A tenth endangered black rhino has reportedly died after a botched translocation from one Kenyan reserve to another. We previously reported the death of eight rhinos, and later added a ninth death to this post.
The eleventh rhino is in critical condition and could also die after being attacked by lions.
The rhinos were being translocated from Nairobi and Nakuru National Parks to the newly-created sanctuary in the southeast of the country to offer a more secure location for the endangered species. Preliminary investigations showed that salt poisoning from the water may have been cause of death.
“According to the inquiry team, the cause of all the deaths was due to multiple stress syndrome intensified by salt poisoning and complicated by the following conditions: dehydration, starvation, proliferation of opportunistic bacteria in upper respiratory tract, gastric ulcers and gastritis,” said Kenya’s Wildlife and Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala.
Balala said that six of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officials involved in the deadly operation had been suspended due to negligence.
“The independent inquiry further showed there were areas of clear negligence that occurred post translocation at the release site in Tsavo, especially in the holding boma at the sanctuary. These included poor co-ordination and communication among officers that were responsible for pre-translocation studies, including biomass assessments; environmental impact assessments and water quality assessments. The investigators found unacceptable professional negligence among the officers, who are forthwith suspended pending further disciplinary action to be taken as appropriate by the Board of KWS.”
This latest update was provided by Kenya’s Wildlife and Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala on Thursday.
An elephant herd from above in Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve. Image source: De Beers Group
Media release from De Beers Group
De Beers Group has begun to transport 200 elephants across 1,500km from its Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve (VLNR) in South Africa to Mozambique. The operation, one of the largest elephant translocations ever recorded in South Africa, is part of a major conservation initiative to protect the welfare of wildlife in South Africa and help restore Mozambique’s elephant population.
For the first phase of the project, approximately 60 elephants will be transported in July and August from the VLNR to Zinave National Park in southern Mozambique. The remaining elephants will be moved to conservation areas that hold sufficient elephant carrying capacity within Mozambique from next year.
An elephant in Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve. Image source: De Beers Group
De Beers Group is partnering with Peace Parks Foundation, a leading not-for-profit organisation focused on the preservation of large functional cross-border ecosystems, to carry out the initiative. Through formal agreements with Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas, Peace Parks Foundation co-manages Zinave National Park, which is an integral component of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area.
Zinave National Park offers prime habitat for elephants
Peace Parks Foundation will assist De Beers Group with the translocation, ensuring the elephants’ social groups aren’t disturbed and that they flourish in their new habitat through ongoing monitoring of their well-being and enhanced protection efforts.
Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “There is no greater symbol of Africa than the majestic elephant. For us to be able to help secure their future in Mozambique, while also ensuring other species at our Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve can flourish, is something every employee of De Beers Group is proud of. This translocation is born of a deep sense of responsibility and is part of our wider commitment to continue to invest in new and innovative ways to protect the natural world.”
Close-up of elephants in Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve. Image source: De Beers Group
Covering 32,000 hectares and established in the early 1990s, the VLNR can accommodate around 60 elephants without adverse impacts on the surrounding ecosystem. Currently, however, there are more than 270 elephants on the reserve, as a result of natural population growth, with their presence risking extensive damage to an ecosystem that must sustain a diverse wildlife population.
By contrast, wildlife populations in Zinave National Park, which was founded in the 1960s, have been critically depleted following Mozambique’s 15-year civil war. The park offers significant carrying capacity for large numbers of elephants across its 408,000 hectares, and is currently home to only around 60 of them.
A young elephant with its trunk in the air in Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve. Image source: De Beers Group
Werner Myburgh, CEO, Peace Parks Foundation, said: “Ecosystems require a range of fauna and flora to stay balanced. If you remove one species, such as elephant, it has a ripple effect on the whole system. The reintroduction of elephants to Mozambique will bring us one step closer to achieving our dream of restoring the landscape and establishing uninterrupted connectivity with seamless migration of wildlife across the parks within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area.”
As part of its investment in the elephant translocation initiative, De Beers Group is also providing Peace Parks Foundation with US$500,000 over five years towards anti-poaching support measures, which will include the hiring and training of new park rangers, and the opening of new access roads to increase patrol coverage.
Elephants at a waterhole in Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve. Image source: De Beers Group
Mateus Mutemba, General Director of the National Administration for Conservation Areas in Mozambique, said: “The overall partnership with Peace Parks Foundation in Zinave, Banhine and Limpopo Parks represents to us a meaningful contribution towards our goal of making these areas viable for tourism and nature-based conservation icons and part of a regional effort and landscape, the GLTCA. Overall this year alone Zinave will receive around one thousand animals into Zinave including wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, and impala and a total of one hundred elephants. The Beers Group contribution provides an important financial boost not only into this translocation process but also in the protection of these animals”.
Watch the video below introducing the Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve in South Africa
The Cape leopard is the stuff of legends. This seldom-seen, highly elusive apex predator survives in some of the most inhospitable habitats imaginable – the rugged, nutrient-poor fynbos biome of the Cape Fold Mountains.
Despite habitat limitations, this region historically hosted many wildlife species, including black rhino, Cape mountain zebra, bontebok, Cape buffalo, hippopotamus, elephant, spotted hyena, brown hyena, and wild dog – all of which now occur only in some fenced private and national game reserves in the Cape. The Cape lion, quagga and bluebuck also occurred in the area, but are now extinct.
The arrival of permanent European settlers signalled the death knell for these species in the wild, and 365 years later, the pressure has escalated. And yet the Cape leopard is hanging in there. And they do so with other hardy survivors such as African wildcat, chacma baboon, caracal (rooikat), Cape clawless otter, Cape fox, large-spotted genet, striped polecat, honey badger and several antelope species.
So, what is the Cape leopard’s secret? How does the Cape’s apex predator escape local extinction? In a nutshell, Cape leopards continue to survive because they are adaptive to change, opportunistic about food sources and because of the vastness of their home ranges.
1. The Cape leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) is the same species as the savanna/bushveld leopard, despite the differences noted below. The southern African leopard population comprises several geographically isolated groups, with slight genetic variation caused by geographic isolation. These differences are not enough to classify each group as a separate subspecies.
2. Cape leopards are about half the mass of savanna leopards. On average, males weigh in at around 35kg (savanna leopard 60-70kg), whereas females weigh around 20kg (savanna leopard 35-40kg).
3. Home ranges are far more extensive than those of savanna leopards. While male leopards in the Kruger National Park have a home range of 25 to 50km², the range of a male Cape leopard is between 200 and 1,000km².
4. Contrary to popular belief, Cape leopards do not commonly target livestock, unless food is scarce and there is an easy opportunity.
5. Females give birth to two to three cubs in a litter, but conditions are very harsh in the Cape mountains, and there is a high mortality rate in the first six months of a cub’s life.
6. Leopards in Africa are classified as ‘Vulnerable’, but Cape leopards are more threatened than other leopards because of urbanisation and limited suitable habitat.
7. Although one should always be very cautious when encountering any predator, Cape leopards are generally extremely wary of people and will readily retreat – except when threatened or cornered. A Cape leopard sighting usually is only very brief – the leopard will appear as if from nowhere, stand still for a few seconds, and then disappear into the fynbos once more. There are no reports of unprovoked attacks on people in the Western Cape. However, if one were to corner a Cape leopard or threaten a female’s cubs, they could be extremely dangerous;
8. There is no definitive total for leopard numbers in the Western Cape; however, data from recent studies in three distinct mountain areas suggest the number to be fewer than 1,000.
9. Leopards are opportunistic and adaptive hunters. Cape leopards mainly target rock rabbits (dassies), klipspringers, Cape grysbok and porcupines. Baboons do not form a significant part of their diet.
• Human-wildlife conflict:
-Illegal hunting with snares for bush meat, which depletes the prey base and also kills leopards, which get caught in the snares despite not being the intended targets;
-Direct persecution by farmers in retaliation for livestock losses (guilty or not);
-Indiscriminate use of poisons and pesticides;
• Habitat loss and fragmentation;
• Roads and traffic;
• Too frequent and large-scale veld fires, which damage ecosystem health;
• Natural threats, particularly to cubs, include black eagles, snakes, disease, malnutrition and territorial killings by other leopards.
Human-wildlife conflict is a complex issue, and there is no simple single solution. Instead, various ways can be used in combination, depending on the circumstances. The Cape Leopard Trust believes in a holistic livestock management strategy rather than trying to manage predators.
In essence, this means taking livestock off the predator’s menu. These methods include well-trained livestock guardian dogs, traditional herding, and keeping livestock in adequately fenced, predator-proof kraals at night.
Farmers often face challenging situations with livestock depredation by leopards. Education is critical, and they need to understand how and why they need to protect their livestock rather than reverting to simply killing all predators using unselective and inhumane methods. Killing predators does not solve the problems in the long term, because new individuals will move in to take over the vacant territory. All predators fulfil a vital function in our ecosystem – without them, adverse knock-on effects are likely.
In rare instances, one specific individual leopard may be classified as a ‘problem animal’ and dealt with as such by the authorities. The Cape Leopard Trust always seeks to work with landowners and CapeNature to find viable, long-term solutions that are effective and relevant to each farm.
Why are Cape leopards important?
These beautiful, enigmatic creatures epitomise wilderness, and that is reason enough for many people. For those that require more substantive reasoning, Cape leopards are the top (apex) predator in the Cape, which means that they are a vital cog in maintaining ecosystems and other species.
The Cape Leopard Trust is a non-profit, public benefit organisation, funded primarily by corporate funders, trust funds and private donors.
• Donate: http://capeleopard.org.za/donate.
• Sponsor a school camp or eco-club for disadvantaged children.
• South Africans only: Sign up for a MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet card and choose the Cape Leopard Trust as your beneficiary. The card is completely free, and participating stores will donate a percentage of your spend to the charity of your choice http://www.myschool.co.za.
• Spread awareness of the Cape Leopard Trust and the need to protect leopard habitat and prey to ensure their long-term survival.
• Follow the Cape Leopard Trust on their website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for regular updates.
• While enjoying time out in nature, be on the lookout for illegal wire snares. Cut and disarm these snares and report them to the Cape Leopard Trust. Also, report any other suspicious activity, like other traps and feral dogs.
• Drive slowly and carefully through mountainous areas to avoid hitting wild animals – including leopards and their prey.
• Farmers: Adopt holistic livestock husbandry practices to avoid conflict with leopards.
• Property owners: Refrain from hunting/killing ‘agricultural or garden pests’ like porcupine, grysbok, duiker and dassie – these are leopards’ main prey.
The Cape Leopard Trust was initiated in 2004 in the Cederberg to study the ecology of the Cape leopard. Dr Quinton Martins began his studies by hiking these mountains and searching for signs of leopards. The literature on the subject was almost non-existent, and yet they were being killed in large numbers. Quinton teamed up with farmer Johan van der Westhuizen as co-founder, supported by Dr Andrew Baxter, and so the Cape Leopard Trust was born. After a successful fundraising event, Leopard’s Leap Family Vineyards and Rand Merchant Bank Fund pledged their support, and momentum began building. Over the years, activities expanded to include projects in the Boland, Little Karoo, Namaqualand, and the Table Mountain National Park.
The Trust also supports predator projects in partnership with the Department of Conservation Ecology at the University of Stellenbosch and the Animal Demography Unit (ADU) at the University of Cape Town. The Cape Leopard Trust Education and Outreach Programme (est. 2009) is a vital component of their work. It operates mainly in the Cederberg Wilderness Area, the Boland Mountains and the Cape Peninsula.
The Trust uses research to advance conservation, find solutions to human-wildlife conflict, and inspire interest in the environment through an interactive, dynamic environmental education programme. Since its inception, it has become an authority on predator conservation in the Cape, and one of the leading authorities in SA.
The long-term vision is to ensure the survival of leopard populations by promoting peaceful coexistence and protecting landscapes, empowered by scientific research, positive community partnerships, education, and advocacy.
ABOUT Simon Espley
Simon Espley is an African of the digital tribe, a chartered accountant and CEO of Africa Geographic. His travels in Africa are in search of wilderness, real people with interesting stories and elusive birds. He lives in the South African Lowveld with his wife Lizz and two Jack Russells, and when not travelling or working, he will be on his mountain bike somewhere out there. His motto is ‘Live for now, have fun, be good, tread lightly and respect others. And embrace change.’
Press release from University of Pretoria/Sea Search – Namibian Dolphin Project
Research led by scientists at the University of Pretoria has shed light on an evolutionary arms race with a twist. This research, conducted by Morgan J. Martin, a Ph.D. student from the university has found that the small Heaviside’s dolphins (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii) selectively switch between cryptic, high frequency, echolocation sounds used to search for prey, and lower frequency communication sounds which help to maintain their highly social lifestyle. However, this switch may come at the risk of being heard by their key predator – killer whales (Orcinus orca).
About Heaviside’s dolphins
Heaviside’s dolphins are only found in the Benguela Ecosystem along the west coast of southern Africa and range from southern Angola to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. They are one of the smallest dolphins on Earth, smaller than a person (i.e. less than 1.7 m long) and found in shallow waters along the coast.
“Heaviside’s dolphins are a poorly understood species of dolphin and we are working to collect as much baseline information as possible on their numbers and behaviour,” says Dr. Simon Elwen, a marine mammal expert at the University of Pretoria and director of the Namibian Dolphin Project.
What we know about sound use in Heaviside’s dolphin
All dolphins use sound to find objects in their environment, such as fish. This process, called echolocation, involves the animal producing a sound commonly termed a ‘click’, which hits a target, producing an echo which the animal hears and processes, effectively ‘seeing the world with sound’. Most dolphins also use other sounds, such as whistles, to communicate over long distances. Heaviside’s dolphins are one of 13 species of toothed whales that have lost the ability to produce whistles for communication.
In addition, most dolphins echolocate with clicks that cover a range of frequencies, from around 10 kHz to 200 kHz; however, these 13 species have shifted their echolocation signals to occur only in an incredibly high and narrow frequency band around 130 kHz (almost seven times higher than the 20 kHz upper limit of human hearing and even above the hearing limit of killer whales). These acoustic adaptations are thought to reflect a type of acoustic crypsis, meaning that they decrease the risk of being heard by predatory killer whales.
Scientists from the Namibian Dolphin Project and the University of Pretoria first started recording Heaviside’s dolphins in 2009 in Walvis Bay, Namibia.
“When we first recorded the dolphins, we noticed unusual features to the sounds, which Morgan Martin has investigated further,” says Dr Tess Gridley (now based at the University of Cape Town).
In contrast to the prevailing idea that many dolphin species are effectively acoustically hiding from predators, Martin’s results showed that Heaviside’s dolphins are commonly producing communication signals consisting of click sounds at a much lower frequency and with a more broadband structure (i.e. the sounds cover a range of frequencies). This makes them very different from other similar dolphins and porpoises, a result which has surprised scientists worldwide.
These lower frequency clicks are risky to produce because they can easily be heard by eavesdropping killer whales which potentially increases the chance that Heaviside’s dolphins end up on the dinner table.
“Heaviside’s dolphins seem to be hunting and navigating using typical narrowband high-frequency clicks, but use riskier lower-frequency clicks when they communicate with each other,” explains Martin.
The research team then started wondering about why these dolphins would switch to signals that were more likely to be heard by potential predators when they could stick to their “safer” cryptic biosonar signal.
“The lower frequency of these communication signals means that they are less directional and travel further underwater, so they are much more effective for social communication,” says Dr Frants Jensen, a bioacoustics expert at Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies and co-author of the study. “So far, this seems to be the only narrowband high-frequency species that selectively increases communication range by changing the structure of their clicks,” emphasises Martin.
The team’s initial paper on the research, Heaviside’s dolphins relax acoustic crypsis to increase communication range, was published on July 18th in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. Indeed, four months ago, Martin and her team observed a pair of killer whales attacking and killing a Heaviside’s dolphin right after they had observed the dolphins socialising in a group nearby. It is possible that their lower frequency communication sounds gave the dolphins away to the lurking predators.
While research has shown how these sounds are important for communication, Martin emphasises that there’s still much more to learn, “These dolphins communicate by emitting bursts of very rapid clicks (more than 500 clicks per second) at highly varying repetition rates. We don’t yet know what information they can encode when they produce these sounds, but we are trying to find out”. Martin adds that the next paper will link specific sounds produced underwater with surface behaviours to understand the function of different social signals.
Full report: Morgan J. Martin, Tess Gridley, Simon H. Elwen, Frants H. Jensen (2018). Heaviside’s dolphins (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii) relax acoustic crypsis to increase communication range. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B.https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1178
The authors gratefully acknowledge research funding by the University of Pretoria, a United States Fulbright Research Fellowship, Claude Leon Foundation, National Research Foundation and National Geographic Society’s Emerging Explorers Grant in conjunction with the Waiit Foundation.
They are clumsy, incredibly cute, and curious about everything. Their ears and feet are too big for their bodies, and their large, inquisitive eyes seem to suck you right in. They have protective, doting parents that keep an eye on them 24/7 and will protect them no matter the cost. These are the incredibly adorable wild babies of Africa – guaranteed to put a smile on your face, whether it is while out on safari, or from the comfort of your home looking at photographs.
We are celebrating those delightful and captivating youngsters in this gallery, Celebrating Africa’s Wild Babies, which comprises of a selection of stunning photos, along with some interesting facts and thoughts from the photographers themselves. And they’re not just any photos; they’re some of the special photos submitted during our Photographer of the Year 2017 and 2018 competitions.
If you are ever stuck with identifying the species of an elephant, take a look at their ears. When an African elephant’s ears are stretched out, like this little guy here, you will see that they are shaped like the African continent. Meanwhile, Asian elephants have smaller ears, which are more rounded on top and flat along the bottom. An elephant’s ears act as a cooling mechanism to help keep the elephant from overheating.
“Photography at a kill can be very rewarding because of all the action and interaction. This was again the case at a lion kill of quite a big lion family of nine which included some cubs. All had enough to eat when all of a sudden this overfed lion cub just fell over on its back… looking at me!” ~ Johan J. Botha
When born, a mountain gorilla baby weighs only 3-4 pounds (1.4 to 1.8 kg) and has enough strength to cling onto its mother’s fur. From the age of about four months, they ride their mother’s back and continue doing so through the first two or three years of their lives. As it can become quite cold in their mountainous habitat, mountain gorilla fur is much thicker and longer than the lowland subspecies who have short, fine hair.
“On a trip to the Maasai Mara, we came across this mother cheetah with two young cubs. The mother rested a bit with her cubs who just lay against the termite mound and did not interact with each other. After a while, the mother wanted to start moving again, presumably to look for food. As she got up, the one cub grabbed her tail as if to say ‘don’t go!’.” ~ Teresa Nel
Newborn elephants stay very close to their mothers as they are unsteady on their feet and require support. They rely on touch, smell, and hearing as their eyesight is poor for the first few days.
“One early morning, I spent a few hours at a hyena den sight in Kruger National Park being entertained by inquisitive cubs exploring the surrounding. One of the cubs discovered loose feathers on the ground, of which some ended up gently sticking on its nose after a sniff. The playful scene in front of me produced this soft and innocent moment that I was able to capture with my camera.” ~ Senka Gavrilovic
“It was one of those days in the bush – and this can happen in Sabi Sand – with no sightings all day long. Before the usual stop for a sunset drink, we came across this baby rhino and his mother. He was having fun chasing an oxpecker and running around like crazy, but suddenly froze when he saw us and tried to hide, looking for protection from his mother.” ~ Andrea Galli
African wild dog pups are cared for by the entire pack. Once they are old enough to eat solid food, they are given priority at a kill (even over the dominant pair) and are allowed to eat first.
“We had watched this valiant mother cheetah drag her springbok kill across the valley to a safer place while all of her three cubs played around, jumping on the kill, racing each other, and generally making nuisances of themselves! Once she got the kill to some cover, they fed, and she was finally able to have some rest. Then, one by one, all the cubs came up to her, expressing the deep affection and bonds between them with touching sweetness – like this cub licking her nose. It was truly something special to witness.” ~ Sarah Zito
Lion cubs play with anything that arouses their interest, including their mother’s tail. Most of the time their play imitates behaviours they will use as adults, such as stalking and fighting. This is an important part of their development as playing will help the cubs learn these skills as well as help to form strong social bonds within the pride.
Baboons are very sociable creatures and are often found grooming, feeding and playing together within a troop. They are also very vocal and have many hand and arm gestures that help with communication – this also includes very expressive faces!
“A hyena mom had just arrived back from her night’s activities and was calling for her baby to come out of the den. A small black bundle came wobbling out, and the mother and pup enthusiastically greeted each other. After a few minutes, the mother decided it was time for the youngster to go back into the den, but the baby had other ideas, and it continually came back out to be with its mom. After about five minutes of this the mother firmly picked up her pup and put it back down the entrance hole of the den, the pup looked in our direction with a sad face that clearly said, ‘Awww Mom, do I have to?’.” ~ Andrea Schoeman
“After a long, foggy day on the Semien Mountains, I finally saw a troop of geladas. My attention was immediately attracted by a baby gelada, safe and protected in the centre of the group.” ~ Paolo Maccarone
White lions are technically leucistic, and not a separate species or subspecies. Leucism is where an animal does produce melanin (unlike albinos which produce no melanin), but the condition prevents melanin from being deposited in the fur, resulting in patches of white colouring in the fur.
According to a new lion bone export quota, 1,500 lion skeletons from captive-bred lions can now be exported annually from South Africa, effective from June 7. The announcement was made by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) Minister Dr Edna Molewa on Monday.
This new quota is nearly double the number of last year’s quota of 800 lion skeletons.
The DEA said that the quota is based on new evidence from a research project by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), in collaboration with the University of the Witwatersrand, Oxford University and the University of Kent.
The research showed that:
• there is a growing stockpile of lion bones due to restrictions;
• there has been no discernible increase in poaching of wild lions‚ but there appears to be an increase in the poaching of captive-bred lions for body parts (heads‚ faces‚ paws and claws);
• and the captive breeding industry is in a state of flux as breeders respond in different ways to the United States’ restrictions on trophies and the imposition of the skeleton export quota.
The DEA said there was a demand for lion bones and‚ if supply was restricted from the captive breeding facilities‚ dealers might seek illegal ways to source bones or start poaching lions.
It added: “South Africa has learned through its experience with rhino and abalone poaching that these illegal supply chains are very difficult to disband once they become established‚ and seeks to avoid such a scenario materialising.”
South Africa, considered a top destination for trophy hunting of captive-bred lions, is the world’s largest legal exporter of lion bones and skeletons, with currently around 6,000 to 8,000 lions held in captivity in more than 200 breeding facilities across the country.
“Hunting is part of South Africa’s policy of sustainable utilisation of natural resources – a principle supported by multilateral environmental agreements such as CITES and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). All activities involving the African lion, including hunting, possession and trade are regulated through a permit system; and our policies are supported by solid scientific evidence,” said Molewa in the statement.
Responding to the DEA’s announcement, the team behind the global documentary Blood Lions released this official statement:
‘Blood Lions condemns the recent announcement from DEA that the lion bone quota for export has been doubled to 1,500 carcasses. Unofficial reports in this regard had been circulating for months.
It would seem that the Minister has used a 2015 report, Bones of Contention, put out by Wildcru and the University of Witwatersrand as the basis of the decision. It is worth pointing out that the data in this report is now at least 4 to 5 years old, and that the circumstances around the captive breeding, hunting and export of bones has shifted somewhat. The bone trade may no longer simply be a convenient by-product of hunting, poaching of lions, both wild and captive is on the rise, and so is the demand for lion bones. And the DEA has missed one of the most important cautionary tones in this report: “the trade in tiger bones is an established threat to tiger conservation”. If this pertains to tigers, why would it not be the same for lions?
And Blood Lions is increasingly concerned at the way DEA continues to be involved in matters involving the captive lion breeding industry when they themselves claim their mandate to be solely about biodiversity conservation.’
[UPDATE July 17: Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife announced that a ninth black rhino has died]
Eight out of 14 critically endangered black rhinos have died after being translocated from one reserve to another in southern Kenya, according to a statement released by the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife.
The rhinos were being translocated from Nairobi and Nakuru National Parks to the newly-created sanctuary in the southeast of the country to offer a more secure location for the endangered species.
Preliminary investigations show that salt poisoning may have been the cause of death, as a result of the rhinos drinking water that contained a high level of salt – more than what they were accustomed to – in their new environment. The high salt levels lead to dehydration that triggers the thirst mechanism, resulting in excess water intake of the saline water that further exacerbates the problem.
Kenya’s Tourism and Wildlife Minister Najib Balala ordered the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to immediately suspend the translocations of the remaining rhinos. The three surviving rhinos who were also moved are being closely monitored by veterinary and park management teams and are being provided with fresh water in temporary water pans. The three rhinos who were due to be moved from Nakuru will remain in the park and are said to be safe and sound.
The Kenyan government said the death of the rhinos was “unprecedented” in more than a decade of such transfers. The relocation of endangered animals involves putting them to sleep during transit and then reviving them in a process that poses some risks. According to the ministry, Kenya transported 149 rhinos between 2005 and 2017 with eight deaths.
Losing the rhinos was “a complete disaster”, the Kenyan conservationist Paula Kahumbu, of WildlifeDirect, told the Associated Press.
“Rhinos have died, we have to say it openly when it happens, not a week later or a month later,” she said. “Something must have gone wrong, and we want to know what it is.”
According to the ministry, “this kind of mortality rate is unprecedented in KWS operations” and it has invited an external expert from South Africa to join in the investigation behind the deaths.
“Disciplinary action will definitely be taken, if the findings point towards negligence or unprofessional misconduct on the part of any KWS officers,” they added.
In 1874 Charles Darwin, along with six other eminent contemporaries, wrote to the Governor of Mauritius and its dependencies: “We the undersigned respectfully beg to call the attention of the Colonial Government of Mauritius to the imminent extermination of the gigantic Land Tortoises of the Mascarenes, commonly called ‘Indian Tortoises’…
No means being taken for their protection, they have become extinct in nearly all these islands, and Aldabra is now the only locality where the last remains of this animal form are known to exist in a state of nature.”
