Our Photographer of the Year 2020 competition, with a stunning safari prize provided by Djuma Private Game Reserve, is now in full swing and open for submissions!
There are two galleries showcasing this week’s Weekly Selection. To see the other gallery click here:Gallery 1
Conservationists should be wary of assuming that genetic diversity loss in wildlife is always caused by humans, as new research published today by international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London) reveals that, in the case of a population of southern African lions (Panthera leo), it’s likely caused by ecological rather than human factors.
Published in Animal Conservation today (28 January 2020) the study saw researchers from ZSL’s Institute of Zoology and Imperial College London analyse the genetic diversity of 149 African lions in the KAZA (Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area) in northern Botswana between 2010 to 2013.
While human impacts are the leading cause of genetic diversity loss in many cases, scientists studying the lions found that diversity loss across the population was instead caused by the lions’ need to adapt to differing habitats.
They identified two genetically different populations of lions in the region, each adapted to living in a distinct habitat type; the so-called ‘wetland lions’ residing in the wetland habitat in the Okavango Delta and a ‘dryland lions’ group living in the semi-arid habitat of the Kalahari Desert.
If a separate population is created but cut off from its original source group due to ecological or human barriers, over time there will be less gene flow from lack of breeding between the populations. While a larger more connected population would generally have greater genetic diversity, small amounts of movement between them can maintain diversity while preserving adaptations that allow them to thrive in two different environments. Though not different enough to be classified as separate sub-species and still having slight genetic movement between the populations, it suggests a phenomenon called phenotypic plasticity – animals adapting in various ways to suit the environment they’re in.
Ensuring wildlife conservation managers understand how a population becomes genetically fragmented is important in order that decisions regarding protection are well-informed and consider animals’ true needs.
Dr Simon Dures, lead author and ZSL Researcher explained: “The findings have important applications for wildlife managers across Africa. It means translocations of animals, post human-wildlife conflict for example, need to be carefully considered with regards to their genetic predisposition to their new environment.
“The distinct ‘wetland lion’ populations living in the Okavango are incredibly well adapted to their environment. They’re strong swimmers and seem to thrive in water chasing buffalo down for a kill – which is the opposite for other lions in Africa, which would not typically hunt in water. Moving these animals into a semi-arid environment could be detrimental to their survival.
“Animals need to be able to move freely in order to maintain a level of genetic diversity that builds resilience to changes in their environment caused by climate change, and we think this ecologically-induced separation of the lions pre-dates western Europeans colonisation of southern Africa, so has likely been developing for a long time; way before people came with their fences and hunting.
“Although we didn’t find humans to be the driving force here – it doesn’t mean to say they aren’t having any effect. Impacts such as persecution or increased development could lead to exacerbating inbreeding and threatening the future of these specially adapted lions.”
Malaria is a parasitic disease that attacks red blood cells and is usually spread by the female Anopheles mosquito. Although the implications of being infected with malaria can be severe, the likelihood of tourists in Africa being infected is extremely low if good advice from travel experts is followed, and simple precautions are taken.
Introduction
Malaria is a mosquito-transmitted infectious disease caused by parasites belonging to the Plasmodium genus. The female Anopheles mosquito transmits these single-celled organisms into the human bloodstream where they begin their full life and reproductive cycle, first in the liver and later in the red blood cells. ‘Uncomplicated’ malaria symptoms include high fever, headaches, body aches, nausea and diarrhoea (though not always), and a feeling of extreme fatigue, but ‘severe’ or ‘complicated’ cases can result in coma, seizures and death.
P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae are the most common species of Plasmodium mosquitos that cause malaria in humans, and medical professionals must confirm which species has been responsible for the infection. Typically, P. falciparum and P. vivax are considered to be more dangerous, but all malarial infections should be treated as a medical emergency. While many people consider cerebral malaria to be a different type of malaria, it is typically caused by a severe infection of P. falciparum that has gone untreated for an extended period.
Which African countries are high risk?
Malaria is present in the majority of African countries, but its geographic distribution is complicated by several different factors, meaning that malaria-free and malaria-risk areas can occur in close proximity and risk levels can be seasonal. The highest risk areas tend to be around the equator, as warm and humid temperatures in high rainfall areas favour transmission. As per the CDC, malaria transmission does not occur at very high altitudes, in deserts away from oases and in areas where eradication programs have successfully eliminated the risk. In temperatures below 20˚C, the parasite cannot complete the necessary growth cycle in the mosquito before transmission.
Every year, the Malaria Atlas Project works in conjunction with the World Health Organization to produce the World Malaria Report with the necessary, updated information about the distribution of malaria and where outbreaks could be anticipated. An up-to-date and interactive map can be found here.
Avoid being bitten
It’s impossible to avoid every single mosquito bite, no matter how diligent you are, but there are a few tips to avoid being bitten wherever possible:
travel during low-risk seasons – the dry and cool months;
use insect repellent;
cover legs and arms with long-sleeved shirts and trousers, particularly at night;
sleep under a mosquito net in an air-conditioned or well-screened room and, if possible, sleep with a fan on;
avoid standing water that may breed mosquitoes.
Preventative Prophylactics
Due to the complexity of the malarial plasmid life cycle, there is no widely available or effective vaccine available against malaria, though there are vaccines at differing stages of clinical development and trial.
There are several prophylaxis medications available, and many different factors should be considered in choosing an appropriate one. Most important is to follow the advice of a doctor, who should be up to date on personal medical history, as well as which medications are more effective for different strains of malaria. All of these medications are to be commenced before the date of travel to a malaria area and continued after the traveller has returned.
Some of the more common options include:
Atovaquone-profuanil (Malarone) – must be taken daily at the same time of day;
Doxycycline – taken daily at the same time of day;
Mefloquine – taken once a week on the same day of the week;
Chloroquine phosphate or hydroxychloroquine sulfate (Plaquenil) – taken once a week on the same day of the week but effective only in certain areas.
As with any medications, these medications all have their potential side effects that should always be discussed with a doctor beforehand, including nausea, insomnia and photosensitivity (when taking doxycycline). Most side effects are infrequent and generally do not necessitate discontinuing the drug.
Pregnant women and parents of young children need to be particularly cautious if travelling to a malaria area and it essential to combine both the prophylaxis (some options are safe in both pregnancy and for infants) with active preventative measures.
Treatment
With malaria, early detection is critical. The disease typically presents with symptoms between one to three weeks after exposure, but in extremely rare cases, prophylaxis drugs have delayed symptoms for a few months. It is essential for anyone who has travelled to a malaria area to seek medical advice immediately if they display any malaria symptoms and fully explain their travel history. While home tests are available, it is essential to note that due to the complexity of the malaria life cycle, these tests can yield false-negative results. Even if a home test shows a positive result, it is still necessary to seek medical attention so that the species of malaria and seriousness of infection can be confirmed via a blood test-particularly since certain strains of drug-resistant malaria require specific treatment. It is also critical to complete the course of medication prescribed to avoid the risk of reinfection, regardless of whether or not symptoms are still present.
The success story of Akagera National Park continues as this year, Rwanda’s only Big 5 reserve reported a 25% growth in revenue for 2019 – $2.5 million. A successful partnership with the non-profit conservation organisation African Parks, secured in 2010, has seen the number of visitors to the park grow each successive year. 2019 saw 49, 000 visitors to Akagera and, as in previous years, 48% of these visitors were Rwandan citizens.
As with any National Reserve, any growth in revenue is significant and Akagera Park management report that the revenue received accounts for 90% of their annual visitors. $525,000 of the 2019 revenue was directed back into the local communities, either through staff salaries or through local purchases.
It is not just visitor numbers that have increased over the years – monitoring programs and aerial counts have shown that animal numbers are on the rise as well, with overall numbers rising from 12,000 in 2017 to 13,500 in 2019. Seven lions were reintroduced to the park in 2015, having been relocated from South Africa and eighteen black rhinos were moved from South Africa to Akagera in 2017. Four months after the relocation of the rhino, the birth of first rhino calf in the wild in over a decade was recorded, and the arrival of the rhino completed Akagera’s “Big 5 status”. A further five rhino arrived from a zoo in the Czech Republic in 2019, increasing tourist interest in the park.
Sarah Hall, who is the Tourism and Marketing Manager at Akagera National Park, told Rwanda’s The New Times that increased revenue meant several improvements including a tar road from Kabarondo to make access to the reserve easier for the guests. She also noted that the reserve had seen an increase in visitors from Francophone countries.
For a relatively small country with a complicated history, the success of Akagera National Park under the management of African Parks is a triumph of conservation efforts and, as the wildlife benefits, so will the local communities.
Our Photographer of the Year 2020 competition, with a stunning safari prize provided by Djuma Private Game Reserve, is now in full swing and open for submissions!
There are two galleries showcasing this week’s Weekly Selection. To see the other gallery click here:Gallery 2, Gallery 3
Our Photographer of the Year 2020 competition, with a stunning safari prize provided by Djuma Private Game Reserve, is now in full swing and open for submissions!
There are two galleries showcasing this week’s Weekly Selection. To see the other gallery click here:Gallery 1, Gallery 3
Our Photographer of the Year 2020 competition, with a stunning safari prize provided by Djuma Private Game Reserve, is now in full swing and open for submissions!
There are two galleries showcasing this week’s Weekly Selection. To see the other gallery click here:Gallery 1, Gallery 2
Researchers have conducted a lengthy pre-published study indicating that the lesser-known wildebeest migration patterns throughout East Africa are facing grave peril. The scientists point to population growth resulting in: range restriction, degradation and loss of habitats, agriculture, poaching and artificial barriers such as roads and fences. They highlight the necessity of urgent conservation measures and commitment from the governments of both Kenya and Tanzania.
The yearly Great Migration of over a million white-bearded wildebeest and zebra through the Serengeti and Maasai Mara ecosystems is perhaps the most renowned large mammal migration and generates enormous tourism revenue. Importantly, the study notes that these populations are not under threat, and their movements are mostly unrestricted. However, poaching is still a challenge for conservation authorities. Though by far the largest, this is not the only wildebeest migration in East Africa. The scientists emphasise that conserving smaller populations and migrations is essential for several ecological and socio-economic reasons.
Protecting a migratory route involves complex analysis of the context in terms of the human populations of the land. Integral to this study was research into historical wildebeest migration patterns as well as their current status. Researchers attained historical information through literature reviews, colonial-era records, maps, GIS databases, records of GPS collared wildebeest and interviews with residents and researchers alike. For current movements and status information, 36 wildebeest across the study range were collared, and their movement tracked for two years. Wildebeest population estimates used external data compiled by aerial surveys and various governmental, development and wildlife organisations provided the data on the anthropogenic aspects of the analysis.
This approach was made all the more complicated by the fact that irreversible changes to the migratory populations and routes that occurred as early as the beginning of the 20th century. With this in mind, scientists examined the Serengeti-Mara, Maasai-Mara, Athi-Kaputiei, Amboseli Basin and Tarangire-Manyara ecosystems and came to the following conclusions:
Serengeti-Mara – as discussed, though the migratory routes have changed slightly, the numbers have remained stable (currently around 1.3 million animals) because the migratory pathways occur mostly within protected areas. Referred to by researchers as ‘southern migration.’
Maasai-Mara – during the dry season (July-October) as the Serengeti wildebeest move north into the Maasai Mara, wildebeest from the Loita Plains descend to the conservancies surrounding the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Their numbers have declined 80.9%, from 123,930 wildebeest in 1977-78 to less than 20,000 in 2016. Referred to by researchers as ‘northern migration’.
Athi-Kaputiei ecosystem – includes Nairobi National Park, Athi Plains and surrounding areas. This population has declined 95% from over 26,800 in 1977-78 to under 3,000 in 2014, leading to a “virtual collapse of the migration”. It is important to note here that researchers believe that many of these wildebeest have moved, rather than died in such enormous numbers.
Amboseli Basin – includes Amboseli National Park and surrounding pastoral lands in Kajiado County. The population of the Amboseli ecosystem declined 84.5% from 16,290 in 1977-78 to 2,375 by 2014.
Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem – incorporates both national parks and private conservancies in Tanzania. The population declined from 48,783 in 1990 to 13,603 in 2016 and shows no signs of recovery.
As can be seen from the above, four out of the five studied migrations are at the point of disappearing completely, particularly the Athi-Kaputiei population. As wildebeest numbers have dropped, the human populations have soared: a 673% increase in Narok County (including Loita Plains), 905% in Kajiado County (Incorporating the Amboseli Basin), and a 247% increase in Machakos Country – all from 1962 to 2009. Increased human numbers means increased agriculture, increased sedentarisation and settlement of formerly semi-nomadic populations, and more fences and roads that occlude grazing resources and routes. In Kenya, the increase of private land ownership has changed the game, and in Tanzania the Game Controlled Areas have been cultivated.
The study expressed frustration at what the researchers describe as “incoherent government development policies that promote incompatible land uses, such as promoting cultivation pastoral rangelands occupied by wildlife to combat food insecurity while also promoting wildlife-based tourism in the same areas”. In Kenya, landowners do not have access or user rights over the wild animals on their land and are often offered no compensation for the cost of supporting wildlife. While there are several changes in policy and legal framework, none of these has been adequately implemented.
The study acknowledges the existing governmental and conservation efforts in both Kenya and Tanzania that have gone some way towards mitigating the effects of expansive population growth, particularly in the development of policies on corridors, dispersal areas and buffer zones to create habitat connectivity. The researchers highlight the system of conservancies within Kenya – private landowners (either individually or as an amalgamation) rent out large sections of land to tourism operators for game viewing. In Kenya, around 65% of wildlife occurs outside of protected areas, so the rapid growth in popularity of conservancies is a positive development. They do, however, require a sustainable tourism potential. In Tanzania, the creation of the Tanzania Wildlife Authority as well as the reorganisation of the entire wildlife sector into paramilitary-style organisations to intensify the fight against run-away poaching, have both been positive steps. However, these efforts need to be enhanced by economic incentives to communities.
“The Kenyan and Tanzanian governments need to strongly promote and lead the conservation of the remaining key wildebeest habitats, migration corridors and populations and more conservancies or management areas should be established to protect migratory routes or corridors, buffer zones, dispersal areas and calving grounds for the species.” The plight of the white-bearded wildebeest is one that represents a far more significant challenge facing the wildlife of Africa.
DECODING SCIENCE written by Dr Julie Kern from Elephants Alive
How many large-tusked bulls remain in the APNR? How socially connected are different population members? How successful are human-elephant conflict mitigation methods? These questions are all examples of key research objectives for Elephants Alive. If at first glance you think these questions have little in common, look again, and you’ll see they all rely on a key piece of information – who’s who.
Identifying elephant bulls falls under the umbrella of the ID Study and is Elephants Alive’s longest-running project, having begun in 1996. Since then, the team have identified almost 1,500 individual bulls. Identifying elephants requires excellent observation skills and the team pay special attention to any noticeable physical features which differ between individuals, from tusk configuration and body appearance to characteristic ear patterns, such as notches, tears and holes. Using photographs collected at each sighting, identikits are drawn for each individual elephant and subsequently used to identify the individuals seen in the field. If you’re keen to hone your detective skills, read on for our selection of top elephant-identification tips and tricks to use at your next sighting.
State the obvious
Many individuals have startling body features which can make their identification quick and simple. Look out for collapsed or folded ears, missing tails or trunk tips, and the location of scars or lumps.
Also, take note of the tusks – any birdwatchers will be familiar with the acronym ‘GISS’ or ‘general impression of size and shape’, a rule which also holds true in this case. Are they short or long, thin or thick, straight, splayed or skew? Are both tusks present, and if not, is one broken at the base or missing altogether? When missing entirely, the tusk socket is conspicuously empty (below far right).
Once you’ve checked the more obvious features, it’s time to take a closer look at an elephant’s ears. If there are any tears, notches or holes, pay attention to their location, size and shape. Unfortunately, many individuals have few notches and holes in their ears, especially younger elephants, which makes them much harder to identify. In this case, you can often find a clue to their identity by noting venation patterns on the ears.
Once you’ve got the hang of it, it’s worth remembering that much like ourselves, an elephant’s physical features are likely to change over time as tusks break, another tear appears, or holes pull through leaving a notch in their place. Take Kierie-Klapper (below), a young bull first seen in 2005 and resighted in most years since. In 2013 a new hole appeared in his lower left ear, and earlier this year, another notch was added to the top of his right ear.
Elephants Alive has recently published an Elephant ID Guide in conjunction with Amarula, featuring 30 of the most iconic individuals in the APNR. If you’re interested in purchasing a copy or if you have photographs from your own sightings that you’d like to add to our Citizen Sightings database, please forward them to info2u@elephantsalive.org.
Below is a Communities Response letter by Ishmael Chaukura of the Masoka Community in Zimbabwe, along with a number of concerned parties from 4 southern African countries. It was originally published in Science Magazine in response to an article calling for trophy hunting bans and also references Amy Dickman’s answer to that same article. According to the representative of the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) in Zimbabwe, it “is vital to ensure that discussions on conservation are informed by those who live with wildlife and that their livelihoods are protected, and rights upheld”:
A recent letter in Science by Dickman et al about trophy hunting unleashed passionate debate in the Western media. These discussions have involved over 400 conservationists, academics and animal rights advocates from the US, Europe and Australia, voicing strong, if divergent, opinions on effective conservation strategies.
Much of the discussion focuses on Africa, but with the notable exception of Dickman et al’s letter, key voices missing from the debate are those of rural people and governments who live with and manage African wildlife, and who will ultimately determine its future. As legitimate representatives of many thousands of people from key wildlife range states (Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia), we would like to correct this and have our perspective and voices heard.
Sustainably managing megafauna is complex, and successful conservation must start with we who live directly with wildlife. Whilst many in the West view elephants, lions and other wildlife through a romantic, idealized lens, our daily reality of living with these magnificent and valued, yet often dangerous, animals requires more pragmatism.
We, who live surrounded by this wildlife, worry daily that our children may be killed on their way to school, or that our livelihoods will be destroyed. In Botswana, 36 people were killed by elephants in 2018. In Zimbabwe, at least 30 people were trampled by elephants in 2019. Every death is a tragedy, and often involves family breadwinners. Recently, two Zimbabwean siblings disappeared from their home. Only the dismembered head of the two year old was recovered from the suspected hyena attack, and the four year old has never been found. The harsh reality is that if wildlife is just a threat to us, and our incentives to conserve it are removed, its future will be as bleak as that of the wolves, bears and other carnivores of Europe and the US.
For centuries our people have lived with wildlife, and its value is deeply ingrained in our cultures. During colonial times our rights to manage and benefit from these resources were removed. This led to dramatic loss of wildlife and its habitat – a disaster for conservation, our traditions and our livelihoods. Following independence, our governments restored our rights and integrated wildlife into rural economies. This enabled the development of socio-economic incentives to live with and sustainably manage our wildlife. Whilst it varies nationally, up to 90% of these economic incentives are provided through sustainable, regulated hunting. This has led, in Southern African countries such as ours, to increasing wildlife populations and habitat, often even beyond formally protected areas, in stark contrast to most Western countries.
We acknowledge that banning wildlife trophy imports into foreign countries is within the right of those governments. We further recognize that regulated hunting may appear a counter-intuitive conservation strategy to many. Yet if your objective is conservation – not solely the recognition of individual animal rights – import bans are misguided and have important implications for our human rights. We are concerned that hundreds of millions of dollars have been gobbled up in misleading animal rights campaigns without any benefit for the custodians of African wildlife – African people. Banning trophy imports risks significantly reducing the value of our wildlife, reducing incentives to tolerate and manage wildlife as an integral component of our livelihoods. Imposing such disastrous policies on us negates our sound conservation record. Once again, wildlife numbers will plummet and our rights to sustainably manage our natural resources will again be undermined.
We recognize and respect the rights of Western conservation scientists and animal rights advocates to discuss how best to manage African wildlife. However, we request that your discussions are informed by our voices as custodians of this wildlife. Discussions should acknowledge both our conservation successes and our communities’ right to earn a livelihood through the culturally appropriate, sustainable management of our resources for the benefit of our people. Any less is to deny our human rights.
The Kruger National Park has attained international renown, but the terms ‘Kruger National Park’ (KNP) and ‘Greater Kruger’ are often used interchangeably, despite their differences. The distinction between the two is important, to understand both the tourist experience and how this conservation model has impacted the wildlife of the area.
The ‘Greater Kruger’ refers to 344,000 hectares (860,000 acres) of protected land to the west of Kruger National Park that provides a more substantial area for wildlife to roam freely. Private and local community property owners own this additional land, and most is utilised for commercial purposes.
There are no longer fences between these properties and KNP, providing the animals with an opportunity to roam, thereby reducing pressure on vegetation and bringing back historical local seasonal wildlife movements. Historically most seasonal migration was in an east-west direction, from the coastal areas of Mozambique to the slopes of the Drakensberg mountains, to take advantage of seasonal food and water. Fences and human pressure now prohibit that movement, and the north-south shape of KNP is not optimal for seasonal migrations.
Luxury safaris The Greater Kruger is utilised primarily for photographic tourism and is home to some of South Africa’s best-known luxury Big 5 lodges. Relatively high prices and strict access control results in low visitor numbers compared to the neighbouring KNP, and off-road driving (by experienced guides), night drives and bush walks guarantee fantastic wildlife encounters.
Wildlife industry South Africa’s conservation strategy incorporates other wildlife industries such as hunting; a strategy that has resulted in large areas outside of national parks falling under some form of protection against livestock and crop farming and other forms of development not tolerant of wildlife. A small portion of the hundreds of landowners making up the Greater Kruger permit trophy hunting on their (non-tourism) properties, to fund their significant and increasing anti-poaching and other conservation costs. The limited trophy hunting quotas are subject to approval by the KNP, and hunting protocol strictly enforced by the management of the constituent reserves. That said, immoral or illegal behaviour by members of the trophy hunting industry does occur. Trophy hunting in most constituent reserves within Greater Kruger is gradually being squeezed out by the resurgent photographic tourism industry, and no trophy hunting is permitted in the KNP itself.
Properties making up the Greater Kruger
Sabi Sand The 65,000 ha Sabi Sand Reserve shares a 50km unfenced boundary with the Kruger National Park. When the Kruger National Park was declared in 1926, the landowners of the original Sabi Game Reserve were excised and had to settle for land outside of the national park. In 1948, 14 of these conservation-minded landowners met at Mala Mala and decided to join forces and create the first-ever private nature reserve in South Africa. The eastern fence of the reserve, bordering the Kruger National Park, was removed in 1993, making the Sabi Sand Reserve part of the Greater Kruger. The land is used for photographic tourism and private leisure. For your ready-made African safari to Sabi Sand Game Reserve, click here.
The Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR)
The 197,885 ha APNR is an association of privately-owned reserves that removed fences bordering the Kruger National Park in 1993 after operating before that as livestock and hunting farms. The reserves (which in turn are made up of multiple smaller properties) included in the APNR are Timbavati Private Nature Reserve (53,395 ha), Klaserie Private Nature Reserve (60,080 ha), Umbabat Private Nature Reserve (17,910 ha), Balule Private Nature Reserve (55,000 ha) and Thornybush Game Reserve (11,500 ha). Land use varies from private leisure use to photographic tourism and trophy hunting on some properties.
Manyeleti Game Reserve Founded in 1963, the 23,000 ha Manyeleti Game Reserve is sandwiched between the KNP, Sabi Sand and Timbavati, with no fences in-between. It also has an interesting and unique history. During the Apartheid years, it was the only reserve that welcomed people of colour, and after claiming back the land, the local Mnisi people now own and manage the reserve. Land use is exclusively for photographic tourism.
Letaba Ranch
The 42,000 ha Letaba Ranch Game Reserve, just north of the mining town of Phalaborwa, shares an unfenced border with the Kruger National Park. The reserve is owned by the local Mthimkhulu community and has historically been used mainly for trophy hunting. Future plans include hunting and eco-tourism, but current operations appear to be in a state of turmoil.
Makuya Nature Reserve
Makuya Nature Reserve is a 16,000 ha game reserve near the Pafuri gate in the far north of the Kruger, and also shares an unfenced border with the Kruger National Park. The reserve is owned by the Makuya, Mutele, and Mphaphuli communities and is used for both trophy hunting and limited photographic tourism purposes.
Walking safari in Balule, Greater Kruger @ Simon EspleyGreater Kruger (light green) and Kruger National Park (dark green).
Despite ongoing challenges, the Greater Kruger is one of conservation’s greatest success stories and is the model underpinning KNP’s 10-year management plan. It is also the perfect safari destination for those looking for exclusive encounters with Africa’s Big 5.
Let’s address the recent international news-media claims that Victoria Falls is running dry
As the largest waterfall in the world, Victoria Falls needs very little in the way of introduction. Even to the uninitiated, the name conjures images of breath-taking vistas, lush and verdant vegetation, thrill-seeking and, of course, water thundering down into gorges releasing spray that can on occasion be seen kilometres away. The falls are also officially known as Mosi-ao-Tunya or “The Smoke That Thunders” in the Lozi language of the area – a name that perfectly captures the almost mystical atmosphere of this World Heritage Site.
Upstream of the falls, the Zambezi River flows across an almost flat basalt plateau in a shallow valley before reaching the fracture in the plateau with a vertical drop into First Gorge, around 100 metres below. At this point, the Zambezi is 1,708m in width, creating the largest continuous falling curtain of water in the world. From there, the river narrows through a series of awe-inspiring gorges. Geographically, Zambia lies on the northern and eastern side of the falls which is topographically higher, with Zimbabwe to the south and west. Naturally, the amount of water flowing over the falls is seasonally dependent on the amount of rain that falls into the catchment upstream – typically, the rainy season begins around November/December and continues through until April when the rest of the year remains comparatively dry.
The changes in seasonal rainfall inevitably impact the tourism experience and different times of the year will treat visitors to diverse ways to experience the falls. The river is usually at its most dramatic from February through until May where the highest amount of water tumbles over the falls. The flip side of this is that there is a chance that the falls may not be clearly visible, obscured as they are by the rainbow-lit spray. After months of dry weather, the falls begin to reduce in size and reach their lowest levels towards the end of the year. This too presents different opportunities for visitors, allowing them unobscured views of the falls and the opportunity to go rafting.
Over the past few years, there has been a degree of social media speculation and even panic as the dry season reaches its peak and the river levels drop, particularly because the topographically higher Zambian side often slows to a minimum and occasionally stops flowing in places. However, at the end of 2019, this story was seized upon by international news media that ran with alarmist headlines suggesting that the Falls was completely dry – pictures that were taken from the drier parts of the Zambian side were used to emphasize the seeming urgency of the situation. The Zimbabwe side of the falls, still flowing and still spectacular, was largely ignored and most media outlets initially neglected to mention the seasonal fluctuations of the river.
