for the hyenas at least, catastrophe stuck sometime between the 5 to 7-million-year mark. Climate changes resulted in a gradual decline in dog-like hyenas and canid species began to cross the Bering land bridge (between present-day Russia and Alaska) into Eurasia. What followed, presumably, was an evolutionary war of competition, with the canids emerging victorious. One by one, the dog-like hyenas vanished, barring a scattered few: the ancestors of the aardwolf, now the sole survivor of an evolutionary dead-end.
Compared to its bone-crunching cousins, the aardwolf is fine-featured and delicate
Fussy eating is not always a bad thing
Most evolutionary biologists point to one particular trait responsible for the aardwolf’s survival – the ability to digest the toxic terpene excretions of termites. Myrmecophagy (eating termites or ants) is surprisingly rare in the mammal kingdom and it is a trait typically associated with more ‘primitive’ species such as the pangolin or aardvark. (For the sake of clarity, it is important to note that while many mammals feed on termites or ants on occasion, myrmecophagous mammals are entirely dependent upon them.) What makes the aardwolf so fascinating is that its origin is considered to be relatively recent, with the oldest member of its family tracing back to around between 10 and 20 million years ago (unlike pangolins or aardvarks, whose ancestors have been around for some 60 million years).
Speculative biologists suggest that perhaps it was the aardwolf’s ancestor’s exceptional capacity to digest decaying food that imparted at least a partial tolerance to the otherwise toxic excretions of the termites. This in turn allowed these ancestors to slide into an ecological niche with significantly reduced levels of competition by changing their dietary approach. Unlike the previously evolved termite specialists, aardwolves lack the powerful claws and digging equipment necessary to break open termite mounts to unearth their prey. As a result, aardwolves have come to rely on termite species that forage in large numbers on the soil surface. They feed mainly on nasute harvester termites of the Trinervitermes genus, though the specific species differs according to specific regions. During the cold winter months, they may shift to the more heavily pigmented (and therefore, more diurnally active) Hodotermes species.
Whatever the origins of this unusual dietary preference, the fate of the aardwolf’s success was irrevocably linked to the presence of these specific termites. As a result, in areas such as Zambia, Central and West Africa where these termite species are uncommon or do not congregate on the surface of the soil, the aardwolf is conspicuous by its absolute absence.
The long, dog-like muzzle and reduced molars of an aardwolf (left) compared to the blunt-nosed skull structure and robust molars of a spotted hyena (right).
The price of reduced competition
This reliance on specific dietary requirements may have allowed the aardwolf to survive the extinction that awaited all other dog-like hyenas, but every adaptation comes with its own cost. Unlike their bone-crushing cousins whose bite-force is renowned, the slim-jawed aardwolf lacks this characteristic entirely and their molars are greatly reduced in size. Their tongues and palates have broadened, and massive salivary glands secrete a constant stream of sticky saliva that coats the tongue, which in turn is covered with hardened papillae, allowing the aardwolf to lap up over 200,000 termites every night. There are patchy records of aardwolves consuming small mammals and birds, but these instances are rare and likely highly opportunistic as the peg-like molars would struggle to process harder food sources.
Given the available numbers of termites, this specialization might seem ideal, but researchers have also shown that seasonal abundance has a profound impact on an aardwolf’s physical condition and survival chances. Termites are temperature sensitive and may be entirely inactive during the cold winter months. Research shows that during this time, the aardwolf’s termite intake reduces to just a fifth of the normal amount and body mass losses of up to 20% have been recorded. These winter months have also been shown to be the period of highest mortality for cubs.
This has interesting ethical implications for guides and visitors looking to view one of Africa’s more unusual offerings. The best chance of seeing an aardwolf is during the winter months when, similar to aardvarks, their behaviour becomes more diurnal to conserve heat. However, great care should be taken to avoid frightening or chasing them during this period, as this unnecessary burst of energy will just add a metabolic drain to their already stressed bodies.