This was the first time – but not the last – that the intervention of scientists saved the Indian Ocean atoll of Aldabra. Now part of Seychelles, and enshrined in 1982 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Aldabra is home to the world’s largest population of giant tortoises, and as Darwin noted, the only remaining natural one in the Indian Ocean. Other Mascarene islands once had similar inhabitants; there were giant tortoises on the granitic Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoro islands; there were flightless birds on Mauritius and Réunion. Humans failed them all.
Described by UNESCO as a prime example of an oceanic island ecosystem, Aldabra is one of the last remaining such places on our planet, a refuge of stability in a volatile world. It is so isolated and so inhospitable to humans; one photographer called it “the island that wants to kill you”.
In the late 1960s, Aldabra again came under the spotlight of the international conservation community, when the British and US governments considered developing the world’s largest raised atoll as a military base. Several scientists from the Royal Society, supported by other scientific bodies such as the Smithsonian Institution, mounted a protest, gaining public support against the development (known as the “Aldabra Affair”). Eventually, the Society was able to buy the lease to the island. A research station was completed in 1971, and to this day a permanent 15-person research team lives on the island. In 1979, responsibility for the protection of the atoll was moved to a public trust, the Seychelles Islands Foundation, which continues to manage the island.
The atoll itself consists of four main islands: Picard, Polymnie, Malabar and Grande Terre.
The most westerly of these, Picard, is the only permanently inhabited part of Aldabra. This has been the case since Darwin’s day as it possesses by far the largest and safest beach, protected by the reef some half a kilometre offshore.
Attempting landings anywhere else on the outside of the atoll, even in the calmest weather, can spell disaster; sometime in the 1920s, the Lion, carrying 200 passengers, wrecked off the south coast, a stone’s throw from the shore. All but 20 perished in the surf and on the vicious rocks that line the coast. The few who survived the wreck soon died of dehydration.
It is not only humans who made good use of Picard’s Settlement Beach. Aldabra is one of the most important turtle nesting areas in the region, and this beach is by far the atoll’s most popular nesting site for green turtles. The turtle trade was the primary reason why Aldabra was settled in the first place. This trade was not unregulated, and the lessee of the island was required to inform the Governor of Mauritius of intended catches.
However, documentary evidence shows that in the early 1900s, lessees were requesting (and presumably granted) permission to land a staggering 12,000 turtles a year – mostly nesting females and mostly taken from this one 2-kilometre stretch of beach.
These unsustainable practices continued until 1968 when a Seychelles-wide ban was brought into force. By this time, turtle populations had dwindled to a fraction of what they once were; potentially as few as a thousand across the atoll. Studies in the mid-1980s, however, showed a gradual increase in the numbers of nesting females.
In the absence of human hunting and without the pressures of invasive predators, beach destruction, and artificial lights that have so plagued other nesting beaches, the turtles began to return in increasing numbers. In 2016, some 5,700 nesting emergences were recorded on Settlement Beach alone.
A real conservation success story, and one that shows that often all that is required to allow populations to recover is not radical intervention, but merely allowing nature to take its course without human interference.
Northeast of Picard lies the island of Polymnie – the smallest of the main islands and the only one uninhabited by tortoises. No one knows why this is the case, but it is possible that they were extirpated by human hunting.
Whereas tortoises can migrate across the channels from island to island, the two channels that separate Polymnie – Grande Passe and Passe Gionnet – have unusually swift currents, slowing recolonisation. In addition to these two channels, Passe Hoareau in the northeast and the West Channels near the research station allow Aldabra’s massive lagoon to fill and empty twice a day.
This lagoon is some 190 square kilometres – enough to accommodate Manhattan twice over – but nowhere except the channels, scoured as they are by the ripping currents, does it get more than five metres deep.
The shallow waters and fringing mangrove forests are a haven for wildlife. Hawksbill and green turtles cruise here in their hundreds threatened only by tiger sharks up to five metres in length; seabirds and waders abound. Aldabra is also home to globally significant populations of crab plovers, red-footed boobies, and possibly the world’s largest frigatebird population; it is one of only two oceanic breeding areas for flamingos, and the blue-eyed Aldabra sacred ibis (along with 11 of the other twelve land bird species) is found only here.
Fish biomass is some ten times higher here than in granitic Seychelles; the only fishing that is allowed here is closely monitored subsistence fishing by the researchers. Sharks thrive here, and the sight of massive giant groupers is common. At one of the regular marine survey sites, divers are usually shadowed by Hank, a two-metre-long potato grouper with a fascination for diver’s dreadlocks.
Pods of resident spinner dolphins are seen on almost every boat journey, and during the dry season, humpback whales and their newborn calves pass by in droves.
East of Polymnie we find Malabar Island, which runs most of the remaining length of the north of the atoll. Malabar was the last stronghold of two of Aldabra’s endemic birds; the Aldabra warbler and the Aldabra flightless rail. The introduction of rats with early settlers, and subsequently of cats around 1900 to control the rats, spelt disaster for these two species.
Although we cannot be sure of the reason for the decline and eventual extinction of the warbler, last seen on Malabar in 1983, we do know that the impact of these two invasive mammals (the cats in particular) caused a steep decline in numbers of the rail. By this time, the Aldabra rail was the sole remaining flightless bird in the Indian Ocean, a region that was once home to such flightless birds as the dodo, Rodrigues solitaire and Madagascar’s elephant bird.
In 1999, cats were eradicated from Picard, and a rail reintroduction program was initiated, which led to great success. In less than 20 years, an initial population of 18 reintroduced birds has ballooned to over 3,000. The distinctive rising duets of these monogamous birds can now be heard all across Picard and is to many residents the ‘sound of Aldabra’.
The largest of the main islands, taking up the whole southern and eastern borders of the atoll, is the aptly-named Grande Terre. Although Aldabra’s tortoises are found on Picard and Malabar (and also Ile Michel, the largest of the islets that dot the massive lagoon), it is on Grande Terre where they truly make their stand.
As on many other islands, the lack of native terrestrial mammals established reptiles as the primary herbivores. Aldabra is the only place in the world whose ecology is dominated by a single herbivorous reptile species.
Here, it is the endemic giant tortoises that have adopted this niche; and giants they indeed are, with a carapace on Picard Island reaching on average over 1.2 metres in length, and with an average weight of 250kg (the heaviest recorded wild-living Aldabra tortoise is over 360kg).
The impact the tortoises have on the Aldabra ecosystem cannot be overplayed; an entire plant assemblage of over 20 sedges, grasses and herbs, known as ‘tortoise turf’, has evolved alongside these ecosystem engineers, and their dung provides food and fertiliser for numerous other species.
Although technically herbivores, the harsh environment on Aldabra means that resources are never wasted. Toward the end of the dry season, these tortoises have been known to eat carrion, including the carcasses of seabirds and even other tortoises (in a bizarre twist of the childhood tale, Aldabra tortoises in an introduced population on Cousin Island have been known to eat non-native hares!)
Although very young tortoises are at risk from crabs, herons and pied crows, after a few years they have no natural predators, and when the sun sets after their evening grazing session, they will fall asleep where they stand.
Since the cessation of tortoise hunting, they have only two threats as adults: the sun, and sinkholes. As reptiles, tortoises must control their body temperature behaviorally. If they don’t take shelter from the hot sun in the middle of the day, they will bake to death in their shells.
Because of this, shaded areas are often crowded with tortoises, and in areas with limited vegetation, they will pack into small caves, stacked one of top of each other like nests of tables – one such cave on Grande Terre, with an opening five metres long and 1.5 metres high, was found to contain over 80 tortoises! Windswept beach trees regularly shelter over 200 tortoises. Trees and caves which have been used as shelters for perhaps hundreds of years boast this distinction with highly polished roots and rocks as a result of daily tortoise traffic.
The limestone geology of the island means that large, deep sinkholes are commonplace and these holes will often be littered with the bones and shells of tortoises who have fallen to their deaths, or who were unable to climb back out having mistakenly reached too far for overhanging vegetation.
Unlike granitic Seychelles (the ‘inner’ islands), Aldabra was never part of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, whose tectonic migration over 200 million years ago left the granitic islands in its wake. Aldabra is much younger, and at approximately 2 million years old is a relative newcomer to the region. This comparatively short time for colonisation, along with its isolation and harsh environment, is reflected in its relatively low terrestrial vertebrate diversity, consisting mostly of birds and bats (who were able to fly to the island), and small reptiles (one gecko and one skink species) who were likely brought accidentally on floating rafts after storms.
But the question might reasonably be asked: “How did the tortoises get there?”
It would be hard to imagine a 200kg tortoise rafting on floating vegetation, and surely they didn’t swim all that way? Well, likely, they did indeed swim. In 2004, a tortoise believed to have come from Aldabra trudged up out of the sea on a beach in Tanzania, having travelled a distance of over 740km. It was even possible to estimate, from the size of the barnacles covering the legs and lower carapace, that the tortoise had been at sea a minimum of 6 to 7 weeks!
Tortoises are fantastic island colonisers. As Darwin noted, before the arrival of humans, perhaps 20 species and subspecies were present on islands in the Indian Ocean, not to mention the famous Galapagos populations in the Pacific.
Heavy as they are, their lungs are located at the top of the carapace, ensuring the tortoise will float upright. They can survive without food or water for up to 6 months, and their oxygen requirement is so low that on Aldabra, they have been seen to sleep with their heads underwater. These factors amount to a perfect storm for a coloniser!
Although a 3-day survey on Picard in 1898 failed to locate a single tortoise due to over-hunting, their numbers have now reached a healthy and stable population of approximately 100,000 individuals – the largest giant tortoise population in the world, and about five times that of the Galapagos population.
Without these ecosystem engineers, the ecology of this unique island would be very, very different, and without the legacy of protection initiated by Darwin almost 150 years ago and continued by Aldabra’s protectors today, the world would have lost one of its few pristine islands and the only remaining home of these magnificent reptiles.
Aldabra’s history tells us that we can have a profound influence on the trajectory of our natural world, both for good and evil. This is particularly pertinent now as despite its protected status there is now a new insidious threat to Aldabra. Large amounts of plastic debris now wash up on Aldabra’s beaches from as far away as Australia, India, China and Malaysia, killing birds, turtles, tortoises and marine mammals.
In a world of rapid change, biodiversity loss, habitat destruction and over-exploitation of resources, we sometimes despair of there being the hope of a bright future. We wonder whether there are any places left on Earth that have remained stable and we wonder what we can do to protect and preserve our natural treasures. Aldabra is proof that with enough willpower we can save Earth’s special places. But the ongoing plastic threat shows us that the only way to indeed do so is as a global community.
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April Burt
April Burt is currently studying for her DPhil at the University of Oxford after spending the past eight years in conservation management and research positions in the western Indian Ocean region. This included working in senior scientific roles for GVI Seychelles, Nature Seychelles and lastly as the scientific coordinator for Aldabra atoll, a marine UNESCO World Heritage Site. April has led expeditions and teams now for many years and is now the leader of the Aldabra Clean Up Project, a collaboration to clean one of the largest atolls in the world of marine plastic pollution. She is also a member of the IUCN commission on ecosystem management in the island ecosystems specialist group, and she has authored or co-authored several scientific publications specialising in both marine and terrestrial tropical habitat conservation.
Adam Mitchell
Adam Mitchell is a biologist and photographer with a particular interest in herpetology, island ecosystems, and field data management. He has lived and worked throughout the Caribbean, and more recently spent three years managing a remote field lab in the Kalahari desert, and 18 months stationed on the remote Aldabra atoll. He counts himself lucky to be among the handful of photographers fortunate enough to spend more than a few days on Aldabra and perhaps the only one in recent years to be able to catalogue a full year there. You can follow him on Instagram or visit his website.
In September 2018, an all-female Journeys with Purpose expedition, called ‘Rise of the Matriarch’, will make its way through various southern African countries, taking a limited number of people to some extraordinary places and conservation projects.
Journeys with Purpose is an ecotourism fundraising initiative inviting people to join the Blue Sky Society Trust on expeditions through Africa, combining adventure travel with conservation projects. The aim of this upcoming expedition is to travel 9,000+ kilometres over 50 days, through four countries across southern Africa: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Participants can choose to join a leg of the 6-week journey, and take part in raising money for non-profit organisation, with a focus on human-wildlife conflict and youth conservation education.
The first expedition, ‘Elephant Ignite Expedition‘, took place in 2016, where the aim was to raise money and awareness for the poaching crisis that is currently affecting Africa’s wildlife and, in particular, elephants. The expedition focused on community upliftment, youth education, public awareness for wildlife crime and poaching, and a fundraising drive to support the organisations that are fighting the battles on the frontline.
A group of 13 ladies set out on a 100-day journey from South Africa to Kenya, driving over 15,787 km for African elephants.
They visited 37 different organisations and handed out over 10,000 educational booklets to children in areas adjacent to conservation areas. In the end, they managed to raise close to R400,000 for worthwhile conservation projects.
This second expedition will run over the next two years starting in September 2018. The journey will take a total of 8 crew members at a time, through various southern African countries over a 6-week period. Each year a route will be plotted and various wildlife organisations and conservationists will be visited on that particular journey.
• 2018 involves travelling into South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe
• 2019 involves travelling further north into South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda
Departure date: 7th September 2018
There is a cost involved to be part of the Journeys with Purpose hand-picked crew. This is not an expedition for everyone and will involve crew members getting involved hands-on in daily chores – cooking, cleaning, camp set up, driving and helping with additional fundraising, etc.
Opinion post: Written by Simon Espley, CEO of Africa Geographic
The highly controversial shooting of a male lion by a trophy hunter in the Umbabat section of the Greater Kruger could conceivably mark the beginning of the end for trophy hunting in this part of Africa.
I am speculating here, but please hear me out…
Since we reported the known facts about the hunt, I and many others have been digging for clarity. Was the hunted lion indeed ‘Skye’? – a dominant male of the Western Pride, featured in this tribute ‘The Story of Skye’ by Charlie Lynam, a shareholder in Ingwelala, one of the properties making up Umbabat. The photos accompanying this opinion editorial are of Skye and his pride.
The trophy hunting ‘team’ insist that the lion killed was not Skye the pride male, claiming that he was in fact an old male lion with worn teeth and a protruding spine. But they refuse point blank to supply a photo of the dead lion to prove their claim, citing legal and personal safety concerns. One senior person representing the landowner undertook to give me a look at the photo of the dead lion, but then reneged at the last moment. Lynam and others insist that Skye the pride male was killed. According to Lynam, Skye has not been seen since the day of the killing of that lion. Additionally, one of his cubs has since been killed and some of the pride lionesses have been beaten up as a new coalition of males has moved into the area. This is classic lion behaviour when a dominant male is removed and new male/s move into the vacuum – cubs are killed (infanticide) and lionesses are beaten up as they try to defend their cubs.
Recently journalist Don Pinnock, who broke the story, has revealed that the hunter in question is an American by the name of Jared Whitworth, from Hardinsburg, Kentucky. He also revealed the names of the South African hunting outfitter who sold and managed the hunt and the government official who signed off on the lion permit. Whitworth is a member of Safari Club International (SCI), which defines hunting success in terms of size and rarity. Apparently the larger the horns/tusks and rarer the animal, the more respect you are due for killing it. Whitworth’s 15-year-old daughter was awarded the title “2018 SCI Young Hunter of the Year”, and the SCI website features her proudly posing with a massive buffalo she killed. I found this out by visiting the SCI website a few days ago – and note with interest that today those pages have been removed (fortunately I saved a screenshot). Are the SCI members now afraid of the tree-huggers? Perhaps they should be …
And here, ladies and gentlemen, is where I start reasoning why I believe that trophy hunting will soon end in the Greater Kruger.
As I write this, an investigative agency has been hired to look into the legality of the Skye hunt, there is a popular online petition calling for justice, and various people are digging away to find out the personal information of everyone involved. Momentum is building, and I hear that the guilty parties are shaking in their boots. Anyone remember what happened to Walter Palmer, the American dentist who shot Cecil the Lion, once his name was known to the public? Regardless of whether this particular batch of killers of Africa’s iconic wild figures is eventually tracked down and forced into the terrifying world of transparency, the momentum is building …
Let me be blunt: Do trophy hunters really think that they can keep these things secret in this day and age, and do they and their families feel safe knowing that their deeds will be in the public domain sooner or later? I understand from sources that the southern African trophy hunting industry is already suffering from cancellations because of increased public scrutiny and vigilantism.
Beyond the hunter and the hunting outfitter, what about the other people involved – the government officials and game reserve management? How long before these people decide that they are not prepared to take the risk and stress of being associated with this industry that specialises in surgically removing the last-remaining big-gene animals? Many of these people are simply ordinary employees, who signed up to be involved in conservation and now find themselves defending an industry they don’t even believe in, and being subjected to personal abuse and threats of physical violence.
We are increasingly seeing government departments and officials being targeted by a tidal wave of public backlash against trophy hunting. The fact that much of the commentary is factually inaccurate is beside the point – this is a battle of emotion, not fact. The anger generated amongst the social media-empowered general public, driven by activists who value impact over fact, is a toxic cocktail that will drive change – regardless of the consequences. Recently the Namibian government issued a ruling that trophy hunters to that country cannot publish kill photos on social media. This bizarre and unenforceable move is surely testament to the extent of the pressure that is being brought to bear on the trophy hunting industry.
Anti-hunting activists are evolving, and increasingly now combining their immense social media support base with targeted action against specific perpetrators. On the other hand, the trophy hunting industry does not have the DNA to evolve. They are still barking out the same defensive rhetoric from decades ago – despite the conservation landscape having shifted massively under the immense pressure of habitat loss and poaching. This industry will never be driven by ethics and transparency; it is entirely opportunistic, and known to retrofit the conservation argument based on the specifics of the particular animal hunted.
In the court of public opinion, we are all judged by the company we keep, and the partners we choose. In my opinion, if management of the Greater Kruger does not change tack and distance itself from their trophy hunting partners, this tremendous conservation initiative will self-destruct. Members of the Greater Kruger simply cannot any longer risk being associated with an industry that refuses to evolve, and regularly shoots itself in the foot. Quite simply, they have to dissociate themselves, or face eventual ruin.
And that is why I believe that it is only a matter of time before trophy hunting ceases to be a management tool in the Greater Kruger. Africa is patient …
Of course, the landowners and managers of these wildlife reserves will consequently need to source alternative funding for their rapidly escalating anti-poaching and general conservation costs. Photographic tourism can provide some of the extra funding, but not all of it. Even if all parties agree to higher lodge and vehicle densities (with concomitant increased environmental pressure) and higher lodge prices, not all areas in the Greater Kruger have the same tourism potential – this is a simple function of location, carrying capacity and biodiversity. Many of the most vocal social media activists have never been on safari in Africa, and are unlikely ever to. But hopefully they will donate to a fund to enable anti-poaching work in the Greater Kruger to continue once trophy hunting revenue dries up.
I suspect that some landowners, especially the local communities, will seriously consider alternative land uses such as livestock and crops, once trophy hunting is off the table. There are few straight roads in Africa.
Some pro-hunting folk will refuse to acknowledge advice like mine if it does not come accompanied by instant iron-clad alternatives to hunting. With respect, this is like refusing to accept that your daughter is pregnant, just because she won’t tell you who the father is. The first step to solving a problem is to acknowledge that you have a problem.
I have great faith that in time trophy hunting in the Greater Kruger will be replaced by a more ethical, more relevant sustainable land-use strategy. This will take time, but it will happen. A luta continua!
Celebrated winner of our 2017 Photographer of the Year, conservation photographer John Vosloo continues to amaze and astound with his incredible wildlife photography.
John has a knack for catching moments in time. From a lioness showing her displeasure to a young elephant calf getting a time-out, these snapshots into the lives of African wildlife is what this gallery is all about.
Here we present a selection of some of his favourite photos that he took in the Addo Elephant National Park and surrounding areas in the Eastern Cape in South Africa, along with his thoughts.
“This was a very exciting image to capture as mother elephants usually hide their babies out of direct sunlight to prevent sunburn, so you seldom get the chance to see one drinking with enough light to capture a decent photo – they are usually in the shadows by their mother’s side, and one generally battles to get enough light.
“In this case, 1/200 sec and more than the usual light secured this unique image. On a bright day (as was the case in this image) you can also get lucky with the sunlight reflecting off the ground and up into the shadows – like a natural light reflector.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/200 sec ISO 640 @ 600mm
“I took this image of this lioness at Kuzuko Lodge (a 5-star game lodge in Addo Elephant National Park) while feeding on a kudu kill. Her aggressive mood and “stay clear” signals caught my attention as they always make for a compelling and in-your-face image, especially when cropped tightly as in this case. Those eyes say it all!” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/100 sec ISO 800 @ 534mm
“This hyena with an antelope’s leg was photographed in the very early morning in the Addo Elephant National Park. They are often seen with a leg or a bone scuttling away to feed in peace. They always seem to be on the move.
“Whenever you get close to one of these creatures, it always amazes me how much bigger they are. They are very impressive killing machines when seen up close – precisely built in perfect form and function for their purposes in every respect. All in all, an impressive animal to see and experience up close in the wild. At close quarters they always send shivers down my spine.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/320 sec ISO 1600 @ 380mm
“In the Addo Elephant National Park, this little chap was getting a bit out of hand, and the parents put him in his place. They pegged him down and calmed him in a peaceful, firm and gentle manner – AND IT WORKED!
“These giants often do things gently but with firm purpose. Perhaps that is why their family groups are generally well behaved, and there seems to be mutual respect between all members. Some rowdiness is tolerated, but when it gets out of hand, it is always dealt with firmly and with some finality and success. A winning combination in a group where size most definitely matters!” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/400 sec ISO 800 @ 600mm
“I had been following these three ostriches from birth when they were part of a group of about seven (only these three made it to adulthood), and the older they got, the more physical and boisterous they became. I caught them one evening after a dust bath against the setting sun in the Addo Elephant National Park having a dispute and almost getting into a full-blown fight – the lighting and dust was awesome and made for a great moody image.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/400 sec ISO 1000 @ 380mm
“This elegant cat photographed in the Addo Elephant National Park (where he and his three brothers “broke into the camp”, and nobody knew where they came from) is always a privilege. They ooze elegance and are just perfect in form and function to do what they do best – hunt at high speed.
“In this case, his ‘1000-yard stare’ caught my attention, with those eyes and ears picking up everything and anything in the bush. A highly effective and elegant predator and always a pleasure to see and photograph.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/6400 sec ISO 800 @ 512mm
“This image was taken at Radical Raptors, a rehabilitation centre for raptors situated between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay in the Eastern Cape. This particular vulture is non-releasable and is used for educational purposes while free-flying around the area. It was quite an intimidating experience, having a vulture of this size swooping down into my face, but fun all the same.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f6.3 1/5000 sec ISO 3200 @ 600mm
“This Cape buffalo (AKA Black Death) had such an intimidating stare that I was compelled to try and capture his mood and attitude – always in a bad mood and always with an aggressive attitude. Choosing black and white over colour worked well to depict this dagga boy as the cantankerous tank of the African bush.
“It is always exciting to get up close and personal to these huge creatures and never knowing what to expect. They just ooze confidence, power and demand attention from all and anything around them.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/30 sec ISO 640 @ 600mm
“This secretary bird was on the hunt in the Addo Elephant National Park. Their keen and alert approach is always interesting to observe, but taking a photo of them can be challenging as they are difficult to capture on camera due to their size and speed when hunting. Therefore much patience and planning are required to get close and secure a shot – their rather predictable hunting patterns help this, and one can usually anticipate where they will be during their walking hunt.
“I got lucky with this shot as they are quite skittish and generally do not allow one to get too close or allow much time for composition and focus.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/2500 sec ISO 800 @ 600mm
“This little elephant calf, taken at the Spekboom waterhole in the Addo Elephant National Park, is still very young, with telltale hairs still prevalent on its body. Under close protection from mom (as is always the case!), this image depicts the size difference between the two and shows how big these behemoths can get as opposed to how tender, small and vulnerable they are when born.
“Baby elephants are always a great photographic subject as they are playful and full of antics that can keep the photographer mesmerised for hours on end. Always a great experience shooting these little guys.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f71. 1/400 sec ISO 1000 @ 430mm
“This elephant was blowing bubbles in the water at the Hapoor Dam in the Addo Elephant National Park. Sometimes elephants seem to enjoy ‘playing’ with the water by blowing bubbles or smashing it with their trunks or feet in a spectacular manner. In this image, the sunlight caught the water in such a unique way that it looked like sheets of bubbled water, making for an interesting ‘waterscape’.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/200 sec ISO 800 @ 600mm
“This pretty little common waxbill was photographed in our garden at a water trough we put out for them. Having a shallow tray of water in your garden is sure to attract a variety of birds, and can be utilised to create awesome images of the birds drinking, bathing, feeding or fighting.
“Patience is the name of the game with precise focusing and honed techniques as they are swift little birds to photograph – always a challenge one enjoys rising to.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f6.3 1/1600 sec ISO 800 @ 600mm
“These two kudu cows, photographed in the early morning in the Addo Elephant National Park, depict the grace and elegance of African wildlife. Those prominent ears, coupled with superb eyesight, do not miss a thing. Being super alert is their mantra – nothing comes, goes or moves without them knowing. They are hardy, intelligent, crafty and are not known as the grey ghosts of Africa for nothing! They can disappear in a flash and are true masters of camouflage.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/500sec ISO 640 @ 270mm
“Interestingly, this is the same crew as the other ostriches in the sunset dust image when they were still small and part of a larger group. These little ones always make for interesting photographic subjects… if one can manage to stay away from their overprotective parents – those eyes in the back of the photographer’s head are needed in this situation!