The narrative that the falls were in danger of drying up completely and were at their lowest-ever levels was far from being supported by facts. The Zambian River Authority monitors the water levels each day and has records that go back decades. While the water levels did come close to the low levels seen in 1995/96, the improvement was already being seen as the story gained international traction-a fact that was largely ignored. At the time of writing, the water levels have been steadily increasing and are now higher than they were at the same time last year. Records going back further showed that some of the lowest-ever recorded levels were seen in the early 20th century – yet no reference was made to this fact. Nor was there mention of the water that is diverted away from the eastern cataract to supply the power station below the falls.
Scientists have not ignored the anthropogenic impact on the flow of the Zambezi – in a 2012 report published by International Rivers, Dr. Richard Beilfuss examines the numerous factors affecting the flow of this river system, including hydroelectric power, seasonal weather changes and the potential impact of climate change. While the cause for concern is clear, he also notes that “[t]he Zambezi River Basin has one of the most variable climates of any major river basin in the world, with an extreme range of conditions across the catchment and through time.” The graph below taken from his report shows the average yearly discharge at the falls. Note that there have been at least three other examples of extreme lows: 1914, 1948 and 1995, often followed by years of high flow rates.
In an area where tourism is not just a vital part of daily life but essential to the survival of the surrounding communities, it does not take a massive leap of intuition to imagine the potential effect of the fearmongering of international news media. Several tourism operators reported cancellations (our own travel team had to council safari clients that were concerned about the reports) and, while the ultimate effect on tourist statistics remains to be seen, the furious response of Victoria Falls locals is easy to understand. Many took to social media to showcase their photographs or videos taken in front of the flowing falls and the hashtag #VictoriaFallsIsNotDry became a vent for their growing frustration. In a furious response to one particular news outlet, a well-known member of the tourism community in Livingstone, Peter Jones, wrote “[f]or those of us living at the Victoria Falls, both in Zambia and Zimbabwe, we are picking up the pieces after your whirlwind visit to incorrectly inform the world the mighty Victoria Falls was in danger of drying up…We have all lost bookings and business in some way as a result of your misinformation [and] some people’s lives have taken a very definite turn for the worse.”
The impact of such reporting is deeply regrettable, not only in terms of the impact it will inevitably have on tourism revenue, but in the effect it has in polarising already divergent views. In ignoring or glossing over the facts, the message loses all credibility and fails its conservation agenda. Most importantly, the very real threat facing the people of certain parts of Zambia and Zimbabwe struggling to sustain themselves after an extended regional drought has been lost in the social media hysteria and subsequent backlash. The impact of dams and irrigation on some of Africa’s main river systems, as well as the socio-economic demand for electric power, has been ignored in favour of the more attention-grabbing “climate change” headings.
In an official statement in response to the reports on the state of Victoria Falls, the African Travel and Tourism Authority noted that “[w]hilst we are cognisant that Climate Change [sic] is a growing concern on a global level, and that it is potentially having an impact on countries throughout the world, what has been lacking in the media reports is an insight into the historic seasonal patterns and the resultant changes in water flow which are vital pieces of information to ensure a clear perspective is maintained”.
04 March 2021 UPDATE: The Court of Appeals of Zambia has dismissed an appeal to stop the proposed large-scale open-pit mine in Lower Zambezi National Park, upholding the High Court’s decision to dismiss the case.
18 January 2020:
The planned open-cast Kangaluwi copper mine in Lower Zambezi National Park WILL NOT proceed, says a minister in the Zambian government, in a dramatic turnaround of a recent announcement that the controversial mining project would indeed go ahead – based on a legal technicality.
Now, it appears, another legal technicality has come to the fore to reverse that ruling, as Tourism and Arts Minister Ronald Chitotela announced the project wouldn’t go ahead because an environmental impact report that was submitted by the environmental regulator has expired. “If this mining firm wants to go ahead with its project, we can advise them to submit a fresh report which will have to be scrutinized and approved by the government,” he explained in an interview.
As a cautionary subnote to Mr. Chitotela’s confident announcement, there has not yet been any confirmation about the cancellation of the mining permit from the office of Zambia’s president, and Africa Geographic has been informed that at least three additional prospecting permits are being considered, for mining inside the national park.
This mining project has a long history of questionable maneuvres and governmental decisions. The Kangaluwi copper mine project was initially owned by Bermuda-registered Mwembeshi Resources, which was in turn owned by Australian company Zambezi Resources (renamed Trek Metals) before being sold to Dubai-based Grand Resources Limited, a company of dubious substance, but thought to be a front for Chinese investors. It would appear that the Zambian Mines and Mineral Development Act of 2008 does not contain any substantial provisions relating to mining in protected areas and that foreign investors who face more robust legislation in their own countries are targetting this weakness.
When we mention Sudan, most people don’t react positively, either because they don’t know much about the country, or they recall negative news reports about it. Ten years ago, when we visited the “kingdom of the black pharaohs” for the first time, there were very few tourists. Nowadays, fortunately, some prejudices have disappeared, and more foreigners (khwadja) have started visiting this northeastern African country.
Though most tourists tend to stay close to Khartoum and stick to the main routes, to visit the impressive Nubian pyramids at Meroë and remnants of ancient temples. There is so much more to discover in the country of the black pharaohs, so many more archaeological sites that tell stories from ancient times.
The ‘tourist boom’ started in about 2012 when several archaeological societies began working in various locations to uncover treasures of long-forgotten civilisations. Every year we returned to Sudan on expeditions that zigzagged across the barren countryside, and every year we discovered new and interesting places.
It was during one particular trip to Sudan that we found ourselves deep within the desolate Nubian Desert, on a quest to find an intriguing-looking rock with an even more interesting name: Jebel Magardi.
Our adventure started when we came across a large poster of this rock in the national museum in Khartoum. We questioned all of our Sudanese friends and their friends to help us find this mysterious Jebel Magardi in an area called Bir Nurayet – the massive rock no one had ever heard about. We ended up spending hours on Google Earth searching for the mysterious rock in the middle of the Nubian Desert and eventually pinpointed an approximate location close to the Egyptian border, deep in the desert.
We created a waypoint and started looking into how to get there and decided to approach the desert from the Red Sea coast so that we could find a lonely beach to rest up before the strenuous journey. We picked out routes that went through wadis (dry riverbeds), as this seemed like the easiest way through the Red Sea mountain range. In the comfort of our home, it only took us a few hours to find a route on the computer, but of course, the reality was somewhat different.
With our three off-road vehicles loaded up, we travelled from Khartoum to Port Sudan, and north towards the Egyptian border. In Mohammed Qol, they already knew who we were, because in the previous year we had been arrested at the police checkpoint. The officers had no idea what a tourist was and why we would want to explore Sudan and instead believed us to be CIA spies. Looking back, this misunderstanding was actually quite amusing…
About 50 km behind Mohammed Qol, we found a remote and quiet spot by the beach and made camp. There was no phone signal and, as we set off the next day, our careful planning was all we had to rely on to get us to our destination. Heading towards a towering mountain range in the distance, we followed a wadi of deep sand that wound its way into the mountains. What a mighty river this wadi must once have been!
We passed rocks of all different shapes and colours and now and then came across small villages along the route. Green acacias dotted along the wadi helped to break up the bleak-looking landscape of sand and rocks.
There were times when we were faced with a fork in the road, and I had to double-check the GPS and radio René (who was driving the lead vehicle) to discuss which route to take. Sometimes we took the wrong turn, ending up in a dead-end, and had to backtrack. On other occasions, we got hopelessly stuck in the deep hot sand, and the whole team had to dig and push – back-breaking work.
Travelling over the golden sands of the Nubian Desert, we felt like explorers of decades long past. Sometimes we met people along the way – mostly nomadic Beja – and the way they looked at us made us think that we must have looked like aliens to them.
Often we would take a break to take photos or because our Sudanese drivers had to pray. And it is was then that the emptiness of the landscape hit home. We would stand in awe, listening to the quiet around us. We could hear the wind blowing through the wadi and felt it on our skin, the sands slightly shifting below our feet. The ‘nothingness’ was broken only by the odd acacia tree, small village or occasional goat or camel.
We were seven hours into our adventure and had only covered a mere 150 km. On Google Earth, it didn’t look that far, but then we were spending quite a bit of our time stopping for photos because there was something worth photographing around almost every corner.
Finally, we reached Wadi Oko, the biggest wadi in the area. There was more traffic here, and a gold diggers town! Our Sudanese drivers were not too happy about it, but the locals welcomed us with a smile and even pulled out their smartphones to take selfies with us.
It was scorching, so we stopped for lunch and of course jebenah – a fantastic Sudanese coffee prepared in a specially-designed flask.
There are many more of these gold digger towns in the Nubian Desert and the Red Sea Hills. This is no huge surprise, considering that Nubia was the primary source of gold for ancient Egyptians. Descriptions of the precious metal appeared in hieroglyphs as early as 2600 B.C., and by 1500 B.C. gold had become the recognised medium of exchange for international trade. Pharaohs sent expeditions to Nubia to mine the quartz lodes for gold, which Egyptian goldsmiths transformed into vessels, furniture, funerary equipment and sophisticated jewellery. Even the name Nubia is considered by some to be a derivative of the Egyptian word for ‘gold’.
Moving on from the gold-digging towns we found ourselves off-roading for about two hours when suddenly a green valley opened up before us, and as the sun started to dip below the horizon the golden light illuminated a majestic rock rising out of the valley ahead of us – Jebel Magardi! From afar, the rock looked like the head of a moray eel coming out of the ground, but in an archaeological context, Jebel Magardi represents a phallus symbol, an ancient sign of fertility. In its shadow, we found an area that the locals call Bir Nurayet to make camp.
It was quite late by the time we had set up camp. We sat around the crackling campfire and celebrated – not only because we had found Jebel Magardi, but also because it was René’s birthday. What better celebration could one wish for than sitting deep in the desert with absolutely no civilisation around us? It was just us and the desert that night.
The Sahara is a seemingly barren sea of hot sand, and yet a mere 13,000 years ago it was a thriving, lush landscape teeming with life. Wildlife such as giraffe, various antelope, elephant, ostrich and (later on) cattle once roamed this area, along with human hunter-gatherers. It is hard to believe what the desert once was, but thankfully there is evidence left behind by the ancient inhabitants, in the form of petroglyphs (rock paintings) of their life and the wildlife they encountered.
These petroglyphs are found in one of the biggest rock art galleries in the world. Discovered in 1999 by the Polish archaeologist Pluskot and his Dutch writer and photographer Baaijens during their camel caravan expedition, these petroglyphs depict scenes such as ancient hunts and cattle herding practices – lively proof of how the locals lived thousands of years ago.
At sunrise, we used the golden hour to walk around Jebel Magardi, looking for these petroglyphs. The rock looked even more majestic when we stood at its base, and we wondered what it would tell us if only it could speak. In times of the old caravans and bushmen, Jebel Magardi was used as an orientation point in the desert, easy to see from far away and with a wellpoint next to it.
But even after walking all around the rock we couldn’t find any petroglyphs. Just nothing. Where were the petroglyphs? Opposite the rock there was a dry riverbed and behind were a few rocks and cliffs, one of which looked like a camel head… and something told us we should go over to investigate.
SURROUNDED BY ELEPHANTS
We entered a little valley in between the rocks and on every rock face there were drawings of hundreds of cattle, all with very long horns, side by side with herds of camels and humans. We made our way past all these rocks paintings, utterly fascinated. In between these petroglyphs, we found a scene of an antelope hunt, then, a few metres further, elephants walking along, and even further down, we recognised a leopard.
One can see what animals lived in this area when humans settled here for the first time. Some petroglyphs were very simple; others were very intricately engraved – a good sign of the progress of human art.
The art of Bir Nurayet is attributed to the Neolithic period and mostly depicts a fertility cult. We explored, discussed and imagined the stories for each drawing we saw. In the national museum in Khartoum, one can see 63 little statues and clay pots found at Bir Nurayet.
We were fascinated and happy to have found a place deep in the desert, which only a handful of people know of and have visited. We had accomplished our mission to see Jebel Magardi and its petroglyphs! Our state of delight made the two-day return journey to Khartoum a breeze, as we left ‘our’ discovery of the ancient hidden riches of Sudan’s Nubian Desert behind.
Andrea and René met in New Zealand in 2005. Since then they have worked and travelled in various places in Europe. Their biggest adventure was crossing Africa from north to south in their vehicle in 2008/2009. During this trip, they travelled through Sudan and knew that it wouldn’t be the last time. They return to Sudan every year to discover more places, especially in the Nubian Desert. They are both tour guides, conducting trips in Europe and Africa, and write regularly for magazines, as well as hold photo exhibitions and slideshow presentations.
ALSO IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE
Galleries: Photographer of the Year 2020
View the latest photographs chosen for our Weekly Selection galleries as part of our Photographer of the Year 2020 competition.
Our Photographer of the Year 2020 competition, with a stunning safari prize provided by Djuma Private Game Reserve, is now in full swing and open for submissions!
There are two galleries showcasing this week’s Weekly Selection. To see the other gallery click here: Weekly Selection Gallery 2
Our Photographer of the Year 2020 competition, with a stunning safari prize provided by Djuma Private Game Reserve, is now in full swing and open for submissions!
There are two galleries showcasing this week’s Weekly Selection. To see the other gallery click here:Weekly Selection Gallery 1
A third viable northern white rhino embryo was created over December 2019 in a joint mission between Kenyan Government and scientists. In a press release, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy reported that the team had repeated the procedure performed in August 2019 on the two female northern white rhino, Najin and Fatu, on the 17th of December 2019. With the support of Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife Hon. Najib Balala, the joint effort of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Avantea Laboratory and Dvůr Králové Zoo marks the next step in attempting to save the species from extinction.
31-year-old Najin and her 20-year-old daughter Fatu are the only living northern white rhino in the world and both were placed under anaesthetic in order to harvest nine oocytes (immature eggs cells) from their ovaries. These oocytes were then rushed to the Avantea Laboratory in Italy where they were matured before scientists attempted to fertilise them using a system known as Intra Cytoplasm Sperm Injection (ICSI). The procedure was successful on one of Fatu’s eggs and the resulting embryo was incubated using a highly advanced monitoring system before placed in liquid nitrogen with the previous two embryos created in the same manner.
The team hopes to artificially inseminate a surrogate southern white rhino female from the Ol Pejeta Conservancy using procedures trialled by European zoos some time in 2020. If successful, it would mean the first northern white rhino born into the wild in decades.
The project is all part of the “BioRescue” research, a consortium comprising of internationally renowned institutions from Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Kenya, Japan and the USA, with a comprehensive ethical assessment courtesy of the University of Padova and partially funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Hon, Najib Balala said of the achievement: “I urge scientists to continue digging deeper into technology and innovations to ensure that not only this concerned species does not go extinct, but other species that are faced with similar threats. The fact that Kenya is at the centre of this scientific breakthrough also makes me very proud. It’s amazing to see that we will be able to reverse the tragic loss of this subspecies through science”.
Driving on the road to Randilen Wildlife Management Area (WMA), the landscape changes dramatically from bare ground to lush waist-high grass as one crosses into the WMA from surrounding community lands. Herds of elephant wander calmly across the savannah woodlands throughout the 30,000-hectare WMA, accompanied by giraffe, herds of zebra, and rarer antelope such as fringe-eared oryx. Located adjacent to Tarangire National Park, in northern Tanzania, Randilen embodies a growing trend across eastern and southern Africa: community-managed conservation areas that are effectively managed and delivering conservation results equivalent to government parks and reserves.
Like other conservation initiatives across eastern and southern Africa that are managed by communities, WMAs originated in the late 1990s as a management response to the need in Tanzania to change the relationship between local communities and wildlife. During the 1980s and 90s, wildlife, including huge herds of elephants and nearly all the country’s black rhinos, were subjected to heavy poaching. Government agencies and foreign donors, including the US and German governments, worked to reform the conventional conservation approaches based on protected areas and anti-poaching enforcement, to also offer communities an economic stake in wildlife’s future. WMAs were intended to provide that by devolving rights to make management decisions and capture revenue from wildlife utilisation, including both photographic tourism and trophy hunting, on community lands adjacent to national parks and game reserves.
For many years, though, these WMAs languished, mainly due to the unwillingness of government agencies to devolve sufficient rights and control over wildlife revenues to the local scale. But within the last five years, there is new evidence that WMAs are finally beginning to make community-based conservation a reality in parts of Tanzania. Researchers published findings in 2018 showing that giraffe and other wildlife populations in Randilen had increased markedly following WMA establishment. More recently, another group of researchers published new findings showing that in the nearby Burunge WMA, which also borders Tarangire National Park, elephant and wildebeest populations increased from 2011 to 2018. They also found that wildlife densities between the WMA and Tarangire were overall similar, and that community conservation areas could support wildlife populations similar to national parks.
At the same time, these community conservation initiatives are delivering improved returns to local people from wildlife. Randilen’s tourism income increased by over 40% from 2016 to 2018, when it generated over $200,000 for the WMA’s management and member communities’ village governments.
Much more importantly for the future of wildlife in Africa, in the face of growing economic and demographic pressures, is that this kind of progress reflects wider regional trends in community-based conservation.
In Namibia, undoubtedly eastern and southern Africa’s leader in community conservation, the ‘communal conservancies’ that were first established in policy and legal reforms during the mid-1990s now cover nearly 17 million hectares across the country. The conservancies play a key role in Namibia’s conservation achievements including the widespread recovery of wildlife across the country over the past two decades, including the tripling in the country’s elephant population from around 7,500 to nearly 23,000 today. The scaling up of Namibia’s conservancies has also driven significant revenue to rural communities that, two decades ago, earned little or nothing from wildlife. Over 80 conservancies now capture around US$10 million in annual benefits from tourism, and other wildlife uses such as game meat while generating over US$60 million in total net national income for Namibia.
Meanwhile in Kenya, a wide range of community conservation initiatives that had emerged on the local scale as early as the 1990s have more recently coalesced into a national conservancies movement that is now at the centre of the country’s conservation strategies. A key factor has been the 2013 Wildlife Conservation Act, which gave conservancies a legal definition in Kenyan law for the first time. It has led to more significant support for community-based approaches across government, NGOs, and communal and private landholders.
Conservancies in Kenya now cover over 6 million hectares, roughly doubling the country’s wildlife estate, and are also showing significant conservation impacts as well as a wide range of social and economic benefits. For example, researchers have found that in conservancies in northern Kenya, poaching levels were about one-third lower than in adjacent community lands. In Kenya’s second-largest elephant population in the Laikipia-Samburu system, where around 7,000 animals roam across community conservancies and private ranches, poaching rates declined by 53% between 2012 and 2015, while elephant numbers increased by 12% from 2012 to 2017. Other critically endangered species including black rhino, Grevy’s zebra, and the hirola, an endemic antelope, are all being supported by conservancies.
At the same time, a new World Bank report on conservancies, titled ‘When Conservation Becomes Good Economics’, estimates that tourism income in conservancies as of 2017 was about $12 million, and concludes that “a strategic expansion of conservancies offers an opportunity to complement the government’s current focus [on national parks].”
The scaling up of community conservation – between Kenya and Namibia alone, community conservancies now cover nearly 23 million hectares, or an area roughly equivalent to the entire land area of Uganda – is one of the most important trends in African conservation over the past decade. As conservationists are faced with the urgent need to scale up effective conservation solutions further, this creates critically important opportunities to further expand the scope and impact of conservancies and similar community-based models. There are three key priorities to do this in the near-term.
First, most of the progress of community conservation is attributable to a growing cadre of talented African conservation organisations that often have emerged specifically to advance community-based approaches in different sites and countries. In Namibia, local groups such as IRDNC have played a key role in providing the vision, local facilitation, and long-term presence that has been critical to the development of conservancies. In Kenya, the Northern Rangelands Trust has pioneered conservancies in the northern part of the country. At the same time, newer community groups such as the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association are now playing a pivotal role in other key landscapes. At the national scale, the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association plays a crucial role in engaging with government on significant policy issues.
Similarly, in Tanzania, the progress made by Randilen has been possible mainly due to the recent efforts of Honeyguide, a local organisation that has brought critical business development and professional management skills to the support of WMAs in the northern part of the country. Providing external support to these key local organisations is fundamental to strengthening and scaling up community-based conservation models.
Second, funding models are needed that provide long-term support to community conservation. Funding needs to be tailored to different stages of conservancy development, from early-stage seed funding to longer-term support through trust funds and similar mechanisms. For example, Namibia has recently established a Community Conservation Fund of Namibia to provide long-term sustainable financing of conservancies that are not yet financially self-sufficient and to provide other needed services.
Lastly, conservation efforts need to continue to grow private sector investment as the core source of long-term financing for conservancies and other conservation efforts driven by communities. The growth of tourism investment in conservancies in Namibia and Kenya has been key to progress in those countries, as communities are gradually able to capture a growing share of the regional wildlife and tourism economy. But community conservation needs to move beyond an exclusive reliance on tourism as well. Significant efforts are underway to integrate livestock markets and trade with conservancies in Kenya, and to develop substantial flows from carbon credits derived from improved forest management in several community conservation areas in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.
As the new decade begins, conserving Africa’s wild landscapes faces unprecedented pressures from illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss, infrastructure development, and the effects of climate change. But conservation progress delivered by communities provides perhaps the most significant opportunity to expand the area of land under conservation, while dramatically broadening conservation’s local stakeholders. All efforts should be made to capitalise on this opportunity.
Fred Nelson is the Executive Director of Maliasili, a US-based organisation that supports leading African conservation organisations to increase their impact and effectiveness.
The tiny killifish lives in a state of suspended animation – until seasonal rains trigger the shortest known lifespan of any animal with a backbone. This rapid lifecycle has scientists scrambling to unlock secrets to our own ageing processes.
The turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) lives in temporary pools of water in some semi-arid regions of Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and, when the water dries up, the adult fish die and their drought-resistant eggs and embryos are entombed in hard mud where they enter a state of suspended animation (diapause) until the next rainfall event – months or years away.
The arrival of precious rains triggers a frenetic race against time to hatch, grow to sexual maturity, mate and lay the next generation of eggs before their puddle dries up. After hatching, the turquoise killifish only lives for about nine to ten weeks in the wild before succumbing when the water dries up and has the dubious distinction of reaching sexual maturity sooner than any other vertebrate species – at about 14 days.
Studies of captive turquoise killifish and a related species, Nothobranchius kadleci, show that their body length increases by up to a quarter every day in their first two weeks of life.
Killifish are predators, eating small crustaceans and aquatic insect larvae that co-exist in the same temporary pools of water. Captive juvenile killifish have been known to cannibalise on smaller killifish, but this has not been recorded in the wild.
Males are more colourful than females, with some species reflecting colour morphs (red and yellow morphs in the case of N. furzeri). Populations of wild killifish are female-biased, with the ratios increasing towards the end of the life cycle. Ratios of N. furzeri have been recorded as increasing from 1:2,7 at the beginning of the breeding season to 1:4,7 later in the season. The reason for the sex-bias is presumed to be that more males die due to their brighter colouration attracting a higher predation rate as well as aggressive competition amongst males for access to females.
The ways in which killifish disperse are unknown, but scientists assume that the fish are swept from their natal pools during flooding to settle into new pools and that eggs are transported between pools on the skin of large herbivores that drink and mud bath there. In his story about Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, Africa Geographic CEO Simon Espley described how it is possible that eggs are carried upstream by elephants, and that the reduction of elephant populations and restriction of their historical migration routes could conceivably impact on some killifish populations. Dario Valenzano, co-author of the attached report agrees: “I strongly believe that lack, presence, diversity and in general density of large herbivores can be key to killifish survival as a species.”
The killifishes reveal how animals can adapt to extreme environments by evolving extreme lifespans. Research on captive populations of killifish focuses on unlocking the secrets about growing old and, specifically, how to hold back the ageing process.
Full report: From the bush to the bench: the annual Nothobranchius fishes as a new model system in biology. Alessandro Cellerino, Dario R. Valenzano and Martin Reichard. Wiley Online Library.
OPINION EDITORIAL by Mucha Mkono, The University of Queensland; Jason I. Ransom, National Park Service; Katarzyna Nowak, University of the Free State, and Patrick O. Onyango, Maseno University
Conservationists don’t always agree about the best ways to reinforce the protection of nature. Debates about it can become confrontational.
But at the heart of the issue is how to include more people in nature conservation efforts. As a group of scientists, we believe it is important to steer the discussion towards a more diverse and inclusive blueprint for protecting biodiversity and ecosystems.
In a letter to the journal Science, we argue that the model of trophy hunting in Africa to finance conservation is neither sustainable nor equitable. We offer some alternatives. We suggest meeting the needs and values of a variety of stakeholders and local communities. Doing so involves empowering people to participate in decisions that affect them.
We support the following strategies for conserving natural landscapes and their ecological functions.
Connecting local needs with the wider world
One approach is to connect small and big investors directly to communities that are associated with wildlife wealth. This can be done through blockchain technology and carbon and biodiversity credits.
An example is GainForest, an app that aims to help maintain and restore forests. GainForest gets funding from the crypto community to provide finance to community members if they maintain their patch of land for an agreed duration. The GainForest team uses publicly available data from GlobalForestWatch to monitor and evaluate community success. It is also developing advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to help forecast future forest cover.
Another strategy is the United Nations programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in developing countries. The programme encourages developing economies to lower their carbon emissions through a variety of habitat management schemes and is donor-funded. The United Nations supports partner countries to run REDD+ programmes and trains them in best practices. The Kariba REDD+ project in Zimbabwe is one example. The project has protected 785,000 hectares from deforestation and land degradation. This has helped prevent more than 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Community-led sustainable practices
Conservation practices that generate direct financial benefits for local communities have also been successful. An example is a Tanzanian wildlife project which reduces the costs of living with wildlife. It assists livestock owners with constructing “living walls”, made of plant materials, to protect domestic animals from predation. The project also supports microfinance and community enterprises such as beekeeping and a bush camp.
Another approach is to reform land use in ways that meet the values and needs of local people. In Peru, Costa Rica, Canada, Kenya, Scotland and Amazonia, local communities have been granted land titles by national governments. This has been positive for livelihoods and for biodiversity conservation. For example, when the Indigenous Tsilhqot’in Nation in British Columbia, Canada, was granted title to traditional lands in 2014, they stopped public hunting based on their own wildlife management strategy.