Unlike aardvarks, aardwolves usually leave the termite mounds intact, preferring to lick termites off the surface of the soil.
Familial familiarity
While their diets are diametrically opposed, the aardwolf does bear some similarities to its larger bone-crushing congeners, particularly in terms of behaviour. Like the striped hyena, aardwolves generally form monogamous pairs and like all other members of the family, they have highly developed anal glands that produce a pungent paste used to mark territorial boundaries.
They occupy burrow systems, and both the males and females accept responsibility for caring for their young, with the male guarding the den while the lactating female is foraging. As is the case with most monogamous pairings in nature, monogamy does not always equate to fidelity. Typically, this takes the form of male promiscuity but in aardwolves, both the males and females have been observed mating with neighbouring or intruding individuals. In many cases, a more dominant male neighbour will begin regular incursions onto a rival’s territory prior to the onset of the female’s oestrus, sometimes adding their own scent marks inside the territory itself. The female, if allowed the opportunity, will readily mate with the more dominant intruding male. This overt cuckoldry is rare in the animal kingdom and may result in the male deserting the female, a behaviour that has been observed in aardwolves. However, research suggests that this desertion is rare and that the male will usually continue to raise the cubs as his own. Fights between rival males, while unusual, can be ferocious, accompanied by an extraordinary range of vocalizations including a roar-like sound.
The cubs themselves are born with their eyes open, like other hyena species, but remain inside the den for at least six weeks. The litters usually consist of around two to three cubs (though up to five have been recorded) and they begin to venture out on brief foraging excursions at around three months old. Though they reach independence at a young age (between four and six months old), they usually remain with their parents until their mother comes back into oestrus.
Grass flies everywhere as an aardwolf has a vigorous shake after emerging from the grass while foraging at sunset
A consummate survivor
Despite the fact that their retiring natures mean that they are seldom seen, aardwolf numbers appear to be relatively stable, at least for now, earning them a conservation status of “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List. In the past, their association with the hyena family caused significant levels of persecution at the hands of farmers under the mistaken impression that they were preying on their livestock. Fortunately, this misconception has been rectified for the most part through educational campaigns and aardwolf populations have been observed to be flourishing in some agriculture areas.
As a specialized forager, conservation organizations recognize that future environmental changes such as global warming may have a significant impact on aardwolves as has already been demonstrated in aardvarks. However, the extent of this impact is still unclear.
Conclusion
Expectations around safari experiences are changing and there is a growing realization that not everything revolves around spotting the ‘Big 5’, as wonderful and iconic as they may be. Many visitors to Africa are now equally enthralled by the prospect of viewing some of her more unusual offerings – from slinking servals to powerful-bodied aardvarks and endangered pangolins. Yet somehow the aardwolf seems to have remained cloaked in obscurity, despite their fascinating lives and intriguing evolutionary oddities.
This is a copy of our weekly email newsletter. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter.
It is time to rally together and kill the enemy that is IGNORANCE. Because ignorance fuels the ideological differences that cause us to bicker while Rome burns and results in environmental enthusiasts in the western world lambasting African people for a perceived lack of commitment to wildlife conservation – amongst other consequences. At the root of most behaviour that is destructive to biodiversity and ecosystems lies ignorance.
SO THIS IS A CALL-OUT: Please help us destroy ignorance. The more people we can recruit into our tribe, the more we can spread fact and considered opinion to counter the mountains of misinformation that now dominate our lives. You can help us destroy ignorance by sending this link to those of your family and friends that you know care for Africa as much as you do. Let’s build this tribe and kick some ignorant butts.
Our first story below illustrates my call-out fairly well. No single factor killed those elephants in Botswana last year, nor is there a SILVER BULLET solution. Despite what the needy campaigners will tell you, as they draw a straight line between these deaths and their personal feelings. Now, respected scientists have suggested additional factors that contributed to the elephants’ demise. No, it’s not 5G or Covid-19 or any of the other silly suggestions from the armchair experts. This is an important read to understand how complex these situations often are.