“They are generally curious little creatures and will move towards the patient photographer, allowing for some great shots of their unique and interesting patterns of colours.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/400 sec ISO 800 @ 600mm
“This huge elephant bull came down a narrow road towards me in Addo Elephant National Park, and not wanting to make direct eye contact with him I decided to photograph his feet, toes and trunk in motion – parts of the elephant that is not always photographed. This made for an interesting image and a thrilling experience at the same time with a couple of tonnes of elephant moving past me just three feet away.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/500 sec ISO 800 @ 600mm
“This Cape gannet was photographed on Bird Island in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape. It is a highly protected island and hosts the largest flock of gannets on Earth – about 65,000 breeding pairs.
“When they come in to land, they tend to fly in a pattern, and upon seeing or hearing their chicks, they apply the brakes and drop out of the sky on the spot (as in this image) – often to an aggressive landing crew where space is already at a premium.
“It is an all-out assault on the senses to be there and witness this large flock and the vitality of life that it generates. An absolute must to those who get the opportunity to visit as it is a life-changing event!” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/3200 sec ISO 500 @ 230mm
“These two buffalo were photographed at the Spekboom waterhole in the Addo Elephant National Park. Their joint symmetry while drinking caught my attention and the artful curve of their horns always make for a great photographic subject. They can be quite cantankerous, and one is always alert when photographing these species at close quarters. Born with a bad attitude, these few tonnes of fury can become quite a large problem in seconds.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/250 sec ISO 1250 @ 600mm
“These helmeted guineafowls in the rain created an interesting myriad of colours and shapes for me. The raindrop streaks can be seen when using slower shutter speed and the bright colours of the guineafowl, coupled with their strange yet spectacular heads, make for an interesting subject. But be warned, they are difficult to capture on camera as they move about with speed and always seem to do the unexpected. In the rain, however, they do seem to slow down a bit, allowing for an easier target.” Canon EOS 1D MK4 with a Sigma 150-600mm lens (sport version) – f7.1 1/50 sec ISO 800 @ 600mm
ABOUT JOHN VOSLOO
“I have been involved in photography on and off for the last 20-odd years. Recently, say over the last five years, I have become more involved with digital and wildlife photography, which to me has been a whole new concept and approach to photography. My photographic mantra is: ‘Let the camera do its thing, but let your heart be the lens’.”
Some of John’s notable accolades include fifth place in the Getaway Gallery Competition (2016); Top 10 in Sunday Times Wildlife Photographer of the Year (2016); winner of Africa Geographic’s Photographer of the Year (2017); winner of Kragga Kamma’s Wildlife Photographic Competition (2017 – open category); winner of the PSSA Senior Open Division – winning image (medal award); extensively published in SANParks Addo Elephant National Park official guide; and extensive images featured in the book The Last Elephants – to be published at the end of this year.
In the uMkhuze section of iSimangaliso Wetland Park, part of the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area, elephants are flourishing. Following the reintroduction of the species into the game reserve during the 1990s, the numbers rapidly grew to a healthy 139 strong elephant population today. In a world where more than 30,000 elephants are lost to poaching each year, this is a true management success story for conservation partner Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, but one that, unfortunately, now has also started to present its own challenges. This is because uMkhuze, one of South Africa’s oldest game parks (est. 1912), only offers a range of 43,000 ha with a finite carrying capacity for these gentle giants.
Only 150 kilometres to the west of uMkhuze, Ezemvelo’s Ithala Game Reserve struggles with the same challenge of effectively maintaining their blossoming elephant population within the reserve’s approximately 30,000 ha protected area.
“There are various ways in which an overpopulation of elephants can be managed. This includes culling, contraceptives, as well as translocations. In both uMkhuze and Ithala, contraceptive plans have already been put into action. This will, however, take time to significantly contain numbers – time that the reserve does not have as the tightly contained herds of elephants start to disrupt ecosystems and diminish resources,” explained Dave Cooper, Wildlife Veterinarian for Ezemvelo.
Accordingly, last week, expert teams from Elephants, Rhinos & People, Conservation Solutions, and Ezemvelo, supported by the Department of Environmental Affairs, came together to capture 29 of the uMkhuze and 24 of the Ithala elephants and transport them safely through a 1,250 km journey with greater purpose. By removing a significant percentage of the elephant population from the reserves, it potentially negates any need for further extreme elephant management interventions for at least the next 10 to 15 years.
The elephants crossed two borders and traversed three countries (South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique). Less than two days later, they were released into the care of Peace Parks Foundation and Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas who co-manage the elephant’s new home – Zinave National Park.
iSimangaliso’s Park Operations Director Sizo Sibiya – who in 1994 was a section ranger at uMkhuze when the elephants first arrived – commented: “We must remember that protected areas are managed not only for the benefit of specific species, but rather holistically for all biodiversity. In the case of the flourishing uMkhuze elephant population, their numbers are reaching a point where a noticeable impact can be seen on the trees. This proposal to donate some of them to Zinave was a win-win solution for all of us.”
ERP, supported by groupelephant.com, funded and coordinated the translocation operation as part of their drive to translocate large elephant numbers outside of South African borders, to alleviate the country’s increasing elephant population pressures. Helicopter time and fuel was sponsored by Wild Tomorrow Fund.
Lise-Marie Greeff-Villet, the Communications Coordinator for Peace Parks Foundation, shared: “Observing the elephant capture operations was like watching a well-choreographed dance. It was breathtaking to see the skill with which game capture teams, veterinarians, rangers, pilots, and drivers coordinated their responsibilities; and even more beautiful the passion and care that accompanied every interaction with, and touch of, an elephant.”
Zinave, situated within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, offers a protected space of 408,000 ha with prime elephant habitat, more than sufficient water resources, and only a handful of local elephants – positioning the uMkhuze and Ithala elephants to proliferate as the progenitors of a thriving new elephant population. The new elephants will bring the total elephant population in the Park to about 67, a number that is expected to double over the next 10 years.
The elephants will initially be released into an electrically-fenced 18,600 ha sanctuary. This will allow them to settle into their new environment and be introduced to the family herd that has been resident in the sanctuary for the past year. Safeguarding the wildlife within Zinave is of course paramount to Park management. Through significant funding from Peace Parks Foundation, the Park’s protection capabilities were recently reinforced with 26 newly trained and appointed rangers, ranger base camps, patrol equipment and digital communication systems – all as part of advanced and integrated anti-poaching strategies.
The ‘destructive’ behaviour that resulted in the elephants’ move from uMkhuze and Ithala, is exactly what will now benefit the ecosystem balance in Zinave. With almost no wildlife present in the Park for decades, the vegetation has become extremely overgrown and dense. Peace Parks Foundation has been rewilding the conservation area for the past few years and the close to 1,250 animals, mostly grazers, brought in have already started to change the flora landscape for the better. However, the elephants will now take this to a whole new level.
As Bernard van Lente, Peace Parks Foundation’s Project Manager in Zinave, notes: “The elephants will stimulate biodiversity by trampling and, thereby, opening up space in overgrown areas, allowing for other species of grasses and smaller saplings to gain access to sunlight, currently blocked out by dominant, larger tree species. The spaces opened up by elephants will also create pathways for other species and expose grasses and flora for these grazers to eat, food that would otherwise have been inaccessible. In addition, the proliferation of other insects attracted to elephant dung also provides food for birds and bats, which in turn helps spark the increase in other species, known as ‘succession’.”
‘’We are very excited about the positive impact these cross-border elephant translocations will have on reducing elephant population pressures in South Africa, whilst establishing new populations in areas such as Zinave National Park. This is also the first of what will hopefully be many more meaningful projects conducted by ERP in Mozambique in collaboration with Peace Parks Foundation‘’, said Dereck Milburn, Director Operations for ERP.
Rewilding Mozambique’s protected areas is a primary focus in Peace Parks Foundation’s strategy for the development of transfrontier conservation areas in the region, with repopulated parks hopefully leading the way in revitalising the country’s eco-tourism economies.
Cheetahs have experienced drastic population declines and there are only ~7000 mature individuals left in Africa. The number of cubs that survive to independence is crucial for population growth. Cheetahs have relatively big litters, ranging from one to six cubs. It is thought that they have such large litters to compensate for the high natural mortality of their cubs. In neighbouring Serengeti National Park, less than 5% of cubs reach independence. Cheetah cubs can succumb to various factors including predation by other predators, abandonment, poor health and fires. However, there are other factors, such as habitat and tourism, that are believed to also have an impact. These other factors have, until now, not been explored, so my aim was to determine the effect of the following on the number of cubs that reach independence in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya:
• Habitat
• Tourist abundance
• Lion abundance
• Spotted hyena abundance
Between 1st June 2013 and 31st October 2017 data was collected on how many cheetah cubs were seen and how many reached independence. At the same time, data were also collected on the number of tourists, lions and spotted hyenas.
Key findings
The amount of open habitat and high tourist abundance both limited the number of cubs cheetahs raised to independence. More specifically, cheetahs in open habitats on average raised fewer than two cubs to independence compared to approximately three cubs for mother’s residing in denser habitat such as acacia woodland. Similarly, females in areas with a lot of tourists on average raised one cub or less to independence compared to more than two cubs in low tourist areas. Neither lion nor spotted hyena abundance was found to have an impact on cub recruitment.
While this study shows that high tourist abundance has a negative impact on cheetah cub recruitment, it is important to note that tourism also plays an important, positive role in cheetah conservation through, for example, the creation and maintenance of protected areas and wildlife conservancies and positively influencing attitudes and behavioural intentions of local people towards predators. However, the results presented here are worrying as growth rates for cheetahs inside the wildlife areas need to be high if they are to compensate for declines outside the wildlife areas.
The following recommendations are based on the above findings:
Habitat management
While cheetahs are often considered to be an open plains species, denser vegetation is important for cub survival. In areas where habitat is managed, care should be taken that a diversity of habitats are available. For example, areas that are burned could have a negative effect on cheetah cub recruitment as by attracting female cheetahs with cubs to open areas where prey abundance is high, cub recruitment is likely to be low.
Tourist management
Cheetahs, especially with cubs, are a major tourist attraction and commonly attract large numbers of vehicles (during this study, we observed a case of 64 vehicles present at one sighting over a period of 2 hours). It is important that strict viewing guidelines are implemented and enforced. Actions that could be taken to ensure that tourists do not have a negative impact on cheetahs include:
• allowing no more than five vehicles at a cheetah sighting;
• ensuring that no tourist vehicles are allowed near a cheetah lair (den);
• ensuring that vehicles keep a minimum distance of 30m at a cheetah sighting;
• ensuring that noise levels and general disturbance at sightings are kept to a minimum;
• ensuring that vehicles do not separate mothers and cubs;
• and that cheetahs on a kill are not enclosed by vehicles so that they can detect approaching danger.
These guidelines would ideally be incorporated into management policies and distributed to tourists upon arrival with rangers ensuring that these guidelines are respected.
This research would not have been possible without the financial support from the African Wildlife Foundation, BAND foundation, Vidda Foundation and private donations made through the Kenya Wildlife Trust.
“Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?” ~ David Attenborough
Birds may be ubiquitous and are often overshadowed by the celebrity wildlife stars like Africa’s Big 5. But one thing is for sure – no matter their size, shape and colour, they will never cease to amaze and are incredibly beautiful to behold.
Found around the world, birds have adapted to life in the wilderness. From forest, jungles and the open bush, to deserts, high mountains and far out at sea, birds can be found everywhere!
Globally there are approximately 9,500 bird species, and of that almost 2,500 have been seen in Africa and its associated islands. We are now going to take some time out to admire and appreciate some of these African birds in our gallery, Africa’s Avian Candy, which comprises of a selection of stunning photos, along with some interesting facts. And they’re not just any photos; they’re some of the special photos submitted during our Photographer of the Year 2016, 2017 and 2018 competitions.
Bateleur eagles can often be seen spending their time at waterholes during the heat of the day, frequently entering the water for a bath and then opening their wings to sunbathe. By exposing their wing feathers to direct sunlight, the oils in their feathers warm-up, which the bird then spreads over the feathers with its beak to improve aerodynamics.
Saddle-billed storks feed on a variety of aquatic species, such as fish, crustaceans (crabs, shrimps), and amphibians (frogs). The storks use their bills to stir up the water to flush out the fish, causing the water (and the fish) to become muddy, so often you will see them washing their fish before consuming them whole.
Shoebills may be big, but they can fly if they want to. Granted, they don’t fly very far, and long flights are rare, but flying is no mean feat considering they can grow up to 1.5 metres tall and can weigh up to 7kg.
In Africa, southern ground-hornbills are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN; however, those in South Africa are classified as ‘Endangered’ as only about 1,500 individuals live within the country. Loss of habitat, loss of nesting trees, electrocution from transformer boxers and even, in some cases, killed for use in traditional medicine, have all contributed to the rapid decline of these majestic birds.
“While waiting for over two hours in the hot equatorial sun for a migration crossing to happen, I decided to change my focus to a group of vultures that were feeding on a drowned wildebeest carcass. Fully fed, this beauty decided to dry off its wings in the sun, which produced this interesting image of a great raptor. These raptors face many problems, from loss of habitat, reduced breeding sites, and reduction in large ungulates (resulting in fewer sources of food), to death from poisoning, the witchcraft trade and collisions with power lines. They play such an important role in making sure that diseases such as rabies and anthrax do not spread, and they also help cycle nutrients back into the ecosystem. We must help conserve these amazing raptors at all costs.” ~ Sushil Chauhan
“Two lanner falcons, an adult and a juvenile were on the hunt at the Cubitje Quap waterhole in the Kgalagadi. From the nearby trees, they observed the smaller birds enjoying a drink. Now and then they would make their swoop, and on one of these swoops, the adult caught a Namaqua dove. The juvenile, with nothing to show for its efforts, attacked the adult, trying to steal its kill. Feathers flying, the adult held on to its prize and flew away while the juvenile was left to contemplate its disappointment in the air.”~ Olli Teirilä
Red-billed queleas form flocks which can contain thousands of birds. They are considered a major problem bird in some areas as they can cause a lot of damage to cereal crops. With the adult breeding population at approximately 1.5 billion pairs, red-billed queleas are the most common wild bird in the world.
Crested guineafowl are named because of the curly tufts on their head. They inhabit central parts of Africa, ranging throughout all the forest territories, as well as a handful of regions in southern Africa.
Rosy-faced lovebirds are very social birds and will often congregate in small groups in the wild. They feed throughout the day and are very dependent on water. The plumage is identical in males and females, and their rapid flight shows the blue rump against their green back.
The martial eagle is the largest eagle in Africa, weighing in at almost 6.5kg. This bird is a powerful hunter with extremely keen eyesight and can spot potential prey up to five kilometres away.
Crested barbets spend most of their time bouncing around on the ground foraging for food. They are not accomplished flyers, and when they do fly, it is only for a short period.
The white tern is a beautiful bird seen on all the islands in Seychelles. This species is notable for laying its egg on bare thin branches in a small fork or depression – without a proper nest structure.
Egrets form symbiotic relationships with many hoofed animals, especially with African buffaloes. While the egrets eat the insects that live on the ungulates and are disturbed as they walk through the grass, the buffaloes on which they forage benefit from the removal of harmful parasites.
Black-cheeked lovebirds inhabit deciduous woodland, where permanent supplies of water exist, as they require daily access to water. In the dry season, these birds may congregate in large flocks of up to 800 or more.
Meyer’s parrots eat mainly seeds and nuts, husking small seeds and chewing on larger food items. It is the only bird in its distribution range capable of cracking pods and seeds of leguminous trees, so it benefits from a monopoly of this food type.
Cape robin-chats occupy a variety of habitat types, generally preferring areas with quite dense undergrowth and scattered trees, bushes, rocks or other structures to use for perching, along with surface water for drinking and bathing. It is a common bird in gardens across much of its distribution, including in city centres such as in Cape Town.
Pearl-spotted owls are one of southern Africa’s smallest owls. They will breed from August to November, and possibly both parents incubate the eggs for up to 31 days. The female lays 2-4 eggs in a tree cavity, often made by woodpeckers or barbets. Incubation lasts 29 days, and the young fledge at 31 days and become independent a few weeks later.
The Namibian Minister of Environment and Tourism has responded to the killing of the male desert-adapted lion, Gretsky (XPL 99). The iconic Huab river lion was shot and killed by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) at De Rust farm in Ugabriver in June. According to sources, on the evening of 11th June, he entered a kraal on the farm and killed about 29 livestock.
Dear all as promised, here is our response to the Lion concerns in Namibia.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has learnt with concern about the inaccurate and false reports and the assumptions made on social media over a lion that was destroyed at De Rust farm in the Kunene Region of Namibia on the16 June 2018.
The lion was shot in response to repeated incursions and following days of attempts to alleviate the situation using non-lethal methods. The lion is part of the pride that has raided stock at De Rest farm, killing 27 goats and sheep as well as two donkeys inside the kraal. For many international followers, this might be nothing but for households in Namibia, this is a substantial loss.
The concerns are mostly from international community individuals or groups advocating for wildlife rights and lobbying against sustainable use of our wildlife. We have noted that despite numerous attempts and efforts to clarify our conservation methods, these groups are keen on spreading unfounded rumours aimed at tarnishing the image of our country with reference to our wildlife management and utilisation thereof.
Namibia has subscribed to conservation methods that are tailor-made to address our situations and benefit our people as per the constitutional provision. These methods have been tried and tested with tangible result visible in terms of wildlife population growth and recoveries.
As a result of our conservation successes that tripled our wildlife numbers, cases of human-wildlife conflict increased with animals like lions, elephants and crocodiles been the main culprits as people and wildlife continued to compete for resources and space. In this regard, our National Policy on human-wildlife conflict management was developed in such a way that it addresses our needs to conserve our wildlife while recognising and respecting the rights of the people and tourism development.
There are suggestions within our critics that we should overlook our own people’s plights at the expense of tourists to the country. This is despite the fact that our citizens have accepted to share their living space with dangerous predators and animals which most of the time destroy their properties and other sources of their livelihoods. In some instances, human lives are lost.
It is a pity and shameful to see that some international people still think Africans cannot run their own affairs and therefore should be subjected to their ideologies that have no regard for our people. For as much as we value tourism as an economic sector based on the revenue it generates, as a responsible government we will always put the needs of our people first without compromise or fail.
Unfortunately, we have a few individuals in Namibia who are simply unable to get their heads around the big picture of conservation on communal and commercial land, and the vital role that incentives, predator management and social acceptance play in the process. They cannot look into the future to see where Namibia needs to be in decades to come. They rather look at each lion individually. This is not a conservation biology approach, but a more western urban short term animal rights approach which is higher counter-productive to the long term conservation.
Through social media, these individuals, self-proclaimed conservationists, prey on well-meaning but uninformed people in society. Because conservation biology is complex and difficult to explain in sound bites, they prefer to project simplistic approaches and solutions, which failed worldwide. By contrast, Namibia has more wildlife today that at any given time in the past 100 years, increasing from about 0,5 million in the 1960s to about 3 million today.
From near extinction in 1960s, Namibia now has the largest free-ranging population of black rhinos in the world, we also have the largest cheetah population in the world, our elephant population has more than doubled from a mere 7,500 in 1995 to over 22,000 to date and an increasing free-roaming lion population outside National Parks.
The Ministry would like to bring to the attention of the public and the international community that lions occur across the entire north of Namibia and some parts of the country in the central and southern areas.
Our estimated lion population in the country is seven hundred (700) with four hundred and thirty (430) in Etosha National Park, one hundred and twenty (120) in Kunene Region where this incident occurred and parts of the Erongo Region, fifty (50) in the Khaudum National Park and surrounding areas of the Kavango East Region and Otjozodjupa Region, fifty (50) in the Zambezi Region and about ten (50) is some commercial farms.
There are also assertions that funds generated through trophy hunting are pocketed by individuals in leadership positions at the Ministry. We want to rubbish this claim by clarifying that funds generated through hunting are reinvested in the conservation of our wildlife through the Game Product Trust Fund and the Community Based Natural Resource Management programme as well as rural development.
The Ministry regards human-wildlife conflict as a serious problem that if not addressed appropriately, treated with necessary understanding and respect, and managed effectively, it has the potential to harm and destroy conservation effort and tourism benefits for the country, and will therefore put measures in place to manage the conflict in a way that recognises the rights and development needs of local communities, recognises the need to promote biodiversity conservation and ensure that decision making is quick and based on the best available information.
It must be clear that addressing human-wildlife conflict requires striking a balance between conservation priorities and the needs of people who live with wildlife. Most Namibians depend on the land for their subsistence. But the presence of many species of large mammals and predators, combined with settlement patterns of people, leads to conflict between people and wildlife. It therefore necessary that mechanisms are created for rural communities and farmers to manage and benefit from wildlife and other natural resources.
Finally, we call upon all potential tourists to Namibia to disregard the advocacy against our country. Namibia’s conservation is sound but by no means without challenges and the Ministry works hard to address them. Tourists should come and experience the beauty of our country from its amazing landscapes, our diverse cultures, to its abundant wildlife and in this case our free-roaming lions on communal land, commercial farm and National Parks. The Namibian public and the international community are thus called upon to ignore these inaccurate, false reports and assumptions on our lions and sustainable utilisation practices.
Warning: Do not handle processionary caterpillars as their hairs can cause irritation, burning and itching
The processionary caterpillar is the larval stage of the reticulate bagnest moth (Anaphe reticulata).
The name ‘bagnest’ is derived from the pupating stage of this moth’s life cycle, when the silken cocoons can be seen in a circular conglomeration on trees (‘bag nests’), held together by a silk mesh. Once the moth emerges from the cocoon, it lays eggs on trees and shrubs with palatable leaves.
A reticulate bagnest moth (Anaphe reticulata). Image source: N. Voaden courtesy of Africanmoths.com
After hatching from eggs, the caterpillars begin to feed on the leaves of their first host plant. Once having devoured that food source, they trail off in single file to their next meal, nose-to-tail and connected via a silk trail started by the leader. The leader will also make use of pheromones and chemical clues to show the way.
These long lines are most often seen during the colder months of the year. If the line is disrupted, the caterpillars become disoriented and the line will come to a complete stop before a new leader takes control and leads the way.
There are several species of processionary caterpillars in the world, all of them hairy. The hair is a defence mechanism from natural predators such as birds like tits and cuckoos. The caterpillar’s hairs are barbed and are considered dangerously toxic. Coming into contact with the hairs can cause a range of reactions, from mild inflammation and irritation to severe rashes and anaphylactic shock.
When they feel threatened or stressed, the caterpillars can eject their hairs in defence, which then penetrate and irritate all areas of exposed skin, followed by allergic reactions. They are considered particularly toxic for children and animals, such as dogs, who are often inquisitive of these small creatures and get too close to them.
Fortunately, the species in South Africa (including Anaphe reticulata), do not have the same level of toxicity in their hairs as other species (such as the ones found in Europe), and even in large groups, they do not present as a health hazard – although it is always wise to be cautious and not touch them.
Watch a video of the processionary caterpillars doing what they do best – marching in procession bumper to bumper
I’ve always thought Disney’s portrayal of Pumba in The Lion King is the epitome of a warthog. Working as a field guide I am fortunate enough to see these funny characters on a daily basis. To me, they are quite possibly the most comical of Africa’s mammals.
Inquisitive in nature, warthogs typically stare at you curiously as you approach them. This is usually followed by a short, loud snort as they turn on their heels and run away with their tails pointing straight up. Forget science for a moment and think of Pumba. It’s as though he suddenly remembers he is late for an appointment and has to dash off. No matter how bad your day, a running warthog will make you smile.
Back to science – despite their cuteness, warthogs are clearly well designed for combat. Warthogs are not territorial, but males will fight for mating rights.
The name warthog comes from warts found on the face. Sows have one pair of warts whilst boars have a second pair. The second pair of warts are much larger and aid in deflecting enemy tusks whilst fighting, thereby protecting the eyes.
It goes without saying that warthogs use their sharp tusks like swords in battle, but until recently I had never seen these weapons in use.
It was late in the afternoon as we left Berg-en-Dal camp in the Kruger National Park. In the distance, two boars knelt on their front legs facing one another. Snout to snout, forehead to forehead. Their muscles tensed and their bulky mass pushed forwards. The smaller of the two was missing his tail. Was this the scar of an earlier battle? Or had he previously had a close encounter with a predator?
Whichever it was, he was smaller and I didn’t fancy his chances.
We watched in fascinated silence. Every now and then dust would fly into the air as one of the boars flicked up his head in a sideways motion in an attempt to catch his opponent off balance and reach the fleshy underbelly with those deadly tusks.
On several occasions, the smaller of the two pigs was catapulted upwards and a shrill scream filled the air.
These flying lessons didn’t deter the smaller boar. He intermittently jousted back. It was then that we noticed just how sharp one of his tusks was. He may not have had the size or the power, but he was quicker and more agile than the bigger hog.
Both boars had blood-covered faces and it looked likely that this duel would not end until one of them was dead. The scene was an oxymoron; extremely difficult to watch but at the same time enthralling.
Suddenly there was a break in the wrestle and the larger pig turned on his heel and sprinted away. The smaller, tailless boar was hot on his heels. The warthogs quickly covered a surprising amount of ground and from our vantage point, we lost sight of the larger hog. The victor returned, tusks dripping with blood and his head held high.
Pumba may well portray one side to the warthog but there is certainly another side to these seemingly friendly pigs that is certainly not to be messed with!
Watch the video below of the two warthog boars battling it out
My friends are quite used to me having somewhat of a different travel pattern to theirs. Because I am an experienced traveller with 85 countries under the belt, they would usually never raise an eyebrow when asking about my travel plans – not even when I mentioned I was going to Botswana for an 18-day trip over the festive season – compiled by Africa Geographic, the safari experts. That is, until one of them asked: “Hmm, Botswana – isn’t it a bit rough out there? How are you planning to travel?”
“Well, no,” I replied. “I’m going to try something new, you know, a practical experience where I can appreciate the beauty of animals. You know I’ve been in the army for many years, and being a photographer I want to take it to another level. So, I’m gonna go camping in a game reserve that is home to the Big 5.”
My friend just looked at me. “You have done some crazy stuff, we all recognise that, but aren’t you pushing it a bit far this time? Camping? With the animals? Seriously?” he asked.