Agricultural practices can be made more compatible with nature conservation, as has been achieved by It’s Wild in Zambia. Farmers and former poachers came up with certain conservation principles and agreed to follow them. Profits from farm products grown sustainably go directly back into conservation efforts. Women get empowered by selling their crops and acquiring accounting skills.
Reducing negative interactions between people and wildlife
This positive coexistence happens through partnerships, participation, and fostering tolerance. The projects create incentives for wildlife-friendly actions that are rooted in science and rural economic development. Such “coexistence buffer zone” projects can promote awareness and tourism by being part of visits to national parks.
Growing the domestic wildlife-watching market is a potential strategy. Compared with international tourism, domestic tourism can have a lower carbon footprint (through less travel), foster local interest in nature, and provide a more reliable income flow. Local hospitality in the form of homestays can help reduce the environmental footprint that big hotels leave.
A more diverse model will be environmentally respectful, promote local knowledge and cultural exchange, and encourage the participation of women. Bushcraft training is one example.
Participatory science and monitoring also have conservation potential. For example, the Grevy’s Zebra Warriors earn income by monitoring endangered zebra in Kenya and Ethiopia. The illegal killing of elephants has also been successfully monitored using participatory surveys. In addition to income, such programmes provide a means for exchange between traditional ecological knowledge keepers, local naturalists, scientists and conservation practitioners.
A mix of “alternative” ways of encouraging and sustaining conservation is urgently needed now. The way forward in conserving nature is through building grassroots domestic conservation actions with direct and positive socioeconomic outcomes. Contributions to shared, interconnected ecosystems that yield a strong sense of sustainable stewardship are ones that create value, foster lasting relationships and nurture deeper connections with the living world.
This article had inputs from our colleagues Phyllis Lee, Jorgelina Marino, Hannah Mumby, Andrew Dobson, Ross Harvey, Keith Lindsay, David Lusseau and Claudio Sillero-Zubiri.
Our Photographer of the Year 2020 is now in full swing and open for submissions!
There are two galleries showcasing this week’s Weekly Selection. To see the other gallery click here:Weekly Selection Gallery 1
Our Photographer of the Year 2020 is now in full swing and open for submissions!
There are two galleries showcasing this week’s Weekly Selection. To see the other gallery click here:Weekly Selection Gallery 2
Our Photographer of the Year 2020 is now in full swing and open for submissions! There are two galleries showcasing this week’s Weekly Selection. To see the other gallery click here:Weekly Selection Gallery 1
Our Photographer of the Year 2020 is now in full swing and open for submissions!
There are two galleries showcasing this week’s Weekly Selection. To see the other gallery click here:Weekly Selection Gallery 2
Evidence is emerging of the growing threat to wild lion populations of targeted poaching for lion body parts – teeth and claws.
The Panthera study provides evidence of an emerging threat to African lion conservation: the targeted poaching of lions for body parts – specifically teeth and claws. The study warns that this growing threat could have devastating impacts on lion populations that mirror similar implications for wild tiger populations.
The study was conducted in the Mozambican portion of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area – which includes South Africa’s Kruger National Park. The targeted poaching of lions for body parts accounted for 61% of mortalities within Limpopo National Park and 35% of known human-caused mortalities across the greater landscape. The researchers also found that retaliatory killing for livestock conflict accounted for 51% of total mortalities, but body parts were removed in 48% of conflict cases, suggesting that the demand for body parts is escalating conflict killings. Teeth and claws were the body parts most frequently harvested, and there has been an alarming and dramatic increase since 2014.
We previously reported similar conclusions made by the Greater Limpopo Carnivore Program, who were participants in this Panthera study.
The study linked the escalation in poaching of wild lions and South Africa’s increasing export of captive-bred lion skeletons and body parts, which has shown exponential growth since 2007. This trade feeds a growing market among upwardly mobile Asians for luxury products, such as lion bone wine, with lion bones used instead of tiger bones as tiger parts become increasingly scarce.
The rising demand for lion body parts could exacerbate motives to kill lions in the vicinity of communities and livestock, irrespective of livestock losses or a perceived threat of losses. Incentivising the killing of lions by demand for body parts could seriously undermine conflict mitigation efforts.
Lion poaching for body parts has also increased in the Niassa reserve in northern Mozambique (C. Beggs Niassa Lion Project pers coms) and of captive lions in the Limpopo province of South Africa (K. Marnewick Endangered Wildlife Trust pers coms). Lions killed for conflict in the Caprivi region of Namibia also had teeth and claws removed (L. Hansen Kwando Carnivore Project pers coms).
Lion populations have declined across Africa by an estimated 43% over the past 21 years, and their range has declined by 75% over the past 50 years. Declines have been predominantly caused by loss of prey and habitat and by persecution from livestock farmers. The study notes that, at times, unsustainable trophy hunting has also caused decreases in lion populations.
Dr Paul Funston, Director of Panthera’s lion program, stated, “We hope this study alerts the global conservation community, and any governments participating in the lion bone and body part trade, to the serious threats it poses. We have seen the toll this trade has had on other wild cat species and must be vigilant about how it impacts lion conservation efforts across Africa.”
Full report: Everatt, K.T., Kokes, R. & Lopez Pereira, C. (2019). Evidence of a further emerging threat to lion conservation; targeted poaching for body parts. Biodivers Conserv.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01866-w
Just two days before Christmas a mass vulture poisoning incident was discovered by the Wildlife ACT rangers in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, sparking warnings that the region’s diminishing vulture populations could face extinction unless the root cause of the killings is addressed.
On 23rd December, rangers found fifteen white-backed vultures (Gyps africanus) as well as a young lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) who all died after feeding on a poison-laced impala carcass in northern Zululand. It is the fourth vulture poisoning incident in the province this year, bringing the total recorded number of vultures harvested for body parts in this region alone to 53.
“Arriving at a scene like this with everything so fresh, but too late to assist in saving any poisoned birds is heartbreaking. Losing one vulture is always a tragedy. Losing at least 16 birds at one feeding is a crisis,” said PJ Roberts, manager of Wildlife ACT’s Emergency Response Team.
Wildlife ACT works closely with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, local farmers and communities, and other conservation groups to protect three endangered vulture species in KwaZulu-Natal.
Signs that the vulture poisoning was deliberate were immediately apparent after inspection of the first bird they came across, a white-backed vulture. “It had a full crop (still containing undigested food), contorted feet and many dead flies were scattered around its remains – all clear signs of fast-acting poison,” said Roberts.
The team swept the area, but it took an aerial search to locate more victims. “No more than 30 metres away, the morbid discovery of 13 processed and harvested white-backed vultures, with their heads and feet removed, were found very purposefully hidden in a thick bush,” added Roberts.
All of the contaminated carcasses were burned by the rangers to remove the poison from the ecosystem.
Wildlife ACT response team with the bodies of 13 white-backed vultures, poisoned for the traditional medicine trade. Image courtesy Wildlife ACT
The Endangered WildLife Trust’s (EWT) Vultures for Africa Programme manager, Andre Botha, said it was difficult to quantify how many vulture poisoning incidents relate to harvesting of body parts. According to records kept by EWT, more than 1,200 vultures have been deliberately poisoned in Southern and Eastern Africa this year. Culprits include poachers who poison the carcasses of elephant and other game in an apparent effort to conceal illegal activities from rangers. These poisonings are referred to as “sentinel poisonings”, as vultures circling over poached animals alert rangers to the killings.
In Africa vultures are under threat due to habitat loss, ingestion of lead ammunition, collisions with power lines, accidental drownings in farm water reservoirs, and the use of poisoned bait by livestock owners to kill predators like jackals. Vultures feeding off the carcasses subsequently die, often in significant numbers.
But many more are poisoned deliberately to harvest body parts for belief-based use.
“The vultures are killed for their heads and feet and other parts,” said Chris Kelly, a species director at Wildlife ACT. “This is definitely the single biggest threat to diminishing vulture populations in this province.”
In many parts of Africa, vultures are believed to have psychic powers, including an ability to see into the future. According to a fact sheet from EWT, the brains of the bird are dried, rolled and smoked as joints or simply burnt and the fumes inhaled. Users believe this improves their odds when they gamble on the lottery or place bets on sport. Students take it when preparing for exams. Other reported uses of vultures include consuming their eyes to improve eyesight, their beaks for protection, or their feet to heal fractured bones or make a person run faster.
In 2014, EWT estimated that 130,000 traders, hunters and traditional healers were operating in South Africa. This figure is believed to have increased, sparking calls from conservationists, environmental scientists and wildlife experts at this year’s Conservation Symposium for an awareness-building campaign to reduce this consumption and demand for vulture parts.
“Vultures provide critically important ecosystem services by cleaning up carcasses thus reducing the spread of dangerous diseases such as anthrax and rabies and resulting in highly significant economic and human health benefits,” said Brent Coverdale, an animal scientist for Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife at the symposium. “We really can’t afford to lose them.”
As vultures are protected by law, it is illegal to possess or kill any of the six vulture species found in South Africa. Nevertheless, deliberate killings continue.
More than 1,200 vultures have been deliberately poisoned in Southern and Eastern Africa in 2019. Image courtesy Wildlife ACT
Citation: Ogada, D., Shaw, P., Beyers, R. L., Buij, R., Murn, C., Thiollay, J. M., … Sinclair, A. R. E. (2015). Another continental vulture crisis: Africa’s vultures collapsing toward extinction. Conservation Letters. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12182
The forest elephant population in one of Central Africa‘s largest and most important protected areas has declined by 80% in 10 years because of poaching, with an estimated 25,000 elephants poached between 2004 and 2014, says a new Duke University-led study.
Gabon’s Minkébé National Park was explicitly declared to protect elephants and hosted the highest density of forest elephants in Central Africa at the turn of the century. It was thought that the large size (7,570 km2) and remoteness of the national park would keep elephants safe from poaching.
“Our research suggests that more than 25,000 elephants in Minkébé may have been killed for their ivory between 2004 and 2014,” said John Poulsen, assistant professor of tropical ecology at Duke‘s Nicholas School of the Environment. The elephant population was estimated at 35,404 in 2004 compared to 6,542 in 2014.
“With nearly half of Central Africa‘s estimated 100,000 forest elephants thought to live in Gabon, the loss of 25,000 elephants from this key sanctuary is a considerable setback for the preservation of the species,” he said.
The researchers estimated the extent of the population losses by comparing data from two large-scale surveys of elephant dung in Minkébé National Park from 2004 and 2014, using two different analytic methods to account for periods of heavy rainfall that might speed the dung’s decay and skew the surveys’ accuracy.
The report explained that portions of the national park with major roads nearby (6.1 km away) were “emptied” of elephants. In contrast, populations of elephants in areas further away from major roads (58 km) were “somewhat reduced”. The proximity of major roads makes it relatively easy for poachers to access the park and transport their illegal haul across the Gabon/Cameroon border to Cameroon’s largest city, Douala, a major hub for the international ivory trade.
Gabon was one of several African countries which burned its stockpile of ivory, in a public display of rejection of elephant poaching and opposition to countries which wish to trade internationally in their ivory stocks.
Full report: John R. Poulsen, Sally E. Koerner, Sarah Moore, Vincent P. Medjibe, Stephen Blake, Connie J. Clark, Mark Ella Akou, Michael Fay, Amelia Meier, Joseph Okouyi, Cooper Rosin, and Lee J. T. White (2017). Poaching empties critical Central African wilderness of forest elephants. Current Biology.https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqz032
In an exciting discovery, a large herd of about 250-300 elephants has been spotted in Nigeria’s far northeast corner, close to the borders with Cameroon and Chad. It is the first reported sighting of elephants in the region since Boko Haram invaded the area a decade ago.
Up until a decade ago hundreds of elephants used to migrate through the region, with three major migration routes passing through Sambisa Forest, a reserve in Nigeria’s Borno State that is the size of Belgium and The Netherlands. This reserve became synonymous with Boko Haram terrorism as the same migration routes were used by insurgents to escape military bombardment. The heavy exchange of artillery fire between the military and the insurgents drove most wildlife away from the reserve.
Up until now, it had been unclear what happened to the elephants that once roamed the Sambisa Forest and savannahs in Borno and Yobe states.
This large herd of elephants was spotted a few kilometres from Rann during a humanitarian mission carried out by helicopter. Rann has become a place synonymous with the horrors of the insurgency.
“We have dispatched our director of forests Peter Ayuba, to confirm the sighting and to carry out an impact assessment,” said Kabiru Wanori, Borno State’s environment commissioner.
Although the great elephant census did not cover Nigeria, it was estimated that there are 250 in the country with the largest concentration (100-150) being in Bauchi State in the Yankari Game Reserve. Yankari, under the management of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which operates under challenging political, economic, and security environment. This sighting of a previously unknown herd would therefore effectively double the estimated Nigeria elephant population. Nigeria’s elephant population includes scattered populations of both savannah elephants in the north of the country and forest elephants in the south of the country.
A recent report published in Oxford Academic by Trouwborst, Loveridge and Macdonald compares CITES hunting trophy export quotas for African range states to established benchmarks. The report concludes that leopard hunting quotas that have been rubber-stamped for decades by CITES are arbitrary and lacking in robust scientific basis and without regular adjustment. Further, the report suggests that CITES-approved leopard trophy hunting quotas are “fundamentally at odds with the principles of sustainable use, precaution and adaptive management”.
Editorial note: Many countries do not make use of their full CITES export quotas. For example, South Africa has access to a CITES export quota of 150 leopards (see table below), but in 2018 permitted a quota of seven leopards.
Here follows a summary of the report, titled ‘Spotty Date: Managing International Leopard (Panthera pardus) Trophy Hunting Amidst Uncertainty’. We encourage you to download and read the entire report.
There is a widespread but misplaced assumption that the conservation status of leopards is assured and, as a result, leopards do not enjoy the same level of conservation and research attention as do lions, tigers and snow leopards. Now that their numbers too are thought to be plummeting, researchers expect them to start receiving as much publicity as the other big cats.
There is a significant lack of hard data on leopard population numbers, often compensated for by optimistic ‘guesstimates’ and many stakeholders in sub-Saharan Africa rely on outdated population assessments from the late 1980s.
Leopards have been listed under Appendix 1 since the 1975 inception of CITES – which means that trade for primarily commercial purposes is forbidden. Legal international trade is limited to hunting trophies and skins under export quotas for range states, as defined in the table below. Of course, illegal trade remains a significant problem for leopard populations.
Quotas should be based on best available information, and be adjusted regularly to changing circumstances. They should reflect a sustainable leopard hunting offtake – not detrimental to the survival of the species, based on a science-based assessment and where harvests are well-managed and adaptive. Importantly, the process of setting quotas must be guided by the overarching ‘precautionary principle’: erring on the side of caution, especially in situations where scientific data is scarce. CITES quotas are not ‘targets’, and the full amount need not be met.
A closer look at CITES leopard quotas
The report touches on various countries, as examples of how leopard hunting quotas are determined, including:
1. Mozambique requested a quota of 120 leopards annually, based on an estimated countrywide population of 37,000 leopards. This estimate was derived from a 30-year-old prediction model created by Martin and De Meulenaar that assumes maximum densities across specific rainfall and vegetation types, and excludes critical factors such as prey availability and human-related pressures;
2. Tanzania and Namibia used the same model to increase their CITES quotas from 250-500 and 100-250 respectively significantly;
3. South Africa is the only African country where robust data is available – camera-trap surveys over the period 2013-2017 reflect an annual 8% decline in leopard populations. After years of unsustainable trophy hunting offtake and high pressure from illegal killing for traditional medicine and ceremonial purposes, South Africa has adopted an adaptive management framework by adjusting quotas annually based on population trends and only allocating quotas to areas with robust available data;
4. Ethiopia has an extraordinarily high CITES quota of 500 leopards when only five are hunted per year. The reason for that country’s request to retain the full CITES quota despite the demonstrated lack of available leopards possibly relates to politics and the lack of trust that most African countries have in the machinations of CITES. This situation (high quota, low available leopard population) is mirrored in other countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and South Africa.
The system does not work, so change it
The report suggests that continuation of the status quo is not an option, and indicates that the following are the three alternative ways forward:
1. Abandon the current CITES Council of Parties (COP) quota system and replacing it with a per-case permit system – an extremely bureaucratic system;
2. Retain a COP quota system, but scrutinise at every COP meeting – thus ensuring adaptive adjustments;
3. Abandon the current COP quota system, and each range state would set their own quota using a uniform blueprint based on ensuring sustainable offtakes.
The report notes that when it comes to being rigorous, science-based, precautionary, sustainable and adaptive, the approach recently introduced in South Africa seems to hold particular promise and could be instituted relatively cheaply by other countries.
Conclusion
The report concludes that “a science-based, precautionary and adaptive approach to quota-setting along the lines explored above could go some way to ensuring that trophy hunting of leopards and other species occurs sustainably even when the available information is spotty”.
Full report: Arie Trouwborst, Andrew J Loveridge, David W Macdonald (2019). Spotty Data: Managing International Leopard (Panthera pardus) Trophy Hunting Quotas Amidst Uncertainty. Journal of Environmental Law.https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqz032
A prominent hotel in Kinshasa has been offering smoked baby chimpanzee on their menu, says local NGO Conserv Congo.
Conserv Congo director and former investigative reporter Adams Cassinga was advised by a tourist that the 4-star Beatrice Hotel (website + Facebook + Twitter) in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), offered chimp on the menu, but plans for a sting operation were foiled when staff at the hotel were alerted to the situation, and removed the item from the menu.
According to the menu available at the time, a serving of smoked baby chimpanzee would set customers back US$35, and requires 24-hour notice.
The menu from the Beatrice Hotel showing smoked baby chimp (bébé chimpanzé fumé) for $35
Hotel management subsequently denied the claims on social media, stating that they no longer offer chimpanzee meat to customers, blaming the error on the cook. Cassinga dismisses this explanation, saying “How can they claim to ‘no longer’ offer chimpanzee meat? The hotel is ten years old and it has been illegal to offer chimpanzee meat for 15 years. In any case, we have witnesses who have eaten chimpanzee meat at this hotel”.
Speaking to Africa Geographic, Cassinga said that Beatrice Hotel owner Mr André Kadima has popped up on his radar a few times over the last few years, in connection with allegations of wildlife trafficking, of both dead and live animals. He is a former employee of ICCN (the parastatal in charge of DRC fauna and Flora) and owns a zoo 60 km north of Kinshasa – ‘Kadima’s Pride of Africa.’
Conserv Congo has instituted legal action against Kadima, on the grounds that it is a criminal offence to hunt, injure, kill, sell or buy, gift or detain a protected species of animal or plant, and that the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) falls into the protected species category. Potential punishment is 1-10 years in prison and/or up to US$20,000 fine.
Cassinga said that Conserv Congo recently won the first wildlife trafficking case in DRC, when three bonobo/pygmy chimpanzee (Pan paniscus) traffickers were sentenced to five months in prison and a fine of US$5,000 each. He went on to say that, at any given time in Kinshasa alone, there are at least ten great apes for sale. Red-tailed monkeys are butchered in hundreds daily as bushmeat, and many are held as pets and as symbols of wealth and status. He suggests that conservation plans are failing in Africa because of the demand for wild animals, which is based on greed, superstition and bad habit – and had nothing to do with cultural identity.
Consumption of bushmeat across the central African rainforests has escalated due to increasing commercialisation of what was previously a localised food source. Road and trucking networks provided by mining and hardwood forest logging companies facilitate easy access to otherwise remote and inaccessible areas, and meat is now being transported to major African cities and even to Europe and the United States, which host expatriate African communities.
Recently we exposed Instagram influencers Jessica Nabongo and Sal Lavallo for eating pangolin meat in a Gabon restaurant, and promoting the experience to their followers.
The Conserv Congo mission statement is to ‘preserve the biodiversity of the Congo basin’ and they do this primarily via investigating illegal trafficking and assisting the authorities in arresting and prosecuting offenders. They also educate members of the public about wildlife laws, promote alternative livelihoods to poaching and rescue trafficked wildlife, which they place in sanctuaries. In this video founding director Adams Cassinga explains more about Conserv Congo. Cassinga is a Mandela Washington Fellow, Young African Leaders Initiative Fellow, DRC honorary park ranger and a member of the Game Rangers Association of Africa.
How can you help?
Conserv Congo director Adams Cassinga has requested supporters to donate money that will be used to fund the legal action taken against Beatrice Hotel owner Mr André Kadima, who is a wealthy man with significant legal resources at his disposal. Please contact him via this email address: aminiadams16@hotmail.com
Read more about chimpanzeeshere– includes wonderful images.
Millipedes of all shapes and sizes are a common sight in Africa, particular after rain, when they are seen marching around in search of decaying plant matter to eat. Some are HUGE – easily the size of your hand, and many have brightly coloured bodies and legs – possibly to scare off predators.
We rounded up ten interesting facts about these beautiful creatures:
• The indigenous people of southern Africa call the millipede ‘shongololo’, which is derived from from the Xhosa and Zulu word ‘ukushonga’, meaning to roll up…
• The name “millipede” is derived from Latin, meaning “thousand feet”. However, no known species has that many legs, and the record for the most legs on a millipede species belongs to Illacme plenipes, who has 750 feet.
• There are about 12,000 described species of millipedes!
• Their primary defence mechanism is to release a foul-smelling toxin, which is made up of hydrochloric acid (which burns) and hydrogen cyanide (which asphyxiates). This keeps most predators at bay, except for shrews and civets, which appear to be immune to these toxins. Millipedes also curl up into a tight ball when threatened, to protect their soft underparts.
• When disturbed, millipedes escape predation by moving away in a slithering, snake-like motion, which may scare off some predators.
• Hornbills have been observed using crushed millipedes to line their cavity nests in trees – possibly to avoid mite and other infestations. Some primates have been observed intentionally disturbing millipedes to obtain the foul-smelling toxins which they rub onto their bodies, also as a repellent.
• Millipedes are some of the oldest land animals on Earth. The first known millipede, Pneumodesmus newmani, was only 1 cm long and appeared during the Paleozoic era, 252-541 million years ago. This is the oldest known creature to have lived on land, and was discovered in 2004 from a single specimen in Scotland.
• Some extinct prehistoric millipedes (Arthropleura spp.) grew up to 2 metres in length!
• The longest living millipede is the giant African millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas), reaching a length of up to 38.5 cm.
• It is thought that the bright body and leg colours of some millipedes is to warn off or repel predators.
Safaris are made all the better when you eat local food, and Swahili food dishes are delicious. With a beautiful blend of Arab, Indian and Portuguese influences, Swahili cuisine uses a variety of spices like coriander, clove, chilli and black pepper together with a range of staples like maize, cassava, rice, wheat and sorghum.
Here are a few examples of delicious East African safari food – as eaten by the local people:
Nyama choma
This “charred meat” is a rich, filling barbecue of beef, chicken or goat, marinated in garlic, lemon juice, curry powder and turmeric and slow-roasted over hot coals until supremely tender. It’s a very social food and a dish that’s enjoyed by communities everywhere in Africa.
Nyama choma – charred or barbecued meat
Wali na maharage
Swahili beans is a favourite of vegetarians or meat-eaters alike and blends dried beans with local, flavoursome ingredients to produce a filling bean stew that could be sweet or spicy. Cooked beans are sautéed with onions, ginger, tomatoes and coconut milk.
Swahili beans and rice
Pilau
Pilau is a typical rice dish all over the world, but the secret to the Swahili version is that it’s flavoured with the spices fresh from the “Spice Island” – Zanzibar. Famous for clove and cinnamon, and with the addition of cardamom, Swahili pilau is a delicate and fragrant rice dish.
Pilau – a rice dish with spices
Chipsi mayai
Think of this dish as a delicious sautéed potato omelette – and it’s easy to prepare! After you’ve sautéed your potatoes, whisk up an egg or two and add it to the pan. Mix it around a bit, and soon it’ll cook into a slab of eggy-potatoey loveliness.
Chipsi mayai – potato chip omelette
Ndizi na nyama
Got meat? Got bananas? Then you’re ready for ndizi na nyama – a meat and banana stew. For those of you who think that fruit and meat are an unholy alliance, think again. This tasty, unusual stew uses unripe rather than sweet plantains which, when added during the last ten minutes of cooking, become tender and delicious.
Ndizi na nyama – meat and banana stew
Ugali
The most ubiquitous food across all of East Africa is ugali – a starchy accompaniment made of cornmeal, semolina or sorghum flour and water. Because it’s easy to make and the ingredients are low-cost, it’s a popular food, and you’ll see it often during your safaris in East Africa.
Ugali – a firm flour porridge
And to drink?
Tea and coffee are plentiful in East Africa, as are fresh-pressed pineapple, orange, sugar cane and papaya juices – a sweet and thirst-quenching way to end your safari day. There’s also a variety of refreshing local beers available – such as Tusker, Serengeti and Kilimanjaro. Be aware though that in Muslim areas, alcohol is only sold in the tourist hotels, bars and cafes.
These are only a taste of some of the delicious Swahili food choices that East Africa offers. In the end, there truly is nothing better than watching an African sunset with a beer in hand and a full, satisfied tummy! And next time you order your safari meal, be sure to speak Swahili like a local!
The population of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), one of the world’s most endangered species, is on the rise, and now stands at an estimated 1,063 individuals (1,004 in 2018).
This after a population survey was performed in the Bwindi-Sarambwe area, one of the two remaining areas where this critically endangered great ape is still found (the other being the Virunga Massif area).
The survey results revealed that the population in Bwindi-Sarambwe has increased to 459 from an estimated 400 in 2011. When combined with the previously published figure of 604 mountain gorillas from the Virunga Massif area, the total population now stands at an estimated 1,063 mountain gorillas.
“Slowly but surely a solid future for mountain gorillas is emerging, proving that long-term, collaborative conservation efforts can pull species back from the brink of extinction. This was demonstrated last year with the IUCN reclassification from ‘Critically Endangered’ to ‘Endangered’.” said Anna Behm Masozera, Director of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), which provided technical and financial support to the exercise under an agreement with the intergovernmental Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration.
The increase in mountain gorillas is attributed to the effectiveness of conservation policies and strategies, regulated tourism, daily protection and veterinary interventions, intensive law enforcement, community conservation projects, and transboundary collaboration among government institutions and NGOs. 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 essential to recognise the role of the communities that live close to these national parks who co-exist with mountain gorillas and contribute to conservation efforts. That said, the survey findings also indicated that the threat of illegal human activities to mountain gorillas and other wildlife has not declined in Bwindi-Sarambwe since 2011, despite the positive developments in community engagement and conservation and tourism initiatives. For instance, survey teams found and destroyed 88 snares during their work.