Then, some intriguing details about the sexual DALLIANCES of those remarkable creatures – hyenas. And our third story below is the next instalment of our ever-popular Photographer of the Year – week four. Kick back, scroll, enjoy.
Finally, I leave you with this quote, emailed to me by tribe member Mark Winsloe from the US. “The rarer they get, the fewer meanings animals can have. Eventually, rarity is all they are made of.” – Helen MacDonald
Story 1 THOSE DEAD ELEPHANTS
New study examines whether fences could have impacted the elephant deaths in the Seronga region of Botswana in mid-2020
Story 2 SEX AND THE BUSHVELD
High-ranked male spotted hyenas are more reproductively successful than their low-ranked rivals – based on hormone and behaviour analysis
Story 3 BEST PHOTOS
Week four of our 2021 Photographer of the Year
Did you know: Giraffes hum to each other at night – according to research
Our Photographer of the Year 2021 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the overall winner and the two runners-up. They and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
The competition runs from January to June 2021. Get your entries in now and join us in celebrating Africa! Proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Natural Selection.
Did fences in northern Botswana cause the mysterious death of hundreds of elephants in 2020? News media have been quick on the draw to blame fences, after the release of a recent report suggests a strong link. But, as is often the case, the situation is nuanced and requires pragmatic analysis rather than finding simple solutions to complex problems.
Between March and June 2020, a mysterious illness claimed the lives of 330 elephants in the Seronga district of Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Now, a new study has shed light on the broader ecological implications of these elephant deaths and how a complex interplay of natural and anthropogenic factors (including fences) all played a role.
Scientists have used previous research on elephant movements in the area to interpret the wider conservation implications of these deaths. In particular, their conclusions highlight three main aspects significant for the management of elephant populations, not just in Botswana but throughout Africa:
The impact of fences on conservation – data from collared elephants indicates that the combination of the Okavango River and fences have prevented the elephant population in Seronga from dispersing under unfavourable conditions;
The overlap between natural and unnatural factors – the elephants were likely more susceptible to natural diseases/toxins due to anthropogenic restrictions and, potentially, stress due to human-wildlife conflict;
Land-sharing between people and elephants becomes superficial when the elephants’ access to resource is restricted, and they are prevented from dispersing naturally.
Their recommendation to mitigate future mass die-offs is to remove or realign certain fences around the Seronga district of Botswana.
The background
As would be expected, the deaths of such large numbers of elephants fuelled considerable concern and significant media speculation, though investigating authorities ruled out poisoning, poaching, and anthrax. Samples were sent for testing in Zimbabwe, the United States and South Africa’s Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria, though COVID-19 restrictions delayed the process significantly. In September, Botswanan officials announced that the deaths had resulted from poisoning by cyanobacterial toxins caused by a bloom of cyanobacteria in the available waterholes. These bacteria are naturally occurring, and ‘blooms’ happen when conditions are suitable.
The recently published (11 January 2021) report was written in October 2020, just after the Botswana government’s announcement regarding the cause of death. However, the authors note that other carcasses, including domestic animals, would have been expected had the pans been contaminated by cyanobacteria. They state that the “restriction of freshwater supplies that force elephants to use pans as a water source possibly polluted by blue-green algae blooms is a possible cause, but as yet not supported by evidence.”
Most of the elephant carcasses were found within an area administratively known as NG11, along the Panhandle region of the Delta – a region where human-wildlife conflict is rife. Neither NG11 nor neighbouring NG12 have protected status and are designated for subsistence agriculture. These regions neighbour the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area that extends over five countries and is home to the largest population of African bush (savanna) elephant in Africa.