A few weeks later, I was on my way to Maun – the gateway to the Okavango Delta in Botswana. I have to admit that over the weeks, I had been thinking about what my friend asked me, but I was hell-bent that this was going to be an epic trip, one way or another. My general attitude in life has been ‘let’s see what happens…’, and that has worked pretty well so far – although I’ve had to learn some lessons along the way.
At the airport in Maun, I was met by my new friend for the next three weeks, Philimon – the driver, guide, living lexicon and expedition leader of this adventure.
As we were packing up our Land Cruiser with the tents and supplies, our handy-man, BK, and the chef, Joe, joined us.
The first leg of the trip was approximately a five-hour drive heading north from Maun, so we had plenty of time to get to know each other. We discussed my particular interests and my game-viewing expectations.
“If you respect the animals, they will respect you,” said Philimon. “I’m even sure they will respect you when they chew on your leg,” he added with a smile. That broke the ice.
I asked them about the daily routine. After all, it was just four guys, packed with our tents and other essentials in a Land Cruiser, for three weeks out in the wilderness.
Philimon said that it was straightforward. They would set up camp, cook the food and do whatever else that was required. If I wanted a shower, I just had to let them know 30 minutes in advance. I’ve travelled a fair bit in my life, and it is never straightforward and not without hassles.
However, I was surprised by the army-like way the three guys handled our expedition over the three weeks. They did everything. From setting up the camp in 15 minutes, to preparing the campfire, shower and toilet in no time.
All the while there I was, a beer in hand, sitting in a chair as instructed (so I wouldn’t wander off to see the lions on my own!). Joe, the chef, was a master, cooking up rosemary chicken, beef tenderloin, and freshly-baked bread, to name just a few delicious meals.
BK kept the camp running efficiently, and served red or white wine at dinner – like a sommelier in the finest Parisian restaurants!
I have to say that the first couple of nights were quite exceptional. When I settled into my camping bed for the night, I could hear hippos, lions, and elephants through the canvas of my tent – that part alone was one of the highlights of my trip.
Philimon took safety seriously and made sure that I understood the night-time rules, handing me a flashlight while giving me unambiguous instructions: “If you need to get up and go to the toilet, don’t forget to stick out your head first, make a couple of sweeps with the flashlight in the surrounding area before you go, and don’t go more than a few steps away. You don’t want to run into a hippo or a hyena on your way to the toilet!”
He wasn’t wrong about the animals being close by. A couple of nights later, a hippo mother with her calf was watching me from 20 metres away… the following night a hyena was trying to steal the garbage bag!
The daily routine started with a game drive at 06:00, returning to camp at around 10:30 for breakfast, followed by a siesta until 15:30, and then back out until nightfall. Upon return from the night drive, a hot bucket of water was ready for my shower, followed by a delicious dinner.
I found it all very easy and stress-free when it was time to change camps. I dealt with my personal belongings while the others dealt with the rest, and once the Land Cruiser was packed, we were off to our next campsite. On arrival, the same camp setup routine as the first day commenced. Flawless.
I just loved every second of this adventure! There were hardly any other people in most areas, and I have to admit that of the images I took, 70% of them top the list of my best ever.
Big 5? Check… along with more leopards and elephants than I could ever count!
With a small team of very knowledgeable people in every aspect, paired with a genuine experience of camping in a game reserve with wild animals around you, definitely beats anything else I can think of. Just imagine, you can walk in a lion’s footsteps, you can sit down where a leopard has just woken up (and left!) – smell the same grass and earth just as it did. You will never experience that in a luxury resort. You will never experience a pack of wild dogs roaming through your camp or a male lion walking 50 metres away from your tent, completely ignoring you.
I was lucky to go during the rainy season – yes, lucky. This meant that I experienced everything from rain, thunderstorms, and beautiful sunshine. Basically, everything that Mother Nature has to offer!
Price? I spent more on last year’s 10-day trip to Maasai Mara then I did for three weeks with my own expedition leader, vehicle, chef and ‘butler’ with Philimon and his crew in Botswana. Kenya safaris can be equally thrilling though, with destinations like Samburu and Laikipia offering incredible wildlife experiences. Will I do it again? Absolutely. My bags are packed and ready to go back at any time!
We tailored a sensational 18-day mobile camping safari across Botswana, designed to show Ruzdi the diversity and wildlife of the country. Ruzdi enjoyed the exclusive use of a vehicle, guide and support crew – and most of his camping sites were exclusive as well. He spent time in Maun, Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve, Khwai Community Concession and Savute in Chobe National Park.
OKAVANGO DELTA AND MOREMI GAME RESERVE “The Okavango Delta is a unique wetland surrounded by, and in stark contrast to, the dry bushveld surrounding it.” – Ruzdi
The Okavango Delta (click for more details) is a lush wetland that spans over 15,000 square kilometres. It’s characterised by papyrus, impenetrable reed beds, grassy floodplains, tree-covered islands and a complex network of water channels of varying depths, which are engineered and maintained by hippos and elephants. Moremi Game Reserve stretches over much of the central part of the Okavango Delta, and stretches eastwards, south of Khwai and into drier mopane bushveld bordering Chobe National Park.
Your activity list needs to include gliding down the water channels in a mokoro (video) – a traditional dugout canoe.
You can expect to see a plethora of wildlife including the Big 5 (although rhinos are not often seen), cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs. With over 400 species of birds, this is also a haven for bird-watching enthusiasts.
KHWAI COMMUNITY CONCESSION
“Khwai is a hub of wildlife activity – one of the best game-viewing areas in Bostwana.” – Ruzdi Khwai (click for more details) is often confused with the Okavango Delta, which it borders to the east. Khwai is a game-rich 180,000-hectare gem on the fringes of the delta – sandwiched between Moremi Game Reserve and Chobe National Park.
This is one of the best places in Botswana to see wild dogs and other predators and, with no fences separating Khwai from its larger and better-known neighbours, you are likely to see just about everything that northern Botswana has to offer.
The water channels have good populations of hippos, crocodiles, waterbuck and lechwe, and the dry woodlands away from the river host good populations of sable and roan antelopes, zebras, impalas, giraffes, buffaloes and many other species.
SAVUTE, IN CHOBE NATIONAL PARK “Savuti, the Marsh and Leopard Rock – what an honour to visit these legendary places!” – Ruzdi Savute (click for more details) in Chobe National Park is a vast open grassland famous for massive herds of buffalos and elephants and for the large prides of lions that have learned to hunt them. The area plays host to dramatic scenes during the dry season when elephant breeding herds have to drink from the dwindling surface water, and lions ambush the young and ill members of the herd.
The lifeblood of this western section of Chobe National Park is Savute Marsh, a relic inland lake now fed by the erratic Savute Channel. The channel is fed seasonally with water from the Kwando and Okavango rivers, but often dries up for many seasons, probably due to tectonic plate movements, and is also thought to flow both ways on occasion.
A mobile camping safari is a very authentic way to explore Africa’s wild areas – forget rim-flow pools and crystal glass. This is a seamless connection between your body, senses and the habitat you are exploring. You are guaranteed a level of privacy, remoteness and uniqueness that is entirely different from lodge-based safaris – and often far away from the busy standard tourist routes. Mobile camping is ideal for the more intrepid types who are not averse to canvas, pit toilets and safari (bucket) showers.
And the remoteness means that you spend most of your time outside of mobile phone range – time to detox!
Note that these are not ‘participation safaris’ – your seasoned support team take care of all the hard work, such as setting up and taking down camp, cooking delicious mouth-watering food, serving drinks and warming your shower water. Depending on the size of your party, this enthusiastic group will either drive ahead of you in their own vehicle or with you when changing campsites.
Apart from two nights in lodges in Maun, Ruzdi made use of mobile tented campsites throughout his safari adventure.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, RUZDI EKENHEIM
I was born in New York, grew up in Sweden, and am currently living in the Balkans, using it as the base for my travels around the globe.
While growing up, I became fascinated by the glamour magazines of the 70s and 80s, which ignited my passion for photography, paired with great love and respect for wildlife. After spending time in the army, I returned to my passion for photography, moving to Kenya on a work assignment.
Today, I work as a professional photographer and business consultant with a speciality in strategy and tactics in eastern Europe, which I can pair with my photography business.
The highlight in my photographic career was when I was nominated by the editors of National Geographic for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards in 2017.
The Oxpecker investigative team focused on the impact increased access to the Internet has on pangolins, leopards, rhinos and sungazers, a family of lizards endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. Image source: Oxpeckers/MG Kuijpers/Adobe Stock
Sourced from third-party site: Oxpeckers – Center for Investigative Environmental Journalism, written by Roxanne Joseph
A casual search of some of South Africa’s biggest online marketplaces shows just how easily endangered wildlife species are reduced to their parts – and how simple it is to sell them online while retaining anonymity. It will take far more than just a quick search to track down all the crypto-traffickers.
South African wildlife is already facing enormous pressures: habitat destruction, human-wildlife conflict, climate change and global trade. Increased access to the Internet for wildlife trafficking is yet another concern to add to the list.
Over a period of approximately four weeks, from mid-April to mid-May 2018, we conducted a small-scale investigation of three social media networks – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and half a dozen online marketplaces – eBay, Gumtree, OLX, Public Ads, Free Classifieds and Bidorbuy.
We focused on the impact that increased access to the Internet has on pangolins, leopards, rhinos and sungazer lizards, a family of lizards endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. Monitoring advertisements using keywords like “scales”, “skin”, “rhino horn” and “dragons”, we found 14 advertisements for animal parts – most for pangolin scales and rhino horns.
An advert for pangolin scales carried by online marketplace OLX. Image source: Oxpeckers
Only three of the advertisers responded when asked whether they had the necessary permits, either stopped responding altogether (and subsequently blocked the email address we used), or ignored the question entirely, instead responding with images and questions about where we were located.
It is not possible to be 100% certain if any of the products identified were what they claimed to be, or if they were in breach of the law. Further examination by authorities would be required to assess the legality of the sales, any documentation provided and to obtain information on whether the animal was captive-bred.
This is almost impossible to do if the person assessing the product cannot see it in person, and – as experienced numerous times over this time period – often there is no mention or evidence of the necessary documentation, and the product can easily be disguised as something else to evade detection.
With wild lions under pressure from so many threats, here is a wonderful comeback story.
The 5,500ha Rietspruit Game Reserve outside the bushveld town of Hoedspruit and close to the Greater Kruger National Park, is made up of smaller reserves Leadwood Big Game Estate, Bloubank, Khaya Ndlovu Shareblock and Khaya Ndlovu Manor House properties.
Last week I attended the release from a holding boma of five strapping young lions into the reserve. This was an exciting moment for owners of the various properties making up Rietspruit, and especially so for Kevin Leo-Smith – Leadwood resident and wildlife guru. Kevin and I go years back, and it was good to catch up as we waited patiently for the five lions to leave the boma area and venture into the reserve. Kevin has played extremely instrumental roles in the establishment and commercialisation of two of southern Africa’s major conservation and tourism success stories – Phinda Private Game Reserve (South Africa) and Kwando (Botswana).
As we waited in the shade of a tree, Kevin explained the lengths one must go to, to ensure that only healthy and genetically robust lions are placed back into wild areas. The introduced pride consists of three young male lion siblings from the nearby Karongwe Reserve and two young females sourced from Marakele National Park.
The two groups were relocated to the boma in Rietspruit, where they got to know each other. Only once they showed signs of bonding did Kevin arrange for the release from the boma.
The securing of lions with no signs of bovine tuberculosis proved to be a challenge. TB has reached alarming proportions in lion populations, even in the Kruger National Park. The entire release process was under the supervision of Dr. Peter Rogers of ProVet in Hoedspruit, who is one of the most experienced wildlife vets in Africa. The standard TB test protocols were followed, working with Prof. Michelle Miller from the University of Stellenbosch’s Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research.
Three lions originally selected for release at Rietspruit all tested positive for TB, and were euthanised, in line with protocol designed to protect the greater lion population. This was of course a massive disappointment for Kevin and his fellow Rietspruit owners, but everyone of course agrees that protocol has to be adhered to.
Once the five healthy lions were together in the boma, the emphasis shifted to ensuring that they bonded as a pride. There was some expected tension between the males and females and although one female at 2.7 years old was heavier than the 22-month old males, the males dominated the feeding opportunities. This led to initial challenges of getting enough food to the females.
However, after two weeks things had settled and the lions were making voluntary contact outside of feeding times.
Other boma challenges included the provision of meat without the lions associating food with vehicles or humans – essential to avoid problems between lions and humans once the lions were released into the reserve.
I have to admit to a sense of elation as these young lions plucked up the courage and darted out of the boma, with much cautious scanning of the surrounding bushveld. They immediately settled to feed on a kudu carcass left outside of the boma for this purpose. There was a bit of hand-bag swinging initially, but after a few hours of feeding we had 5 flat cats with round bellies – with the magnificent Drakensberg mountains looming as backdrop.
The lion reintroduction was done with prior approval from LEDET (The Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism).
UPDATE FROM THE FIELD: Kevin advised me that the lions are exploring the reserve and showing no signs of walking the boundary fences, suggested that they already feel at home. The collared lioness has been on heat and the males have been showing interest. It’s too early to know if there was a successful mating, and further information should be available later this year.
Watch the five reintroduced lions bond as a pride over a meal, filmed by Simon Price
[A link to the petition to declare the Luangwa River as a Water Resource Protection Area is available at the end of the article]
Zambia’s wildlife paradise and legendary safari mecca of Luangwa Valley may in future partially function as one giant tap for some of Zambia’s growing water needs. Gone will be the seasonal, natural water cycles that sustain and nurture this incredibly fecund river valley. You see, a sizeable chunk of Luangwa Valley may be dammed in the near future, at Ndevu Gorge (see map below). Ironically, South Luangwa was in late 2017 declared as the world’s first sustainable National Park by United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
In a study on the Potential Impacts of the Proposed Ndevu Gorge Dam conducted by California State University Monterey Bay (2017), it is estimated that the resulting 1,510 km² Lake Ndevu, with its 80-metre-high dam wall, would inundate 29.5% of the length of the Luangwa River within South Luangwa National Park, at least six safari camps, and as much as 80% of adjacent hunting areas. It would also inundate portions of at least six chiefdoms adjacent to the river.
In addition, it would reduce the area of the valuable wildlife corridor between South Luangwa National Park and Lower Zambezi National Park to the south, by 50% of its length and 24% of its width. For this study ZCP and WWF provided guidance and datasets, then the CSUMB conducted the study.
Potential future infrastructure, land use, and human encroachment change five years after construction of the proposed Ndevu dam. Image source: Potential Impacts of the Proposed Ndevu Gorge Dam study
The Luangwa River Valley currently provides a mosaic of diverse habitats, including riparian forest, grassed dambos, floodplain grassland and deciduous woodlands. The natural hydrology of the Luangwa River allows for flooding in the rainy season – December to April – creating seasonal wetlands, oxbow lakes, sandbars and other features that create a rich habitat for plants and wildlife.
The Luangwa Valley is home to several species on the IUCN Red List, such as wild dogs, grey crowned cranes, elephants, lions, leopards, hippos and Maasai giraffe (formerly known as Thornicroft’s giraffe).
Dams have a considerable impact on biodiversity and wildlife. They disconnect rivers from their floodplains and wetlands, slow down river flows, disrupt sediment movement, fragment freshwater habitat and disrupt natural flood cycles (WWF 2004).
Importantly, Lake Ndevu may further constrict the vital movement of migratory/dispersal species such as elephants, lions and wild dogs along the Luangwa River wildlife corridor between the Luangwa Valley and the Lower Zambezi area to the south. This is a vital movement corridor because the Luangwa Valley is otherwise cut off from other large protected areas. These species cannot sustain population viability without these dispersal and migratory routes, which provide access to other members of their species.
Added human encroachment and development could increase snaring as well as contribute to habitat loss and prey depletion.
The massive Ndevu Lake will also affect the local communities spread across 25 chiefdoms. The river currently provides extremely valuable and crucial ecosystem services to these people, including safe drinking water, floodplain agriculture, fishing, goods and trade, wild fruit, honey, local construction materials and local crafts. The Luangwa River also has a significant cultural and spiritual heritage for the country.
WWF Zambia is firm in its belief that Zambia does indeed need to develop its power supply (currently 90% via hydropower), along with its economic development initiatives. They believe that the Luangwa main river and key tributaries should however be protected as Water Resource Protection Areas, with guidance from the Water Resources Management Act No. 21 of 2011. They are also advocating for the importance of developing a National Integrated Water Infrastructure Plan (i.e. dams) that responds to people’s needs, environmental requirements at the catchment level, as well as the production of food and energy. “We are advocating for the right dams to be built on the right rivers and diversification of our energy sources while working towards meeting the country’s energy demand.”
Several large dams already provide Zambia with power from the Zambezi River and its tributaries. Additionally, a new project on the Zambezi at Batoka Gorge near Victoria Falls is set to commence soon. However, unlike other rivers in the Zambezi River basin, the Luangwa is still a free-flowing river with no dams – presenting a rare opportunity to preserve the natural state of a major waterway.
Supported by an advocacy and communications strategy, WWF Zambia has launched “Keep the Luangwa Flowing”, a campaign to secure 100,000 signatures from locals and many more from the international community to petition the President, His Excellency Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, to declare the Luangwa a Water Resource Protection Area.
In the last few weeks, social media was once again at the centre of a flurry of activism regarding the hunting of a lion in the Greater Kruger area. I have been disappointed by these emotive and often violent exchanges. At times, I feel despondent that the unifying impact that some of us in the conservation space have been trying to cultivate this year, could be damaged by divisive arguments and views on the Greater Kruger. This is a social-ecological system that has been carefully managed and nurtured over decades, and one that happens to be working extremely well today. I, therefore, offer an alternative, constructive perspective to the Greater Kruger Protected Area, in contrast to the more acrimonious narratives that are doing the rounds as we speak.
But why should anyone listen to me on this subject?
To start with, I am a citizen of the Greater Kruger. I have lived in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve for over 10 years, where I own and run a photographic safari operation, Tanda Tula, which employs over 60 people from local communities. We lease the land from one of the landowners in Timbavati. With each of my team supporting a further 10 people on average, my business has a direct impact on over 600 people in this area. I have been on the Executive Committee of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve since 2011, and I am now also a member of the Steering Committee for Responsible Tourism Best Practice in the Greater Kruger Protected Area. In short, I have some “skin in the game” in the Greater Kruger, as my family and my business is deeply rooted in, and deeply affected by, what happens in this area.
I am not just a sideline commentator. I have an in-depth knowledge of how the Private Reserves, which form part of the Greater Kruger, function and how they contribute to the success of the larger integrated wilderness landscape. I am also deeply aware of the challenges facing this landscape.
So, who are the stakeholders with “skin in the game,” and who should be influencing the decisions made about how the Greater Kruger is managed? Whose values matter most?
The ‘Most Vocal’ award goes to…
From all of the media fuss, it appears that the most vocal and influential parties come from the main urban centres of South Africa and from Europe and North America. And some of the animal rights activist platforms that directly support journalism with funding and marketing are based in Cape Town and Johannesburg. These white urbanites work tirelessly to influence other white urbanites, promoting an ideology of Africa’s wilderness spaces created by American romantic poets in the early 20th century.
According to this view, Africa was a vast mythical landscape teeming exclusively with wild animals, devoid of any human activity.
How committed are we all really? The facts speak for themselves.
SANParks held 54 stakeholder engagement sessions in the last 18 months, as part of the development of the new management plan for Kruger National Park. The most well-attended of these were in the communities who live on the border of the Kruger National Park – literally thousands of members of the public engaging with Kruger management officials to express their concerns and aspirations for the region. In addition to these public sessions, the Private and Community Reserves forming part of the Greater Kruger also had their turn – these sessions were also very well attended with every reserve represented. By contrast, the public engagement sessions in the large urban centres, where all of the current media and social media conversation on the Greater Kruger National Park emanates from, were poorly attended. Cape Town and Johannesburg each only managing an attendance of 9 individuals!
This paints an interesting picture, does it not? When it came to proper engagement – you know, where humans discuss and find solutions, the loudest voices on social media did not turn up. Instead, the people whose lives are most directly affected and who have genuine “skin in the game”, turned up and participated in big numbers. These same people are the least represented on social media. It would appear that social media represents an upside-down version of the situation on the ground in Africa.
Major concerns from those who bothered to pitch up
So what were the major concerns of the communities within and living on the borders of the Greater Kruger? The top five issues raised were: jobs and employment; education; community development; crime; and human–wildlife conflict. Other issues that repetitively and predictably continue to get so much social media attention – such as trophy hunting – did not even feature in the top 20 list of concerns of these communities.
The question I ask then is: Why are we, the citizens of the Greater Kruger, allowing the narrative of our story to be seized by people who live and work thousands of miles away, and who seem to push an agenda that is foreign to what is clearly wanted by all directly-affected communities and landowners? Why are the people whose lives are most affected by the decisions made in and around the Greater Kruger remaining silent in the media? Why is the multi-faceted story of the Greater Kruger and its success not being told from within, but instead being commented and narrated on from far away?
What is the truth, if not factual?
The picture painted by these activist journalists who report on sensational stories about particular animals or species comes across to the unsuspecting reader as the gospel truth – but this is incorrect. These “truths” are simply the worldview of that journalist, and his/her supporters. It is important that we as media consumers understand that what is sometimes positioned as fact, is only opinion. Sometimes it is simply innuendo designed to stir public opinion in support of a particular ideology.
Make no mistake, I applaud the efforts of journalists and investigators who uncover real misconduct, and I believe that oversight and regulation is extremely important for a system like the Greater Kruger to function effectively. However, constantly creating stories designed to ferment division and dissent within the conservation community is simply a destructive pastime that should not be tolerated by any of us – especially those of us who are part of the Greater Kruger and whose own knowledge of the realities on the ground can help to rectify misperceptions created in the media.
To me, the debate around hunting is as futile as it is divisive. Arguing with protagonists on both sides of the debate is like having a discussion with a religious zealot. There is no point in presenting facts to either of them, as they simply cast these aside as “propaganda”. All of them continuously return to the same cherished old points which they seem to think proves their argument. Since these arguments are more about values than facts, they prove nothing but only serve to continue the circular arguments and cement ideologies.
‘High’ and ‘low roads’ – which is best?
Whilst heated discussions play out in the media and on social media, South African conservation is at a crossroads. Do we take the ‘high road’, where different stakeholders have different values and expectations and exercise tolerance for each other? This ‘high road’ leads us to larger, integrated, wildlife habitats with their ability to support wildlife in greater numbers than ever before. Or do we by contrast take the ‘low road’, where the conservation landscape is driven by low-level divisive arguments and mud-slinging from within – social divisions are deepened and the whole system begins to fragment and collapse. This ‘low road’ leads us to more fences going up, and reserves fenced exclusively for hunting, and less land available for wildlife to range in – with resultant break down in ecosystem carrying capacities, more intensive control required over high impact species such as elephants, buffalo, hippos and lions, and an eventual loss of many truly wild animals.
The Greater Kruger is a fragile system, with many social, political and economic pressures and influences that could lead to its fragmentation. The success of the Greater Kruger depends heavily on the goodwill of all of its stakeholders, particularly the goodwill of those who live on, own and manage private land within the Greater Kruger, and communities living nearby.
The Greater Kruger is a shining example of how ‘high road’ thinking can lead to a thriving wilderness landscape. But, don’t be fooled, the careful work of many decades can be undone through a ‘low road’ approach from people who have no skin in the end result. South Africa, in particular, has a careful path to follow when it comes to land use issues. We face pressure to justify using these private pieces of land for conservation when many with political agendas would prefer livestock or vegetable farms. The conservation community has a new path ahead of it, with great efforts needed to integrate communities into the wildlife economy, and with challenges around justifying the presence of wild animals close to those communities. ‘Low road’ arguments and discussions are endangering the efforts of the conservation community to focus on the fundamental issue – the availability of wilderness habitats.
It’s all about habitat
Now, I am not saying that there are no other pressures on wild animal populations – we all know that there are – human-wildlife conflict, the bushmeat trade, and of course poaching across Africa are all of great concern, and are all factors that the conservation community is working hard on addressing. I am simply reiterating the fundamental truth: That without Africa’s wild habitats, there will be no more wild animals. Practising tolerance to save wilderness habitats is the ‘high road’.
To bring the topic back to Africa’s great conservation success story – the Greater Kruger, I propose that we take the ‘high road’ in order to continue to grow and consolidate this landscape. The Kruger National Park has been working hard at retaining its relevance within the new context of South African society. They have engaged meaningfully with the South African public and the stakeholders of the Greater Kruger – this has included members of local communities, the greater public and landowning stakeholders in the Private and Community Reserves that form part of Greater Kruger. They have realised that for the Kruger National Park and the Greater Kruger to be sustainable, and even to grow, the variety of value systems held by different people, and particularly the value systems of the people living directly adjacent to the Greater Kruger, must be embraced.
There needs to be a willingness to accept these different value systems for the benefit of the greater good. The citizens of the Greater Kruger are practising the values of ‘high road’ thinking. I urge everyone who is interested in saving Africa’s wildlife to do the same.
Research released earlier this month showed that some of the largest and oldest baobab trees in Africa died within a 12 year period. For trees that have lived for millennia to suddenly succumb over such a short space of time and in different countries, suggests that a major cause may be to blame.
The research paper in Nature Plants listed climate change as a potential suspect, but also noted that further research was necessary. Recently I interviewed Adrian Patrut from the Babeș-Bolyai University in Romania, who co-authored the research paper. He explained that “southern Africa is one of the fastest-warming areas worldwide. We suspect that an unprecedented combination of temperature increase and extreme drought stress were responsible for these demises”.
Taking one example of the Chapman’s baobab in Botswana, Patrut went on to explain that it produced leaves and flowers well before the rainy season started, depleting its water reserves so that it wasn’t able to support itself and collapsed in the space of a day. He also noted that the rainy season had started later than usual that year. These weather extremes and shifting rainfall patterns are set to become the new normal as a result of climate change, putting more of our flora and fauna at risk.