The exercise involved more than 75 trained survey members from 13 participating institutions along with the support of local governments and communities living around the protected areas. Survey teams walked pre-determined reconnaissance trails, ensuring thorough coverage of all forest areas to sweep the Bwindi-Sarambwe and search for signs of gorillas, other key mammals, and human 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 from nests. The process was completed twice; first from March to May 2018 (62 days), and second from October to December 2018 (60 days). A second sweep allows finding gorillas that were undetected during the first sweep and thus provides more reliable numbers of gorillas. Faecal samples were analysed genetically to determine individual genotypes. Additional scientific publications are expected from the survey.
Despite the rise in numbers, the two populations of mountain gorillas remain relatively small and vulnerable to a potential rapid decline due to factors such as their limited habitat, climate change, dependence on resources in the park by people, and the risk of disease transmission.
Swahili (Kiswahili) is a Bantu language that’s spoken by the Swahili people across and beyond East Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique. Strongly influenced by and initially written in Arabic, Swahili is now more commonly written using the Latin alphabet. Visitors to East Africa should master at least a few Swahili words and phrases – and enjoy friendly banter with local people. Of course, Swahili culture has its idiosyncrasies and subtleties, which may embarrass all involved – but expect a high degree of forgiveness if you get some things wrong.
Here then are a few general guidelines to rewarding interactions with the peoples of East Africa:
Greetings are important
In Swahili culture, greeting etiquette is tremendously important, and it’s considered impolite not to greet correctly. How you greet someone in Tanzania has an impact on how they will behave towards you. For instance, if a person doesn’t greet their neighbour, it’s usually assumed that they dislike each other.
Ask questions
Key to a rewarding conversation is to spend some time asking about the other person – such as their health and that of their parents and family, and how business/farming is going. Social relationships are very important in Africa, so it’s important to take the time to understand their situation and wellbeing. You will probably not have too much Swahili in your vocabulary, so this conversation will probably be in English, after the initial Swahili greetings
Physical contact
Handshakes (right hand only) are extremely important and sometimes hands are held much longer than you might be used to – sometimes for the duration of the conversation. Your hands might meet and gently entwine fingers, or perhaps there might be some wrist-holding. There are a few variations, so don’t get hung up about what and how – relax and enjoy the moment. If you’re respectful and friendly, no one will take offence at your awkwardness.
Learning a few basic Swahili phrases will help you during that initial, sometimes awkward, greeting phase, and earn the respect of your Swahili-speaking friend. Here are a few of the most useful phrases (the syllables to stress are in bold):
♦ “Hello”: “Hujambo”, often shortened to “jambo”. You can also use “habari” which roughly translated means “What’s the news about….?”. Use any of these, and smile, as you’re going in for the handshake
♦ “Good morning!”: There’s nothing like a cheerful “habari za asubuhi!” to show friendliness and good wishes. Use “habari za mchana” for “good afternoon.”
♦ “How are you?”: Ask “habari gani?”. But if your friend gets in first with “habari gani?” then answer: “nzuri, ahsante!” (“good, thanks!”). You can also say, “poa” or “safi!” or, if you’re already on good terms, you can be less formal: “Poa, kichisi kama ndizi kwenye friji” (“I am cool like a banana in the fridge”)
♦ “Please”: “Tafadhali”
♦ “Thank you (very much)”: “Ahsante (sana)”
♦ “Goodbye”: “Kwaheri”
♦ “Good night”:“Usiku mwema” or “habari za jioni”
♦ “Enjoy your trip”: “Safari njema“:
“Habari” – the most useful Swahili word
“Habari” is a handy word as you can use it to say “hello” AND to ask what’s the latest news. You’ll impress if you ask “habari za familia?” (“how is your family?”) and follow it up with “habari za kazi?” (“how is work?”). You can also try “habari za kutwa?” (“how was your day?”).
If you invest the time to master the above smattering of Swahili, your social credibility will sky-rocket, and you will enjoy the familiarity and respect that adds layers of enjoyment to your safari. Safari njema!
These are the stories of two elephants who display enormous tenacity and will to survive, despite significant obstacles. As told by Dr. Michelle Henley – Elephants Alive Director, Co-founder and Principal Researcher.
MATAMBU
Most of the staff and residents of the Associated Private Nature Reserves – Klaserie, Umbabat, Timbavati, Balule & Thornybush (APNR) in the Greater Kruger – have come to know Matambu. He is a true gentle giant amongst elephants, in every sense of the word, often bestowing on us the great honour of contact rumbling when he senses us. This could be because we have regularly visited him since first sighting him on 16 June 2005, and so he has come to recognise the sound of our research vehicle and the scent of its passengers. You see, Matambu is almost totally blind. During our recent annual aerial census, Matambu was seen walking closely on the heels of a younger bull, tracking him as he weaved his way through the bushveld. We have often found him in the company of Whispers, who would protectively charge at us when we immobilise his ailing companion – surely a sign of loyalty and concern for his safety.
In May of this year, we thought we were going to lose Matambu after he suffered a severe infection near the base of his tail and his underparts, probably after being attacked by another bull. We turned to Wildlifevets (Drs. Ben Muller and Joel Alves) three times to treat Matambu’s wounds.
A deep sadness hung over our team at Elephants Alive when we were told during the last treatment that we needed to let him pass on. But, as we mentally prepared ourselves, Matambu had other plans and a clear will to live, and slowly but surely his condition improved. Almost six months after his injury he is still thin and has a less severe infection, but the flushing green grass will hopefully give him the kick-start he needs to boost his immune system and fight off the infection. We are delighted to be approaching the festive season and the New Year with this special elephant. Keep fighting Matambu, as we need your continued existence to bring us added joy!
RHANDZEKILE
Rhandzekile, meaning ‘loved’ in Shangaan, was first sighted in 2009 in the Umbabat Private Nature Reserve as a young sub-adult cow. Through the years since then, people who see her have expressed shock and awe that she has kept going. Rhandzekile has a large hole below her forehead, through which she breathes. Our vets suspect that her handicap is congenital. She appears on and off in the APNR and recently was seen lactating, with a calf in tow.
The hole in her forehead was recently oozing puss, and so we again called Wildlifevets to the rescue, who examined her and administered booster injections. Miraculously, only 2% of her breathing is through her trunk – the rest is via the hole in her forehead, with much audible sucking and blowing. Subsequent to this treatment she moved out of Balule Private Nature Reserve all the way down to Skukuza over the period of a month, clearly showing us that her handicap does not hold her back in anyway.
Rhandzekile has the company of her family herd, and we wonder who in that herd helps her to drink by squirting water into her mouth, as she will not be able to suck water very effectively?
So it is in the lives of elephants – they care for each other – and sometimes we are privileged enough to catch a glimpse into their world of absolute bonds and friendships that last a lifetime and allow handicapped individuals to live long and fruitful lives.
Thank you to all the landowners of the APNR for reporting sightings of this cow. We would like to monitor her more closely and fit a collar so your sightings are valuable. Thank you to the wardens and especially to Ian Nowak (general manager of Balule) for helping with the location of this cow for examination.
A collared elephant has been hunted in Botswana, and the tracking device destroyed. Four other elephant bulls were hunted by the same party. The hunts took place in a remote area near the Dobe border post between Namibia and Botswana.
The hunting party destroyed the tracking device, according to a statement by Botswana Wildlife Producers Association chairman Basimane Masire. He went on to say that the professional hunter and owner of the elephant hunting license subsequently forfeited their hunting licenses and have cooperated with the official investigation.
The Botswana Government’s Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism confirmed yesterday that professional hunter Michael Lee Potter and Botswana citizen Michael Sharp, a citizen who holds the hunting license, claimed not to have noticed that the large bull elephant had a research collar around its neck.
Collared elephant bulls are usually older animals with large tusks, making them attractive hunting trophies. Despite the hunting of collared elephants being contrary to most trophy hunting ethics protocols, and often illegal, incidents of this occurring are not infrequent.
Journalist Don Pinnock reported in Daily Maverick that Zimbabwe professional hunter Adrian Read had the following to say about trophy hunters claiming not to notice that their targets carried research collars: “The collar is very visible from the front as well as from the sides. And you wouldn’t shoot an elephant facing directly away from you because you have to assess the tusk size. In my opinion, anyone shooting a collared elephant and saying he did not see the collar can only be shooting after dark (which is illegal).”
The elephant hunt took place in a remote area known as NG3, near the Botswana/Namibia border post of Dobe
Included in the reasoning provided by the Botswana government when they made this decision, was that elephants would be hunted in areas with high incidences of elephant-human conflict so that the local people derive benefits from the hunts. In his report, Pinnock continues that a representative of the local San people, Dahem Xixae, explained “We have no conflict. Only the hunters are the winners here, whereas local poor people remain in sorrow… There’s no benefit to the community from the hunting of elephants and there are dangers. First of all, the Ju/’hoansi do not eat elephants, because elephants behave like human beings. The five elephants hunted were not transients but local ones. This will make the (other elephants) more aggressive and if any were wounded they will be very dangerous to the local community.” Xixae went on to say that “his community was not advised of this elephant hunt”.
For further information about the process leading up to the decision by the Botswana government to resume the hunting of elephants and other species read this compendium of articles.
Lions in Gorongosa National Park (Mozambique) are benefitting from better conservation measures, and show a population increase to 146, the nature reserve announced on Wednesday.
“It is something I have not seen in the seven years we have studied the lion population,” Paola Bouley, deputy director of conservation, who leads the park’s Carnivores Project told Lusa.
According to a statement distributed on Wednesday, 13 new young males have travelled through the central area of Gorongosa Park, underscoring the importance of a growing lion population for biodiversity.
“The lions are sentinels. When conditions are bad, they suffer the first impact, but when life goes well, they recover quickly and that’s what we’re seeing,” Paola Bouley added.
Unlike in the past, none of the new males has been caught in traps. Before 2015, one-third of the lions in the park were captured, mutilated or killed by human activities, but the Gorongosa inspectors have turned the situation around, the deputy director said.
“They provide the lions with the security they need to prosper,” she added.
African lions in the wild have fallen 70% in the last 50 years and disappeared from an area corresponding to 80% of their historically occupied space, the statement added.
Gorongosa National Park is Mozambique’s main wildlife national park, located at the southern end of the East African Rift Valley. It is home to some of the most biologically rich and geologically diverse ecosystems on the continent and is co-managed by the Government of Mozambique and the Gorongosa Project.
“The Park integrates conservation and human development with the understanding that a healthy ecosystem and healthy human communities are two sides of the same coin,” the statement said.
A total of 5,645 kilometres… That is 845 km more than the distance across the United States of America, 2,500 km further when travelling east to west across Australia, and 2,845 km more than the distance across South Africa. That distance does not even count all the little trips in between, including the time spent travelling to and from the various holding sites along the way.
Three countries and 5,645 km later, it all comes down to this moment… The gate is pulled open, and everyone holds their breath, waiting. Cell phones set to video mode are held out, GoPros and professional cameras held steady. All eyes are on the impala leg just outside the gate of the holding boma (enclosure) – a lure, an offering, one last easy meal before the uncertainty of hunting in the wild. After what feels like an eternity, a flash of spotted gold races out of the gate and passes the free meal. He then stops, briefly assessing the situation and his newfound freedom. The large male doubles back and grabs the leg before disappearing into the bush.
Smiles break out throughout the group, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. It has been a long journey of 5,645 km and now the first wild cheetah in southern Malawi in over 90 years has left his footprints in the soil.
Moments later, the sound of branches snapping and a bushbuck races past us, barking loudly, with a spotted predator in pursuit. There is a new danger on the block. The cheetah gives up his half-hearted attempt on the bushbuck and heads back to the meat that does not require chasing. He eats a portion and then heads off past ancient baobabs to explore his new home in Majete Wildlife Reserve.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, over 100,000 cheetahs roamed Africa and Asia, but by the end of that century, the wild cheetah population had reduced to 15,000. Currently, the total population is estimated at 7,100 adult and adolescent animals, with 4,297 living in Southern Africa, 2,290 in Eastern Africa and 457 in Western, Central, and Northern Africa. Cheetahs are listed as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN Red List and have been eradicated from 90 percent of their historical range in Africa, while in Malawi the entire population was extirpated in the 1980s after decades of habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and poaching.
Now, in a bid to restore what once was, a collaboration between African Parks, the Malawian Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), and the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has allowed five carefully selected cheetahs to be successfully reintroduced into Malawi’s Majete Wildlife Reserve – with the hopes that this crucial founder population will help to grow the population range of this vulnerable big cat.
The cheetahs were donated by Welgevonden, Samara, Dinokeng and Madikwe game reserves in South Africa. Each individual was carefully selected via the EWT’s Cheetah Metapopulation Project, which creates safe spaces for cheetahs while managing populations across reserves to ensure genetic diversity. This reintroduction of five wild cheetahs, in conjunction with a successful reintroduction into Liwonde National Park in 2017, now increases the nation’s total population to 20 individuals. These translocation initiatives are critical for the preservation of the species – and they help to promote tourism, which generates vital funding for the parks and local communities.
The most recent move of a female cheetah – named ‘Samara’ – to Majete was by vehicle in a bakkie (pickup truck). Vincent van der Merwe (EWT Cheetah Metapopulation Project manager and National Geographic Explorer), Johann “Vossie” Vorster (National Geographic filmmaker) and I crossed three international borders to relocate her from South Africa to Malawi. The cheetah was a trooper as her transport container bounced along poorly maintained roads, waiting at border posts for all the correct documents to be checked over by officials, and travelling day and night for over 55 hours. At the border posts, people would gather around to try and get a glimpse of what was in the wooden boxed labelled with African Parks and EWT stickers. Rumours of leopards and tigers were whispered amongst the crowds.
DID YOU KNOW that African Parks offers safari camps (lodges and campsites) where 100% of tourism revenue goes to conservation and local communities? Find out more and book your African Parks safari.
Travelling through Tete in Mozambique was the warmest part of the journey, but thanks to Vincent’s innovative thinking, we rigged up a system to deliver cool air conditioning from the bakkie directly into the cheetah’s container. This kept her from overheating during the hot portions of the trip.
Many cups of coffee, packets of pistachios and power bars later we made our way down the winding roads to Majete’s gate, where the cheetah was able to stretch her legs in the holding boma. Here she will remain for a few weeks as she acclimatizes to her new surroundings, as did the other cheetahs before their release into the wilds of Majete. We have high hopes for this female and for the four other cheetahs who have travelled such vast distances to make this reintroduction dream come true.
Read more about cheetahs here: The Cheetah, and continue reading below for information about Majete, African Parks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust.
When African Parks assumed responsibility of Malawi’s Majete Wildlife Reserve in 2003, the park was practically devoid of all wildlife, and the charcoal trade was driving the systematic removal of trees. Since then, Majete has become a case study for positive conservation development, with a pioneering rehabilitation and restocking programme that has set a precedent for similar projects across Africa. Today, Majete is flourishing, so much so that wildlife is being moved to populate other parks and private reserves within Malawi. Within five years of African Parks taking responsibility for the reserve, over 2,000 animals had been reintroduced, including black rhinos in 2003; elephants in 2006; lions in 2012, and a host of other wildlife – making this budding reserve Malawi’s only Big 5 destination with now more than 12,200 animals thriving within its perimeter.
Park management has maintained a 15-year track record of zero poaching of rhinos and elephants since their introduction; and tourism has increased 14 percent from last year, with over 9,000 visitors (half of whom were Malawian nationals) – bringing in over US$550,000 to the reserve and communities.
Although Majete is open all year-round, the weather conditions vary according to the season. The wet season occurs from November to March, while the dry season runs from April to October. Temperatures range from 11 to 40 degrees Celsius, depending on the season.
ABOUT AFRICAN PARKS
African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks – in partnership with governments and local communities. Africa’s largest NGO (based on counter-poaching presence and area under protection), African Parks manages 15 national parks and protected areas in nine countries – covering over 10.5 million hectares in Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Zambia.
African Parks and Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) have been working closely together to rehabilitate habitat and restore biodiversity to the country’s parks since 2003 when a public-private partnership was formed for the management of Majete. African Parks subsequently assumed management of Liwonde (and Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve) in collaboration with DNPW in 2015, following the successful track record achieved in Majete.
ABOUT ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has worked tirelessly for over 45 years to save wildlife and habitats, with its vision being a world in which both humans and wildlife prosper in harmony with nature. From the smallest frog to the majestic rhino; from sweeping grasslands to arid drylands; from our shorelines to winding rivers: the EWT is working with you, to protect our world. The EWT’s team of field-based specialists is spread across southern and East Africa, where committed conservation action is needed the most.
Working with its partners, including businesses and governments, the EWT is at the forefront of conducting applied research, supporting community conservation and livelihoods, training and building capacity, addressing human-wildlife conflict, monitoring threatened species and establishing safe spaces for wildlife range expansion.
Jo is a carnivore ecologist based in South Africa. Born in America, her passion for wildlife and conservation resulted in her immigrating to Namibia and then on to South Africa, where she currently resides. Jo has worked for Panthera’s Leopard Program, running camera trap surveys looking at leopard populations, and freelances with various projects working on cheetah, painted wolf (African wild dog) and rhino conservation, as well as working as an Honorary Officer for North West Parks Board. Jo is currently working on her Masters in Conservation Biology through the University of Cape Town, looking at the influence of camera trap deployment on serval density estimates. She enjoys sharing her passion and inspiring others through her photography and stories. You can learn more about Jo’s projects and see more of her photos on her website, her Instagram or her Facebook page.
Uganda birding offers a feast of rare and colourful species, and the chance to improve dramatically on your species life list. More than 1,065 bird species inhabit a range of habitats – from montane forests to wetlands, agricultural lands, lakes and savannahs. Uganda is on the equator, and the endemic species-rich Albertine Rift valley separates the west of the country from DR Congo and Rwanda, so expect impressive biodiversity.
In no particular order, here are arguably the best birding spots in Uganda:
1. Mabamba Swamp at Lake Victoria
Mabamba Swamp is one of the best places to catch a glimpse of the highly-prized shoebill. Lake Victoria is the largest freshwater body in Africa and is home to about 260 bird species. Look out for the shoebill, blue swallow, pallid harrier, papyrus gonolek, swamp flycatcher, pigmy goose, lesser jacana, white-winged warbler, Viellot’s weaver, grosbeak weaver, palm-nut vulture, black-headed weaver, northern brown-throated weaver, Clarke’s weaver and Carruther’s cisticola.
Bwindi is the heart and soul of Ugandan birding, the make-and-breaker of bird lists and the home of many endemic and rare bird species. This forested heaven boasts about 350 species, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics of which 14 are not recorded anywhere else in Uganda.
The forest trails around Buhoma are ALIVE with opportunity as you stand your best chance to catch a glimpse of olive long-tailed cuckoo, bar-tailed trogon, dusky tit, Abyssinian (Kivu) groundthrush, white-bellied robin-chat, equatorial akalat, grey-chested iladopsis, red-throated alethe, white-bellied crested flycatcher, white-eyed slaty flycatcher, the enigmatic Chapin’s flycatcher, white-browed crombec, Neumann’s warbler, black-faced prinia, handsome francolin, Jameson’s antpecker, black-faced rufous warbler, northern double-collared sunbird, Willcock’s honeyguide, black bee-eater, black-billed weaver, magpie mannikin and newly described Willard’s sooty boubou.
Scan snags and canopy contours for sooty flycatcher and forest starlings – including Waller’s, Stuhlmann’s and narrow-tailed.
Transitional areas such as “The Neck,’ between Buhoma and Ruhiza are popular areas to look out for black sparrowhawk, western bronze-naped pigeon, cinnamon-chested bee-eater, Cassin’s honeybird, Petit’s cuckooshrike, white-chinned prinia, mountain wagtail, pink-footed puffback, the rare tiny sunbird and the dapper brown-capped weaver.
Away from the indigenous forests, amongst pioneer vegetation fringing the tea estates you can strike it lucky with the highly sought-after dusky twinspot, yellow-bellied, Kandt’s and black-crowned waxbills, streaky and thick-billed seedeaters, western citril and yellow-crowned canary, noisy Chubb’s cisticola, alert Mackinnon’s shrikes, and with luck marvel at a sigh of the striking Doherty’s bushshrike.
Ruhija is your next hotspot in Bwindi, and although the walk down to Mubwindi Swamp is not for the faint-hearted, this is an obligate pilgrimage for the serious birder, since it is down there that resides the MOST coveted of Bwindi’s Albertine Rift endemics …. the rare and localised Grauer’s broadbill, one of Africa’s most sought-after birds. This globally threatened species is only known from two sites in the world, the other being a remote forest in eastern DR Congo.
Other species to watch out for in Ruhija include Carruthers’s cisticola and the localised Grauer’s swamp warbler, red-chested flufftail, black-billed turaco, barred long-tailed cuckoo, white-headed wood-hoopoe, western tinkerbird, olive woodpecker, thick-billed and the elusive dwarf honeyguide, black saw-wing, grey cuckooshrike, olive-breasted and yellow-streaked greenbuls, Abyssinian thrush, white-starred robin, Archer’s ground-robin, stripe-breasted tit, mountain illadopsis, Rwenzori hill-babbler, mountain masked, Rwenzori, and chestnut-throated apalises, cinnamon bracken, mountain yellow, red-faced woodland and Grauer’s warblers, white-tailed blue flycatcher, yellow-eyed black flycatcher, Rwenzori batis, mountain sooty boubou, the rare Lagden’s bushshrike, Sharpe’s starling, mountain oriole, strange weaver, and oriole finch. Flowering symphonias attract the incredible blue-headed, regal and scarce purple-breasted sunbirds, all highly desired Albertine Rift endemics. Dusky, red-faced and the phantom-like Shelley’s crimsonwing occur here too.
As the sun sets, Ruhija offers your best-bet Rwenzori Nightjar, African wood owl, and if you are exceptionally fortunate, the rare Fraser’s eagle-owl.
Murchison Falls is Uganda’s oldest and largest national park, named after the mighty waterfall of the same name – formed as the mighty Nile River is forced through a 7-metre gap in the rocks. The park is home to about 450 bird species, and birding can be done on a game drive, via a boat trip (on the Nile) or a nature walk. Habitat types include forest, swamp, riverine woodland, palm savannah and acacia-dotted plains.
The riverine thickets hold white-crested turaco, double-toothed barbet, red-throated bee-eater, Heuglin’s francolin, brown babbler, silverbird, buff-bellied warbler, black-headed batis, and bar-breasted firefinch. Puvel’s illadopsis can also found near the chimp researchers’ camp. There is plenty of open palm savannah, which is an excellent haunt for Abyssinian ground-hornbill, Senegal lapwing, Shelley’s rufous sparrow and the strange-looking piapiac. The Nile delta is of course home to the near-mythical shoebill stork. Night drives can produce a plethora of species such as pennant-winged and standard-winged nightjar and greyish eagle-owl.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is a birdwatcher’s haven, with about 600 bird species across a variety of habitats – from sprawling savannah to dense forest, lakes and wetlands.
Moving from Ishasha to Mweya you will do well keeping an eye out for African crake, blue-throated roller, flappet lark, sooty chat, black-and-white shrike-flycatcher, northern black flycatcher, black-headed gonolek, moustached grass warbler, red-chested sunbird, and slender-billed weaver. And along the banks of the Kasinga channel, you can expect grey crowned-crane, hamerkop, African jacana, flocks of African skimmer, gull-billed tern, and grey-headed and lesser black-backed gulls.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is home to about 180 bird species, including some of the spectacular Albertine Rift endemics. It is located in the southern part of Uganda, bordering Rwanda and DR Congo and comprises dense highland forest on the slopes of 3 extinct volcanoes. Mgahinga offers excellent bird viewing opportunities along the gorge trail, bamboo trail and farm/community trail. The bird species to look out for include Kivu ground thrush, handsome francolin, dusky crimsonwing, red-throated alethe, blue-headed coucal, Rwenzori nightjar, Rwenzori batis, Archer’s robin chat, black-headed waxbill, western green tinkerbird and stripe-breasted tit.
Semuliki National Park, in the Albertine Rift Valley of western Uganda, has about 440 species in its riverine, forest and grasslands avian habitats. It hosts Guinea-Congo biome species in its lowland forest. The species to look out for include the Congo serpent-eagle, long-tailed hawk, African piculet, Maxwell’s black weaver, blue-billed malimbe, yellow-throated nicator, black dwarf hornbill, Nkulengu rail, piping hornbill, yellow-throated cuckoo, dwarf honeyguide, orange weaver, white-crested hornbill, red-billed dwarf hornbill, black-wattled hornbill, lyre-tailed honeyguide, capuchin babbler and swamp palm bulbul.
7. Kibale National Park
Kibale Forest is a prime birding spot with about 375 bird species, including six Albertine Rift endemics. It is an excellent birding spot with habitats ranging from wet and dry tropical forest to woodland and savannah. The number one sought-after bird in the Kibale Forest is the green-breasted pitta. This “mega” has recently become available, though finding it still takes a good measure of luck.
Kibale offers an impressive bag of goodies replete with gems such as various forest robins, scores of brown and scaly-breasted illadopses, brown-chested alethe, phantom-like black-eared and Abyssinian ground-thrushes, joyful and Toro olive greenbuls, black-bellied seedcracker, collared and black-capped apalis, grey-throated, yellow-spotted and yellow-billed barbets, blue-throated roller, black bee-eater, crowned eagle, red-chested owlet, African grey parrot, African finfoot, afep and white-naped pigeons and the comical, hulking great blue turaco.
The Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary within the park is a great haunt for specials such as speckled tinkerbird, speckle-breasted woodpecker, white-spotted flufftail, snowy-crowned robin-chat, Bocage’s bushshrike, and western nicator. Nearby patches of papyrus support the shy and cautious white-winged swamp-warbler.
The Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda are home to about 220 bird species, including 19 Albertine Rift endemics, with habitats ranging from high elevation forest and open montane grasslands, to peat bogs, snowfields and glaciers. The mountains lie in western Uganda, with snowcapped peaks reaching 5,110m. Most of the birding in the forest zone and species to see include Rwenzori turaco, long-eared owl, Archers’ robin-chat, Lagden’s bush-shrike, blue-headed and golden-winged sunbird, white-starred robin, slender-billed starling, cinnamon-chested bee-eater and bearded vulture.
Birding is one of the major activities in Lake Mburo National Park, and the best spots for birding are near the lake swamps at Warukiri and Rwonyo. Other habitats include dry hillsides, rocky outcrops and dense savannah. The park is home to about 320 bird species, which include red-faced barbet, brown parrot, barefaced go-away bird, black-billed barbet, blue-napped mousebird, Nubian woodpecker, papyrus canary, papyrus gonolek, African finfoot and shoebill.