NG11 and NG12 administrative blocks have no protected status (A). The Seronga area (NG11, NG12, and a part of NG13) is cut off from the surrounding landscape by either deep water of the Okavango River and Delta (blue) or veterinary or border fences (dashed lines) (B). The shapefiles for the protected areas were sourced from the World Database on Protected Areas (https://www.protectedplanet.net/en) and for the Okavango Delta from the ESA Climate Change Initiative (Land Cover project 2017).
The research
The study was authored by members of the Conservation Ecology Research Unit in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria and the Nicholas School of Duke University Environment. Their previous research included a long-running research programme in the region, tracking the movements of ten collared elephants within NG11 for several years and those of elephants in neighbouring blocks. Their research indicates that the elephants within NG11 are restricted by the Okavango River to the west and international border and veterinary fences to the north, east and south. As a result, the elephants cannot disperse when numbers are too high or when environmental conditions are harmful. The population growth rate for the Seronga area since 1995 is exceptionally high, and elephant numbers in NG11 and NG12 are significantly higher than those in neighbouring blocks, though densities are comparable.
The report concludes that while a disease is a likely explanation for the mass die-off, this would have been caused by several forces acting in concert, exacerbated by both natural and artificial factors. The restricted movements have resulted in high densities of elephants and, at the same time, confined the death-causing agent to one specific region. It is also possible that poaching, conflict with people and restricted access to the Okavango Region forced elephants to rely on stagnant water. Increased stress levels may also have increased their susceptibility to disease. Thus, the article suggests that “such a complex chain of events consisting of multiple causes makes communication complex and policy actions intricate.”
The pathways of five elephants in the Seronga area (NG11, NG12, and NG13) from October 2003 to November 2006 and eight elephants roaming beyond Seronga that we tracked from November 2004 to March 2010. The elephants in Seronga did not cross the veterinary fence (dashed lines) or the Okavango Panhandle. Neither did the elephants beyond the boundaries separating Seronga and the adjacent areas in Botswana, Namibia, Angola, and Zambia. Basemap Source: ESRI, MAXAR.
The implications
These complexities highlight several aspects for deeper consideration. The first is the impact of fences on the broader African conservation landscapes and how, historically, veterinary fences have contributed to the declines of antelope species such as sable and tsessebe, and zebra and wildebeest numbers. According to the authors, the restriction of elephant movement and dispersal in Seronga adds more evidence of the potential hazards of fencing. However, they acknowledge that this is area-specific and there are areas, like South Africa, for instance, where fencing may benefit conservation.
The second is what kind of management response is required, given that the causes were likely a combination of natural and anthropogenic ones. Diseases are not unnatural, and mass die-off events are not without precedent. However, the barriers that prevent dispersal and access to the permanent river are unnatural.
The third aspect centres around the discussion of the human-wildlife coexistence (or lack thereof). Essentially, the question of land-sharing, as opposed to land-sparing in the case of national parks, becomes superficial when access to resources is restricted, and artificial barriers prevent dispersal, allowing for the spread of contagious disease. The land is not “shared” with them. Here, the authors recommend a discussion around realigning to veterinary fences.
In essence, the deaths of 330 elephants will have little impact on the region’s overall population and represent just 2% of the total estimated 15,000 elephants in the Seronga region. The event that caused their death, whether contagious disease or poisoning by cyanobacterial toxins, is almost certainly natural. However, the circumstances that made it more likely to occur are due to human restrictions on both movement and access to fresh water.
The authors conclude that “we must not allow our predilections for simple answers to interfere with reasoned analysis and discussing the broader significance.”
The full study can be accessed here: “The 2020 elephant die-off in Botswana”, van Aarde RJ., Pimm SL., Guldemond R., Huang R., Maré C., (2021), PeerJ
For animals, reproduction is a biological imperative, an instinct to pass their genetics onto the next generation. This translates into a complex dance of competition, dominance, and courtship for the males of the species. The process is even more fascinating in spotted hyena clans, with their hierarchies and intricate systems of power-plays and alliances. Long-term behavioural research and hormone analysis by the Hyena Project in Tanzania reveal further insight into the complicated romantic lives of spotted hyenas.