The reason why the loss of these baobabs is so concerning is that these trees are renowned for being particularly difficult to kill. When the inside of baobabs is burned by fire, they’ll continue growing. When the bark is stripped away by large mammals such as elephants, they’ll grow new bark. For climate change to have killed them sends a very worrying message.
When we lose our great trees, we also lose part of human history. Baobabs are regarded as sacred trees by certain tribes and used for ceremonies and other tribal traditions. In West Africa, important meetings would take place beneath baobab trees to resolve conflicts. When these trees go, so do the customs and folklore that have grown with them.
Climate change is one of the biggest threats to life on this planet, and there is a sad irony that baobabs which are known as ‘the trees of life’, are amongst the first casualties. Unless we wish to see more species heading for a similar fate, then we need to urgently reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to meaningfully tackle climate change. We stand to lose more than we may realise if we fail.
The Botswana parliament has adopted a motion tabled by Maun East MP Mr Kostantinos Markus requesting the government to consider lifting the ban on the hunting of elephants in areas that are not designated as game reserves and national parks, to reduce the elephant-human conflicts that are a serious issue for poor rural people.
Debating the motion, the Vice President and Boteti West MP, Mr Slumber Tsogwane said the human-wildlife conflict had over the years been rife, primarily due to an overlap between the human population and wildlife. The human-wildlife conflicts, he said, had been prevalent in the Boteti constituency, where large numbers of elephants roamed freely in marginal rangelands. The increase in human population had also resulted in the encroachment into more marginal lands inhabited by wildlife.
The Vice President said conflicts between people and wildlife currently ranked among the main threats to conservation countrywide, adding that with much of the wildlife living outside protected areas, one of the real challenges to conservation is how to enhance and sustain coexistence between people and wild animals in those areas.
He said the increase of the elephant population had also affected the land conservation plans as they tend to over-graze and destroy the natural landscape.
“Given the economic and social importance of both wildlife-related activities and agriculture, balancing the relationship between wildlife species and agricultural production is critical if the needs of all of the respective interest groups involved with these commodities are to be met,” he said.
He emphasised that the motion should not be regarded as a leeway to promoting poaching of elephants as the government would implement stringent measures to protect elephants and other wildlife spies.
Mr Tsogwane said an understanding of how people and conservation agents dealt with the problem of wild animals was critical in evolving and establishing sustainable conservation systems. He said that the government would consult with all the relevant stakeholders to facilitate human-wildlife coexistence.
Tati East MP, Mr Samson Guma argued that it was undoubtedly evident that the expansion of human society had forced people to infringe into wildlife habitats and convert land to other uses incompatible with wildlife.
Mr Guma said smallholder farmers living along the Botswana/Zimbabwe border fence had struggled for years with elephants that regularly invaded their land and destroyed their crops. The majority of those farmers, he said, settled along the borderline to benefit from rivers that do not only act as demarcation boundaries between the two countries but also have water in abundance all year round.
Mr Guma said that the story of elephant farm invasions in his constituency was heartbreaking as a week hardly passed without elephants raiding farms and ploughing fields.
“Elephants inhabiting the nearby parks easily stray outside park perimeters in search of forage, water and a place to breed, thereby destroying everything on their path,” he said.
He said both elephants and human population density in the area had become high and as a result the competition for resources between the two had intensified; hence efforts of many subsistence farmers in the area to become commercial were more like a lottery than a livelihood.
Mr Guma therefore said government should swiftly act on how best to resolve the human/wildlife conflict and that the lift on the hunting ban and shooting of elephants in areas not designated as game reserves could be remedial to the crisis.
Controversial South African rhino breeder, John Hume, has said that he is on the verge of bankruptcy and may have to sell off his 1,626 southern white rhinos, or risk them being poached due to lack of funds required to provide heavy security at his property.
Hume has the largest number of privately owned rhinos in the world, almost all of them being southern white rhinos, currently listed as ‘Near Threatened’ by the IUCN Red List. These are monitored and protected at the 8,000 hectare Buffalo Dream Ranch (BDR), near the North West province town of Klerksdorp in South Africa.
Hume is probably best known for challenging the South African government’s moratorium on the domestic trade in rhino horn (an extended legal case that he eventually won in 2017), and holding the world’s first legal rhino horn auction.
Over the past 26 years, Hume has invested US$100 million of his own savings into his rhinos. Currently, at least R5 million (US$ 400,000) is spent per month on field protection, feeding, and veterinary expenses. Financial difficulties have now arisen, and as Hume has not been able to generate sufficient funding from the sale of rhino horn, his life savings will be completely exhausted in August of this year.
A press release and email circulated by Hume on 19 June 2018, said that he wanted “to find a wealthy partner to purchase up to 50% of the project”, who would then help him to secure cooperation from the South African government to sell rhino and rhino horns. However, according to Hume rhino horn is essentially impossible to sell in South Africa and there is a risk to selling live rhinos due to the dangers of poaching.
“If I am unable to sell a share in this project in its current form, I believe that I will be forced to sell it off in pieces of between 500 and 1,000 hectares, all having between 100 and 200 rhinos per rhino farm… The problem with this is that most of the buyers would not be able to breed or protect as effectively as I have done with the project as a whole over the past decade,” Hume said.
BDR has recently had to give notice to the private army of soldiers who currently protect their rhinos, as they can no longer afford their services. To maintain the heavy security required to protect the rhinos, an alternate electronic security solution needs to be installed to replace this army, otherwise the rhinos will be at risk to poaching.
In order to prevent this inevitability, Hume and the BDR have appealed to the public for monetary support through their Indiegogo campaign, where their goal is to raise the sum of US$3,300,000 (R38 million), which will all go towards the installation of the early-warning security system.
Hume’s appeal for monetary assistance has been backed by an article by Dr John Hanks – a staunch Hume supporter, and former director of the Africa Program for WWF International (based in Switzerland).
In his article, Hanks said that Hume “is in urgent need of substantial financial support, as are other private land-owners, who together are responsible for approximately 7,000 rhinos (according to Pelham Jones, the Chairman of the Private Rhino Owners Association) more than the rest of Africa combined”.
The moratorium on the legal trade in rhino horn has deprived Hume of an income since the ban was introduced, but Hanks believes that lifting such a ban will benefit Hume and those who require financial support.
“John Hume believes that captive breeding projects are vital to help save rhinos from extinction and that rhinos could pay their own survival with a legal trade in rhino horn. However, until we change the law that currently benefits criminals we need your help to keep John Hume’s project alive and help his mission to save rhinos for future generations,” said Hanks.
Simon Espley, CEO of Africa Geographic, says that he “doubts that the public will come to Hume’s assistance, because of the attritional nature of his campaign to date – his PR machine has not tread lightly on people with counter opinions”, and he “hopes that Hume is able to save his rhinos when and if he runs out of money, by perhaps donating them to restocking programs in safer areas. This would be a very lengthy and difficult exercise, but so worth the effort!” He continued that “Hume appears to be a successful businessman (with historical access to US$100m in personal savings), with excellent networks in the moneyed world. Hopefully, some of his support networks will come forward to bankroll his operation until the rhinos can be relocated. I am sure that a man who loves rhinos as much as Hume would want to see them saved if all else fails.”
It’s hard to comprehend that giraffe numbers have plummeted by almost 40% in just three decades. This rapid slide now places them amongst the most threatened species on the planet, with only approximately 98,445 (subsequently increased to 115,322) individuals remaining across this massive African continent!
A population collapse of this nature could conceivably be driven by that evil Far East cabal of wildlife traffickers that perpetuate myths about how wild animal parts can improve health, wealth and happiness. In this case, though, it would appear that the now-familiar threats of habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation coupled with human population growth and illegal hunting (poaching) are to blame.
I would imagine that its large size makes it difficult for giraffes to pass through dangerous human-occupied territory unnoticed, and surely the return for the effort of killing a giraffe is high, what with all of that meat on the hoof.
“We do not have any evidence of giraffe in traditional Chinese medicine, but in all honesty, a detailed trade assessment is required to understand local and potential international trade better. At this stage, we are aware of the bushmeat trade in different countries and the interest in tails as fly swatters (dowry for brides) in northern Kenya and DRC.” – Dr Julian Fennessy, Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF)
Here then, is a summary of what you need to know about the giraffes of Africa, with the information provided by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF). This is the long and the short of it.
Conservation status
Giraffes, as a species, are listed as ‘Vulnerable’ according to IUCN, which means that they are vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Updates for most of the currently recognised subspecies are under review by IUCN, with updated status assessments expected soon, in mid-2018.
There has been limited conservation effort and research on giraffes across Africa, and so, to aid conservation efforts going forward, GCF has compiled historical and current data on giraffe numbers, distribution and threats from across their range in Africa. This work has been undertaken collaboratively with African governments, NGOs, universities, IUCN and independent researchers.
There are four distinct giraffe species in Africa, and two of these species have two and three subspecies respectively. All live in geographically distinct areas across Africa and do not cross-breed in the wild (they have been known to do so in zoos).
The Masai giraffe is often noticeably darker than other species. Its blotches are large, dark brown and distinctively vine leaf-shaped with jagged edges, separated by irregular, creamy brown lines.
It ranges through central and southern Kenya and throughout Tanzania, with a geographically isolated population (potentially subspecies) in the South Luangwa Valley in Zambia. This Zambian population was previously mistakenly assumed to be Thornicroft’s giraffe, but they are genetically identical to the Masai giraffe. A small number have been translocated into Akagera National Park in Rwanda – outside of their natural range. Historically the most populous of the species, recent reports of poaching suggest that their population is decreasing. The population estimate is 32,500 individuals (subsequently increased to 45,402).
The reticulated (or Somali) giraffe has brown-orange patches which are clearly defined by a network of thick and striking white lines. This species is found predominantly in central, north and northeastern Kenya, with small populations and range persisting in southern Somalia and southern Ethiopia. It has been estimated that about 8,700 individuals remain in the wild (subsequently increased to 15,985) – down from an approximate 31,000 as recently as 1998.
Southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa)
The southern giraffe has two subspecies with a combined population of 52,050 (subsequently reduced to 48,016):
1. Angolan giraffe (G. g. angolensis)
The Angolan giraffe’s pattern extends down the legs and is made up of large, uneven and notched spots against a white (or cream) to the tan-coloured background. This subspecies is found in most parts of Namibia, central Botswana and Zimbabwe. They went locally extinct in Angola until recent private translocations. Some have been translocated into DRC, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and other parts of Botswana – outside of their natural range. The population is estimated at 13,050 individuals.
The South African (or Cape) giraffe’s pattern extends down the legs and is made up of large, uneven and notched spots on a background that is more tan-coloured than white or cream. This subspecies is found across South Africa, Botswana, northeastern Namibia, southwestern Zambia and some areas in Zimbabwe, with conservation re-introduction efforts into Mozambique. Previous extralimital introductions of this subspecies and of Angolan giraffe into their known range are likely to have resulted in hybrid populations in those areas.
There have also been introductions of South African giraffe beyond their natural range, in South Africa, Angola, Senegal, Swaziland and Zambia. The population is estimated at more than 39,000, making this the most populous species.
The northern giraffe has three subspecies with a total population of 5,195 (subsequently increased to 5,919):
1. Kordofan giraffe (G. c. antiquorum)
The Kordofan giraffe’s spots are pale, large and rectangular. It has no markings below the hocks. This species is found in some of Africa’s more unstable areas: southern Chad, Central African Republic, northern Cameroon, northern Democratic Republic of Congo and western South Sudan. Most of these populations were previously incorrectly assumed to be G. c. peralta. The population is estimated at 2,000 individuals.
2. Nubian giraffe (G. c. camelopardalis) Nubian giraffes have large, rectangular blotches set irregularly against a cream background. The lower legs are noticeably white and not patterned. The Nubian giraffe has the same Latin name as that of the entire species because it was the first specimen recorded. Recent research has shown that the two subspecies, previously known as Nubian and Rothschild’s giraffe, are actually genetically identical, and so Rothschild’s giraffe has been subsumed into the Nubian giraffe. This subspecies ranges across eastern South Sudan (information about large herds unconfirmed), western Ethiopia, northern Uganda and west-central Kenya. The majority of Nubian giraffe in Kenya are outside their natural range.
In 2015 and 2016, Nubian giraffes were (re-)introduced into Uganda’s Lake Mburo National Park and the southern bank of the Nile River in Murchison Falls National Park respectively after an absence of 100 years or more. The population is estimated at 2,645 individuals.
3. West African giraffe (G. c. peralta)
The West African (or Nigerian) giraffe is noticeably light in appearance, which rectangular tan blotches separated by thick, cream-coloured lines, often with no patterning on their lower legs. After being widely distributed at the beginning of the 20th century from Nigeria to Senegal, this subspecies now inhabits an isolated pocket east of the Niger capital of Niamey, sharing their living space with local villagers. No other large wild mammals remain in this region. By the 1990s, only 49 individuals remained, and after direct intervention by the Niger government, their number has risen to approximately 550 individuals (and counting).
The Giraffe Action Fund (GAF) is an exciting GCF initiative that aims to secure and increase current numbers and distribution of giraffes throughout their range in Africa. Their action plan includes securing additional habitat, anti-poaching efforts as well as conservation education and awareness. In the last year alone, more than US$500,000 has directly gone to support partners efforts in giraffe conservation and management efforts.
Specific GAF projects:
Saving Uganda’s threatened Nubian giraffe
GCF and the Ugandan Wildlife Authority (UWA) signed a memorandum of understanding in 2014 to conserve this threatened giraffe subspecies. Once free-ranging across western Kenya, western Ethiopia, southern South Sudan and Uganda, the Nubian giraffe has been largely eliminated from much of its former range. GCF’s giraffe conservation efforts in Uganda focus on all three national parks that host giraffe: Murchison Falls, Kidepo Valley and Lake Mburo national parks.
Murchison Falls National Park Murchison Falls National Park hosts by far the largest population of Nubian giraffe in the wild (1,250 estimated), and GCF are undertaking a long-term study on giraffe numbers, their distribution and ecology – in close collaboration with UWA and Dartmouth College. The recent discovery of oil in the park and the threat of poaching incursions (mainly via wire snares) from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which lies just across the River Nile, are significant challenges.
Operation Twiga I & II Two critical translocations of giraffes have taken place to increase their range within Uganda – known as Operation Twiga (twiga is Swahili for giraffe). The translocations took place in Murchison Falls National Park in 2016 and ‘17 – from the northern side of the Nile River (where oil was discovered) to the southern side. In total, 37 giraffes were successfully moved and continue to be monitored. In April 2018, the first two calves were observed in this new population – a great conservation success!
Kidepo Valley National Park GCF has undertaken the first-ever and subsequent, annual giraffe census in Kidepo Valley National Park. The current estimate of only 36 Nubian giraffes (from three in 1902), means that further conservation efforts are needed to ensure a viable population. Operation Twiga III is planned for mid-2018, and the aim is to augment the existing population by 10 Nubian giraffes from Murchison Falls National Park. Poaching has stopped, but the giraffes are still under threat by habitat loss, fragmentation, and disease.
Lake Mburo National Park Giraffes disappeared from Lake Mburo National Park about 100 years ago, probably due to poaching and disease. Re-introducing giraffes from Murchison Falls National Park into Lake Mburo National Park for ecological and ecotourism reasons was done in July 2015, and in April 2018 the first calf was born in this new population. While poaching is minimal around the park, the giraffes’ new home is under pressure from expanding human populations around the park and increasing demand for land. The giraffe population is still small and needs all our support to help it grow to play a valuable role in this landscape once again.
GCF is an international science-based conservation organisation that provides innovative approaches to save giraffes in the wild.
GCF is the go-to organisation for giraffe conservation that is proactive and reactive, with a strong collaborative and dynamic team working within a network of partners at all scales.
GCF is the leader in supporting a sustainable future for giraffes in/and their natural habitats.
GCF will continue to organically grow and increase awareness to save giraffes in the wild.
Also, have a look at the documentary that by BBC and PBS, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, about the work of GCF across Africa to save giraffe: Giraffes: Africa’s Gentle Giants.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
The best way to help giraffes is to make a donation, no matter how small. Cash makes a huge difference because it fuels everything you have just read. To make a real difference for giraffes, make a donation here.
The below questions were addressed to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) by a foreign national, questioning Namibia’s wildlife conservation strategies:
Could you please explain to the public (and to me) what the heck is going on in Namibia’s so-called ‘conservancies’ with regard to wildlife, especially lions and elephants?
– Are you aware that the Hoanib counts only one (1 !!) male reproductive lion and that this individual ‘Last of the Mohicans’ is in great danger to be killed?
– Are you aware that shooting and poisoning?
– Are you aware as well that a complete pride of lions there has been poisoned? Seems to be the main hobby of Namibian farmers? This even without justification because of loss of livestock.
– Are you aware at all that worldwide lions face extinction?
– What then is the use of beautiful films like Vanishing Kings if the vanishing is MET-endorsed?
After these questions I do have some requests as well:
– Could you please clarify if MET really is in a hurry to address the Puros community in this matter? They are notorious lion killers.
– Could you please clarify what your action is with regards to the extremely urgent collaring of the few remaining lions?
– Could you please clarify your course of action in the prosecution of the culprits of the shooting and poisoning? This is dragging on for years by now. It creates the impression as if they have got a secret ‘go ahead’ from your ministry. This does not contribute to your country’s reputation I’m afraid.
– Could you please shed your light on the practice of earmarking reproductive male lions (which are by now a rarity. Inbreeding is the result.) as a ‘problem animal’ with the sole purpose to find a fake justification for selling it as a trophy animal? The strong will die; their heads on a wall in New York or Moscow; the weak – genetically spoken uninteresting ones – remain.
– Could you please clarify what exactly justifies the name ‘Conservancy’?
With due respect, I await your reply.
To which the Namibian Chamber of Environment (NCE) responded as follows:
Dear Frank,
This is the Namibian environmental NGO community replying to your e-mail of 20 April 2018 to Dr Lindeque of the Ministry of Environment & Tourism, to add our perspective to that of our government colleagues. By way of background, the Namibian Chamber of Environment (NCE) is a membership-based umbrella organisation that supports, and represents the interests of, the environmental NGOs in Namibia. We currently have a membership of 58 NGOs, which is well over 90% of all environmental NGOs in Namibia.
We wish to thank you for your interest in conservation issues in Namibia. At the outset, I would ask you to tell us the source of your information? Unfortunately, the information you have has led you to levy accusations and aggressive questions which are simply not based on the reality on the ground.
Let me turn the tables on you for a moment and ask you, as an interested conservationist from The Netherlands, where are the indigenous predators which used to occur in your country until very recent times? Where are your free-ranging wolves, lynxes and bears? Where are your national programmes to reintroduce these species back into your countryside? What commitment is there from your government to reinstate the recent-historic wildlife of the Netherlands which was killed by modern man? What sort of support do you think that you would get from your farmers for such reintroduction efforts?
Now, think about predators which are far larger, more aggressive, much more dangerous, than those predators that used to live until recent times in your country. This is what farmers in Namibia are living with. Why, in your view, should African farmers have to live with these animals, while farmers in your country would not be prepared to tolerate living with the relatively benign predators that should occur in your country?
Communal conservancies are not national parks. Incidentally, some 17% of Namibia comprises national parks, compared to just 3% of your country. Conservancies are areas where rural communities – mostly farmers – wish to sustainably manage wildlife for their own financial and cultural benefit. And in so doing, they make a huge contribution to national and international conservation agendas. And they are prepared to tolerate certain levels of carnivores on their land (which farmers in your part of the world are not prepared to tolerate), provided the level of threat to them, their families, their livestock and their livelihoods are not excessive.
Lion populations have been increasing over the years in the Kunene region. This is one of the very few areas on earth where viable lion populations occur outside of Parks and one of even fewer areas where lions have significantly increased in numbers in recent years. And yes, we are aware of, and concerned about, global lion trends. We are also well aware of local lion population numbers and trends – that is our job. But we address the issue of lions and other predators in the context of their setting and the prevailing situation.
Over the past few years, there has been a severe drought in the Kunene region. Wildlife numbers have declined (in arid zones, boom and bust cycles are the norm) and lions are hungry. There has thus been a spike in predation on domestic stock. Many families have lost their entire flocks. This human-wildlife conflict needs to be managed in a number of ways (there is no one simple solution) and reducing lion numbers in some areas is certainly part of the strategy. And I should emphasise, it is a strategy that is fully supported by the reputable and scientifically driven environmental and conservation NGOs in Namibia.
The reason is simple. If farmers in conservancies decide that they do not want predators on their land, it is their right to eliminate them. They, like your farmers, don’t have to live with predators. Unlike your farmers, rural farmers in communal conservancies in Namibia are very poor. They have few options. Thus, stock losses have a large impact on their livelihoods. For our farmers to be prepared to live with predators, they need to get some direct benefit from the predators (through tourism and trophy hunting), and to manage the cost of living with predators.
Thus, in addition to managing predator numbers, we look at improving the protection of livestock through strengthening stock kraals, using guard dogs during the day, appropriate livestock management, zonation plans, predator research and monitoring, early warning systems, tourism development, trophy hunting, etc.
Unfortunately, we have a few individuals in Namibia who are simply unable to get their heads around the big picture of conservation on communal land and the vital role that incentives, predator management and social acceptance play in the process. They cannot look into the future to see where Namibia needs to be in decades to come. They rather look at each lion individually. This is not a conservation biology approach, but more a western urban short-term animal rights approach which is highly counter-productive to long-term conservation.
Through social media, these individuals, self-proclaimed conservationists, prey on well-meaning but uninformed people in society. And because conservation biology is complex and difficult to explain in sound bites, they prefer to project simplistic approaches and solutions, which have failed worldwide. Kenya is a good example, with its protectionist, Eurocentric conservation approach. They have less wildlife now than at any time in their history (declining from 1.5 million head in the 1970s to about 0.5 million today). By contrast, Namibia has more wildlife today than at any time in the past 100 years, increasing from about 0.5 million in the 1960s to about 3 million today. So please do not allow yourself to be misinformed and upset by these sorts of people.
In a nutshell, Namibia aims to go through its development process to become a wealthier country without losing its indigenous biodiversity along the way (something that most industrialised countries have not managed to do). We aim to keep wildlife on farmlands by creating incentives and being reasonable and sensible in our management approaches. This means that farmers need to realise value from the wildlife on their land and we need to help them manage their losses, or else they will not be prepared to tolerate difficult species. And lions are the most difficult of all the animals for people to live with. If we can get it to work for lions, and not have them just contained in national parks, then all other species will automatically follow.
So please do not try and undermine our efforts by attempting to remove the tools at our disposal – and specifically the economic incentive tool and the predator management tool. Without these interventions, lions will vanish from all farmland in Namibia, as the predators have vanished from farmland in your country.
We have taken time to share with you some of the bigger picture conservation biology issues on land where people are also farming. We will not answer your e-mail question by question because you did not have this strategic background when you asked the questions, and because most of your questions are based on wrong information. However, I can tell you, that with the good recent rains in the Kunene region, we expect wildlife numbers to again increase, human-predator conflict to decline, and pressure on lion and other predator populations to also decline.
So, in conclusion, thank you for your interest in these issues in Namibia. But in light of your own country’s situation, you might like to direct your energy to (a) getting your government to set aside more of your land for conservation (10% is considered internationally to be a reasonable amount), and (b) getting your government and farmers to work together to re-establish the indigenous fauna that should be present in your country, including free-roaming populations of wolves, bears and lynx, in both your national parks and in the countryside. Good luck with this.
Kind regards,
Dr Chris Brown CEO
On behalf of the environmental NGO community in Namibia, and specifically with the following NGOs working in the Kunene region in support of conservation and rural development in conservancies: Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF)
Two steps forward, one step back in pangolin conservation. Liberia is a country in West Africa that has overcome civil war, battled through the Ebola crisis and is currently recovering from the impacts. But there is one more issue to confront – the illegal wildlife and bushmeat trade.
As a citizen from the UK, it is only obvious that I stand out like a sore thumb. But it’s not because of my skin tone, but rather my reputation to chase down “sweetmeat”. Ask any Liberian about the pangolin locally known as the ansbach, and their first association of the animal will be a reference to its flavour.
Liberia has three of the four species of pangolins found in Africa and last year the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC released a report that named the country as one of the main origin countries for pangolin trafficking.
Myself and an FDA (Forestry Development Authority) ranger usually go out and confiscate animals from the illegal wildlife and bushmeat trade. We then take them back to Libassa Wildlife Sanctuary – Liberia’s only rehabilitation centre which aims to release all of the animals confiscated back to the wild in protected areas. However, rangers are unarmed and on most occasions the village will surround us, confront us, shout abuse and show physical acts of aggression, threatening our safety in their efforts to scare us away. It’s a very dangerous situation to be in, but it’s all in the name of pangolin conservation.
Pangolins, like many other wild and domesticated animals, can be seen hung upside down alive by the roadside and waved around at passing vehicles to be purchased for around US$20-30. My truck and my face are recognised by many now, causing the sellers to flee as I approach or drive by.
They are aware of the law; they are afraid of my presence. Therefore we are seeing less pangolin sellers in areas that we frequently visit.
Most police officers are unaware of the law so are unwilling to help, although there are those who just play ignorant. When confiscating a monkey the police took sides with the owner, saying he had the right to keep the monkey as a pet and our presence was humiliating. Sadly, money can buy your way out of sticky situations, corruption is just another problem Liberia needs to triumph over and phase out.
However, awareness workshops and a confiscation unit are in progress. So hopefully the pangolin population can recover, before it’s too late.
A new carnivore protection ranger force, the Limpopo Lion Protection Team, has had significant successes in the first few weeks of their deployment in the Limpopo National Park, a core component of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area. Recently graduated from a ranger training course offered by the Southern African Wildlife College, these well-trained men – specifically assigned to support the Greater Limpopo Carnivore Programme – were rapidly deployed into known lion ranges and tasked with securing these areas from targeted lion poaching. Within the first four days of operations, they covered 57 km and removed 33 snares. In the following weeks, they also found three meat camps and with the assistance of park rangers ambushed and captured three meat poachers.