There are a few very localised species in Uganda that only occur in Mburo, and topping that list are red-faced barbet, Tabora cisticola, green-capped eremomela, golden-tailed woodpecker, spot-flanked barbet, and grey penduline tit.
At the lake swamps, the main targets are African finfoot, papyrus gonolek, white-winged warbler, African water rail and white-backed night-heron. Yellow-throated leaflove chatter loquaciously in dense, waterside thickets and giant kingfishers wait patiently on overhanging branches.
Mixed woodlands are best for Coqui francolin, black-bellied bustard, African wattled plover, brown parrot, red-headed lovebird, barefaced go-away-bird, blue-napped mousebird, lilac-breasted and broad-billed roller, green wood-hoopoe, common scimitarbill, Narina trogon, Nubian woodpecker, trilling cisticola, northern black flycatcher, chin-spot batis, rufous-chested swallow, yellow-throated longclaw and southern red bishop.
Small numbers of the migratory brown-chested plover are regularly observed in the grasslands that access the park, in addition to the impressive Abyssinian ground-hornbill. Night drives may reveal African scops owl, marsh owl, Verreaux’s eagle owl, swamp and pennant-winged nightjars.
10. Budongo Forest
Budongo Forest has two main sections – Kaniyo Pabidi (Murchison Falls National Park), and the Royal Mile and Busingiro areas found south of Murchison. It lies at the edge of the Albertine Rift valley, protecting the most extensive natural forest area in East Africa. Budongo is home to about 360 bird species. At Royal mile look out for the elusive and skulking Nahan’s francolin, the fleeting Cassin’s spinetail, and the dainty chestnut-capped flycatcher. Also search for the stunning chocolate-backed, blue-breasted and African dwarf kingfishers. The forest is full of illadopses and alethes, and the diversity of greenbuls here is simply incredible. But for those who don’t fancy cryptic birds, there are plenty of more colourful species such as the white-thighed hornbill and black bee-eater. Other species include Cassin’s hawk-eagle, Ituri batis, black-collared lovebird and brown twinspot.
For your next Uganda birding adventure, consider these accommodation options at the best prices: private travel & conservation club. If you are not yet a member, see how to JOIN below this story.
Wildlife campaigners at Humane Society International/Africa are celebrating a South African High Court ruling that grants extended protection for Riff Raff, an elephant dubbed a “problem” animal for trampling fences erected through his range in Limpopo. As elephants and people increasingly compete for land across South Africa, landowners often resort to lethal solutions to eliminate the problem. That is unjustified, says HSI/Africa, particularly when a reserve more than 400 km away is offering Riff Raff a new home.
HSI/Africa and its partner Global Supplies have been working for more than two years to save the 40+ year-old, dominant male elephant from destruction after a landowner applied to have him shot. Riff Raff was declared a damage-causing animal by the provincial environmental government for trampling fences to gain access to land that has been his core bull zone for more than half his adult life. The fences were erected by a landowner on Riff Raff’s reserve in 2016, directly excluding him from this long-established area of land to which, as one of the oldest and most dominant bulls on the property, he was genetically hard-wired to return.
To save Riff Raff, HSI/Africa and Global Supplies relocated him to another reserve last year, but it was too close to his historical range and he walked the 64 km journey back home. When a new destruction permit was applied for, and the campaigners’ request to relocate Riff Raff to a new reserve 400 km away was rejected by the Limpopo government, they asked the High Court to intervene and review the decision. Judge President Makgoba has now granted Riff Raff extended protection at his current reserve, pending a full review next year. The new location, being much further away, in a new terrain and with new females, where Riff Raff would be the most dominant bull, mimics bull’s natural dispersal to areas outside of their natal range, and therefore has greater chances of success.
Across Africa, elephants are under threat from poaching, trophy hunting, habitat encroachment and climate change, and should be protected wherever possible. HSI/Africa believes that Riff Raff’s ranging behaviour is nothing more than normal bull elephant instinct. As current legal definitions of so-called damage-causing animals fail to take this natural behaviour into account, it has become easy for landowners to exploit this behaviour to have elephants on their land destroyed.
Audrey Delsink, HSI/Africa’s wildlife director and an elephant behaviourist who has studied Riff Raff for more than 20 years, said: “We are deeply relieved at the High Court’s decision to grant Riff Raff an extended stay of execution and the chance of a new life. He has come to symbolise an ever-increasing human-elephant conflict in South Africa that all too often ends with elephants paying the price. People and elephants increasingly compete for the same space, with lethal solutions sadly seen as the easiest and quickest option. Lethal management interventions, particularly in the case of human-elephant conflict, should be the absolute last resort and never employed where any other humane alternative exists. We share this land with these magnificent giants, it should be utterly unthinkable to kill them simply because to do so is easier than managing the land in a way that considers their normal biological drivers.”
HSI/Africa is extremely thankful to its attorneys, Lawton’s Africa, and to Advocate Mpho Sethaba and Lebogang Phaladi for their pro-bono services on Riff Raff’s case. The elephant’s final fate will be determined next year, when the 2018 decision not to allow his relocation will be reviewed by the court.
With a record-breaking, never-before-seen 29,887 entries received for our Photographer of the Year 2019 competition, our judges had an incredibly tough time deciding on our winner and runners-up. But at the end of the day, it was the pure macro-magic of Eraine van Schalkwyk’s jumping spider that caught the eye of our judges, and she was crowned our winner for 2019.
What made this image stand out head-and-shoulders above the other macro entrants was that she managed to include so much of the habitat in her capture. So often macro photography involves tight focus and shallow depth of field, where only the subject is clear. This tiny predator appears to be surfing in a tube wave, as it gazes straight at the camera. This added sense of place makes this an excellent image.
And so we launch our Photographer of the Year 2020 by sharing with you a selection of reigning Photographer of the Year Eraine’s stunning photos, along with her thoughts on photographing spiders. Do enjoy this magnificent gallery and we look forward to another successful year of celebrating wildlife photography with you all!
? The winning image: This friendly, 1cm in length, jumping spider (Hyllus sp.) was found wandering in leaf litter. Jumping spiders are curious creatures, and often intrigued by the camera flash. They are harmless to humans. Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/9 | 1/250 | ISO 400)
“We are beginning to learn that each animal has a life and a place and a role in this world. If we place compassion and care in the middle of all our dealings with the animal world and honour and respect their lives, our attitudes will change” ~ Jane Goodall
A few years ago, while visiting Punda Maria camp in northern Kruger National Park, I stood on the bed, shoe in hand, trying to figure out the best approach to kill the spider that was on the floor. We often fear that which we do not understand – I knew little of these tiny creatures and yet I was frightened of them. It was only when my knowledge grew that my fear diminished and was replaced with curiosity.
I’m fortunate to have grown up in a family of nature enthusiasts who frequent national parks around South Africa and had a grandfather whose passion and knowledge of nature photography inspired my parents and myself. I’ve always had a great love and appreciation for the natural world and its inhabitants, but never quite respected spiders in the same way.
?Jumping spider (Asemonea sp.), St. Lucia, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/9 | 1/400 | ISO 400)
?Male jumping spider (Harmochirusluculentus)with a brush of hair on front legs. Sabiepark Private Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/10 | 1/250 | ISO 400)
?As they are already skittish, photographing spiders with prey is a gamble, getting in closer with a lens often results in spiders abandoning their food. This Tusitala sp. jumping spider allowed me to take photographs as I watched it completely shred its prey to pieces. Sabiepark Private Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/9 | 1/500 | ISO 400)
?Green pea spider (Araneus apricus) with prey. These spiders build their webs at night to catch flying and jumping insects. The web is then removed early in the morning, and the spider retreats to a cluster of leaves close to the web site. Sabiepark Private Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens (f/9 | 1/250 | ISO 400)
South Africa is home to about 2,200 described species of spiders, and only a few of those are known to produce a bite that requires medical attention. An individual’s response to spider venom depends on many factors including age, health and sensitivity to the venom (much like people vary in sensitivity to a bee sting). Should a spider bite you, it would be out of self-defence or when they feel threatened, such as when they become trapped between clothes and the skin, or if they are aggravated.
?Myrmarachne ichneumon male jumping spider (left) mimicking a Tetraponera sp. ant (right). Ant-mimicking jumping spiders have physical and behavioural modifications to look like ants. Some ant mimics, like the Myrmarachne, gain protection by living near ants, while others mimic them to feed on them. Taken in iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Both photographed with Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens. Left: (f/10 | 1/250 | ISO 500), Right: (f/9 | 1/250 | ISO 400)
With a taste for insects, spiders perform the essential ecological role of controlling insect populations, including those that damage wild vegetation and our crops, and insects capable of spreading diseases like mosquitoes. Spiders are a food source for a variety of animals, including other invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. The food web is very intricate, and the removal of spiders from the food chain could have a devastating effect on the rest of the food chain.
Armed with new knowledge, I set out to explore spiders and found that they’re not the malicious creatures I once thought they were. From the first time that I looked into the eyes of a jumping spider, their beauty and quizzical gaze captivated me.
?Crab spider (Thomisus stenningi) patiently awaiting its next meal on a water lily. Females of this species can change their colour and are often found on flowers of the same shade. Their cryptic colouration allows these spiders to fool their prey, ambushing them when they stray too near, as well as to escape predators. Sabiepark Private Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/9 | 1/250 | ISO 400)
?I spotted this Heliophanus sp. jumping spider on a beautiful pink and white flower and thought it had the potential to make a lovely image. On my approach, it ran off into the leaves, but its curiosity of the light bouncing off my flash allowed for a few photographs. Sabiepark Private Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/9 | 1/320 | ISO 400)
?Jumping spider (Langelurillus squamiger), on a lichen landscape. Cape Vidal, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/10 | 1/250 | ISO 500)
?Jumping spider (Hyllus treleaveni) with a processionary caterpillar as prey photographed against a windowpane. Sabiepark Private Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens (f/8 | 1/160 | ISO 400)
?A Cyclosa insulana juvenile spider in an orb-web decorated with a circular stabilimentum. Skukuza Indigenous Nursery, Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens (f/9 | 1/200 | ISO 400)
That’s how I found myself reflecting in the same room in Pundu Maria, where I had once dispatched a harmless wall spider. I was here again, but with a different goal in mind. I wanted to photograph spiders, and hopefully take people with the same fear I once had on a journey with these spectacular, misunderstood creatures.
I started photographing spiders using an Olloclip for my iPhone and currently use a Canon 70D and Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens, Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX Flash and MagMod diffusers. All my images are handheld and single exposures (not stacked). All spiders are photographed in their natural habitat.
? Left: A well-camouflaged crab spider (Oxytate argenteooculata). Sabiepark Private Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/9 | 1/250 | ISO 400); Top right: Fish-eating spiders are found at freshwater sources where they feed on tadpoles, adult frogs and aquatic invertebrates. I watched this Nilus massajae eyeing an Argus reed frog – I wonder if it had it for dinner! St. Lucia, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens (f/13 | 1/250 | ISO 400); Bottom right: Lynx spider (Oxyopes jacksoni). Lynx spiders are so named because of the way they hunt – they run over vegetation and jump on their prey. Sabiepark Private Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/8 | 1/250 | ISO 400)
?Jumping spider (Thyene sp.) on a tree trunk. Mkuze Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/11 | 1/250 | ISO 400)
?Crab spider (Thomisus granulatus) on the exposed roots of a fever tree. Sabiepark Private Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/9 | 1/200 | ISO 400)
?Jumping spider (Phintella sp.) at the base of a bold and beautiful tree trunk. I’ve seen this species of jumping spider maybe a dozen times or so. My first attempts left me with no images and very disappointed as they had scampered away. This Phintella was comparatively relaxed and allowed me to get close. Sabiepark Private Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/8 | 1/250 | ISO 400)
Photography is a powerful means of communication. Macro photography allows me to capture detailed images of living organisms that are too small to be appreciated with the naked eye.
I want to thank Africa Geographic for providing the platform to show some of my images of spiders, and hope that these photographs will contribute towards an appreciation and understanding of them. Spiders and other tiny creatures are as magnificent as Africa’s bigger wildlife and are just as worthy of being respected and protected.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I’m indebted to Prof. Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman for fact-checking and assistance with spider identification, and Vida van der Walt and Prof. Charles Haddad for assistance with spider identification.
?One of my very first and favourite photographs. Jumping spider (Branchus mustelus). Sabiepark Private Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro lens (f/8 | 1/100 | ISO 400)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, Eraine van Schalkwyk
Eraine holds a degree in Microbiology, and it is during the zoology part of her course that she learned more about spiders, prompting her interest in spider photography. For the past two and a half years, she has spent most of her free time searching for and photographing these interesting creatures. To see more of her photographs take a look at her website, and her Facebook and Instagram pages.
Namibia is bestowed with many true wilderness areas where the hand of man is hardly noticeable. Spending time in Namibia’s wild nature is a true blessing for the soul and a visual feast – especially during the golden hours of the day. We’d like to inspire you with a selection of our images where we’ve captured Namibia’s extraordinary light.
The far south of Namibia is very rugged and isolated. Only the hardiest of plants, such as quiver trees, survive and even thrive in this region. During the day the landscape often appears bleak in the harsh light, but for a brief time at sunrise and sunset the scenery becomes magical with stunning colours, shapes and silhouettes.
When you sit on top of Elim Dune in the late afternoon, the view is simply breathtaking. Towards the west the dunes stretch as far as the eyes can see, while towards the east you are rewarded with a magnificent view over the gravel plains towards the mighty Naukluft Mountains.
Even though Elim Dune lies very close to Sesriem camp, only three kilometres away, it is truly part of the Namib Desert – one of the most impressive wilderness destinations in the world.
In the late dry season when thousands of thirsty animals visit Etosha’s waterholes daily, the hooves of springbok and gemsbok visiting at sunset kick up huge dust clouds from the trampled soil, which make for great backlight images against the setting sun.
The Etosha National Park in northern Namibia is one of the prime destinations for wildlife enthusiasts. Even though it is fenced and many of its waterholes are artificial, it can be considered a true wilderness area because of its enormous size (22,915 square kilometres) and the minimal influence by man (be it the park’s management, visitors, or the farmers living around the park).
In the rainy season, when dramatic storm clouds cover the sky, a rare thunderstorm over Spitzkoppe at sunset paints the landscape in pink.
Although Spitzkoppe is not a true wilderness area, you quickly get the feeling of being stranded on an isolated island when you climb up the steep granite mountain or camp in a sheltered spot.
The lilac-breasted roller must be one of the most colourful birds occurring in Namibia. Its bright shades of olive green, orange, lilac, pink and blue are in stark contrast to the earthy tones of the savannah – its favourite habitat – and make it a beautiful photographic motif for wildlife photographers.
When you stay an entire day at Sossusvlei, you’ll witness the most dramatic colour changes on the dunes. During the day, when the sun stands high in the sky, the terrain looks rather bleak and washed out. During the golden hours at sunrise and sunset, however, the sand glows in magnificent shades of orange, transforming the landscape into a magical desert world.
The vast dune sea of the Namib Desert is one of the driest desert regions on the planet. Despite the fact that the area around Sossusvlei is a tourist-magnet because of its beauty and accessibility, the actual impact of man on this magnificent, protected national park, the Namib-Naukluft Park, is negligible.
Watching a herd of elephants approaching a waterhole and spending time to drink, bath, play and socialise nearby is the epitome of a true wilderness experience.
At Halali waterhole you can enjoy this spectacle from a vantage point inside the camp 24/7. At the height of the dry season elephant herds with babies prefer to visit the waterhole at the end of a hot day. With the setting sun basking the dusty scene in radiating warm light, this affords photographers great opportunities for capturing atmospheric images.
Observing the sunrise from top of a dune is a magical experience. The radiating orange colours of the landscape leaves you speechless, and the sense of wilderness is tangible when you sit with your feet dug into the cool sand, engulfed by absolute quietness and peace.
Being out at first light in Etosha’s wilderness is equally rewarding. Watching the sun rise behind a lone acacia tree in an array of pink, lilac and orange colours is a wonderful experience. Paying attention to the large expanse of the Etosha Pan on the horizon helps one comprehend the vastness of this grand place.
As the sun sets, a herd of gemsbok moves towards the Naukluft Mountains for their nightly rest. There is a short window of time when the scenery is transformed into heavenly pastel colours just before the sun disappears beyond the horizon.
The Fish River Canyon is an area of extremes in temperatures and also in beauty. Whilst the rugged terrain appears bleak and inhospitable during noon, it looks rather mysterious and inviting around dusk and dawn.
The early morning light in the Namib Desert is not only good for rich and warm colours, but also brings out the diverse textures and patterns of the landscape. The great escarpment (as seen in the background of the above photo) runs south to north along most of western Namibia has for the most part has very rugged terrain with hardly any human influence.
Want to go on safari to Namibia? To find lodges, search for our ready-made packages or get in touch with our travel team to arrange your safari, scroll down to after this story.
The wild addax antelope (Addax nasomaculatus) is perhaps the loneliest mammal on the planet. These majestic, snow-white (in summer) antelope once roamed in abundance across North Africa but poaching and industrialisation pushed the wild population to the brink of extinction. By 2016 just three remained in the wild, and they were only discovered after a 700 km ground search and a 3,200 km aerial survey led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Now the species is about to get a second chance.
The Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi plans to bring back the antelope from the knife-edge of extinction with the re-introduction of addax antelope bred in captivity. Just recently the agency flew 15 addax by cargo plane from the UAE to Chad, where they will be acclimatised in a holding boma before their release into the wild later this year.
The addax is perfectly adapted to surviving in one of the most extreme climates in the world – the desert. They have broad hooves that enable them to travel efficiently on fine desert sand and a white coat that reflects the harsh rays of the sun. The species is so spectacularly adapted to dry environments that it can get most of the water it needs from a diet of grass, tubers and desert scrub.
Over a period of six years (from 2010) the wild population plummeted from 200 to just three when its habitat became a region of drug and weapon smuggling and illegal wildlife trade after the 2011 political collapse in Libya. Oil installations by China National Petroleum Corporation wreaked havoc on its habitat, and poaching by the soldiers protecting the oil sites significantly increased in one of the species’ last safe havens in Niger, according to the IUCN.
The EAD hopes the reintroduction of the addax will emulate the success of the scimitar-horned oryx, which was reintroduced by the EAD in partnership with Chad and the Sahara Conservation Fund.
Today, 202 scimitar-horned oryx roam the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve Protected Area, following the birth of more than 40 calves this summer.
“We take great pride in the efforts being made to bring the scimitar-horned oryx back from the brink of extinction and to see our ‘World Herd’ of this species thriving once again in the desert regions of Chad,” said Dr Shaikha Al Dhaheri, the EAD Secretary-General.
Hundreds of oryx will be reintroduced over the course of a five-year programme. The programme’s success has affected the scale and ambition of future species projects, said Dr Al Dhaheri.
“Many lessons have been learnt since the inception of the programme and we hope that the valuable knowledge and technical expertise we gained will pave the way for the reintroduction of these other highly endangered antelope species into the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve.”
What is an art safari? It’s a safari where you learn to sketch wildlife quickly and confidently. It might seem a little intimidating, but it’s amazing how much your sketching can improve when you spend several hours each day practising. There are only six guests on each safari and artists with any level of experience are welcome. We sketch from our private vehicle on our twice-daily drives and I lead sketching and watercolour workshops at the lodge during the middle of the day. It’s a great way to improve your sketching, enjoy an amazing few days watching South Africa’s iconic wildlife, and meet like-minded travel companions. Non-sketching friends and partners are also welcome.
Find out about Greater Kruger for your next African safari. We have ready-made safaris to choose from, or ask us to build one just for you.
The following is a selection of guest reviews from our 2019 art safaris:
I really can’t say enough good about the art safari; it was FABULOUS! All that I had hoped for and more, and I am still revelling in the memories and reliving it through my sketches. I have no suggestions for improvement because I thought it was perfect. Thank you so much! ~ Melissa F.
I have just experienced the adventure of a lifetime. Africa Geographic and Alison Nicholls have put together a trip for Africa rookies and old-timers alike… I could not have created a better forum for Africa and my art. ~ Kelly G.
After a wonderful first two legs of my trip (Cape Town and Victoria Falls), I honestly thought that the trip could not get any better. Boy was I wrong. The art safari was one of the greatest experiences. ~ Sarah L.
Kambaku is a beautiful lodge. The staff were all wonderful and helpful. The safari drives were such amazing experiences and I will cherish those sweet memories forever. ~ Emily S.
The art safari far exceeded my expectations. The accommodations were top-notch, and the game drives were truly a lifetime experience. ~ Betsy W.
Thanks for such a wonderful workshop! I have more confidence now than before, for sure. I also love Alison’s demonstrations of watercolour painting with her unique style. ~ Emily S.
Alison asked us each individually what our goals were, and I shared that I really just wanted to try to sketch profiles of the animals and try to master that. However, by the end of the safari, I found myself enjoying sketching from life much more than from pictures, and really trying to sketch the animals from different angles. I really had such a wonderful time attempting this. ~ Sarah L.
Alison was a patient and versatile teacher. She did a great job of catering to students of different levels. ~ Betsy W.
The other members on the safari, I now consider friends. I plan to keep in touch with everyone and look forward to seeing everybody’s art. I left the art safari very sad that it was over, but also very happy because I now consider myself an artist. I plan to continue with my sketching, as well as experimenting with watercolour. The art safari is something that I would love to do again, and I would suggest to everybody I know to do something like this. ~ Sarah L.
The art safari with Alison Nicholls was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had! I grew so much as an artist and learned so much about art and African animals and birds. I really appreciated Alison’s approach to teaching art. She is very knowledgeable about the animals, birds and plants in South Africa. She was able to easily identify the areas where my sketching needed to improve. She had quick tricks and skills that made my ability to sketch moving animals much better. ~ Linda M.
It’s only one week until entries open for our Photographer of the Year 2020! We’re brimming with excitement about what gems will be unearthed this year, and to get in the mood, we’re showcasing another great gallery of adorably cute wild baby animals – from Photographer of the Year 2019. Our Photographer of the Year 2020 will officially open for entries on Friday, 29th November 2019 – details on how to enter will be available on the day!
Communities surrounding the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia often face huge losses due to elephant conflicts. The booming development of the Luangwa Valley has resulted in more farms and infrastructure being built, which has caused an increased level of human-wildlife conflict in the community. During the crop-growing season, elephants cross the Luangwa River and enter the surrounding villages, where they raid crop fields and damage property in their forage for food. This can result in devastating outcomes for local farmers who lose their livelihood, and the elephants who are met with negative retaliations.
To help mitigate this conflict, 20 volunteers from Conservation South Luangwa (CSL) have been using ‘chilli balls’ (ping pong balls filled with chilli oil) to deter elephants from crop fields. Volunteers in Kakumbi Chiefdom have been equipped with boots, rain jackets, overalls and torches to enable them to patrol high-risk zones that are likely to be raided by elephants. The volunteers patrol during the night as this is when the elephants are most active in the village.
Once an elephant begins to approach a crop field, the CSL volunteer ‘chilli patrollers’ fire a small chilli ball at the hindquarters of the elephant to deter it. The balls leave chilli oil on their skin, causing them no harm other than a mild discomfort due to the smell of chilli, which acts as enough of a deterrent.
The chilli blasters are simple devices, designed to deter but not hurt an elephant. To fire a chilli ball, the wide end chamber of the chilli blaster is unscrewed and a ping pong ball filled with chilli oil is placed inside it. Flammable insect spray is sprayed into the chamber, and then it is quickly closed. There is an igniter mounted at the back of the device which when clicked provides a spark that ignites the gas, firing the ping pong ball out of the narrow tube with a loud bang. For each round the device needs to be unscrewed and re-loaded. So the chilli patroller is careful to fire with control and make every shot count.
The ball explodes when it hits the hindquarters of the elephant, the gas quickly evaporates, leaving some chilli oil on the skin. When the elephant uses its trunk to investigate the spot, it finds the unpleasant chilli mixture. It usually takes a few attempts for the combination of the loud bang and the chilli oil to take effect, and for the elephant to decide to move on and feed elsewhere. The oil is then easily washed away when the elephant next mud bathes or sprays itself with water.
If communities are not supported in wildlife conflict zones, then they often resort to throwing rocks, fireworks, or will even use illegal firearms. All of these cause much more harm to elephants than the chilli patrollers with their blasters.
The chilli-patrolling efforts are utilised with chilli brick burning, elephant restraining fences, as well as the use of safe-grain stores which elephants cannot break into. These initiatives, combined with support from the local community, have been key to the success of the project. During this year’s farming season, over 3,000 incidences of human-elephant conflict were averted – 1,363 of these being in the Kakumbi Chiefdom.
Due to the success of the project, CSL are planning on increasing the number of patrollers to 30 for next year’s crop-growing season to continue working side by side with the community to minimise this conflict.
Emma Robinson, HWC Program Manager says: “The nine chilli patrollers achieved 1,333 man-nights, firing 839 chilli ping pong balls to deter over 1,363 elephants in four months. This real practical help makes such a difference to the farmers, who are supportive of the project. In return, they help the patrollers by clearing pathways to their fields, so they can move around easily and safely after dark. They also increase the patrollers’ effectiveness by raising an early warning when they see approaching elephants. Not surprisingly, it’s much easier to move an elephant on, before its found a plentiful supply of deliciousness.”
“Before the patrollers started, farmers could lose their entire harvest, whereas working with the chilli patrollers they will always harvest at least two bags of maize. We hope that by increasing the number of patrollers next year and adding a fourth chiefdom, we will be able to see the benefits of reduced human-elephant conflict, reaching even more farmers.”
OPINION POST by Audrey Delsink (Wildlife Director, Human Society International/Africa), Keith Lindsay (Collaborating Researcher, Amboseli Trust for Elephants), Adam Cruise (Journalist) and Ross Harvey (Independent Economist)
Despite local and international protestation, Zimbabwean authorities have gone ahead with exporting baby elephants from the country. In a clandestine act, thirty-two elephants were moved from their holding pens at Hwange National Park during the night of the 23rd of October and flown out of Victoria Falls on a Saudi Arabian Airlines Cargo plane, Saudia.