As is the case with the females, every individual male hyena in a clan has a particular rank, with immigrant males finding themselves at the bottom of the clan hierarchy. Status and dominance equate to better access to both food and females. The researchers’ questions set out to answer related to how this social rank influences an individual’s reproductive success. Were high ranked males more successful because they are stronger and fitter and, therefore, a more attractive mate choice likely to produce sturdy offspring? Or, given the intricacies of hyena society, was the reason more complex? The results of the research indicate the latter.
Due to the clan hierarchy and their unique genital structure, female spotted hyenas control the process of mate selection entirely. Extended courtships are the order of the day for hopeful males, and they will nurture their relationships with certain females, sometimes for years at a time. The supplicant male will do everything in his power to convey his intentions to a receptive female, bowing and scraping in a comic display of humility. If he is successful, she may just allow him to mate with her. According to the study results, high-ranked females are more in demand than those of a lower rank, which is to be expected given the benefits conferred on offspring of higher-ranked females (“the silver spoon effect”).
Three male hyenas courting a female.
Naturally, this intensive courtship requires both time and energy, things that the study indicates are in shorter supply for lower-ranked males. In collecting over 400 samples of fresh hyena scat, the researchers analysed levels of faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations – cortisol, a stress hormone – to estimate the psychological effects of social interactions between clan individuals. The results indicate that male-male interactions are more stressful for the low-ranking males than for high-ranking ones. These interactions are an inevitable part of everyday life for spotted hyenas. The males are obliged to maintain relationships with clan-mates but low-ranked males, understandably, spend more time on their own, avoiding stressful situations. In essence, low ranked individuals invest less time in sexual activities, social activities and spend more time away from clan mates.
Researchers at the Hyena Project in the Ngorongoro Crater in northern Tanzania have recorded behavioural data of spotted hyenas for over 20 years. In recognising each clan member and understanding their histories and dynamics, the authors of the study were able to use the biological information imparted by hormone analysis to interpret observed behavioural trends.
In conclusion, the researchers note that fortunately, for the low-ranking hyena males, chances are their time will come. ‘Social queuing’ means that a male hyena’s status and rank will increase when a higher-ranking individual dies or disperses. Rather than using physical strength and violence to increase their chances of reproducing, it is simply a matter of patience for most.
Group of hyenas during boundary encounter with another clan. Internal skirmishes are forgotten in the face of a common enemy.
Travel in Africa is about knowing when and where to go, and with whom. A few weeks too early/late or a few kilometres off course, and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. And wouldn’t that be a pity?
Trust & Safety
Guest payments are processed through Flywire, a leading international payment gateway known for its high safety and security standards. Also, we are members of SATSA, who attest to our integrity, legal compliance, and financial stability.
We donate a portion of the revenue from every safari sold to carefully selected conservation projects that make a significant difference at ground level.
YOUR safari choice does make a difference - thank you!
WATCH: An animated summary of the findings can be viewed here: African elephants only occupy a fraction of their potential range. (1:22)
When I started guiding, too many years ago than I care to admit, showing my guests a kill was the ultimate goal. I’m not sure why – perhaps it was because so many nature documentaries climaxed with a takedown. The first time I saw the light leaving the eyes of a terrified impala ram with a leopardess’s jaws clamped around his trachea, I wasn’t sure I wished to see it again. In our first story below, Kenyan guide James Nampaso, treats us to a terrific photo gallery of nature’s sometimes heartrending reality.
Travel writer, mountain guide and mother, Sarah Kingdom was born and brought up in Sydney, Australia. Coming to Africa at 21, she fell in love with the continent and stayed. Sarah guides on Kilimanjaro several times a year, and has lost count of how many times she has stood on the roof of Africa. She has climbed and guided throughout the Himalayas and now spends most of her time visiting remote places in Africa. When she is not travelling, she runs a cattle ranch in Zambia with her husband.