Snaring is a common and inexpensive method used to catch wildlife, and it is as cruel as it is effective.
In 2016, rangers removed a staggering 664 snares from Limpopo National Park. These snares were strategically placed by poachers, often around water points, aiming to capture animals. Some of the animals are caught for meat, but some are killed for a second and much more sinister and devastating use. The practise involves the application of an easily accessible, over the counter pesticide to a carcass, the size of which directly relates to the number of animals that will be affected. Sometimes it is a small antelope and sometimes an elephant. The main target is usually predators, be it lion, hyena, jackal or leopard. The spoils? Bones and body parts sold for export to the East or used for traditional practices.
Notwithstanding the devastating effect on carnivore populations, non-targeted species also suffer. In a single, well-document incident in the Kruger National Park in 2017, 49 vultures died as a result of feeding on poisoned antelope carcasses. One shudders at the impact this had on vulture populations, with several species more endangered than rhino. According to a Times Live article, in 2016 nearly 150 vultures were killed in two poison incidents in northern Botswana and 105 were poisoned in South Luangwa National Park. Fifty-six more were killed in Ruaha National Park in Tanzania – and these are only the known and documented cases.
The mind bends at the consideration that many of these birds may have been breeding pairs with younglings in nests. Generations of these critically endangered species have potentially been wiped out. The Endangered Wildlife Trust has named poisoning as the most significant threat to vultures in Africa and Eurasia, which has contributed to decline of more than 80% in some African species.
Lion poisoning has been steadily increasing in Limpopo National Park. Peter Leitner, a Peace Parks Foundation Project Manager for the park says, “It is of grave concern to us. Over the last year, there have been seven lions poisoned and eight incidences were recorded where poisoned bait was found in the park. In the communal land south of the park, two lions were poisoned when they fed on a cow that was laced with poison. In May, two lion cubs, a male and female, were found poisoned close to a river in the park.
Realising the potential impact of this threat, combined with other poaching methods, Peace Parks Foundation, in partnership with the Mozambican National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) established an intensive protection zone (IPZ) within the park with the purpose of creating a stronghold in an area that has the largest concentration of game. Peter says that because of the high game numbers here, the area is an important component of tourism development which will, if the game has recovered, attract tourism investors. It is also a critical focus point for illegal activities of wildlife crime syndicates. Patrolling the enormous expanse of the park’s more than one million hectares is an almost impossible task with the resources available. Through the IPZ strategy, 80% of anti-poaching resources can now be allocated to securing the most vital poaching hotspots along the park’s western border, which is shared with the Kruger National Park.
Valuable research also impacted
For many years, the Greater Limpopo Carnivore Programme has been doing continuous research in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) covering an area of approximately 38,000 km². Through scientifically-guided conservation activities, the programme aims to recover and restore the long-term viability of the lion population spread across the large cross-border conservation landscape which forms part of the Great Limpopo TFCA.
Led by Dr Kris Everatte, the Greater Limpopo Carnivore Programme investigates how predators move from the source, usually the Kruger National Park, into the vacant area of the Limpopo National Park.
According to Peter, Peace Parks Foundation welcomes this important research as the lion is a key species that needs to be continuously monitored. He says, “They are always in conflict with villagers in the area because of the threat they pose to their livestock and livelihoods. To mitigate this, villagers are encouraged to corral their cattle at night, and park rangers and the research team provide early detection and warning to villagers when lion enter their areas. What is, however, making the situation worse is that some poachers are specifically targeting lion for their bones, which are harvested for both traditional use and for export to the East.”
The Limpopo Lion Protection Team rangers have been assigned to the research groups so that they can move in the home ranges of the lion.
“They are tasked to pick up any snares in the area, as well as poisoned carcasses,” says Peter.
The team is accompanied by a park ranger who maintains constant contact with other rangers in the park in order to communicate poacher tracks and coordinate joint operations when needed.
“We have long since realised that it is not only the poachers who target high-value animals, such as rhino and elephant, that are a threat to game populations, it is also those who use snares that can be easily set in their hundreds, that severely impact on the wildlife numbers. If we want to be successful in seeing the recovery of general species, we need to focus on removing these snares as well.”
Because poisoning is a regional issue that needs to be understood, a baseline study has been commissioned by Peace Parks Foundation in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The researchers have gone out to the villages to try and gain a deeper understanding of the issues that are promoting poisoning. They had several interviews with district leaders, community leaders and park officials in which they asked very direct questions, such as what the advantages of poisoning are. By fully understanding the subject, appropriate interventions can be developed which will address the underlying issues by offering alternative solutions.
Safeguarding more than just predators
Significantly reducing snaring, poisoning and poaching in the park will benefit more than the species they target.
Peter says, “As we are protecting predators and other wildlife, the hope is that animal numbers will steadily increase. As this happens, tourism interests will perk up, which will, in turn, attract capital investment and generate revenues the park needs to sustain itself as well as provide meaningful employment to members of the communities. We need to make it attractive for tourism investors to come in and the way to do this is to make sure there is a product. This product has to be more than the aesthetics of the environment, such as nice river valleys, mountains and forests. We need to ensure that our wildlife numbers are at levels which become attractive to tourists”.
A veterinarian, Dr Rogers, and the ProVet Wildlife team recently darted a pride of five lions in the northern part of Greater Kruger. This happened after one member of the pride was reported to be in a very bad condition and extremely emaciated.
The managers of the property became increasingly concerned for the animal’s health as they witnessed that he was struggling to move. They noticed that the pride were looking after him, making kills and allowing him to feed.
Dr Rogers made the decision to dart all five members of the pride in order to assess their condition, because of the suspicion of tuberculosis (TB).
Upon darting the emaciated male, Dr Rogers and the team made the decision that his condition was too bad, and euthanised him. Blood was then taken from the remaining four pride members and later taken to Skukuza for processing.
From there, the samples will go to the University of Stellenbosch for analysis of the presence of the TB organism. Should the samples come back as positive for the disease, further intervention from a veterinary perspective may not be necessary.
Dr Rogers advises that the animals will be monitored and nothing will be done until they start showing clinical signs, which may take many years or perhaps never show.
A postmortem of the euthanised male, conducted by Dr Rogers on Monday, showed that he was heavily infested with TB.
TB is not a naturally occurring disease in wildlife in the Greater Kruger area. It is thought that TB first came to South Africa through cattle from Europe many years ago.
Through contact via the fence, the disease was transferred to buffalo in the Park and then the cycle moved on to lions and many other species in the Greater Kruger area.
A study conducted in 2016 by Stellenbosch University’s animal TB research group suggests that as many as half of the lions in the southern region of the Kruger National Park (KNP) may be infected with a form of animal tuberculosis.
The 21st June marks the summer and winter solstice – depending on where you are in the world – and in the northern hemisphere, it is the longest day of the year. It is then entirely appropriate that the day also marks World Giraffe Day, considering it is the planet’s longest-necked animal.
As one of the most iconic animals around, a giraffe’s sheer size and gracefulness will undoubtedly leave you speechless as it strides over the African plains. With their long legs, beautiful eyes and regal bearing, the giraffe is a remarkable creature that deserves recognition and praise.
On World Giraffe Day, we are celebrating Africa’s giraffes in all their splendour through this gallery of stunning photos, along with some interesting facts. And they’re not just any photos; they’re some of the special photos submitted during our Photographer of the Year 2017 and 2018.
The name “giraffe” comes from the Arabic word zarāfah (meaning “fast-walker”). In the 1590s the Italian form giraffa arose, and around 1600 the modern English form developed from the French version, girafe.
Giraffes are the tallest land animals in the world, with their legs alone being taller than most humans (6ft). Even newborn baby giraffes are taller than most humans.
Their young are ‘dropped’ at birth onto the ground and can stand within the first hour of life. By 10-hours-old they can run with the rest of the herd.
Giraffes have excellent vision, which is important as they need to keep an eye out for predators that may be lurking by, and effectively maintain herd cohesion.
Although long, their necks are too short to reach the ground. They have to awkwardly splay their front legs apart to be able to drink or investigate anything on the ground. Their jugular veins have a series of one-way valves which prevent them from getting a rush of blood to their brains when they bend down.
Giraffe’s stand for most of their lives and you won’t often find them lying down. They don’t need a lot of sleep either and seldom sleep for longer than five minutes at a stretch while lying down. Other than that they take short power naps while standing up.
Giraffes have enormous hearts to pump the blood around their extensive circulation system. On average, their hearts are 60cm long and weigh up to 11.5 kg.
Giraffes can move surprisingly quickly and cover vast distances. They have a comfortable ‘cruising speed’ of 16 kph, but can accelerate to 55 kph when the need arises.
Giraffes primarily eat the leaves and twigs of acacia and mimosa trees. They have a long prehensile tongue, and both the tongue and lips are virtually unaffected by the thorny acacia branches.
NAMIBIA: Gretzky (XPL 99) the iconic Huab River male desert-adapted lion, who sired and established the Ugab Pride has been shot and killed by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) at De Rust farm in Ugabriver. According to sources, on Monday evening (11th June) he entered a kraal and killed about 25 goats and sheep at de Rust. This was the first known conflict incident he was involved in.
The lion was collared and it is said that his death could have been prevented if the early warning system had been installed in areas where problems with lions have occurred repeatedly. Apparently his skin, and most likely his bones, will be sold on MET’s behalf.
The following is a statement by Izak Smit (Chairman and founder-member of Desert Lions Human Relations Aid Namibia) regarding Gretsky’s death:
“Unbeknown to us, the MET went to De Rust Farm on Friday. Since Gretzky, XPL 99, seemed to have moved off to the East after we successfully drove him off from the kraals at De Rust Thursday night, we did not envisage that he would return so soon.
On Saturday the news reached us that Gretzky had been shot by the MET and that the skin would be sold. We returned to De Rust to find a skinned carcass of the lion. It became clear that he was in a poor condition and emaciated. This explained his relentless returns to the kraals and his breaching of the poorly maintained and dilapidated kraal where he killed about 25 sheep and goats of Mama Rosa on Monday evening. There were two donkeys on the loose (not kraaled despite the imminent threat) this time at the De Rust farm which attracted the lion. He made a few attempts at the kraal and eventually killed a donkey and as a result, was shot not far from the farmhouses. Since he qualifies as a problem-causing animal, the MET and farmers acted within the law by killing it.
The question however remains whether a translocation could not have spared his life and defused the conflict situation. Given the lion’s poor condition he would most probably not have attempted the long way back from the Huab River to the Ugab if he would’ve been relocated back to the Huab. Given the grossly skewed gender ratio of male to female lions, favouring female numbers, and the facts published by the researcher highlighting the fact that 6 of 9 prides are without a resident male (counting Gretzky now upped to 7 prides), clearly a more conservation-friendly approach would have been desirable. Too often the problem is dealt with through the barrel of a gun and one wonders if a recommendation was at all sought from the research or whether any form of impact study to determine the sustainability of such culling was done. Given the fact that no recent statistics or census in this regard is known it seems irresponsible to just kill these animals randomly.
Namibia boasts internationally to have the largest number of free-roaming lions in the world and derives revenue and earns admiration for it but seem to not take the conservation of these animals seriously enough. The so-called early warning and response system remains an empty promise.
This is clear as the Ugab lions have already been collared in January, but clearly, no such warning or support has been given to the De Rust farmers despite the fact that Gretzky’s collar regularly transmits his position. Another international outcry can be expected by concerned international communities and tourists which could and should have been avoided in our opinion.”
Chimpanzees are among the primate species threatened globally by human activities such as habitat destruction and hunting
The majority of primate species, including chimpanzees, gorillas and lemurs, are on the brink of extinction, according to a new study.
Two-thirds of all primate species are found in just four countries – Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Brazil and Indonesia. Of that, 60% of these primates are Threatened, Endangered, or Critically Endangered according to the IUCN. Researchers have now found that without a concerted global effort, these primate populations will be pushed to breaking point by the end of the century.
An international group of primate researchers analysed and evaluated the situation of many endangered primate species. Using information from World Bank and United Nations databases, the group, led by scientists at Oxford Brookes University, explored likely future scenarios in the four primate-rich nations.
As part of their research, they investigated how human activities would influence the wild primate populations in the future, in terms of habitat destruction, land expansion for agriculture, hunting and the bushmeat trade.
A simulation of agricultural land expansion by the end of the century showed a decline of up to 78% in the distribution areas of many primate species. Assuming a worst-case scenario, by the year 2100, 78% of the primate habitats in Brazil, 72% in Indonesia, 62% in Madagascar and 32% in DR Congo could have disappeared.
“Many iconic species will be lost unless these countries, international organisations, consumer nations and global citizens take immediate action to protect primate populations and their habitats,” said Professor Anna Nekaris, a primate conservation expert at Oxford Brookes University.
“People do not realise that in their daily lives, by consuming less and making more ecologically friendly consumer choices, such as reducing use of single-use plastic and eating food grown locally, they can have direct impacts on tropical forests and the long-term sustainability of biodiversity.”
Widespread hunting of black-and-white ruffed lemurs in eastern Madagascar has put these primates at increased risk
The study – published in the journal PeerJ – claimed that the biggest threat to primate populations is the expansion of farming, as forests are felled to make way for palm oil and sugarcane productions. In addition, illegal hunting and the bushmeat trade are also major threats, and in DR Congo, hunting has significantly reduced the numbers of gorillas and bonobos.
Unfortunately, many of the areas where primates thrive are also characterised by high levels of poverty, lack of education, political instability and food insecurity – factors that often drive overexploitation of primate-rich habitats.
The research team found that only relatively small fractions of primate habitats in the four target nations are located inside national parks and reserves, meaning many populations are left unprotected.
“More protected areas are needed together with corridors along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients to reduce isolation, along with forest restoration projects that can be beneficial to people’s livelihoods,” said Dr Susan Cheyne, one of the report’s co-authors.
The researchers warned that everyone from national lawmakers to the general public attending safaris focused on great apes has a role to play in preventing a mass extinction. They asked for immediate measures to protect the endangered primate species and supply recommendations for the long-term conservation of primates and to avert primate extinction.
The threat to primates of exposure to emerging infectious diseases, such as Ebola, resulting from increased contact with human and domesticated animals can result in local primate population declines
It is not hard to see why Victoria Falls is one of the most spectacular natural sites on the planet and continues to delight and capture the imagination of travellers. Even as early as 1855, David Livingstone described the Falls in a way that reflects this sentiment: “Creeping with awe to the verge, I peered down into a large rent which had been made from bank to bank of the broad Zambezi, and saw that a stream of a thousand yards broad leapt down a hundred feet and then became suddenly compressed into a space of fifteen to twenty yards…the most wonderful sight I had witnessed in Africa.”
Fortunately, my family and I were able to experience this stunning sight firsthand, while at the same time exploring the Zambian side of Victoria Falls and the adventure capital of Zambia – Livingstone.
Victoria Falls is the result of thousands of years of erosion. In ancient times, the Zambezi River started to wear away the soft sandstone that was present in huge cracks in the hard basalt plateau that it flowed over, eventually creating a series of magnificent and dramatic gorges. In fact, the Victoria Falls has been gradually receding for over 100,000 years, and the zigzagging gorges downstream of the current Falls represent the formation and abandonment of seven past waterfalls.
Today, the Zambezi crashes over a wide cliff, plunging 108 metres into a powerful whirlpool, forming the greatest curtain of falling water on the planet, and transforming the placid river into a ferocious torrent. At the height of the rainy season more than 500 million cubic metres of water per minute surge over the edge of the almost two kilometre-wide Falls and plummet into the gorge below. Columns of spray can be seen from miles away, hence its local name, Mosi-oa-Tunya – “the smoke that thunders”.
Facing the Falls is another sheer wall of rock, crowned with a mist-soaked rainforest. Walking the various paths on the Zambian side through the rainforest, over the Knife-edge Bridge (with its spectacular views of the eastern cataract, main Falls and down the gorge), ducking out to brave the spray and admire the view, you finally make your way around to the point where you can see the Victoria Falls Bridge – the next stop on the itinerary for our family adventure in Zambia.
The ultimate adrenaline activity
Aside from the Victoria Falls lure, there are numerous activities to keep even the most ardent adventure seeker busy.
Jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge is one of the ultimate adrenaline activities. It is the highest commercial bridge jump in the world and the most spectacular setting. I, of course, was neither brave, nor foolish, enough to throw myself off the bridge, but my 16- and 17-year-old sons had no such qualms. Shearwater offers bungee, bridge swing and ziplining off the iconic bridge, and without any trouble, at all, I convinced my sons to throw themselves into the abyss.
It was only once the boys were fully kitted out in their safety harnesses that my husband voiced what was in both of our minds: “We’ve only got two children; do you think it is wise for them to both be throwing themselves off this bridge simultaneously?”
My heart stopped beating, and I held my breath as I watched them leap into space, free falling for what seemed like forever, before being propelled upwards again, at speed, by the rebound of the giant elastic rope. The looks of excitement on their faces when we were reunited said it all – they were on an adrenaline high for the rest of the day!
I, on the other hand, thought I would ease myself more gracefully into the ‘adrenaline business’ and signed up with Livingstone’s Adventure for an afternoon’s privately guided canoe safari on the Zambezi, upstream from the Falls. We paddled between the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park on the Zambian side and the Zambezi National Park on the Zimbabwean side, gliding past elephants, pods of hippos and a great selection of birdlife. I was a little surprised as to how much we saw given how much noise my husband and younger son were making in the other canoe!
Having been told clearly as we set off that the person in the back seat was in charge of steering and the person in the front was the ‘powerhouse’, there seemed to be a great deal of unnecessary gesticulating and exasperation as the two of them ‘discussed’ who was supposed to be doing what and got progressively further off course! Silence reigned supreme in my canoe, and I was feeling rather smug until I turned around to discover that my eldest son was doing what teenagers do best – having a power nap in the back seat, while I both paddled and steered! The adrenaline rush of the morning bungee jump had taken its toll.
Our first few nights were spent at Livingstone’s most recently opened Thorntree River Lodge, right on the banks of the Zambezi, with an unbeatable view of the river. There was even a gym with a view for the times when you were feeling guilty about all the excellent food you were eating. I would visit the treadmill every morning while my family were ensconced in bed, coming back with reports of all the birds, monkeys, baboons, giraffes and even elephants I had watched while running to nowhere.
Thorntree is located in the 66 sq km Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, home not only to Cape buffalo, Burchell’s zebra, Angolan giraffe, elephants, various antelope species, warthog and more, but also to 12 white rhinos. We were able to combine a game drive through this tiny park with the unique opportunity to get up close on foot to a few of the rhinos.
After some searching, we found a rhino mother and her calf and were able to get quite close. The calf, Baby Virginia, in a remarkably playful mood, scampered from side to side and looked longingly in our direction. I’d be willing to bet that if her mum hadn’t been there cramping her style, she would have come even closer and really checked us out!
River rafting adventure
We decided on a family rafting trip the following day with Bundu Adventures, down what is quite probably the wildest commercial white-water in the world. A rafting adventure on the Zambezi River is an adrenaline rush not to be missed. Downstream from the Victoria Falls, the Zambezi River stretches out into deep, zigzagging, torturous channels, gouged out of the surrounding basalt.
The incredible volume of water guarantees an exhilarating day of white-water rafting.
When, at the pre-departure briefing, you hear that there are rapids called ‘The Terminator’, ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Gnashing Jaws of Death’, you have an inkling of what lies ahead!
The day starts with a hike down to the ‘Boiling Pot’, a massive whirlpool at the base of Victoria Falls, where we clambered aboard our raft and set off. The sun was shining, and the water was surprisingly warm. Our guide, nicknamed Black Lizard, knew exactly which line to take through the rapids, usually giving us the option to choose the route based on whether we wanted to ‘flip’ or not… and a few flips were definitely had! Although stretches of the route are classed as high-octane Grade 5, there are several areas of scenic, calm water where we had the chance to swim alongside the raft. The whole day was an unbelievable experience and definitely worth the steep hike out of the Batoka Gorge at the end of the day.
From the tranquillity and luxury of Thorntree River Lodge, we moved closer to town, basing ourselves nearer the action. Maramba River Lodge is a peaceful oasis amongst all the adrenaline that is Livingstone. While close enough to all the action, we still felt part of nature as we enjoyed breakfast on the terrace overlooking a resident pod of hippos, who, complete with numerous babies, kept us thoroughly entertained for hours.
When we weren’t watching the hippos we were amazed by the vervet monkeys which, to avoid the crocodiles, clearly preferred drinking from the lodge’s swimming pool than the river; they didn’t seem remotely bothered by our presence, even bringing their tiny babies with them.
Taking to the skies
If flying over the Falls in a contraption that resembles a couple of garden chairs attached to a beach umbrella, with a lawnmower engine for propulsion, is your cup of tea, then micro lighting is definitely for you!
Seriously though, while a microlight may look as fragile as a dragonfly, it is far stronger than it appears, and in the hands of an experienced pilot, it is one of the unique ways to see one of the seven natural wonders of the world in all its magnificence. My sons took to the skies and loved every minute of the ride!
Not to be outdone by our children in the microlights, my husband and I opted for a spectacular helicopter flight over the Falls, again with Livingstone’s Adventure. Known as the ‘Flight of Angels’, this thrilling flight over the waterfall is a definite bucket-list activity. Not only did we have the luxury of a private flight just for the two of us, but the views were breathtaking, offering an entirely new perspective on the Falls and the landscape below.
Having dispatched our children back to boarding school at the end of the school holidays, my husband and I returned to Livingstone a month later to sample a little more of the serious luxury that is on offer, and I can confidently say I have never been so pampered in all my life! It is amazing how sophisticated the northern banks of the Zambezi have become. Livingstone, once the ‘poor relative’ in the Victoria Falls experience, has undergone an incredible transformation in recent years, and now has some truly special places to stay and activities to do.
This time our first port of call was the Stanley Safari Lodge. The lodge has a very different viewpoint and perspective from many of the other lodges in the area, most of which are built right on the riverbanks. Here you are perched on a hill overlooking the unspoilt bush, with snaking stretches of the Zambezi River and the spray of the Victoria Falls visible in the distance.
We arrived in a deluge of rain and had to make a mad dash from the car to the welcoming shelter of the dining room – this rain was to continue for the rest of the night, and indeed the rest of our visit! A thunderstorm during dinner provided a spectacular display of lightning across the border in Zimbabwe, and the reflection of the lightning in the swimming pool, which we could see from our table, was incredible.
A visit to Livingstone would not be complete without a river cruise on the Zambezi River, preferably at sunset. We chose the African Queen, and even though the sun was hiding behind the clouds as we set off (and it didn’t look like we were destined to get a very photogenic sunset) we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless; no doubt aided by the gin & tonics and tasty snacks brought to us regularly by our ever-attentive waitress. We travelled at a stately speed up the Zambezi above the Falls, catching glimpses of hippos and crocs, and just in the nick of time, the clouds cleared temporarily, and we got our sunset after all.
It was time to move lodges, this time to Royal Chundu Island Lodge, located 60km from Livingstone, upstream of the Falls. From the minute we arrived at Royal Chundu, we knew we were in paradise! Having relied on Google maps to get us there, we had taken a very circuitous route and were feeling somewhat flustered by the time we arrived.
Though all that fell away as we took the first sip of our welcome cocktail in the main lodge, and then stepped aboard the boat that would take us across to our room on the island. After unpacking and enjoying a delicious lunch, we had to temporarily press pause on our island retreat and head back into town for dinner aboard the Royal Livingstone Express.
The Royal Livingstone Express is a unique and different experience; a trip back in time to the luxury and grandeur of the bygone era of steam trains. An actual red carpet welcomed us, and we boarded the train with a glass of wine in hand. Wandering through the fabulously restored and renovated carriages, we chose a seat in the elegant lounge car.
The train set off, and we nibbled on smoked salmon canapés as local fundi, Peter Jones, gave a passionate, fascinating, humorous and informative talk about the history of the train, the bridge, Livingstone and Zambia in general. Meanwhile, the train was making its way to the Victoria Falls Bridge, where we alighted to view the Falls, and those who were interested joined the driver in his compartment to learn more about the inner workings of the engine itself. The driver showed us how to stoke the engine, even allowing us to pull the cord that sounded the whistle – which had my husband grinning like a schoolboy! Once back on board, we were treated to a delicious five-course dinner in the dining car as we headed off into the night.
Arriving back at Royal Chundu long after the rest of the lodge was asleep, we boarded the boat again for a short, moonlit boat ride upstream to the island. We reached our room to find a freshly drawn bath in the tub on the verandah, with bubbles that must have been at least a metre high! Never one to turn down a bath, I hopped in and was serenaded by a chorus of frogs. I sat there watching a sky full of brilliant stars and then as if on cue, I saw a shooting star as the lions started roaring in the park across the next channel of water. An absolutely perfect moment.
The next morning a female finfoot accompanied our early morning coffee. As we sat on our verandah watching her across the water, she was joined by a male, and not long after that, we witnessed what was either a courting ritual or perhaps just a marital spat!
Departing Royal Chundu, we headed to Islands of Siankaba, a lodge built on two private islands in the middle of the Zambezi. The wooden chalets are built on stilts and perched on the river’s edge, with verandahs jutting out over the water, and are all interlinked by a series of raised wooden walkways – something that would not have looked out of place in the Swiss Family Robinson or Pirates of the Caribbean. The walkways and suspension bridges that linked the two islands together gave an air of adventure from the moment we arrived.
The rain continued and the sound of the river rushing and swirling beneath our room and the drops of rain falling on the canvas roof at night had us feeling cosy and warm, tucked up in bed. The next morning we sat on our verandah, enjoying our coffee while watching forty or fifty blue-cheeked bee-eaters, and just as many wire-tailed swallows, swooping over the water. A Cape clawless otter appeared, swimming around the partially submerged small islands in front of our room. Walking to breakfast, we found discarded crab carcasses on the bridges, left behind by giant kingfishers who had eaten their breakfast long before we were heading to ours.