The other five (of the thirty-seven originally captured elephants) were deemed too unhealthy to travel, which in itself is an indictment on the Zimbabwean authorities for their inhumane handling of the situation. On several occasions, the Zimbabwean National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ZNSPCA) was denied access to the holding facilities, further demonstrating the lack of transparency surrounding this matter. Coincidentally – or more likely, purposefully – the elephants were flown out of the country on the same day as the ZNSPCA filed an urgent chamber application to gain access to the boma facility to assess the elephants’ condition following several delays. A legal case is currently before the courts, which argues that the export violates Zimbabwe’s national legislation. The case is yet to be heard by a judge. Therefore, the Zimbabwean Parks Authority (ZimParks’) decision to push ahead with the export demonstrates its distaste for accountability and the rule of law. The complainants are Zimbabwean NGOs whose members have shown bravery in standing up to a brutal authoritarian regime. To label them as being in the pockets of ‘animal rights’ organisations is as callous as it is inaccurate.
The young elephants were cruelly separated from their families nearly a year ago and have been held in captivity since then. They have now been sold to China, presumably to safari parks near Shanghai, the apparent port of arrival according to the cargo carrier’s flight path. As ZimParks has not provided any documentation, the final destination of the elephants cannot be confirmed, though it is alleged that the group will be further split into 12 smaller groups. In line with past form, the extraction of cash from the country’s remaining natural heritage is thought to go towards paying off debt owed to China or paying soldiers’ salaries (or both). China should know better, as it has recently initiated an ‘Ecological Civilisation’ programme, which inter alia discourages the purchase of ivory. To be consistent, this programme should be extended to discourage the viewing of wild animals in unnatural captivity, especially elephants. To their credit, Chinese activists have reacted with outrage at the new imports.
A recent fundraising event for wildlife by the Sino-Zim Wildlife Foundation demonstrates the deep tie between Zimbabwe and China. Headed by infamous wildlife trader Li Song and ZimParks, and supported by presentations from the Director-General and the Permanent Secretary of the Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, with a “donations” slot, this event, held on the 29th October, is a clear attempt to persuade the world that these sales somehow benefit wildlife conservation.
It is well within the bounds of conventional science to assert that this exercise in terrifying, brutal capture followed by decades in sterile conditions of captivity is a fate worse than death, as the affected elephants demonstrably suffer post-traumatic stress disorder. Elephants are highly social beings who require interaction with other elephant companions, large amounts of foraging and roaming space, environmental richness and freedom of choice. Human removal of any of these factors is tantamount to cruelty and abuse.
For this reason, members to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – at the 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP18) in Geneva in August this year – overwhelmingly decided that African elephants may no longer be removed from their natural or historic range except under extraordinary circumstances. This is the first time that the convention has recognised the importance of welfare in conservation. Despite detractors – mostly proponents of consumptive ‘sustainable use’ or ‘harvesting’ of wildlife – wailing that the decision reflects an ‘animal rightist’ agenda, there is no science that positively supports the extraction of a range of animals from their functional roles in natural ecosystems, akin to removing piece after piece from a jigsaw puzzle, or Jenga tower. There is also increasing legal precedent for recognising the importance of welfare as integral to conservation. In South Africa – still a hotbed for consumptive use and crude utilitarianism – the Constitutional Court ruled in 2016 that conservation and welfare are intertwined values. On the back of this ruling, the Gauteng provincial High Court ruled in August this year – shortly prior to CoP18 – that the sale of lion bones out of the country is illegal because it violates welfare considerations.
CITES Resolutions technically only come into effect 90 days from the end of a CoP, although this point is a ‘grey area’; sections of Resolutions that are not under Recommendation may come into effect immediately. In addition, the 90-day period is intended to allow time for States to confirm that national legislation or regulations are in line with the international ruling; not to allow a country to sell off its existing ‘stock’. Clearly, Zimbabwe rushed to sell its elephants before three months passed after CoP18 (26 November 2019), in direct violation of the spirit of the Convention. Being arguably within one’s ‘sovereign rights’ exhibits a mercenary mentality that undermines conservation. In this particular case, it is also immoral and obsolete.
A handful of southern African nations are crying foul regarding the CITES decision, especially because it complements another decision to maintain the international moratorium on the ivory trade. Rowan Martin has written, for instance, that CITES ‘does wildlife conservation no favours’. CITES clearly has its difficulties, but Martin’s misgivings have little to do with the governance and enforcement challenges facing the protection of species from extinction through over-exploitation. His is a philosophical misgiving, in which he axiomatically rejects any ruling that questions his predisposition towards consumptive use, something he deems to be a country’s ‘sovereign right’, whether or not it affects the survival of a species in other, even most, sovereign States across its geographical range.
It is this presuppositional commitment to consumptive use on which ZimParks has justified the sale of baby elephants to China. Hiding behind ‘sovereign rights’, the argument is that Zimbabwe answers to no one and can do with its elephants as it pleases. It further hides behind the view that there are ‘too many elephants’ which have exceeded the country’s ‘carrying capacity.’
These views must be debunked.
First, there is no such thing, scientifically, as ‘too many elephants.’ The concept is predicated on an agricultural notion that views national parks as farms that have a static ‘carrying capacity’, a term that has been applied to large mammals most commonly in the context of commercial livestock production. Martin’s perspective exhibits an aesthetic commitment to a utopian state of eternally attractive woodlands (normally with an idolisation of a perfect number of large trees). Almost any number of elephants, which forage naturally on woody plants, may thus be ignorantly viewed as marauding tree destroyers. Fluctuations of animal and tree populations, in the face of droughts, deluges or other disturbances are the prevailing drivers of highly variable semi-arid savannah ecosystems. Animal populations self-regulate in relation to their food supply through births and deaths, or dispersal. There is no basis for a fixed ‘carrying capacity’ for elephants, except in the mind of man.
ZimParks, confusingly, initially stated that the exports were not happening and that there was nothing secretive about it. They nonetheless took the opportunity to point out that the drought had killed 55 elephants, evidence somehow that there were tens of thousands ‘too many’ of them. To state the obvious, none of this adds up. As already noted, droughts are part of natural cycles that fluctuate, now exacerbated to greater extremes by climate change. Elephants, through their foraging, can change landscapes as ecosystem engineers, a keystone species. Their role is pivotal and irreplaceable. Left to disperse in large, dynamic ecosystems, they produce patch heterogeneity – uneven impact across a landscape – that keeps the system healthy.
Managing a dynamic ecosystem as if it is a farm necessarily obstructs the system’s ability to function through ecological processes. Culling, hunting and removal of baby elephants are justified as necessary management interventions under the premise that there are ‘too many’, but culling has been exposed, even by its initial proponents, as a cruel mistake. Hunting has genetically selective effects by removing the biggest and best animals and creates extensive social and ecological problems. Removing baby elephants from their families, in which they would be nurtured and taught life skills, is abhorrent. The idea that the revenue accruing from the sales will somehow be ploughed back into conservation is a deception.
Second, the ‘sovereign rights’ clarion call does not make biological sense. At least 76% of Africa’s elephants are shared across borders. The solutions to southern Africa’s conservation problems are not to be found in trying to generate short-term and unsustainable revenue from hunting and exporting the last remnants of our shared natural heritage. Rather, the solutions lie in better, regionally integrated land-use planning. Movement corridors that allow elephants to reduce local numbers and avoid conflict with people have been identified in, for example, Botswana, but these need to be actively protected by genuine community co-ownership.
Paper parks like the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) are struggling to achieve relevance because the political will to work together across its five countries is lacking at important ministerial levels. Meanwhile, efforts at the grassroots level to involve local communities both within and across borders in ecotourism value chains and conservation-compatible agriculture have greater potential for improving regional conservation outcomes and rural economic development. Blindly supporting ‘consumptive use’ of wild species on the grounds that a nation somehow ‘owns’ its elephants or that there are ‘too many’ crowds out the urgency of building viable alternatives to the status quo. Rural communities are hardly served by exporting, culling or hunting elephants. They are served by carefully crafted plans that recognise the biological and economic needs of both elephants and people, and put money straight into citizens’ pockets, particularly for women.
Zimbabwe’s decision to undermine a significant CITES resolution is indicative of the contempt it has for conservation. Equally, China’s decision to import the elephants is a violation of its own efforts to build an ‘Ecological Civilisation’. Both countries are member parties to CITES and they would do well to observe the spirit of its collective decision-making process. Instead of dismissing decisions that don’t go their way as evidence that ‘animal rights extremists’ have somehow manipulated the CoP, they should respect the independent minds of two-thirds of the Parties present. Crude utilitarianism – the willingness to sacrifice individual animals to achieve an evasive aesthetically-defined ‘carrying capacity’ – has no place in modern conservation that should strive to be both effective and ethical. We have to do better; we can do better.
He emerged silently from the gloom and ambled towards us with that gentle rocking gait that big bull elephants use to cover vast distances with minimal effort. His white tusks glowed in the moonshine, but otherwise, he was just a huge dark grey smudge that loomed larger by the second. The eight of us sat motionless on the ground and in his path, wondering if he had seen us, and felt extremely insignificant.
At about fifteen metres, he noticed the eight seemingly legless humans and came to an abrupt halt, ears outspread, inquisitive and indecisive. Silence blanketed our group and the minutes ticked by as the elephant considered his options. Occasionally, he shuffled a little closer to get a better look at us, and as he raised his tusks in a bid to appear even larger and more intimidating, he was almost comical. Almost.
Next to me, Lizz was bravely staring wide-eyed at the gentle giant towering over us. I could hear her heart beating and sense her agitation, as fear and wonder battled for dominance. The instinct to stand up and run was almost overwhelming, but we obeyed Alan’s calm hand-signal instructions and wordlessly held our ground. At one stage, the huge grey ghost took a few steps towards one member of our team who was set apart from the rest by a few metres and Alan shifted his foot slightly as a distraction. The effect was dramatic as the elephant gave an exaggerated ear-clap, hit reverse gear and shuffled off. He met up with another bull about eighty metres away, and they had a brief discussion about us; often pointedly glancing in our direction. Discretion seemed to win the day, as they turned and melted away into the moon-shadows, like spirits of the African night.
We remained seated for a while, each lost in our thoughts, before picking our way back to the game drive vehicle about a hundred metres away. Not a word was spoken during the encounter, and no photos were taken, though I doubt that our gentleman elephant would have appreciated the flash. We all agreed that the overriding sense that we got from the giant creature was one of surprise and confusion, followed by curiosity. There was no anger, malevolence or belligerence. Alan drove the ten kilometres to our surprise bush dinner location on a hilltop with the vehicle lights off – the poacher’s moon provided ample light for navigation – which was a surreal and fitting end to a profoundly personal elephant encounter that will stay with each of us for the remainder of our days.
Naturally, this is an unusual way to encounter elephants and certainly should not be assumed to be the norm or attempted. I do provide context at the end of this story.
Our 2019 Photographer of the Year winner and two runners-up had joined Lizz and me on safari in Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, along with their companions. We enjoyed five days of fantastic wildlife sightings, culinary delights, wine and gin tastings and two fascinating and informative presentations from experts in their respective fields.
What follows is a selection of images from our group, with extended captions to provide the full story behind the photographs.
A giraffe bull interrupts his drink and jerks his head up in reaction to an impala alarm snort. The lips and epiglottis of a giraffe form two valves and the pumping action of the jaw creates the push effect for the water. This allows them to counteract gravity and pump water up the neck and into the oesophagus.
A baby elephant nurses from his mother. We were parked at a waterhole when a small family group arrived to drink water. They were unfazed by our presence a few metres from where they chose to drink, although a few tiny youngsters rolled their eyes at us and positioned themselves on the other side of larger herd members. The matriarch was always watching us and frequently rumbled to her herd as if to reassure them of our good intentions.
Jumping spider (subtribe Aelurillina). Our 2019 Photographer of the Year managed to find jumping spiders in the grounds of Amani Safari Camp and was lost in her own world for hours as she planned and took this image.
Yet another stunning sunset drinks stop, after a day of exploring Klaserie Private Nature Reserve.
Jens waited patiently for about 30 minutes for this stunning sequence. The immature gabar goshawk perched patiently and in full view on a dead tree overlooking a waterhole, as squadrons of golden-breasted buntings, lark-like buntings, red-billed queleas, blue waxbills, yellow-fronted canaries and Namaqua doves pulsed back and forth from the water’s edge. This golden-breasted bunting ventured too close to the raptor and paid for the mistake with his life. Jen’s reactions were lightning-fast, and burst mode settings ensured this marvellous sequence of images.
This young male leopard spent the better part of an hour lounging insouciantly around our game drive vehicle before deciding to relieve his boredom with several uncommitted hunting attempts. A scrub hare was the first to draw his attention, followed by a Natal francolin and finally, a party of blue waxbills drinking at a puddle of water!
Surprise, surprise! During an afternoon game drive, this is what awaited us in the shade of ancient trees along a sandy riverbed. To add to the alcoholic and culinary delights, on another evening, we were treated to a delightful wine and food pairing presented by Safari Wines of Hoedspruit – which lasted well into the night!
September signals the peak of the dry season in the Kruger area and herbivores are hard-pressed to meet their nutritional needs. The versatility of the impala feeding strategy confers an enormous advantage and allows them to switch to browsing leaves when the nutritious grass is no longer available. Many of the ewes are pregnant at this time of year and early to mid-November will bring lambing season – hopefully, the first rains of the season will arrive in time!
Klaserie’s final gift. The last game drive on the morning of our departure netted this exciting encounter. This small group of painted wolves (African wild dogs) loped over the coming rise and dashed past, all business and focus. We were simply part of the scenery to them.
Our safari group, somewhere in Klaserie Private Game Reserve, under an ancient weeping boerbean tree: 2019 Photographer of the Year Eraine van Schalkwyk and her friend Keegan Schoeman; runner-up Jens Cullmann and partner Sophie Leemans; runner-up Bob Ditty and his son Luke; Africa Geographic CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz; private guide Alan McSmith and Klaserie Drift Safari Camps manager Dawie Jansen.
ABOUT THAT ELEPHANT ENCOUNTER, and our guide
Alan McSmith identifying spoor in the sand.
Earlier that evening, we had spent about an hour with the same two bull elephants who were feeding peacefully next to our vehicle. We left them to enjoy sundowner drinks a few kilometres down the track. Alan McSmith is a highly regarded and experienced private guide, who regularly hosts guests all over Africa. He was chosen to guide this special safari precisely due to his understanding of elephants. During the sundowner stop, Alan invited us to join him about a hundred metres from the vehicle, where we sat down, closed our eyes and zoned into our surroundings. Amidst the usual insect and bird calls as the darkness set in, the crack of a nearby breaking branch had us all glancing at Alan.
“OK,” he whispered, “the big guys have decided to join us for sundowners. We have two choices – we can either all go back to the vehicle, or we stay. If we stay, you obey my instructions. These bulls are relaxed, they are inquisitive, and they are walking into our space – all of which means that we are quite safe – so long as we all relax and let them find us and choose their way out of here.”
By deciding to stay put, we were treated to one of the most extraordinary elephant experiences imaginable.
ABOUT KLASERIE DRIFT SAFARI CAMPS
The Klaserie Drift Safari Camps are set on 3,000 hectares of prime land in the heart of the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, offering a genuine, exclusive retreat into nature. The camps are ideally located for guests to enjoy all the wildlife Africa has to offer, in a private and secluded setting, featuring the Big 5, incredibly diverse landscapes and comfortable accommodation with all modern amenities.
Amani Safari Camp
Amani Safari Camp provides private, tranquil accommodation for eight guests in a large thatched villa. The layout of this camp is unique, comprising a central living area and four en-suite bedrooms. Each bedroom has its private garden entrance and large windows providing access to remarkable views of the bushveld. The central living area features two open plan lounges on the ground floor, as well as a library and a TV room on the open-air second level. The lounges open onto a large wooden deck which provides the perfect setting for the ultimate dining experience. A pathway leads to another outdoor lounge area with a swimming pool to allow you a moment to relax in the sunshine.
Misava Safari Camp
Misava Safari Camp is the perfect place to unwind, relax and enjoy what the Kruger bushveld has to offer. The new camp has been designed in line with nature – the name Misava is the Shangaan word meaning Earth. The camp overlooks the Klaserie River from the vantage point of a cliff. Misava has three elegant garden-view rooms and two opulent villas overlooking the river, each with its private deck area. The main building is adjacent to the dining area with casual seating and a fully stocked bar which then leads to the open-air boma/fire pit and a wooden deck overlooking a watering hole.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, 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 Hoedspruit 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.’
The soaring popularity of the social media marketplace has created a global trade where almost anything can be procured over the internet: second-hand car parts, clothing, gadgets and, somehow inevitably, illegal wildlife. Parrots are one of the most trafficked animal orders on the planet and have long been recognised as under siege due to the pet trade. As endangered African grey parrots are removed in their hundreds from the forests of their natural habitats, a new study has highlighted how social media facilitates this trade and how governing bodies, airlines and technology companies can play their part in preventing it.
In a study published in Global Ecology and Conservation, researchers set out to investigate the role of social media in the trade of wild-sourced African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus and P. timneh) and their conclusions suggest ways in which this method could be used in the fight against illegal trade. While the role of social media in the trade of wild animals has been recognised as a serious conservation concern for years, this study (jointly funded by the World Parrot Trust and World Animal Protection) was the first of its kind to examine the effect on parrots.
The authors of the study examined 259 posts on an unnamed social media site featuring trade in African greys during a period between 2014 and 2018, concluding that over 70% of them contravened CITES regulations. The authors set about analysing every aspect of the posts including the wording and origin of the posts; the ages of the birds (juvenile parrots are recognisable by their grey irises); the behaviour of the birds and the estimated number of birds visible in the included images (often over a hundred birds).
Where possible, they used the images in the posts to obtain information including the Cargo Tracking Code to identify the transit route used and cross-referenced this information against airline records, internal export and import records of the relevant countries and the CITES-published trade reports. In so doing, they were able to confirm which posts featured birds sourced from the wild and that the majority of these trades would have been in contravention of either local law or CITES regulations.
Using this method, the researchers concluded that the vast majority of the exports originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (a country with a notably poor history of CITES compliance), with a smaller number from west Africa. The parrots were imported predominantly into western and southern Asia (notably Turkey, Pakistan, Jordan and Iraq during the study period) for an average of $203 per bird. Interestingly, in cases where the Cargo Tracking Code could be traced, all shipments of birds were flown by either Turkish Airlines or Ethiopian Airlines and transited through either Istanbul or Addis Ababa. Minimal effort was made to follow standard welfare practices, meaning that the birds were transported in overcrowded crates without perches under extremely stressful conditions.
The study calls upon both technology and social media companies, as well as airlines, to work with experts to take advantage of this newfound intel into trade routes – the former by reporting posts advertising suspected illegal activity as well as removing offending posts and the latter by reporting suspicious shipments to enforcement authorities. This has been made easier since the placement of African grey parrots on Appendix I at the beginning of 2017, meaning that all shipments of wild birds are automatically in contravention of trade regulation.
The Appendix I classification, as well as a suspension on exports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2016 (which before that exported around 49% of the wild-sourced African grey parrots), made the time frame for the study particularly relevant in using the data to extrapolate the effect of such regulations.
Interestingly, the study did not find any significant variation in the trade activity across the study period, which the researchers suggest means that the reduced captive market did not increase illegal trade (which is often the contention put forward by those arguing against an Appendix I classification). There was, however, a spike in activity in the months before the enactment to the restriction of trade exported from the DRC which the authors advocate should be taken into account before the adoption of such restrictions or regulations.
The authors emphasise that there are limitations to this method of study, especially given the number of online scams and the inability to access direct private messages, and suggest that their findings present a “snapshot of trade activity”, rather than an accurate reflection of trade. However, this snapshot shows a global market where the traders advertising the sale of these birds do so publicly and seemingly without fear of enforcement.
“Social media has opened up a new front in the ongoing battle against the trapping of wild parrots. While providing new opportunities for traffickers to ply their trade, it also affords valuable insights into how to stop it” said Dr Rowan Martin of the World Parrot Trust and one of the lead authors of the study.
Full report: R. Martin, C Senni and N D’Cruze (2019). Trade in wild-sourced African grey parrots: Insights via social media. Global Ecology and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00429
GUEST POST by Kim Wolhuter, wildlife filmmaker and photographer
I was walking in the sandy riverbed of the Chiredzi River in southeastern Zimbabwe towards the end of the dry season. There’s always a lot of activity along the river and I find it a special place to walk. On the eastern bank, I spotted an elephant bull feeding, but all I could see was a prize view of his rear end – an image that looks like a nappy wrapped around a baby’s bum, although this was no baby. Just to the south of the elephant, there was a steep-sided gully, so I decided to follow it in order to get a better view.
I watched as the elephant stripped his last mouthful of leaves from a mopani tree and stepped around to move past it… and that was when he saw me. Without hesitation, he charged! He was only 15 metres away from me but I stood my ground, believing he wouldn’t come down into the steep gully. Thankfully I was right and as he stopped just short of the edge. And that’s when I saw his mighty tusks! Standing in this little gully with this huge pachyderm towering over me, his ivory reaching for the skies, was my introduction to Samanyanga – a true Malilangwe icon!
I hadn’t seen such an impressive elephant since the mighty tusker Tshokwane in the Kruger National Park in the 90s. Samanyanga’s ivory was already much the same weight as Tshokwane’s, but his tusks were beautifully evenly matched in length and shape. I believe that Samanyanga was truly one of the very few African elephant icons left in the world today. I couldn’t help myself and just had to film him.
It took me several days before I found him again. He was in the company of another bull feeding on the bank of the Chiredzi River. I drove over to where he was standing in the shade of a large Acacia tortilis tree. Such a gentleman, he obliged my company and continued to occasionally drag a trunk full of cool soil to toss over his back, under his belly and across his sides. Despite the giant that he was, he did this with such elegance.
He moved with ease and the demeanour of a true idol. As he sauntered down the riverbank his head swayed from side to side under the full weight of his majestic ivory. With more reason than a swaggering football player, Samanyanga was entitled to stride in his glory. As he drank from the river his seemingly endless tusks extended deep into the water. A crocodile lay peacefully on a sandbank only metres away as the gentle giant waded through the river to the other side. As he hauled his himself up the riverbank the setting sun glowed a perfect gold on his beautifully balanced pair of tusks.
I travelled home relishing the privilege I had of spending the whole day with him.
Samanyanga remained elusive. He would be spotted every now and then, but when I actively searched I would never find him. It was only several months later when we received a report about a large tusked elephant with one of its tusks freshly broken. We immediately set off to find this elephant, and just after sunset we spotted him – it was Samanyanga. Not only was his one tusk broken but he also seemed to have lost his dignity and composure.
We sat in the vehicle in the darkness as he slowly grazed towards us. Taryn, my wife, was concerned that he was getting too close (he was only centimetres away at one point). Of that I was certain, but starting the car right then would have startled him. We sat silently as he pulled grass tufts from the loose earth, dusting them on the ground before eating them. He was very obliging and half-an-hour later he eventually moved far away enough for to me to start the car.
I followed up on Samanyanga the next morning. He was now in a very different mood and I was not about to get in his way. He was striding east towards another bull. The other bull was pretty much the same size as him but his tusks were a lot smaller. As Samanyanga approached the bull turned to challenge him. A fallen tree lay between them and in a display of strength they tossed it around. Then with their heads held high they clashed. It was an intense but brief encounter and soon both elephants backed off. That was the end of their challenge and they went their separate ways. I wondered if they hadn’t met before and perhaps that’s how Samanyanga’s right tusk had been broken.
Samanyanga spent the next few weeks hanging around this area – so much out of character – and then the rains arrived and he disappeared again. He was seen a few times to the south after that but never come back up here.
Eventually, there were no new reports coming through of his location, but then one day scouts on patrol reported a carcass of a one-tusked elephant.
Upon hearing this news I knew I had to get to the carcass. I had visions of it being Samanyanga and that was something I personally wanted to confirm or… rather not. Just getting to the location was tough, and driving the last 500 metres off-road took me half-an-hour of negotiating through thick vegetation.
Eventually, I arrived at a clearing littered with bones. One huge tusk lay curved on the ground reaching for the heavens and the other was broken about a foot from the base. There was little doubt that this was Samanyanga. His tusks were incredibly thick and truly impressive, totally dwarfing me.
Bones littered the clearing, but nothing else was left of Samanyanga. Even the smell of rotting meat was all but gone. I reflected back on the first day I met him… those massive tusks towering over me. But now, in that clearing, those massive tusks laid at my feet. I tried to find clues to the cause of his death but the scavenging hyenas and vultures had left none. For Samanyanga, I’d like to believe he died a noble death – fighting.
His legacy will live on, his ivory will be forever.
It is a year since the BBC first screened Dynasties: Painted Wolves and nearly three since they stopped filming in Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. Since then, the dynasty has struggled. In part two of this trilogy (read part one here), Nicholas Dyer, who has followed these packs for the last seven years, continues the story with Blacktip’s tale.
The BBC, in their Dynasties film, painted Blacktip with something of the night about her. An aggressive creature that drove her mother, Tait, into the “Pridelands” and to her death. In doing so, she put her pack in great danger, driving them to the point of mutiny. The drama concludes with the dramatic death of a female called Tennessee to the jaws of a senseless crocodile.
After the attack, they ran “all through the day… all through the night,” as narrated by Sir David Attenborough, with a heavy dose of dramatic hyperbole. Given the speed and stamina of these animals, they would have reached Botswana. The reality was that they moved five kilometres upstream and found a tiny waterhole near a place called Mucheni.
What fascinated me was that they ‘camped’ here for nine consecutive days, heading off to hunt in radials at dawn and dusk. It was November and by now painted wolves (also referred to as African wild dogs) should be highly nomadic, rarely returning to the same spot on consecutive days. It appeared that Tennessee’s death shook them and Blacktip wanted a place for her subdued pack to recover from their loss near a safe supply of water.
Gradually the pack regained its confidence. It was punishingly hot as the Zambezi Valley waited patiently for the rains. In the late afternoons, as the brutal sun declined towards the Zambian escarpment, the pack would be released from the protective shade of the Natal mahoganies, descending a small slope to drink and play. As their self-assurance grew, so did their boisterous afternoon games as they splashed and danced in that tiny pool, while Blacktip looked on protectively. It was for me the most wondrous time I have ever spent photographing painted wolves – thirteen wolves with nine puppies doing what they loved best.
The real Blacktip
The depiction of Blacktip as a ruthless malevolent creature is not how I saw her, although her dusky features certainly lent themselves to this sinister characterisation. Like her mother before her, Blacktip was an incredible leader, commanding her pack with determination, discipline and even innovation.
I first saw Blacktip in 2014 when she led a pack of 30 painted wolves, 15 of which were her puppies. A pack that size requires cohesion and a strong leader. Rudyard Kipling summed it up perfectly:
“For the strength of the pack is the wolf, And the strength of the wolf is the pack.”
Blacktip and her Nyakasanga Pack were the epitome of this. As I got to know the pack over the years, I recognised that each of its members had their specialities. Her alpha male, Jiani, and three other males were spectacular hunters – swift and agile. Taku, who the BBC named Pip (after the sound her radio collar made), was a doting aunt to the pups, always attentive and willing to play. And there was Tris, a gorgeous yearling that legendary guide, Henry Bandure nicknamed “Doc” because she would always lick the wounds of the injured.
Blacktip never seemed to be an overprotective or nurturing mother. She often sat well away from the den mouth and left the babysitting to Taku. She would frequently head off with the others on a hunt, heavy milk-laden breasts swaying as she tackled fleeing impala. She loved to be in the mix on the hunt but understood the art of delegation – an essential skill in running any pack – and the un-mollycoddled pups learnt to grow up healthy.
Blacktip pioneered something that has never been recorded before – predation on baboons. The development of this critical new food source for the painted wolves of Mana Pools seemed to coincide with a boom in the baboon population.
This innovation not only fed the pack, but also helped to restore some balance to the Mana Pools ecosystem. Her pack benefited by consuming less energy on the hunt and avoided many potential injuries incurred on a long chase across rough ground. Through this behaviour, Blacktip gave me two incredible gifts: a stunning photograph which got me into the final of the highly acclaimed NHM Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, and my first article in National Geographic, both achievements of which I am very proud. For this, I will always be grateful to Blacktip.
Like her mother, her contribution to the dwindling painted wolf population was also exceptional. Painted wolf pups have a 50% attrition rate in their first year, but Blacktip’s record far exceeded this. In 2014 all 15 pups survived until the rains arrived, in 2015 all six survived, and in 2016 nine out of the eleven made it. The following year was less successful with only four of 14 puppies surviving, but last year she had seven, and they are all still alive today.
Many of her pups have dispersed from the Nyakasanga to take their genes across the Zambezi Valley and beyond. Creatures like Tris simply disappeared, but that does not necessarily mean she met a nasty end. She could well be the mother of a successful pack as far away as Mozambique, beyond where Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) monitors resident populations.
Taku, one of Blacktip’s daughters that I knew well, dispersed with her sister Taj and met two males near the Ruckomechi River to form her own pack. Taj passed away last year, as did one of the males, but Taku is still there today with her alpha Tafara and two little pups, forming the nascent Rukomechi Pack. Last seen, she was pregnant again.
Last November (2018) I drove into Mana Pools just before the rains, hoping to find Blacktip and the Nyakasanga. The book launch had kept me in Europe, so I had not been in the park since August. They had been sighted near the Ruckomechi River, so PDC’s exceptional tracker Thomas Mutonhori and I headed out to find them. On the way, the heavens opened for the first time that season. It was torrential, and very quickly Mana Pools turned into a lake.
Alone in our convoy of two cars, we stopped regularly to tow, dig and winch each other out of glue-like mud. Thomas picked up signal some two kilometres away – coming from a newly collared female called Tray, but neither my Landcruiser nor his Land Rover could make it any further. We decided to continue on foot, Thomas with his tracking gear and I with my kikoi-wrapped camera. We jumped over small streams and walked around massive newly formed lakes. While we would have been happy to wade, it is amazing how quickly crocodiles take up residence.
After a three-hour zigzagging walk, we found them – Blacktip and the other adults huddled under a tree against the rain. Like us, they were drenched, and the puppies seemed in awe. It suddenly occurred to me that they had never seen rain before. They stared perplexed into newly formed puddles and seemed strangely subdued by this new sensation of water falling from the sky.
I was ecstatic to be with Blacktip and Jiani again, and took a few photos but spent more time watching them. I had missed them greatly, and this was the first time I had seen her pups since the den. Eventually, she rose, summoned her pack and led them deep into the sodden bush.
As they disappeared through the dying drizzles of the storm, I wondered whether I would ever see her again. Although looking fit, she was now aged nine and bordering on the maximum life expectancy of a painted wolf. I shuddered, but not because I was cold and wet. I felt the hollow sadness of a passing era but was also grateful that I had got to see her at least one last time. Tears rolled down my face, thankfully disguised by the rain, although I could sense that Thomas felt the same. We started our long walk back in silence. This was the last anyone saw of her.
When Thomas returned to the park the following April (2019), he messaged me to say he had found the Nyakasanga pack – minus Blacktip. The familiar few days of hope lingered until a few sightings later when Thomas confirmed that Blacktip did not make it through the rains. Her final fate is unknown, but old age was good enough for me.
I went into Mana a short while later and met up with Thomas to find the pack. We headed back along the road we took in November, laughing at the visible dried-out ruts and the memories of what caused them when we were last there. Thomas eventually picked up Tray’s signal deep in the mopane forests on the western boundaries of the park. We followed on foot – they were still on the move although it was a bit too late in the morning for hunting.
Eventually, we saw them under a tree. But there were only three painted wolves. It was Tray and two of her sisters, Poet and Lylie. Where were the others? There was no sign or tracks to suggest the rest of the pack was nearby.
We soon figured that these girls were dispersing from the main pack and out to form a pack of their own. I met up with award-winning writer Sue Watt in a nearby lodge. For the next three days, we followed them as they meandered around the park, while Thomas focused on finding the rest of the Nyakasanga.
I named the girls “The Three Degrees”. Tray and Poet were both three years old, while their younger sister, Lylie, was just two. Poet seemed to be the potential alpha, although all were incredible hunters. They were often taking two impalas between the three of them every day, getting their fill and leaving the rest for the hyenas. They were also covering considerable ground, marking their territory continuously, advertising for some wandering males.
Sue wrote a staggeringly beautiful twelve-page article in September’s issue of Wanderlust magazine, which is a joy to read. She became emotionally attached to The Three Degrees, and she expresses this so well through her writing.
Meanwhile, Thomas had found the remaining members of the Nyakasanga Pack, and I joined him a few days later. Jiani, now the 10-year-old widower, was still alive but looking very frail. All his older offspring had disappeared. Now the eldest were the inexperienced two-year-olds Whiskey, Gamma and Vincent. The other seven remaining wolves were yearlings, Blacktip’s pups from last year. They were all siblings, and Jiani was the father of them all.
The outlook for this pack was now very uncertain. There was a significant lack of experience and frail leadership. The pack continued to look after the old man, but it was hard to escape the conclusion that he was holding them back and possibly even putting them in danger. Despite these challenges, they remained full of energy and joy and looked healthy and fit.
While out of the park, I received another message from Thomas to say that he had watched Jiani continually humping Whiskey. My humanness made me feel a little queasy at the thought of this randy old man and his daughter, but that soon passed when, shortly after, Thomas called me to say that a lion had killed Jiani. The old man had finally passed, and with Tammy struggling on the other side of the park, the dynasty was in peril.
A month later, Whiskey was looking unequivocally expectant, despite it being well outside the regular denning season. Her late father was the only suspect. She denned where she was born, a favourite spot for both her mother, Blacktip, and grandmother, Tait. She had five healthy puppies who are bizarrely both the second and third generation of Tait’s dynasty. As far as I know, this incest is unrecorded. Painted wolves’ dispersal patterns are generally designed to ensure a high genetic diversity. There is still no male that has taken up the alpha role, although as usual, all the members of the pack are enthusiastically helping to raise the pups.
They moved onto the floodplain; ten adults and five puppies, all well and strong. In mid-October this year (2019) I returned to Mana Pools in the hopes of seeing them again. Henry Bandure and Simeon Josia (who both guided the BBC) and I eventually located the pack sleeping on the western edge of the park. We watched the tightly knit bundles of fur for half an hour, but try as we may we could unfortunately only see two pups shielded in the centre.
Eventually, the pack awoke and performed a half-hearted greeting ceremony, and the two pups started hoo-calling for their lost siblings. No reply came, though the pups continued their haunting cry until the pack disappeared into the dusk.
Their melancholic cry lingered in my soul for the rest of the night. Finding the pack the next morning confirmed the demise of other three pups, most likely to the jaws of deadly hyenas. These young painted wolves probably didn’t have the skills and experience to defend against a brutal attack. But some part of me couldn’t help feeling that while very sad, it was probably for the best. Through no fault of their own, the pups were severely inbred and carried with them potentially serious consequences for the local gene pool.
Meanwhile, the Three Degrees moved down the Zambezi and soon found themselves in Tammy’s territory. Tammy had just left the den with her ten pups, and the three females were regular visitors. These female rivals caused Tammy visible stress at first, although her three remaining males (Jimmy, Timmy and Taurai) were far more sanguine. But perhaps recognising the weakness of her pack, she soon accepted their presence, and while keeping them as outsiders, she increasingly allowed them to come and play with her pups.
After a few weeks of these growing encounters, Tammy’s pack was attacked by hyenas in which all but one of her pups were killed. Tammy herself sustained a massive wound to her right shoulder. Two days later, Tammy succumbed to her injuries and passed away. This left the three males to look after the last remaining pup, but unfortunately, the little pup did not survive for long.
It did not take long for the Three Degrees – Poet, Tray and little Lylie – to get together with the last surviving Nyamatusi members – Jimmy, Timmy and Taurai. Even more interesting is that they have recently been joined by another of Blacktip’s daughters, Tsoko, who dispersed earlier this year and went missing. It is now a new pack in the making, and it is yet to be decided who out of the seven will become the alphas. We will not know this until the start of the breeding season next year.
But one thing we do know for sure. With concerns over the inbreeding within what was left of the Nyakasanga, these seven painted wolves provide the strongest known thread from which the incredible dynasty of Tait, Blacktip and Tammy can continue.
Since the end of the filming of Dynasties, those packs made famous by the film and immortalised in my book Painted Wolves: A Wild Dogs Life, which I co-authored with Peter Blinston, have struggled. It is a time of flux, and while to the casual observer, the painted wolves continue to provide tremendous entertainment and superb photographic opportunities, underneath this, the dynasty is under pressure.
But given the terrain, the absence of people and the protection of PDC and ZimParks, Mana Pools should always remain a haven for the painted wolf and one of the most spectacular places to see them.
For me, following the painted wolves of the Zambezi Valley for the last seven years has been an incredible privilege, albeit an emotional journey. As anyone who has seen the Dynasties film will testify, they bring such incredible joy, but with that comes deep sadness when you see them suffer. They have become an integral part of my life, my feelings woven into a never-ending roller-coaster of delight, anguish and despair. But I would not stop that ride for the world.
Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe is a World Heritage Site and one of the last true wildernesses in the world. It is the only park in Africa where you are allowed to walk alone, albeit at your own risk. It is also one of the best places to view painted wolves. Many of the photographs in this article were taken at the den. Nick visited the dens under the guidance and supervision of Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) and ZimParks in preparation for the campaign to raise global awareness of this endangered species. Denning season is a sensitive time for the painted wolves and Nick, and PDC would strongly discourage den visits for reasons unrelated to conservation. They would, however, strongly encourage visitors to thoroughly enjoy painted wolf sightings but always treat them with respect and observe the sensible Mana Pools’ “Code of Conduct”.
ABOUT THE PAINTED WOLF FOUNDATION
The Painted Wolf Foundation (PWF)was set up by Nicholas Dyer, Peter Blinston and leading conservationist Diane Skinner. It aims to raise awareness about this much threatened and ignored species and support organisations that conserve painted wolves on the ground. PWF is a UK-registered charity (Number 1176674).
THE BOOK
PAINTED WOLVES: A Wild Dog’s Life
The painted wolf is Africa’s most persecuted predator. It is also the most elusive and enigmatic. For six years, Nick has been tracking and photographing them on foot in the Zambezi Valley.
For twenty years, Peter has been doing all he can to save them from extinction. If there is one book that will let you into the secret world of the painted wolves, this is it, expertly narrated across 300 pages and illustrated with over 220 stunning images.
“Wildlife photographer Nick Dyer and conservationist Peter Blinston have crowdfunded a new book, Painted Wolves: A Wild Dog’s Life, which takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the lives of the painted wolves and what is being done to save them. It’s a beautiful book full of interesting facts and stunning photos, which I hope will raise the profile of the animals.” ~ Sir Richard Branson Buy the book here.
FURTHER READING
Read the first part of this trilogy here – the story of the alpha painted wolf Tammy and the Nyamatusi Pack in Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, Nicholas Dyer
Nick grew up in Kenya and after careers in finance and marketing in the UK, has found a new métier as a wildlife photographer, author and conservationist with a deep passion for painted wolves. He has spent much of the last six years photographing the packs of Mana Pools on foot while living in his tent on the banks of the Zambezi. He is a founder of the Painted Wolf Foundation and frequently gives talks around the world on this neglected species. He was an award winner in the 2018 NHM Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition and leads specialist photographic safaris in Mana and across Africa so that people can experience this stunning creature. See more of his photography at www.nicholasdyer.com, and follow him on his Facebook and Instagram page.
OPINION POST by Susan McConnell – biologist and conservation photographer at Stanford University
Katavi National Park has a hippo problem, and according to news sources, Tanzanian President John Magufuli has ordered Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) to undertake a radical approach to addressing the issue.
Katavi is known widely, especially among photographers, for dramatic congregations of plains game and predators around the little water that remains at the end of the dry season. As the waters of the Katuma River and its tributaries recede, large numbers of hippos amass in pools thick with mud and faeces. The high density of hippos leads to dramatic interactions as they jostle for space within the pools.
Recent diversions of water from the Katuma River for irrigation by local farmers have caused hippos to stray from the national park into villages in search of water. This has led to intense conflicts with villagers and reports of injuries and deaths to both people and hippos. Several dozen hippos also took up residence in the waters of a dam earmarked for human use. In reaction, the Minister for Natural Resources announced a plan in August to relocate 10% of hippos and crocodiles in water located near villages, and some news reports suggested that TANAPA would cull 50 hippos to reduce the population.
On October 11, President Magufuli interceded, pointing out that the problem was caused by people and animals competing for water. In public remarks, he said, “Hippos too depend on the same resource for their survival, thus the complaints will never stop until appropriate measures are taken to address the problem”. He also noted that culling hippos would have negative consequences for tourism. Magufuli then directed TANAPA to supply water to the hippo pools in an effort to keep hippos within park boundaries. Water trucks arrived soon thereafter and replenished the water in several hippo basins.
Magufuli also ordered a much more radical approach: he has asked TANAPA to construct artificial hippo pools that will provide the animals with a stable and long-term source of both water and grasses.
Within two weeks of the October 11 announcement, construction of a concrete dam wall began inside Katavi National Park. The dam is being installed roughly a hundred metres downstream from a bridge across the Ikuu River, a small tributary of the Katuma River, at the heart of one of the most active game drive circuits in the park. Workers at the dam said that the wall would be about 1 metre high, allowing the river to flow over when water levels were high and thus reach villages downstream. They also planned to dredge sand and dirt from the current hippo pool to deepen it and form a permanent basin.
These actions have been taken without consideration of the broader environmental impacts of introducing dams and artificial pools to the park, including a long-term increase in hippo populations, the likelihood that Ikuu dam will affect water supplies farther up the channel, and the possibility that the entire ecology of Katavi could be altered dramatically in response.
The rapid construction of the dam is all the more puzzling in light of a news report stating that President Magufuli has directed Rukwa and Katavi regional authorities and TANAPA to conduct comprehensive research on the best way to conserve hippos in the region. The initiation of dam construction only two weeks after the President’s announcement, with no reasonable time for research, ecological analysis, or input from Katavi safari operations, gives cause for alarm. One wonders whether this decision marks a change in the management of TANAPA that will affect other national parks and reserves as well.
The Tanzanian Tourist Board promotes Katavi as offering “unspoilt wildlife viewing in the country’s third-largest national park, in a remote location far off the beaten track. The national park is Africa at its most wild – unadulterated bush settings, spectacular views, and rich wildlife”. It is hard to believe this will be true after the construction of the first dam is completed.
The Government of Zimbabwe and conservation non-profit African Parks signed a 20-year agreement on Friday 1st November for the management of the iconic Matusadonha National Park. At 1,470 km², the park stretches from the Matusadonha hills down to the shores of Lake Kariba. African Parks, in partnership with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority will implement management strategies to secure the park and restore wildlife populations, unlocking its ecological, social and economic value enabling communities to derive long-term benefits. Matusadonha is the 16th protected area to join African Parks’ management portfolio.
“Zimbabwe is among the world’s richest nations in natural resources and wildlife. These are assets which have drawn millions of visitors annually and form a vital base for our economy, requiring adequate management to enhance their contributions to development” said Mr Fulton Mangwanya, Director-General of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. “Our public-private partnership with African Parks to restore Matusadonha helps to leverage conservation further as a sustainable mechanism for growth, promoting a tourism economy to benefit people while ensuring the protection of Zimbabwe’s wildlife.”
Matusadonha is an ecologically diverse landscape in the Zambezian biome. It is flanked by the Ume and Sanyati rivers, with 700 metre-high hills descending to its northern boundary on the shores of Lake Kariba. Mixed woodlands and scrublands cover the slopes and ridges of the escarpment, the plateaus and the plains, and a forest of trees semi-submerged by the lake stretches the length of the shoreline.
The park harbours more than 240 bird species, baobab woodlands and wildlife including elephant, lion and buffalo. However, decades of poaching coupled with insufficient management resources contributed to its decline. Elephant numbers have been drastically reduced and the once abundant population of black rhinos have been largely eliminated.
“We are proud to be partnering with the Government of Zimbabwe for the first time to develop the potential of one of its most exceptional national parks,” said Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks. “Zimbabwe has a strong history of conservation excellence, and our shared ambition is to ensure that Matusadonha is revitalised as one of southern Africa’s leading protected areas. If we invest in protecting parks like these today, we’re investing in assets that will continue to provide value to the nation and the continent into the future”.
The Zimbabwe Government and African Parks will fully restore the park, implementing good infrastructure, law enforcement, conservation and community development programmes. Once a stronghold for black rhino, the park will be secured and reestablished as a sanctuary for these critically endangered animals and other key species. Matusadonha holds a special place for Zimbabwe as a tourism and heritage area, with its spectacular position on Lake Kariba. A management priority will be to enhance this status, enabling local communities to benefit from sustainable tourism.
DID YOU KNOW that African Parks offers safari camps (lodges and campsites) where 100% of tourism revenue goes to conservation and local communities? Find out more and book your African Parks safari.
Matusadonha National Park is the first protected area in Zimbabwe to come under the management of African Parks, a new milestone which expands their portfolio to sixteen protected areas, covering almost 11 million hectares across ten countries. The Wyss Foundation, Oak Foundation and Stichting Natura Africae are strategic partners of African Parks and are contributing part of the operational support for Matusadonha’s management.
Rwanda has a dark history with a civil war in 1991 and the tragedy of the 1994 genocide. Despite this, Rwanda appears to be a country that is turning itself around. There is certainly a conscious move within the country towards conservation and as a result tourism. Rwanda has a zero-tolerance of plastic bags and is considered to be one of the cleanest, if not the cleanest, country in Africa. The world could learn a lot from this small landlocked African country.
Akagera National Park, the only place in Rwanda home to the Big 5, is located on Rwanda’s eastern border with Tanzania. The park is home to 480 bird species and is the largest wetland in Africa. The reserve was founded in 1934, at which time it covered 2,500 square kilometres. As a result of the civil war and the genocide, large sections of the park were reallocated as farmland and by 1997 the park had halved in size. It now spans over 1,000 square kilometres.
Due to poaching, many species including lion, rhino and a number of antelope species were wiped out. In 2010, African Parks formed a partnership with the Rwanda Development Board and assumed the management of Akagera National Park.
Since the formation of this joint partnership, the reserve has seen huge changes. In an effort to reduce friction between humans and wildlife, a 120-km solar powered predator-proof fence was erected. In 2015 lions were reintroduced and within two years the population had tripled. In 2017 two male lions were introduced to increase genetic diversity, and in the same year, 18 eastern black rhinos were reintroduced.
DID YOU KNOW that African Parks offers safari camps (lodges and campsites) where 100% of tourism revenue goes to conservation and local communities? Find out more and book your African Parks safari.
This project was such a success that this year, as part of the largest relocation of rhinos from Europe to Africa, five zoo-born black rhinos can now call Akagera home.
In 2018, 44,000 tourists visited the park, half of whom were Rwandan nationals. In eight years the revenue generated from tourism has increased by 900 percent!
It goes without saying that the success of the reserve is important for the conservation of wildlife, but it is also a valuable source of income for the surrounding communities. The community and the national park go hand in hand; each cannot survive without the other. A percentage of the park fees goes to local communities and locals are employed within the park. Those that once poached now form part of the anti-poaching team. The locals are friendly and educated in conservation. There is an understanding of the importance of protecting wildlife.
After all, conserving pockets of paradise like this guarantees not just the preservation of species but also work for future generations. For Big 5 safaris to Akagera, click here.
In October 2019 a successful security operation led to the arrest of several suspects involved in a large illegal logging operation in Mozambique’s Coutada 4, a hunting concession that lies on the northern border of Zinave National Park.
After hearing what sounded like chainsaw operations in an area where logging is strictly prohibited and having suspicions confirmed by aerial reconnaissance information, Zinave’s security team contacted Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) to secure Ministerial approval for an intervention. A large joint anti-logging operation was subsequently set in motion. The operation was coordinated by the Directorate of Protection and Law Enforcement of ANAC and involved several agencies and partner organisations working with the Mozambique Government.
Using a newly installed digital radio system for communication, the operation was coordinated at ground level from Zinave’s Operations Room and had aerial support by helicopter for operations monitoring and the quick deployment of security teams, that included Zinave’s well-trained rangers. Security teams, led by the Mozambique Environmental Quality Agency (AQUA), were also strategically deployed along possible exit routes suspects may use to escape – which proved very effective as several arrests were indeed later made at these locations.
During the operation, a number of suspects were arrested and, so far, seven have been charged with the illegal extraction of wood from a protected area. Further to this, four large logging trucks, five tractors, six motor vehicles, two front end loaders and various logging equipment were confiscated. AQUA impounded another six logging trucks that were trying to leave the area.
SECURING VULNERABLE HABITATS
Although currently low in wildlife numbers, Coutada 4 has a rich variety of valuable tree species that are the target of illegal loggers. In Mozambique, the 5/2017 law applies both inside and outside conservation areas, which gives ANAC supervision and control over Coutada 4, which is, by definition a protected area.
Peace Parks Foundation has been assisting with the development of Zinave National Park since 2015 when it signed a co-management agreement with the Mozambican Ministry of Land, Environmental and Rural Development. The Dyck Advisory Group, who provided valuable advice during the operation, was later also brought on board to assist with the training and mentoring of rangers working in Zinave.
“Securing the park’s natural resources is one of the key components in its development and a primary focus for Zinave’s management team,” says Peace Parks Foundation Senior Project Manager, Antony Alexander. Once rife, illegal logging has been completely halted within the park. “Our efforts over the years have seen five logging trucks and as many tractors confiscated from illegal operations. We’ve also confiscated two motor vehicles, made eight arrests and issued several fines. Confiscated logs have been repurposed into desks for local schools, which greatly improved the learning environment for children and created work for a local carpenter,” says Bernard van Lente, Peace Parks Foundation Project Manager working in Zinave National Park.
“We are grateful for the support received from all the partners, as well as the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) and Police. It is only through these kinds of collaborative operations, and taking action, that we will secure the future of our forests,” says Carlos Lopes Pereira, Director of Protection and Law Enforcement at ANAC.
Black and white portrait photography is a simple aesthetic that can speak volumes. The lack of colour introduces an authentic perspective, where the use of light adds mood and intensity. This is how German photographer Victoria Knobloch approaches her work. With her direct and straightforward photographic approach, she reveals the uniqueness and natural beauty of everyday life. She limits post-production finishing methods to ensure subtle and refined outcomes.
During her latest trip to Ethiopia, she captured a series of portraits of people from various locales, including the Karo, Hamer and Mursi tribes – all of which are located in the south of the country in an area called the Omo Valley. Each one of these tribes has a unique culture and traditions, despite their geographic closeness.
The Karo – one of the smaller tribes in the area – are known for their intricate and symbolic face and body paintings, which they indulge in before important ceremonies. The women of the Hamer tribe are known particularly for their thickly plaited ochre-coloured hair that hangs down in a heavy fringe. The Mursi people are well-known for the striking adornment of large clay lip plates that the women wear.
In the following images, Victoria highlights the people at the heart of this fascinating country and its culture, without the distraction of colour. SCROLL DOWN to enjoy this gallery.
Victoria Knobloch is a German photographer who concentrates on black and white portrait art and documentary work. Her work embraces the fields of vanishing cultures, ancient traditions and contemporary cultures, with the human element as the continuous thread. Furthermore, she is always in search of tranquillity, beauty and meditative landscape moods and approaches them in a poetic way. With this, she invites the viewer to pause, contemplate, observe and reflect, if only for a brief moment. You can see more of her works on her website.
OPINION POST by Paolo Strampelli, originally published by Mark Avery
Recently, the UK Government stated it would consider banning the import of trophies from hunted animals in Africa. This decision, a brief internet search reveals, has been celebrated by animal rights groups.
I am a conservation biologist specialising in large African carnivores, such as lions, leopards, and cheetahs. As a result of a childhood passion for wildlife and wild places, I decided to pursue a career studying and protecting these species in their threatened and ever-shrinking natural habitats. Given my background, you might imagine that I am not overly fond of the idea of shooting these wildlife – and you’d be correct. The idea of hunting an animal, especially one most of us consider so beautiful and worthy of celebration, is not one that I personally understand. As a result, I have never hunted anything or even shot a gun in my life. I have also never received any funding or support from hunters or hunting organisations, and trophy hunting brings me no personal benefit whatsoever. And yet, what you might not guess is that I believe an abrupt end to all trophy hunting in Africa, as is advocated by many animal rights groups, could pose an extremely serious threat to many populations of African wildlife.
I would therefore like to try to explain why someone might be against stopping all trophy hunting in Africa, without necessarily being a hunter or profiting in any way from the practice. The goal of this article is to try and convince you, the reader, that it is possible to hold such an opinion in good faith, and that, in certain situations, it might actually be the opinion you should hold if you really care about preserving these animals for future generations.
Before I explain my reasoning, I first want to take a moment to stress a point that I believe has been lacking from debates surrounding trophy hunting: that is, the huge geographical variation in how trophy hunting is practised and managed across Africa. Hunting for trophies actually takes place all over the world, including in the UK and the U.S., but I will focus on Africa here. Africa is roughly three times the size of Europe, and trophy hunting takes place in countries across all parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It is therefore important to acknowledge that what might be true regarding trophy hunting in, say, Ethiopia, might not be applicable 3,000 km away in Zimbabwe. I believe this is something that is rarely appreciated, and which leads both sides of the argument to be unable to relate to the other as a result of their varying experiences on the ground.