Later that day we headed upstream in a boat to a tiny island, where we got off to take a closer look at the southern red bishop birds. We had the island all to ourselves and were surrounded by red bishops courting, mating and building nests. So unaccustomed were they to human presence, that the birds allowed us to get right up close and we had some unparalleled viewing.
For a brief change of scenery, I headed back into Livingstone town and through to the famous Victoria Falls Bridge to have a good behind-the-scenes look. Even though he never visited the Falls and died before the construction of the bridge began, Cecil Rhodes was presented with the plans of the proposed Zambezi River crossing, and he apparently drew a line across the Boiling Pot (the point directly below the Falls where the water exits from the chasm of the Victoria Falls) and declared that this was where he wanted the bridge.
He envisaged the spray of the Falls landing on the trains as they crossed the bridge, and indeed for many years after the completion of the bridge, trains used to stop for a few minutes at its centre so that his dream could be realised… exactly what we had done a few nights earlier on the Royal Livingstone Express. Attached to the bridge by a series of cables and carabiners, I walked beneath it, with my guide, on the original catwalk, while learning a little more about its construction and admiring the fabulous views both up and down the gorges.
After our stay at Islands of Siankaba, our last stop was the Royal Livingstone Hotel. We only had one night here, but we certainly made the most of our visit. Just after arrival, we were ushered off to an extravagant high tea, where we were each presented with a three-tiered cake stand loaded with goodies, accompanied by tea and, of course, some sparkling wine. Having missed lunch, we savoured our high tea, while watching zebras grazing by the pool. Just as I swigged the last of my bubbly, nibbled my last morsel of cucumber sandwich, and decided there was no way I was going to fit in any dinner, I was whisked off to a luxurious massage in a gazebo on the banks of the Zambezi.
On our last morning in Livingstone, we forced ourselves to endure a delicious champagne breakfast with all the trimming on the banks of the Zambezi while watching the spray of the Falls. We followed this with a last-minute visit to the Falls themselves. The rain-swollen Zambezi was chocolate in colour, and the Falls were pumping, it was hard to drag ourselves away from the mesmerising sight of the sheer volume of water that was pouring over the edge. But sadly, all good things must come to an end.
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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.
A new survey of baobab trees across several countries in southern Africa has found that most of the oldest and largest of trees have died, or significantly deteriorated, over the last 12 years. The cause is still unclear, but researchers speculate that climate change may be an underlying factor.
Adrian Patrut, a Romanian professor of inorganic and radiochemistry, and colleagues used radiocarbon dating to analyse more than 60 of the largest and oldest baobab trees in Africa to try to find out how the trees could grow so large and so old. During the survey, which started in 2005, the researchers noticed that nine of the 13 oldest, and five of the six largest baobabs had died, or at least their oldest parts had collapsed and died during the study period.
These included well-known trees that have become famous for their size or natural architecture, like the Sunland baobab (that fell in 2017), the sacred Panke baobab (around 2,500 years old when it died in 2011, according to Patrut), Namibia’s ‘Grootboom’ (thought to be at least 1,275 years old and fell in 2014), and Botswana’s Chapman’s baobab (that collapsed in 2016).
“We report that nine of the 13 oldest… individuals have died, or at least their oldest parts/stems have collapsed and died, over the past 12 years,” the team said, describing “an event of an unprecedented magnitude”.
Published in the journal Nature Plants this week, the survey suggests that climate change may be affecting the ability of the trees to survive, though more research is needed to understand the exact cause.
“We suspect that the demise of monumental baobabs may be associated at least in part with significant modifications of climate conditions that affect southern Africa in particular,” said Patrut and his team. “However, further research is necessary to support or refute this supposition.”
The Platland baobab after the first two splits of May and August 2016. Image source: Adrian Patrut
The team added that an epidemic did not cause the deaths and “there were no signs of disease”.
Baobabs are notoriously tricky to date because their strange shape and growth patterns can complicate traditional tree-ring analysis — and Patrut’s method drew some controversy from other baobab ecologists. But his findings about the deaths came as no surprise: Anecdotal evidence of a die-off was already spreading in the baobab research community.
Baobabs have a unique ring-shaped structure comprising multiple stems and trunks, often of different ages. Baobabs will start growing as a single trunk but over time, develop others that may fuse to form a closed circle, or remain open. The researchers found that in some cases, all the trunks had died suddenly at the same time.
Opinion post: Written by Simon Espley, CEO of Africa Geographic
A large male lion was trophy hunted on Thursday morning last week in the Greater Kruger National Park. We have confirmed by way of personal discussion with the warden of the area that the hunter is from the United States and that he paid in the region of R1-million to kill this wild lion. The hunter’s name is unknown at this stage. Wildlife activists claim that the lion was a pride male lion they call Skye, but this fact is yet to be confirmed.
The lion was killed in Umbabat Private Nature Reserve, which forms part of the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR), and falls within the Greater Kruger National Park. There are no fences between the private reserves and the Kruger National Park. Umbabat, in turn, is made up of many smaller private properties.
It’s highly likely that this tragic incident will justifiably trigger an emotional tsunami, with substantial consequences for Umbabat, neighbouring private game reserves and possibly even the entire Greater Kruger. At the time of writing, there is already much speculation and finger-pointing within Umbabat, APNR/Greater Kruger and amongst the broader public. Members of Umbabat are meeting today in Johannesburg to discuss the situation.
I tried to determine the facts as they currently stand and can report as follows, after a lengthy telephone discussion this morning with Umbabat warden Bryan Havemann, and with representatives of other affected parties. Havemann provided all documentation requested by me. Africa Geographic will keep you advised of further developments, as we become aware of them.
1. Was the hunt legal?
Havemann: Yes. The authority to hunt the lion was provided in a quota letter issued on 21 February 2018 by the relevant governing authority – Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency. The quota request by Mbabat was initially turned down, due to inadequate information being provided, but subsequently approved once the outstanding information was provided. Information published by wildlife activists this morning via a South African news platform was based on outdated information and is not accurate.
2. Was the lion baited?
Havemann: Yes, the lion was baited. We baited the lion in order to make sure that we did not shoot lions that are prohibited in terms of the lion hunting protocol (see below).
3. How old was the lion?
Havemann: The lion met the requirements of the Greater Kruger lion hunting protocol of April 2018. These requirements are:
i) Older than 6 years;
ii) Reasonable steps are taken to ensure that no pride males under 8 years old are selected;
iii) Consultation with lodges and landowners in the area;
iv) Males cannot be shot if in the presence of females;
v) No appearance of the recessive leucistic gene (‘white lions’).
4. Was the lion killed the lion referred to as ‘Skye’?
Havemann: I am unsure of the exact identity of the lion named ‘Skye’, as we do not name lions. We met with the local landowners and lodges during the run-up to the hunt, as required by the lion hunting protocol, who provided photos of a male lion they have named ‘Skye’ (because he has a scar under his eye). We undertook to ensure that this named lion was not the target lion, and made sure that the Umbabat professional hunter was aware that this lion was out of bounds. A report by Umbabat chairman Lenny Willson described the lion killed by the hunter as follows: no facial scarring, age 8.5 to 9 years old, worn down and broken teeth, prominent spine, no appearance of ‘white lion’ gene, no other lions in the area before or after the hunt.
5. Why does Umbabat hunt lions and other species?
Havemann: We permit hunting in order to pay for ongoing reserve management and security costs. There is no profit in this, we try to cover costs. The landowners also pay levies, which provide the balance of the funds required to keep the private land available for the good of wildlife conservation. We only have one commercial lodge amongst our landowners, and so cannot reply on tourism as a major funder. We would be happy to stop trophy hunting if third parties would provide the necessary funding.
Final comment from Simon Espley, CEO of Africa Geographic
Humankind has surely evolved sufficiently to reject the fetish of a few wealthy people for killing iconic animals for fun. It is time to get rid of trophy hunting of these icons as a conservation funding mechanism where there are alternatives, and I am totally convinced that the intellectual and financial resource at Umbabat and other nearby private game reserves could solve this riddle if they applied their minds and thought outside of traditional methods. I know that many of the Umbabat owners already do feel this way.
If alternative solutions are not found, there is a real risk that the APNR will start breaking up, and that fences will come back up in places. The anger generated amongst the social media-empowered general public, driven by activists who value impact over fact, is a toxic cocktail that will drive change – regardless of the consequences.
This will be a journey for Umbabat, not an event. It’s time to start that journey.
Opinion post: Written by Simon Espley, CEO of Africa Geographic
A showdown is looming between tourism operators in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park and trophy hunters, in the wake of the Zambian government’s decision to cull up to 2,000 hippos over a 5-year period in Luangwa Valley, across the river from the tourism lodges – and to award the culling contract to a South African trophy hunting outfit Umlilo Safaris (so much for the empowerment of local people and generation of revenue that stays in Zambia).
The tourism operators in South Luangwa have built their industry and a hard-earned reputation for authentic camps and walking safaris over many years – and this latest blow could conceivably impact their livelihoods, on the employment of local people and on the sustainability of the industry. Luangwa Valley is the home of the walking safari experience, a reputation worth defending. They have questions and very valid concerns, but it would appear that these are falling on deaf ears.
Contextual reality check:
1. Tourism in Luangwa Valley brings in about US$27m per annum in revenues and employs approximately 1,200 people directly and indirectly. Revenue from trophy hunting amounts to approximately US$200,000 per concession, and there are two such concessions nearby the main tourism areas. Employment figures for trophy hunting are unknown.
2. The hippo is classified as “vulnerable” on IUCN’s Red List of threatened species. There is an estimated population throughout Africa of only 115-130,000 individuals, with a “downward shift”. IUCN: “The conservation status of Hippos remains precarious and the need for direct conservation action to protect Hippos and Hippo habitat across their range is a priority”;
3. The Zambian authorities have justified this culling exercise on the basis that this will prevent anthrax outbreaks among animals due to high populations of hippo. And yet, in this research paper by their very own Chansa Chomba from the Department of Research, Planning, Information and Veterinary Services at Zambia Wildlife Authority, advises that culling is not an effective population control strategy. His research goes on to advise that culling:
i) removes excess males and frees resources for the remaining female individuals, leading to increased births and facilitating rather than suppressing population growth rate;
ii) did not significantly affect population size and density.
Comment from tourism operators in the area:
Opening statement: “If culling for meat and revenue could be done without negatively affecting tourism in the area, and the hippo population would not be jeopardised, many of us here would support it, as it could provide protein and additional revenues for local people… and that would help to secure the future of conservation.”
Concerns and questions:
1. This five-year cull is in the main tourist area of South Luangwa, where ease of road and air access was built on the backs of photographic tourism investment and development from the safari lodges, operators, NGOs and charities. Now, these people are going to come and take advantage of that, and in the process, threaten the survival of the very industry that created a nice environment for them!
2. This the reality of hippo hunts:
Umlilo Safaris offers clients five hippos per trip, during our prime tourism season of June to October, from now until 2022.
Relatively unskilled trophy hunting clients will be shooting hippos in the river opposite the busiest game viewing area in Zambia. The hunts will take place in the day time when the hippos are in the water. We know that killing a hippo in water often takes 6 or 7 shots and that the carcass will then sink before resurfacing later. The carcass will then be hooked, dragged to the shoreline, butchered and dried on drying racks.
Photographic tourists will boycott the area and instead go to countries that do not also host trophy hunts. This will lead to tourism camps shutting down, jobs being lost and hard-earned conservation successes coming under threat.
3. How will the hippo meat be cured? Usually, this is done by drying it, using the traditional method of fires made from mopane wood. It would appear that Umlilo Safaris has been given permission to fell trees in order to cure the hippo meat. We have a continuous battle on our hands to save the woodland and habitat that supports such amazing wildlife. Local people are not allowed to cut these trees, so why should trophy hunting be allowed to cut down trees? Has a permit been issued by the Forestry Department or Community Resource Board? So many elephants are killed by trophy hunters on the basis that they push over trees and are a ‘threat to biodiversity’ – it seems hypocritical that trophy hunters now want to cut down trees to cure hippo meat.
4. Predators will be lured out of the park by the smell of dead hippos, and become ‘fair game’ for the trophy hunting concessionaires that operate the concession that Umlilo Safaris is using to kill hippos. These legally chosen concessionaires are also not happy to have these fly-by-night hunters, operating in what they were promised was their exclusive hunting area. True fair chase hunters have the good sense to stay away from the photographic tourism area and conduct their hunts away from the river and the park.
Local tourism operators are not the only people with questions and concerns:
1. In a statement to Zambia’s Lusaka Times, Peter Sinkamba, President of the Zambian Green Party, said “Culling of wildlife is not an option. It is a primitive wildlife conservation strategy… What is more appalling is that the Luangwa Valley is not overpopulated as they claim. The hippo population in that conservation area has dwindled by about 14-20% in the last 20 years, motivated by mainly poor conservation policies, strategies and allocation of financial and human resources. The culling policy is motivated by pure greed.”
2. Richard Kock, professor of wildlife health at the Royal Veterinary College, speaking to the UK’s Independent newspaper, says he believes the Zambian government have yet to provide adequate data to justify the ‘cull’. “There’s no doubt that hippos can build up numbers until there really are probably too many for the ecosystem… and so I think anthrax may well be a factor in controlling their populations, and it may benefit the environment because they will consume large quantities of herbage, and obviously that will affect other species.”
3. Will Travers, chief executive of Born Free, believes that the government has failed to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate any overpopulation of hippos in the Luangwa River, or to make public any data that justifies the cull. “They are, apparently, using the same flawed rationale for the slaughter as last time – a preventative measure to avoid a future outbreak of anthrax, combined with an assertion that low rainfall will exacerbate the situation… They also appear not to have informed key stakeholders in the Luangwa Valley… The negative consequences for thousands of hippo and Zambia’s reputation as a wildlife tourism destination cannot be underestimated.”
My final thoughts
This hippo cull strategy has the stench of underhand dealings, and good people on the ground in Zambia will be negatively affected if the decision to cull up to 2,000 hippos over five years goes ahead.
There is no question in my mind that African governments should determine their own conservation strategies, as unpopular as some of their decisions may be for members of the public. And I also have no doubt that international pressure groups and animal rights activists do not have the granular understanding to make these decisions on behalf of Africa. They play an important whistle-blower role, but that is where it stops. And neither should the trophy hunting industry be permitted to hold sway over conservation decisions like these. They do not have the big picture in mind, and their industry is too riddled with corruption and morally-bankrupt operators to be taken seriously.
That said, our African governments have to finally understand that these decisions are not made in an information vacuum (as they were before the advent of the Internet and social media). They surely have to grasp the reality that the fragile tourism industry is Africa’s great long term sustainable economic hope, and that lack of transparency and proper scientific justification for controversial decisions will harm this industry, and ultimately our own people.
Zambia’s Luangwa Valley is an absolutely amazing tourism destination, and hopefully good will come of this negative publicity. A luta continua!
One of the most popular requests from safari tourists to their guides is to see leopards. This is a tough task, even for the most experienced of guides, due to the elusive and cunning nature of these big cats. But there is a town called Hoedspruit, near the Kruger National Park in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, where having leopards in your garden is, well, the norm.
The residents of Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate (HWE), a fenced lifestyle ‘suburb’ of this bushveld town, are blessed with regular sightings of leopards. Fences pose no problems for these lithe felines as they come and go at will.
HWE is 680ha in extent, with half consisting of undeveloped bushveld and the other half consisting of residential homes. Various species such as impalas, giraffes, wildebeest, zebras and warthogs call this estate home, as well as a host of smaller species such as mongooses, genets, porcupines and civets. And then there are the predators that come and go at will, often making use of holes dug under the fence by aardvarks and warthogs.
We asked HWE resident and confessed leopard junkie Villiers Steyn a few questions about what it is like to live with leopards in your garden:
Africa Geographic (AG): Let’s get to the scary bit first, have people been attacked by leopards in HWE, and how do you stay safe while out walking in the estate?
Villiers Steyn (VS): I’m not aware of any attacks on humans. They have, however, surprised quite a few residents by suddenly appearing in their gardens. My wife and I have been lucky enough to encounter them on foot, and I’ve even cycled past one as well. I believe it’s perfectly safe to walk around the estate during the day, but I wouldn’t recommend walking alone at night.
AG: Based on anecdotal evidence, leopards seem to target and eat dogs – how do you keep your pet dogs safe?
VS: Leopards have attacked and eaten dogs on the estate. It infrequently happens though because residents are continually being made aware of the risks in estate correspondence. The rule is simple – keep your dogs inside the house when it’s dark; otherwise, they might become leopard food. In fact, we don’t even like leaving our dogs alone outside during the twilight hours, because leopards are very active around sunrise and sunset.
Leopards easily jump over the small fences to get into gardens and wouldn’t hesitate to grab Fluffy where he’s taking a nap on the porch! Dogs are not allowed off the lead when they’re being walked in the estate and walking them at night is looking for trouble…
AG: How often do residents report leopard sightings and are the leopards relaxed with humans in the vicinity?
VS: When we first moved to HWE in 2013, there was a massive male called Big Boy that was frequently seen by residents. My wife and I would jump in the car every time we heard monkey or impala alarm calls nearby our house, and more often than not, we’d find Big Boy. He would casually walk between houses and cars, and even drink from our birdbath!
Thanks to spot pattern analysis, a local guide identified him as a leopard that grew up in the nearby Thornybush Game Reserve, hence his relaxed demeanour around vehicles and people. Unfortunately, he disappeared in mid-2015, perhaps due to a territorial dispute with another leopard, Houdini, who took over as the dominant male in the area.
The rest of the leopards that frequent HWE are much shyer than Big Boy. They are hardly ever seen during the day, but if you’re lucky to catch a glimpse of one of them at night, they’re less likely to dash away into the thickets as they do when the sun is up. Sometimes months go by with no leopard sightings, but recently a female leopard, Kulua, and her two cubs were seen in the same area six days in a row. She must have had a kill in the vicinity.
AG: How many leopards frequent HWE, and do you have any population dynamics?
VS: Over the past five years, I’ve identified 15 individual leopards on HWE – four adult males, three adult females, seven cubs and one unknown individual. Some have come and gone, and others have successfully defended their territories here for many years.
The leopards certainly don’t live on the estate permanently. Their movements take them beyond the estate boundaries into neighbouring game farms and the Greater Kruger National Park.
Currently, HWE is dominated by one massive male we call Houdini. Two adult females, Kulua and Nsuku, are also regularly captured on camera traps, and both have cubs. Kulua’s two cubs are close to a year old, and Nsuku’s cub is closer to six months old. It is difficult to age the cubs because we hardly ever see them and they seldom show up on camera trap photos. We do know that one of Kulua’s current litter is a male. Her previous litter consisted of a male and a female (Mafu and Mila), both of which survived to adulthood, and Nsuku raised a male cub (Ntambo) successfully in her previous litter.
AG: What species do the leopards prey on in the estate?
VS: Much of the hunting happens at night, so it’s tough to say precisely what the leopards prey on in the estate. I have, however, followed their tracks and drag marks to carcasses of duikers, waterbuck calves and impalas. I’m sure they also catch a lot of small things like francolins and guineafowl, of which there is no shortage. Interestingly, the leopards don’t hoist the carcasses up into the trees like they usually do – perhaps this is due to the low number of competitive predators and plenty of dense shrubs to hide the carcasses under.
AG: How do leopards enter or leave the estate, bearing in mind the electrified game fencing?
VS: The leopards crawl underneath the fence at various points along the boundary where warthogs and other creatures have dug holes. These become little highways in and out of the estate for a variety of creatures – including genets, civets, honey badgers, porcupines, spotted hyenas and even wild dogs and aardvarks! I often place camera traps at these points.
AG: Are HWE residents proud of having leopards in the estate?
VS: Yes! The residents are very proud of having leopards on the estate and show incredible interest in the camera trap photos and videos I post and the short reports I write from time to time. Some of us are members of WhatsApp groups that alert each other when we see one so that everyone can come out and enjoy the sighting.
AG: Concluding thoughts?
VS: Many people think it’s “strange” or “amazing” that leopards and so many other beautiful creatures live amongst people here in the estate. If you ask me, it’s perfectly normal. I don’t look at it as animals living in a suburb, but rather as humans that live in the bush. Their numbers and behaviour here in the estate are probably very similar to what it is in the neighbouring reserves. The only difference is, we’ve built our houses in their home ranges.
ABOUT VILLIERS STEYN
After completing a diploma in Nature Conservation, Villiers Steyn studied the movement patterns of leopards in Botswana’s Mashatu Game Reserve as part of his Master’s Degree. Following that, he crisscrossed southern Africa for six years as a freelance travel writer for some of South Africa’s leading travel magazines, focusing primarily on wilderness areas. Today he’s based in Hoedspruit where he makes a living as a professional photographer and photographic safari guide. Follow Villiers as the Safari Expert on Instagram and Youtube.
The population of mountain gorillas, one of the world’s most endangered species, is on the rise after a population survey was performed in the transboundary Virunga Massif, one of the two remaining areas where this critically endangered great ape is still found.
The survey results revealed that numbers have increased to 604 from an estimated 480 in 2010, including 41 social groups and 14 solitary males in the transboundary area. When combined with the published figure of 400 mountain gorillas from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (where the rest of the sub-species is found), the total population sits at an estimated 1,004 mountain gorillas.
The survey was conducted by the Protected Area Authorities of DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda under the transboundary framework of the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration, and supported by many partners and various donors.
As in the previous mountain gorilla census in 2010, survey teams walked pre-determined “recces” (reconnaissance trails) ensuring thorough coverage of all forest areas to sweep the Virunga Massif from the southwest to northeast and search for signs of gorillas, other key mammals, and illegal activities.
When fresh gorilla signs were detected, the teams followed the gorilla trail to locate three recent night nest sites. At each of these nest sites, the teams collected faecal samples that were analysed genetically to determine individual genotypes. The survey teams also collected data on signs and sightings of select mammals, such as elephants, and illegal activities, such as snares. While exercising caution due to the limitations of the study, there were no indications of declines in populations for the select mammals surveyed, including elephants, since 2010.
The increase in mountain gorillas inhabiting the Virunga Massif is attributed to the effectiveness of conservation policies, strategies, notably regulated tourism, daily protection and veterinary interventions, intensive law enforcement, community conservation projects, and transboundary collaboration among government institutions and NGO actors. Further, these results are a testament to the tireless effort of the rangers and trackers who daily protect and monitor mountain gorillas and their habitat, including those that have been killed in the line of duty.
It is also important to recognise the role of the communities that live in close proximity to these national parks who co-exist with mountain gorillas and contribute to conservation efforts.
Despite the rise in numbers, the two populations of mountain gorillas still remain relatively small and vulnerable to a potential rapid decline due to factors such as their limited habitat, climate change, dependency on resources in the park by people, and the risk of disease transmission.
Every now and then nature experiments by producing a black or white mutation of an animal or bird that is otherwise normally coloured. There is something magical about seeing a white lion, black leopard or ‘king’ cheetah in the wild, as if it were a spiritual shadow of the species, a form of higher being.
Note that these white or black individuals are not a separate species or subspecies of the normally-coloured animal – they are purely a genetic anomaly. While the occurrence is very rare in the wild, and worth celebrating when seen, claims that ‘white lions’ (for example) are a rare species are incorrect and misleading.
When it comes to white lions (who are technically leucistic), the white lion gene lives on in the tawny lion population in the Timbavati area of the Greater Kruger National Park, and white individuals will probably keep popping up sporadically – for as long as the tawny lion population there remains stable. Attempts to breed white lions in captivity to ‘save the species’ are misguided and usually all about money – because white lions are popular as caged exhibits and hunting trophies.
The process of captive breeding of white lions by isolating the gene and producing more white lions than nature would usually produce leads to inbreeding and weak/genetically compromised individual animals that are not suitable for introduction into wild lion populations.
Let’s understand the phenomena at play here, in layman’s terms:
Albinism
Albinism (white) results in whitish-pink fur or feathers, and eyes with reddish pupils (the diagnostics trait). It is only passed on if both parents transfer it to their offspring.
Albinism is caused by a genetic mutation causing an absence of tyrosinase in pigment cells. Tyrosinase is a copper-containing enzyme that is needed to produce melanin, the pigment responsible for blacks, grays, browns, rusty browns, and pale yellows of feathers and body parts – and so albinos cannot produce any melanin at all and thus lack any colouration that is caused by the pigment. Eye colour is also produced by melanin, and so albinos have reddish/pink eyes because the blood vessels show through, not being masked by the darker melanin usually present in eyes. Albinism occurs in many species, including humans.
Leucism (white) results in a partial or total loss of pigmentation – resulting in patches of white colouring in fur or feathers. Leucines, unlike albino animals, have normal-coloured eyes, and may or may not have normally coloured legs and beaks. Leucistic animals and birds do produce melanin (unlike albinos which produce no melanin), BUT the condition prevents melanin from being deposited in the fur or feathers.
So, melanin would be present in the skin, beak, legs, eyes and other body parts of a leucistic bird, for example. The white lions referred to above are also another example of leucism.
Melanism (black) results in an excess of dark pigmentation. Melanism is found in many different species, including amphibians, reptiles, and mammals – but not in humans. Pseudo-melanism, also called abundism, is another variant of pigmentation, characterised by dark spots or enlarged stripes, which cover a large part of the body of the animal, making it appear melanistic. One example of abundism is the ‘king’ cheetah.
All three conditions above are hereditary but can skip generations. The condition can be passed on by generations that show no visual signs of the condition.
Joe Bürgi and his wife, Ursula, are perennial travellers and photographers from Switzerland. Their passion for the exploration of off-the-beaten-track destinations has allowed them to compile a catalogue of unique photos that tell inspiring, eye-opening stories of remote tribes that are mostly unknown to the rest of the world.
In this gallery, we showcase a series of photos of the nomadic, pastoralist Turkana tribe in northern Kenya. These photos are a true reflection of the raw, harsh environment that they inhabit, and the pride that they possess is a testament to their cultural beliefs. It is astonishing, enthralling and above all, real.
The Turkana tribe inhabit the Turkana district in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province. They form part of the Nilotic tribes and are regarded as the third largest pastoralist community in Kenya, after the Kalenjin and Luo, being slightly more numerous than the Maasai.
The Turkana originated from the Karamojong region of northeastern Uganda. Oral tradition suggests that they arrived in Kenya while chasing a disobedient bull. History shows that unlike many other tribes, they were not affected by colonialism as little value was seen in the dry, arid land that they inhabited.
The Turkana don’t have any permanent settlements, frequently moving as food and water sources become exhausted. Livestock not currently being milked are moved to mountain slopes or foothills, where the vegetation lasts longer than on the plains.
Similar to the Maasai and Samburu, the Turkana wear colourful clothing and regalia. Women adorn themselves with brightly-coloured, beaded necklaces, and the men dye their hair with specially-coloured soil. The social standing of a woman in the tribe is evident by the quantity and style of jewellery that she wears.
Just like the Maasai, the Turkana’s livelihood is dependent on their livestock to provide sustenance – though they do not revere livestock to the same extent as the Maasai. Camels are one of the animals that they raise, along with other livestock such as goats, zebu (subspecies of domestic cattle) and donkeys. They live completely off the animals’ produce – such as milk, blood, skins and meat. Any money made from the selling of livestock is used to buy goods such as maize, beans, sugar, tobacco, and vegetables.
The Turkana live as a social unit called an awi – this consists of the man, his wives (polygamy is an accepted practice), children and dependent women. The size of the awi differs according to wealth, but the average awi size is approximately 20-25 individuals. The head of the household ‘owns’ the livestock, but they are allocated to the women – the number of animals received depends upon the women’s status within the awi.
Unlike other nomadic tribes, the Turkana do not have many complex customs or strong social structures. Each Turkana family tends to be self-sufficient, though, at times, several families may graze their livestock collectively.
In terms of faith and religion, the majority of the Turkana still practice their traditional African religion. They believe in a god of the heavens or skies, whom they call Akuj or Kuj. This god is usually called upon when they are experiencing extreme hardship or crisis, such as during times of drought.
The Turkana keep camels for two main reasons. The first is for their use as a pack animal – ideally suited for the harsh conditions of a desert environment. The second is for their nutritious milk that is easily digestible.
Turkana men carry around stools, or ekicholongs, which are used for a variety of purposes, from simple chairs to avoid sitting directly on the hot desert sand, to headrests that help keep their head off the ground and protect any ceremonial head decorations from being damaged.
The Turkana are quite adept at crafting their jewellery – such as the stunning bracelets and necklaces that the women wear. They are also quite proficient in woodcarving, stone carving and metalwork, producing their weapons such as spears, clubs and knives.
Like cattle, camels can also be negotiated as bridewealth, slaughtered on ritual occasions, and are also given between men to create or to affirm pragmatic friendships.
Due to the high value the Turkana place on their livestock, often they will raid other tribes to acquire more animals. Even though this could be seen as theft from an outsiders point of view, it is considered a perfectly acceptable traditional custom amongst the Turkana and other pastoralist tribes in northern Kenya.
Some imagery that comes to our screens can be tough to stomach, and every now and then Africa really tests one’s emotional make-up.
There is primordial energy in the wilds of Africa, where ecosystems still function naturally, and wild animals are, well, wild. The following photos submitted to our Photographer of the Year competition reflect what goes on all day every day out there in the wild, where animals kill to survive and where individuals (weak and strong, old and young) often suffer horribly in the process.
Death can be slow and agonising or violently immediate, with many versions in-between. What is noticeable to the Africa Geographic team is how some people react negatively to such images, condemning these natural events as cruel, or unfair even, sometimes insisting that the ‘victim’ should have been ‘saved’. As if leopards have a vegan option.
We even receive direct messages from incensed followers, demanding that we remove these ‘horrible’ scenes, or face the cold shoulder.
Behind the scenes, there appears to be a sympathy ranking system. For example, a fish gasping its last breath in a rapidly drying pool of muddy water would not generate too much sympathy, whereas a cute baby scrub hare being snacked on by a ground-hornbill would get people tapping that ‘sad face’ emoji.
So many storified wildlife documentaries follow the same Disney theme – lioness has cute baby cubs, cubs get lost, cubs get found again, all is well in Simba country.
In real life, of course, many cubs are killed by rival male lions, hyenas and crocodiles. Others starve to death or die of thirst. Only one in eight male lion cubs survive the rigours of life in Africa.
The Africa Geographic team compiled this amazing celebratory video from clips submitted by our community. All 18 wild dog puppies featured towards the end were killed shortly after this video clip was filmed, by lions. THAT is the real Africa!
Whatever floats your emotional boat, wherever you draw the line – hopefully, you all agree that Africa’s wild essence is to be celebrated and that these images represent Africa in all her raw, savage, AWESOMENESS.
The Zambian government on Tuesday denied reports that it has authorised the culling of 2,000 hippos in the Luangwa Valley.
Born Free, a conservationist organisation which two years ago led protests against plans by the government to cull elephants in the famous Luangwa Valley, in eastern Zamiba, has reported that the government plans to reinstate the culling program which was halted after protests in 2016.
According to the organisation, the government has agreed to conduct the culling with a South African hunting firm of up to 2,000 hippos over the next five years.
But Minister of Tourism and Arts Charles Banda, while acknowledging that the culling will take place, said it was not 2,000 hippos that will be killed. He told reporters during a press briefing that the government has agreed with the South African firm that not more than 250 hippos will be culled in a year and that the figure may vary depending on the environment.
The culling has been necessitated by the growing population of the hippos on the Luangwa River and that the killing will be done to maintain a suitable habitat for other aquatic species, Banda said.
He said the ministry has taken interest in the program to ensure that it is done in the interest of the country and that consultations with the attorney-general have been done on the validity of the agreement with the South African firm.
How to prepare for the safari of a lifetime to Kenya and Tanzania? Learn the local Maa language.
Once you’ve decided where to go and bought those khaki shorts and oversized safari hat, how do you make sure that you REALLY connect with the country of your choice – that you are not merely a visitor passing through?
You learn the language, Maa.
Swahili (along with English) is the national language of Tanzania and Kenya and is surprisingly easy to learn. Tanzania is home to about 130 tribes, and each of these tribes speaks its own distinctive language; however, one of the biggest tribal groups is the Maa speakers. Maa is spoken by the Maasai tribes as well as the Samburu and Datoga tribes, to name but a few.
You are bound to have contact with the Maasai and Samburu people as they often reside close to famous game reserves.
So, in order to give you the tools to be able to connect with these fascinating tribal groups, and even make some friends, here are some Maa language basics:
MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO:
What a privilege it is to receive these fantastic images from all over the world, and to have this first-hand feel for the experiences our community members enjoy across this fantastic continent we are lucky enough to call home!
We received 25,593 entries to the 2018 Photographer of the Year competition, up from 15,171 last year, and the standard of entries was again spectacular. Reducing that incredible volume to one winner was a fantastic journey for my team and I. We met each week over the five months to make a weekly selection, and then during the judging month of May, we had the tough job of choosing the photos that we feel stand out this year. A daunting task indeed.
Our approach to what makes a good photograph is primarily based on whether that photograph evokes an emotion, tells a story and reflects the true diversity and amazingness of Africa. Of course, there are technical issues to consider, and these are important. But most important for us is that the photograph breaks through the clutter of everyday life and makes you FEEL Africa’s pulse.
This year the 25 images that made it into the final round were of a similarly high standard, and choosing an overall winner, two runners-up and seven commendable finalists was especially tricky. The final choices were made based on the underlying message communicated by the images.
I want to thank our sponsors Land Rover South Africa, Canon South Africa and Tanda Tula – because in these days where just about everything has been commoditised, they understand that quality ALWAYS trumps quantity.
Lastly, a special thank you to everybody who entered this fantastic display of Africa’s wealth. Please do so again in 2019.
Sushil Chauhan – A Rüppell’s vulture in Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
“While waiting for over two hours in the hot equatorial sun for a migration crossing to happen, I decided to change my focus to a group of vultures that were feeding on a drowned wildebeest carcass. Fully fed, this beauty decided to dry off its wings in the sun, which produced this interesting image of a great raptor. These raptors face many problems, from loss of habitat, reduced breeding sites, and reduction in large ungulates (resulting in fewer sources of food), to death from poisoning, the witchcraft trade and collisions with power lines. They play such an important role in making sure that diseases such as rabies and anthrax do not spread, and they also help cycle nutrients back into the ecosystem. We must help conserve these amazing raptors at all costs.”
Judges’ comments:
This amazing image portrays vultures for what they are – majestic and regal birds that deserve our respect. This sensitive representation of one of Africa’s most threatened birds is a refreshing change from the stereotypical vulture image of bloodied hoodlums fighting for scraps of meat. The coincidental draping of another vulture’s wing over the head of this bird is almost ‘angelic’ and adds to the dignity of the image.
ABOUT SUSHIL CHAUHAN
I am a Kenyan wildlife enthusiast, nature lover and keen photographer. Trained professionally as a safari consultant and guide, my most profound passion has always been to work with wildlife and travel the world. My goal is to take photographs that create awareness about wildlife, conservation and wilderness areas.
Stuart Sinclair – A baby mountain gorilla gets all the attention in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
“This photo was taken in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Walking into this family of gorillas was spectacular. They were so comfortable in our presence, very relaxed and observant. It was amazing to see their strong family bond, and this photo highlights that. After a short time, they played and fed in front of us. Some of the youngsters ran through the group, seemingly knowing that it would cause a stir, and enjoying the reaction!”
Judges’ comments:
This touching image speaks volumes about family bonds and parental pride. The close framing adds to the intimacy of the moment, and the eye contact from father and infant drags you in. Those of us who are lucky enough to have been gorilla-trekking understand the technical difficulties in low-light conditions, thick vegetation and the limited available time.
ABOUT STUART SINCLAIR
I was born in Zimbabwe but moved to Australia as a child 22 years ago. Africa is well and truly in my blood, though, and I love getting back as often as possible. There is something magical about the wildlife in Africa. It’s so important that we cherish and protect it for future generations.
Annemarie du Plessis – A male leopard stalks guineafowl in the early morning golden light in Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa
“This young male leopard was stalking guineafowl during the early morning, paying absolutely no attention to our game drive vehicle in the Greater Kruger. We were following him for quite a while, and then he disappeared into the bushes, following the unsuspecting guineafowl. He suddenly appeared from the bushes behind us and stalked into an open area, providing me with the perfect opportunity to get this shot. What makes this shot so much more special to me is the streak of sunlight creeping through the bushes and onto his face. He may have missed the guineafowl, but I got my shot!”
Judges’ comments:
We found ourselves caught in the moment with this stalking leopard, wondering what he was hunting and when he would pounce. The framing of his tightly-coiled yet light-footed body and curled tail occupies the entire image and creates a sense of fluid motion. The intense concentration so evident in his piercing eyes also helps to balance the image.
ABOUT ANNEMARIE DU PLESSIS
Wildlife photography is my absolute passion and sadly, only a hobby. I would love to be in nature permanently, capturing all happenings and sightings to the audience at home! I am a businesswoman and co-owner of Zanis Gymnastics Academy in Polokwane, Limpopo in South Africa. My love for wildlife and nature started at a young age, and since then it has just grown – and with Kruger only 3 hours away, I can live my passion! Initially, I decided to start a Facebook page to share my images with the people at home. The response was overwhelming, and due to my supporters’ demand, I started entering small competitions. Africa Geographic is supplying a massive platform for us amateur photographers, and it is the second year that I have entered. In 2017, my image of the majestic elephant bull was under the Top 24 images and printed in their high-quality coffee table book – a first for me!
Andrea Galli – A gorilla inspects a shoe in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
“The rule says that you should keep a 7-metre distance from gorillas… but what can you do if you are stuck between a silverback and some curious youngsters who want to play? You just stay put and enjoy… One of them tried to steal my camera, and after a talking-to from the guide he just pretended he was doing nothing wrong, and with nonchalance started playing with the shoelaces of a guest close to me…”
Judges’ comments:
This image spoke to us of that push-pull tension between man and beast. Humans are the cause of the rapid decline in mountain gorilla populations, and yet without the tourism dollar and 24/7 involvement on the ground from local human inhabitants, government employees, researchers and conservationists, this critically endangered great ape would surely go extinct. Andrea’s caption explains that the young gorilla was keen to engage, and in so doing ‘disobeyed’ the strictly-enforced proximity rules – adding a touch of humour to the conservation message.
ABOUT ANDREA GALLI
Born and bred in Italy on Lake Como, my wife, Linda Oteri and I decided to follow our passion for wildlife photography and moved to Johannesburg 3 years ago. Here we founded Wildshot Safaris, and now we organise photographic tours and tailor-made trips.
Andrew Campbell – Two elephant bulls fight under a stormy sky in Amboseli National Park, Kenya
“I watched these two bulls sparring for over an hour on a floodplain in Amboseli in Kenya. At first, there were clear skies, and then a huge storm built up above and around them. What with the dust, the clouds, the light, the drama and the action it was truly an incredible scene and I was lucky to pop off a few shots before they eventually moved off.”
Judges’ comments:
There is so much going on in this dramatic image – and we were all transported there to watch these giants fight it out. The energy of the moment is palpable, and the combination of sparring elephants and threatening clouds with the subtlety of swirling dust and shafts of sunlight make this an evocative image.
ABOUT ANDREW CAMPBELL
Having been born and brought up in Kenya, I have had the luxury of living a good deal of my life on safari. I am now lucky enough to live a lifelong dream, and my passion for the great outdoors has now become my job, and the bush is now my office.
Andy Howe – Leopard cub and its meal in Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
“This is a four-month-old cub of the leopardess called Fig, in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy in Kenya. We found Fig about a kilometre away from her cub, where she had been resting up for most of the day. She eventually made her way back to her cub’s location, and as they were greeting each other, a hare appeared in the acacia scrub nearby. Fig didn’t think twice, and the unsuspecting hare had no chance as she quickly caught and killed it. She was immediately joined by the cub who took control of proceedings, with a little guidance from its mother.”
Judges’ comments:
This image speaks of that raw naked instinct that is so essential for survival in the wild, and yet so missing from the modern-day portrayal of wildlife, which tends to be Disney-like and driven by human sensitivities and political correctness. The fierce eye contact from this leopard cub speaks volumes about how tough and resilient Africa is, and of how it will survive despite human efforts to tame it.
ABOUT ANDY HOWE
Andy Howe is a UK-based wildlife photographer, specialising in capturing the personality and character of his subjects with a particular focus on owls and birds of prey. He also loves Africa and its wildlife with a passion. Andy leads small groups of photographers to the Maasai Mara region of Kenya several times a year to photograph the Great Migration and Africa’s big cats. Andy has been honoured, awarded and published internationally in such publications as Bird Guides Bird Photographer of the Year, Nature Photographer of the Year, Africa Geographic, Nature’s Best Awards, to name but a few. Recently he received honours as a Fellow of the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers and also as an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society. Andy also donates images to worthy causes and is currently involved in the charity, Art For Africa exhibition, helping to raise funds for vulnerable and disadvantaged children, as well as also actively helping the Remembering Wildlife charity for critically endangered species.
Darryn Haltmann – The Milky Way over Baobab Forest at Kubu Island, Botswana
“Kubu Island is as remote as it is picturesque, and I long wanted to return there for some astrophotography. I planned my holiday around getting there at new moon and managed to find this beautiful baobab outcrop when I scouted for locations on the first night and day. I also noted the ambient light on either side from two small towns in the distance and hoped to capture this. Returning on the second night, I managed to capture this Milky Way.”
Judges’ comments:
We were impressed by the technical prowess of this image, and by the sense of mystical awe generated. We love how the photographer anchored each end of the Milky Way halo as it forged its path across the night sky, making a perfect dome over the central group of baobabs.
ABOUT DARRYN HALTMANN
Darryn is a passionate astro and wildlife photographer who enjoys combining his love of nature with his passion for photography. From a young age, he spent hours in the garden photographing birds and reading photography magazines. He honed his skills through various courses, workshops and online tutorials. He believes that the essence of photography is capturing a moment and always strives to use his photos to communicate the inherent beauty of nature.
John Kerrod Wells – Maasai warriors jump at sunrise near their village on the outskirts the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
“In the early morning, we were fortunate enough to witness a group of Maasai warriors display their strength and skill as they jumped, framed by the golden light of sunrise. Later at their village, we learned of their history, watched the adamu (the jumping dance), and perused their wares. Another amazing day in Africa!”
Judges’ comments:
This image is all about energy and fun – and instantly drives us into safari mode. Capturing the jumping warriors in the perfect wave formation conveys a sense of constant motion, and the rising sun silhouetting the warriors and etching the quintessentially African umbrella thorn tree adds dollops of romance.
ABOUT JOHN KERROD WELLS
With interest in photography sparked by a photography-loving dad, it was a once in a lifetime trip to Antarctica that turned my hobby into a passion. I love to photograph wildlife, landscapes, cityscapes, and everything in between, while travelling to far off places or at home in Central Queensland, Australia.
Luke Street – A row of white rhinos in a reserve in Kenya
“Laikipia County in Kenya is one of the last strongholds for the white rhino in East Africa. It was a true honour to be able to view these animals in such numbers, under such incredible protection. I was delighted in capturing just about the full spectrum of the different life stages of the white rhino in one image.”
Judges’ comments:
We were overcome with a sense of hope and wonder at seeing three generations of rhinos so perfectly captured. So much coverage these days of rhinos is distressing, and by contrast here is an image that speaks of future generations in safe hands. So many rhino custodians are fighting seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the battle to keep these special unicorns safe, and this image speaks to years of investment and effort by so many people.
ABOUT LUKE STREET
I have always had a deep passion for nature and wildlife, and always knew I wanted to be involved in the industry. I have been a safari guide for the last seven years and for the last three of those years, I have found an incredible passion for nature photography.
Peet J. van Eeden – An attractive feather duster worm in False Bay, Cape Peninsula, South Africa
“The feather duster worm is also known as a mop worm and has a white fan of feeding appendages. The crown of feeding appendages, or radioles, consists of two fan-shaped clusters that project from their tubes when underwater. Each radiole has a paired side of branches, making a two-edged comb for filter feeding. Size varies between tiny to over 10 cm (2.5 in) in length. Some small species can bend over and extend their tentacles to the seafloor to collect food.”
Judges’ comments:
This image immediately drew us in, confused as to what and where. The feathery lace-like detail and sense of swirling motion generate a sense of wonderment, almost to the point of being hypnotic. We know so little about life in the oceans, and this image helps draw us into that realm.
ABOUT PEET J. VAN EEDEN
I am a full-time Gastroenterologist based in Cape Town. As a weekend diver and photographer, I have been involved in underwater photography for over four decades. I specialise in underwater macro photography. My key inspiration remains my love for the world below the waves.
THE “FACEBOOK FAVOURITE” WINNER – as voted by our Facebook community Henrico Muller – Portrait of a leopard mother and her 6-month-old cub in Thornybush Game Reserve, South Africa
VOTES: 546
THE “WEBSITE FAVOURITE” WINNER – as voted by visitors to our website Jennifer Kucherawy – An African rock python kills an impala in Kruger National Park, South Africa
VOTES: 5,553
THE “INSTA FAVOURITE” WINNER – as voted by our Instagram community Deon Hoon – “Slow dancing” in Pilanesberg Game Reserve, South Africa (Instagram/deon.hoon)
VOTES: 3,804
Six out of eight Ghanaian forest hornbill species have shown significant population declines due to uncontrolled hunting, according to a long-term research project.
The large forest hornbills of west Africa are now popular targets of the rampant bushmeat industry now that most mammal species have been all but wiped out in certain areas. Large hornbill species are also targeted for their unique casques (a hollow helmet-like structure on the bill, used for decorative purposes) and suffer population declines due to habitat destruction – but in this case the primary cause for population reductions is hunting for meat.
The Upper Guinean rainforests are a biodiversity hotspot because of the wide range of species found there, and they are on the front lines of the current global extinction crisis. Species such as large hornbills, with restricted habitat requirements and slow reproductive rates, are particularly vulnerable.
The research project was carried out in 26 forests from 1990 to 2014 – covering a range of key areas, from national parks to logging concessions. Of concern is that the hornbill species were already locally extinct or rapidly disappearing – even in the relatively protected national parks with largely intact forests. Encounter rates during the period of the research dropped by up to 88% for certain species.
Depleted populations of large hornbills persist mainly in two large and relatively well-protected wildlife reserves – Ankasa Resource Reserve and Kakum National Park. Contrastingly, the five largest species of the nine hornbills known to Bia Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, have vanished completely.
The researchers conclude that uncontrolled hunting is the major driver of the recent drastic forest hornbill population declines and local extinctions. They call for urgent conservation action to prevent further declines and impending extirpations of forest hornbills and other wildlife in West Africa.
Conservationists are up in arms over the announcement by Zambian authorities that the 2016 decision to suspend the culling of 2,000 hippos has been overturned. The plan to reduce the hippo population in the Luangwa Valley over the next five years has been justified by Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), arguing that the exercise is a wildlife management tool aimed at preventing anthrax outbreaks among animals due to high populations of hippo.
The cull is being promoted to trophy hunters by the South African hunting outfitter Umlilo Safaris as a ‘hippo management hunt‘.
Born Free, the conservationist organisation that led the efforts to stop the slaughter in 2016, is calling for the authorities to urgently reconsider and abort the agreement that only benefits private safari hunting companies and trophy hunters.
“Our sources reveal that the government has moved swiftly to reinstate the cull, perhaps hoping this would go unnoticed,” said Born Free President, Will Travers. “They are, apparently, using the same flawed rational for the slaughter as last time.”
He said the authorities had neither provided evidence demonstrating that there is an overpopulation of hippos in the Luangwa River nor proof that such a hippo cull of healthy animals would prevent a future outbreak of anthrax.
Born Free is now appealing to national and international wildlife conservation organisations in calling on President Edgar Lungu to “personally intervene and call a permanent halt to this damaging and distressing plan, with immediate effect”.
Wild hippo numbers across Africa are under increasingly pressure with a maximum estimate of just 130,000 animals. In addition, as efforts increase to end the trade in elephant ivory, hippos are being increasingly targeted for their ivory as a replacement. According to Born Free, the latest data confirms that in the decade to 2016, more than 6,000 hippo teeth, 2,048 hippo tusks and a further 1,183 hippo ‘trophies’ were exported to EU Member States alongside thousands of other ‘parts and products’.
A remarkable rescue mission was undertaken Sunday, 20 May 2018 in Mozambique, when a female elephant, with a two-week-old baby right on her heels, was seen early-morning with a snare cutting into her left hind leg.
Brian Neubert, Peace Parks Foundation’s Conservation Manager in Maputo Special Reserve, spotted the elephant in a group of around 20 other elephants. Flying with helicopter pilot Richard Fair, he noted her position and hastily returned back to base to refuel and mobilise a ground-crew to assist with removing the snare.
“After a fair amount of flying, she was again located around 3pm. She was darted from the air and while the helicopter chased the rest of the herd away, the ground grew started to move in. Once the area was safe, veterinarian Dr João Almeida was able to remove the snare and treat the wound,” says Peace Parks Foundation’s Operations Manager, Gavin Hulett.
The small calf was secured and held away from the mother while she was being treated. DNA samples were also taken of the mother by the Eduardo Mondlane University for their data base collection.
Maputo Special Reserve staff ensured the safety of all involved in the operation, while Peace Parks Foundation staff handled the coordination between the various teams. Thanks to this effective teamwork and speedy response both the mother and baby elephant are doing well.
Snaring is a common poaching method used to capture animals of all sizes. Unfortunately, as is the case with this elephant, other species that are not the primary target often get caught in snares which severely impacts on population numbers. Plans are in place to train and deploy additional field rangers to counter this.
The time has come to announce the Finalists for our Photographer of the Year 2018! It gives us great pleasure that we present (in no particular order) the top 25 photos, as chosen by our judges, exhibited in two stunning galleries.
The overall winner of the competition will receive a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 18-135mm IS USM lens. In addition, the overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate photographic safari at Tanda Tula Field Camp, located in the heart of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.
The most popular entries on Facebook, Instagram, and our Website will receive our 2018 Yearbook – a stunning selection of the past year’s greatest photography from around Africa. In addition, five commendable finalists will also receive a 2018 Yearbook.
The following gallery showcases the Finalists. To see the other gallery click on the link below:
• Finalists Gallery 1
The Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2018 competition is brought to you by Land Rover South Africa, with stunning prizes from Canon South Africa and Tanda Tula. To see the complete collection of 2018’s Weekly Selection galleries click here.
The time has come to announce the Finalists for our Photographer of the Year 2018! It gives us great pleasure that we present (in no particular order) the top 25 photos, as chosen by our judges, exhibited in two stunning galleries.
The overall winner of the competition will receive a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 18-135mm IS USM lens. In addition, the overall winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up (along with their partners), will experience the ultimate photographic safari at Tanda Tula Field Camp, located in the heart of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.
The most popular entries on Facebook, Instagram, and our Website will receive our 2018 Yearbook – a stunning selection of the past year’s greatest photography from around Africa. In addition, five commendable finalists will also receive a 2018 Yearbook.
The following gallery showcases the Finalists. To see the other gallery click on the link below:
• Finalists Gallery 2
The Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year 2018 competition is brought to you by Land Rover South Africa, with stunning prizes from Canon South Africa and Tanda Tula. To see the complete collection of 2018’s Weekly Selection galleries click here.
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?
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Simon Espley is an African of the digital tribe, a chartered accountant and CEO of Africa Geographic. His travels in Africa are in search of wilderness, real people with interesting stories and elusive birds. He lives in the South African Lowveld with his wife Lizz and two Jack Russells, and when not travelling or working, he will be on his mountain bike somewhere out there. His motto is ‘Live for now, have fun, be good, tread lightly and respect others. And embrace change.’
April Burt
Adam Mitchell
I was born in New York, grew up in Sweden, and am currently living in the Balkans, using it as the base for my travels around the globe.