So, having said this, I want to present one country as a case study, and state why, at least here, I believe that working to end trophy hunting right now could be the last thing we want to do. While I realise that here in the UK we are talking about an import ban, and not a hunting ban (which would of course be at the discretion of the country where the hunting is happening), this has the same intentions of undermining the hunting industry as a hunting ban would. Nonetheless, the aim of this piece is not to argue whether or not trophy hunters are effective at sustainably managing protected areas, or if it leads to benefits for local communities (spoiler: sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t), or try to convince you that hunting is all good or all bad. Rather, I want to use this example to explain why the issue of trophy hunting is not as black and white as it might seem, and why some people that are dedicating their lives to conserving wildlife are so counter-intuitively staunchly taking a stand against stopping all trophy hunting in Africa. Some of the points I make are relevant to other countries too, others less so, but this is a debate for another time, and not the point of this article. Furthermore, I want to emphasise that I am talking about ‘classic’ trophy hunting involving wild animals, and not canned hunting, where animals such as lions are bred exclusively for the purpose of being hunted.
My doctoral research takes place in Tanzania, in East Africa. You might know the country from beautiful shots of vast savannahs, where hundreds of thousands of wildebeest slowly migrate across the iconic plains. What you might not know is that Tanzania is the country with the highest proportion of protected areas in Africa, covering almost 40% of its land. You might also not know that the majority of these protected areas are not for photographic tourism, but rather rely on trophy hunting to generate revenue. In fact, more than 250,000 km² of Tanzania – an area larger than the United Kingdom – currently permits trophy hunting and not photographic tourism.
Hunting operators lease these areas from the government, are assigned an annual number of individuals they can hunt for each species (a ‘quota’), and they then sell off these hunting rights to wealthy clients, mostly from North America, Europe, and the Middle East. As a result of the vast size of protected areas dedicated to hunting, as well as its high biological diversity, Tanzania is one of the most popular trophy hunting destinations in Africa. Tanzania is also believed to hold Africa’s largest remaining number of wild lions and globally important populations of many charismatic species, such as elephants, giraffes, leopards and cheetahs. Preliminary studies I am involved in suggest that, in Tanzania, the majority of the geographic range of these species is located not in photographic reserves, but rather in trophy hunting areas.
Knowing this, I would like to now propose to the reader a thought experiment. Let’s assume that, tomorrow, all hunting within Tanzania is stopped. Whether this is due to pressure from Western donors, or because import bans elsewhere make the industry no longer financially viable, or even through a magical snap of the fingers. It doesn’t matter. Tomorrow, we all wake up to the sound of celebratory trumpets: trophy hunting in Tanzania is no more.
So, what now? My first guess is that many of you will be thinking: “Easy – let’s turn these (now ex-) hunting areas into national parks, for people pointing cameras rather than guns”! And you wouldn’t be wrong – for wildlife, this would without a doubt be the ideal solution. And, in fact, there is some good news: driven in part by a fall in the demand for trophy hunting, the parliament of Tanzania recently passed a bill stating that up to seven protected areas previously dedicated to trophy hunting will be transformed into national parks, with only photographic tourism allowed. This is indeed a fantastic development, which I and all others supporting conservation have rightfully celebrated.
Unlike these seven reserves, however, the unfortunate reality is that many of Tanzania’s hunting areas cannot and will not become photographic tourism destinations once hunters are kicked out. This is for two main reasons.
The first is that many are unsuitable for photographic tourism. In 2018, I spent seven months carrying out wildlife surveys across five different hunting areas in Tanzania, one of them being the second largest in the country. Unlike the Serengeti or other popular tourist destinations, the vast majority of these areas are heavily-infested with tsetse flies, blood-sucking insects which deliver a surprisingly painful bite, swarming in the hundreds. So not exactly the ideal setting for a relaxing holiday. In addition, hunting areas are mostly not comprised of the wide-open plains that are ideal to get that once-in-a-lifetime shot, but rather by woodlands, meaning that actually seeing animals can be extremely challenging. This, coupled with the fact that wildlife densities are also generally relatively low since many of these woodland habitats are naturally less biologically productive, means that even if some valiant, masochistic tourist were to brave the flies, they’d be unlikely to see much of the wildlife they flew halfway across the world for.
This leads me to another way in which these areas are not suitable – the distance. Most hunting areas in Tanzania are in remote parts of the country, accessible from the main tourist hubs by either 40-hour drives along terrible roads or by splashing a couple of thousand pounds on a private flight. This remoteness also leads to considerably higher costs associated with operating a safari lodge – which will of course be passed on to the tourist. How many tourists are going to want to pay thousands of pounds to swat blood-sucking flies and have a sub-par safari experience, when they could be having their dream wildlife holiday for half the price instead? I personally wouldn’t, and I am yet to meet someone that would.
The second reason I believe many of these areas cannot be employed for photographic tourism is that the tourist market, although currently growing, is finite. Tanzania, as a result of protecting such vast areas of land, is already struggling to make the majority of its national parks financially self-sustaining. Adding even more land to manage will only exacerbate the issue, as the tourism industry will only grow by so much every year.
At this point, you might ask – “but then, why do hunters do it? Why do they pay tens of thousands of dollars to go to these places, if it’s as bad as you say?” Well – because they have to. Because, for reasons I honestly cannot understand, they really, really, want to shoot a lion, or a buffalo, or a leopard. They want to do this so badly that they are willing to travel to these remote and challenging landscapes, because luckily for us most of the easily accessible and higher-density wildlife areas are currently conserved with photographic tourist dollars. As a result, they are not only willing to visit these more remote and unappealing areas, but also to spend tens of thousands of pounds in doing so, therefore providing them with tangible economic value.
And here, you might say – “Why must these areas necessarily make a profit? Why always place financial values on wildlife? Can wilderness not be protected for the sake of wilderness itself?” And, personally, I agree with you – I think there is a strong inherent value to wilderness and to wildlife, which cannot be quantified in solely financial terms.
However, let’s take a step back. Tanzania is a country roughly four times the size of the UK, and in 1952 its human population was circa 8 million. Today, Tanzania is home to about 58 million people, and by 2100 it is estimated that this will rise to over 300 million (UN). This is 300 million people, in a country where, in 2011, it was estimated that 49% of people lived below US$1.90 per day (World Bank). In this context, how can we ask the Tanzanian government to put aside hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of land for wildlife if this is not even creating any financial value to its people, who have the basic human right of wanting to improve their livelihoods through economic and social development? We would not, and have not, done this in Europe, and cannot ask the same of others. The opportunity cost of conserving large amounts of land solely for wildlife with no financial benefits in a developing country is simply too great. And, as predicted, over the last year numerous previously protected areas in Tanzania were degazetted by the Government, and allocated to villages for agriculture and development.
There would be one more option. What about providing financial incentives to conserve these areas in a way that does not involve having to kill a small proportion (because this is what it is) of the species to conserve it? Maybe through wealthy donors, or conservation NGOs leasing the hunting blocks from the Tanzanian government themselves, therefore ensuring these areas retain their value without having to kill anything? And my answer is – yes, absolutely. That is a great idea, and there is no good reason why it should not be implemented.
But we are not, are we? Nobody who is currently campaigning to stop trophy hunting has done this. Nobody has provided tangible solutions. If tomorrow a billionaire stated they would provide the Government of Tanzania with the equivalent financial benefit they gain from leasing these areas to hunting operators, and would invest the same amount of resources that hunting operators are legally required to into the management of the reserve, almost nobody would oppose it. I certainly wouldn’t, none of my colleagues wouldn’t, and the Government of Tanzania wouldn’t – it would be a complete win for all of us, and for wildlife. But, with the notable exception of American billionaire Paul Tudor Jones – who has done exactly this in Grumeti Game Reserve in northern Tanzania – nobody else is stepping up to make this happen.
Right now, the only ones willing to provide value to much of this land are the hunters. If anybody reading this has a few spare hundred million pounds and would like to dedicate them to protecting these last pockets of remote wilderness in our overly-sanitised world, please let me know. You will find no opposition, only help from those like us that are trying to find a solution. Anti-hunting proponents should put their money where their mouth is, bringing real solutions, rather than sabotaging existing conservation mechanisms because it doesn’t fit their narrative.
So is trophy hunting the answer? Not necessarily, and most certainly not always. Let me be clear: trophy hunting should not take place where it is bringing an objective detriment to that population, and most definitely should not target species that are locally threatened and for which only a handful of individuals remain. However, it is one possible tool to bring immediate, tangible value to wildlife, and one which we, unfortunately, do not currently have the luxury of demonising in principle. It should therefore be treated as such, with the caveat of being less desirable than other alternatives when these are available.
Am I arguing we shall leave carte blanche to hunters? Absolutely not. Both within Tanzania and elsewhere, there has been evidence of malpractice and over-hunting in the past, and all efforts should be made to ensure hunting is carried out sustainably and in such a way that it provides considerable financial benefits to the communities living around these protected areas. Trophy hunting should be tolerated and adopted as a conservation strategy if, and only if, no better viable alternatives exist for humans and wildlife for that area at that time – as I personally believe is currently the case in some places. Even then, resources should be invested into ensuring any hunting is carried out in the most sustainable and humane way possible, and, in the longer term, in developing mechanisms that will hopefully enable us to bring value to threatened species without having to resort to hunting, such as has happened in Grumeti.
What if, after hearing all this, you still believe that no matter the context it is always wrong to kill something for pleasure, and that trophy hunting should therefore always be prohibited based on this principle? While this is a valid ethical stance (assuming you’re vegan, of course), the unfortunate reality is that what is best for an individual animal is not necessarily what is best for the species as a whole. As a conservation biologist, while I of course care about the welfare of individuals, the main priority for me will always have to be the long-term survival of the population. Both myself and other fellow conservation biologists that have spent time on the ground learning about the issue, and who share these views, care deeply about wildlife. Our main interest is to try and ensure that policy decisions help provide these threatened populations with the best long-term chance of survival. We have seen what happens when wildlife has no value: millions of acres of wild land can be lost in the space of a few years; within months, farms and cattle take the place of wildlife that has been there since the dawn of man. More lions can be poisoned or killed in retaliation for livestock losses in one location in a month than are killed through trophy hunting across the whole country in one year.
So please, inform yourself, debate, but do keep an open mind. Most of us arguing against import or hunting bans are not arguing against banning trophy hunting in principle – we are arguing against banning trophy hunting without a plan for how better to protect these areas. As I mentioned earlier, the situation will be different in different countries, and in certain contexts hunting bans or restrictions might have positive impacts on wildlife populations, as they have in some places in the past. However, this will not always be the case, and it’s important to appreciate this and make decisions on a case-by-case basis.
Otherwise, as Dr Amy Dickman, the director of the Ruaha Carnivore Project, succinctly put it, “Trophy hunting is decried as immoral, and I personally dislike it. However, undermining it without implementing better solutions will increase horrible, unregulated killings, undermine local decision-making about wildlife use, reduce wildlife revenue, increase habitat and biodiversity loss, and leave the world far poorer for all our children. I deeply believe that is far more immoral”. Based on my years of work in both hunting and non-hunting areas, it is my firm belief that if we were to stop all hunting immediately, we would soon have considerably fewer wildlife in Africa than we do today.
Animal protection experts at Humane Society International/Africa and Zimbabwe animal groups have expressed their outrage and heartbreak at the news that on Thursday more than 30 wild-caught baby elephants, held captive for nearly a year in Hwange National Park, were flown out of the country via Victoria Falls Airport. The news came on the same day Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ZNSPCA), supported by HSI/Africa, Advocates4Earth, and Sibanye Animal & Welfare Conservancy Trust, filed urgent court papers at Harare High Court in an attempt to stop the shipment to Chinese zoos. Zimbabwe has exported 108 young elephants to zoos in China since 2012.
HSI/Africa has released new, exclusive footage (see below) of the young elephants taken just days ago, showing them eating dry branches and walking around a small waterhole in their fenced boma. These are the last known images of the elephants before their removal yesterday.
HSI/Africa’s sources on the ground report that army trucks moved in to remove the elephants, and that ZimParks staff on the scene had their mobile phones removed, presumably to stop news of the shipment getting out. Sources previously reported that ZimParks officials – apparently planning to accompany the baby elephants to China – had applied for visas to China.
The shipment to China is in defiance of the spirit of a landmark vote at the August meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) at which a near total ban on live elephant exports from Zimbabwe and Botswana to zoos was agreed. The new CITES rules don’t take effect until 26th November, so it appears that Zimbabwe is attempting to export the elephants before the deadline.
Elephant biologist Audrey Delsink, wildlife director at Humane Society International/Africa, said: “We are left feeling outraged and heartbroken at this news today that the Zimbabwe authorities have shipped these poor baby elephants out of the country. Zimbabwe is showing total disregard for the spirit of the CITES ruling as well as ignoring local and global criticism. Condemning these elephants to a life of captivity in Chinese zoos is a tragedy. We and others have been working for months to try and stop these elephants from being shipped because all that awaits them in China is a life of monotonous deprivation in zoos or circuses. As an elephant biologist used to observing these magnificent animals in their natural wild habitat, I am devastated by this outcome. These animals should be roaming in the wild with their families but instead, they have been ripped away from their mothers for more than a year and now sold off for lifelong captivity.”
Lenin Chisaira, an environmental lawyer from Zimbabwe-based Advocates4Earth who filed an interdict to try to stop the exports in May 2019, and which has been working with HSI/Africa and others on efforts to release the elephants, said: “The secrecy around the ongoing capture and trade of Zimbabwe’s wildlife exposes lack of accountability, transparency and a hint of arrogance by Zimbabwean authorities. They seem prepared to go ahead despite global outcry and advice. They also seem keen to go against local pressure, and local legal processes considering the case we launched early this year which is centred on the welfare and trading of these elephants.”
Over the past year, elephant experts and wildlife protection groups across Africa have called for the elephant export to be halted and for all future captures to be stopped. The African Elephant Coalition, an alliance of 32 African countries, has called on Zimbabwe to end the export of wild elephants to zoos and other captive facilities.
Nomusa Dube, founder of Zimbabwe Elephant Foundation, said: “The Zimbabwe Constitution Wild Life Act states that all Zimbabwe wildlife is owned by the citizens, and right now Constitutional national laws have been broken. The capture and export of wildlife in Zimbabwe is unconstitutional and unlawful thus any CITES permits are illegal.”
The energy in the air is feverish, filled with anticipation and burgeoning adrenaline. The chorus of thousands of voices echos through the dust as the herds make their way towards the banks of this legendary river, signalling what’s to come. If the conditions are favourable, what follows will be the breathtaking pinnacle of nature’s greatest spectacle, the greatest hurdle in the Great Migration: The crossing of the Mara River.
The Great Migration is not a singular event with a particular start and end, but rather the constant movement by millions of wildebeest and tens of thousands of other plains herbivores, driven by the quest for nutritious grass, which is in turn dictated by the rains. As the wildebeest follow the age-old instinct rooted deep within each of them, they travel hundreds of miles, following the rains, in a route that takes them from Tanzania’s Serengeti to Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Even though the migration itself is in constant movement, without a start or end, it is the river crossings that define this incredible spectacle.
These crossings vary as much in intensity and danger as they do in their spectacular nature. There are shallow crossings with little fuss, and then there are the deepwater crossings – crocodile-infested crossing points which result in dust-choked panicked chaos.
The great herds that traverse the many miles in search of more fertile grazing lands often break into “smaller” satellite herds, comprising tens of thousands of animals. These herds navigate their way by following their internal compass, which is driven by a swarm-like mentality rather than following a designated leader to the various crossing points in this continuous movement of life.
It is now August, and with each passing day, more herds emerge from beyond the horizon. They move in unison, in a kind of symphony that can only be likened to a large flock of starlings that mould to the air currents they ride. They have left the plains of the Serengeti and made their way to the Maasai Mara. It is here that they will be faced with the ultimate leap of faith – crossing the Mara River. The energy at the crossings is erratic, nervous, hesitant and often chaotic. The herds have made it to this point after an arduous journey, and they are now faced with this perilous hurdle, a crocodile-infested river that they do not want to venture into, but instinct tells them they must.
Even though the instinct to cross is innate in each one of them, on arrival at the river they mill around, with several false starts – the internal struggle is apparent. Ultimately one wildebeest, in a moment of sheer courage or madness, will take the plunge. And following that pioneer, there is an explosion of the pent-up energy as the once nervous herd now rapidly morphs into a frantic mass of individuals all desperate to cross.
Once the crossing begins, very few things will bring it to a stop. Even as the large crocodiles who were lying in wait approach the crossing masses, more and more wildebeest continue to file down the steep, dusty banks into the water below. Depending on the size of the herd, a crossing can last from a few minutes to a few hours.
For some, witnessing the Great Migration and the river crossings is a bucket-list experience to be ticked off before moving on to the next item. But for me, it felt so much more than that. As a wildlife photographer fascinated by nature since childhood, finding myself on the banks of the Mara River and the cusp of nature’s greatest spectacle, was fulfilling my ultimate dream.
I was at one particular section of the Mara River when a crossing occurred. It came without any warning or inclination of impending mayhem. First one wildebeest stepped into the water, then two, three… and then, pandemonium! The scene unfolding before me left me spellbound. This was by far the most spectacular event I had ever witnessed; a moment greater than I had ever dreamed it to be. This was life playing out the way nature intended: unbridled, visceral, unconquerable and triumphant.
I have always talked about the magic of Africa and made mention that there must be something magical about the dust that covers this incredible continent. Little did I know that the dust kicked up by the march of a million wildebeest takes my passion and awe to the next level.
The Great Migration, simply the greatest spectacle.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR, FAIZEL ISMAIL
Faizel is a modern-day explorer, wildlife photographer and conservationist. He was born and raised in the town of Rustenburg, in the heart of beautiful South Africa, but his travels have taken him far and wide, and he currently resides in the United States.
Faizel has always had a connection to the natural world, through photography, conservation activities and by simply spending time in wild spaces. The natural world is intricately essential to who he is, and his passion has never waned. In many regards, he is still that little South African boy who explored the dusty bushveld with limitless energy and a zest for adventure, except that now he can share this love with the world through his photography, blog and the private safari company that he runs with his wife, Jessica.
“I want my images to ignite the part of the soul that spurs adventure, and to be a catalyst to reconnect people with our planet. This connection will create a sense of stewardship for our planet at a time when this is most needed.” You can see more of his photographs on his website and Instagram page.
One of north Kenya’s largest tuskers, a celebrated African savanna elephant called Matt, has sadly died.
Matt, who was aged 52 and one of Kenya’s well-known elephant elders, apparently died from natural causes. During his lifetime he roamed further than any other Kenya elephant tracked by Save the Elephants, nearly circumventing Mount Kenya from Meru all the way to Laikipia, a continuous east-to-west loop of approximately 245 km. His travels also took him northward across Samburu for a stretch of 220 km.
His body was found by the Northern Rangelands Trust 9-1 anti-poaching unit on Monday October 7, and reported to the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Measuring 10 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing over 6 tons, Save the Elephants first collared Matt with a GPS tracking collar in 2002 so researchers could monitor and study his behaviour and rangers could protect him from poachers. Matt’s range turned out to span all the way from Meru National Park on the Tana River, through three national reserves including Samburu, and half a dozen community conservancies to the west of the elephants’ range. With his large size and spectacular tusks, Matt survived and thrived during the high-risk poaching epidemic a decade ago – a testament to his adaptation and local knowledge. The crisis killed an estimated 100,000 elephants across Africa in just three years, between 2010 and 2012.
Matt was no ordinary bull. His curiosity always kept researchers on their toes and he was a master at shredding tracking collars that kept him in the spotlight. Matt’s last collar was fitted in March 2016, and for the next three years (until last week) his position was recorded every hour for his protection and for the collection of important data.
As a dominant bull elephant, Matt would make yearly journeys from his resting area east of the Matthew’s Range to the Samburu National Reserve where he could find females in oestrus. He appeared in numerous nature documentary series including the BBC’s ‘This Wild Life’,‘The Secret Lives of Elephants’ and ‘Nature’s Epic Journeys’.
In 2017, Save the Elephants founder, Iain Douglas-Hamilton recorded a dramatic scene (see video below) with Matt after he went to investigate a confrontation between the great bull and another elephant called Edison and found himself stuck in the middle.
Save the Elephants works to secure a future for elephants in Africa. Specialising in elephant research, STE provides scientific insights into elephant behaviour, intelligence, and long-distance movements and applies them to the challenges of elephant survival. Through our thriving education and outreach programmes, we reach out to hearts and minds, making local people the true custodians of their own rich heritage. Our human-elephant conflict mitigation projects, especially beehive fences, have reduced the number of crop-raiding incidents, and provide farmers with elephant-friendly alternative sources of income. To battle the current surge in ivory poaching, our Elephant Crisis Fund is identifying and supporting the most effective partners in Africa and in the ivory consuming nations to stop poaching, thwart traffickers and end demand for ivory.
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), created to protect the secretive okapi (Okapia johnstoni), will now be run under a new management partnership agreement between the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the DRC government’s Nature Conservation Agency (ICCN), according to a press release by WCS.
“ICCN does not have the funds or expertise to effectively manage their protected areas and are entering into Private-Public Partnerships for most of their protected areas,” John Lukas, co-founder of the Okapi Conservation Project, managed by the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Global, told Mongabay. “The co-management structure for the Okapi Wildlife Reserve should bring in much needed financial resources and greater efficiencies in operation and attract leadership with expertise in law enforcement.”
The reserve, spread across some 13,700 square kilometres (5,290 square miles) of the Ituri rainforest, is home to not only the okapi, the closest living relative of the giraffe, but more than 100 mammal species, including large populations of forest elephants and chimpanzees, and nearly 400 species of recorded birds. The reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well and inhabited by the Efe and Mbuti peoples.
But the reserve has also been hit by illegal hunting, logging and mining, and encroached upon by settlers and bands of armed rebel groups. In 2012, a brutal attack by armed groups at the headquarters of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve killed six people and 14 captive okapis kept there as the species’ ambassadors to the local community. In the last 25 years, okapi numbers are thought to have declined by nearly 50%, earning the species a listing of ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List.
Through the new management partnership agreement, WCS and ICCN and their partners hope to restore the reserve to its “former world-class status,” WCS said in its statement. They plan to bring greater stability to the reserve and surrounding forests, improve the welfare and operations of its rangers, and enhance the social well-being of resident communities.
The Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) will continue to support WCS and ICCN, Lukas said, and the organisation has entered into agreements with both ICCN and WCS to collaborate.
“We will be responsible for conservation education, community relations and assistance, women’s groups, agroforestry, okapi management and camera trapping to foster interest in the wildlife of the OWR,” he said. “We have been supporting the rangers and their patrol efforts to date and will be transitioning that responsible to WCS as funds become available.”
The local communities are not part of the official agreement structure, Lukas said, but they will be consulted as management details become clearer. “Our educators are based around the reserve and interact with the communities regularly and will represent their concerns to the Reserve Management Unit,” he added.
Threats to the reserve have multiplied over the recent years, but one of the immediate threats the management teams hope to tackle is illegal gold mining.
“Mines draw in desperate people, depend on bushmeat to feed the miners and are subject to extortion by rogue militias and the military,” Lukas said. “Secondly, clearing of forest by immigrants is an increasing threat along with logging in certain areas. Elephant poaching is declining but still a threat because the poachers are armed. Training of the rangers which is going on now is needed to properly deal with the threats.”
The road ahead, however, is extremely challenging. The teams are currently dealing with an Ebola outbreak in Mambasa, 70 kilometres (44 miles) from Epulu, where the reserve’s headquarters is stationed. This has made it difficult for the staff to move around the region, Lukas said.
Despite the challenges, conserving the Okapi Wildlife Reserve is crucial, conservationists say.
“The OWR still contains a remarkable level of biological diversity which supports a viable population of okapi. Protecting the forest and rallying communities to value okapi is the goal of our brave staff which is supported by our donors from around the world,” Lukas said. “We are celebrating World Okapi Day on Oct. 18th in five villages around the reserve and hope to reach about 20,000 people living in and around the reserve with a conservation message to protect okapi – ‘The Pride of DRC’.”
GUEST POST by Emily Scott (Journeys with Purpose crew member), with Blue Sky Society Trust
Africa without wildlife is hard to imagine until you see it. Driving through Mozambique’s Gilé National Reserve, which has been poached to the edge of existence, was the first time I saw how that tragic future could look. I realised how delicately the continent’s wildlife is teetering on the brink.
Travelling as part of the Trust’s Journeys with Purpose (JWP) expedition, our five-woman team hoped to help change that reality. We drove 2,113 km over 17 days in support of Mozambique’s threatened wildlife. We saw for ourselves the important role that tourists can play in bolstering the incredible efforts of committed conservationists in Africa.
Our team raised R60,000 to fund the collaring of a threatened elephant in Gilé, and also distributed 8,000 educational booklets to local schools to get students excited about wildlife conservation. Along our journey, we were privileged to meet with passionate people fighting to protect wildlife in Mozambique, listen to their stories, and learn how to support their essential work.
Our expedition began in Gilé National Reserve, where we were invited to go behind the scenes with the elephant collaring team. We joined the fantastic scientists from Elephants Alive, skilled wildlife vets, and an expert helicopter pilot as they battled against challenge after challenge to protect Gilé’s elephants.
Collaring elephants in Gilé is no easy task. Only two roads cross through the thick miombo forest, and the clever elephants living within have learned from decades of civil war and poaching that survival requires hiding from humans.
But thanks to the tireless efforts of the team, by the end of the week four elephants were successfully collared – including the cow funded by our donations, who we dubbed ‘Ghost’ in honour of her ability to vanish without a trace whenever we attempted to find the herd.
As our team drove away from Gilé, we felt overwhelmed by the long road that the park has ahead of it. But our next stop, Gorongosa National Park, proved to us that success is possible.
Not long ago, Gorongosa faced the same challenges as Gilé does today. Its wildlife was nearly wiped out by Mozambique’s civil war, and tourists no longer flocked to this once-famous park. But a partnership with the Gregory C. Carr Foundation sparked the ambitious Gorongosa Restoration Project, which envisioned a future in which Gorongosa could be a “human rights park”. The passionate team planned to restore the park to its former glory by improving the lives of the people who live around it.
The project has since opened schools, set up mobile clinics, supported sustainable farming practices, and provided economic opportunities to these communities. The park now employs 617 locals, supports 375 community health workers and 5,000 small farmers, and runs Girls’ Clubs for 2,000 children. We spent hours talking with Vasco Galante, Gorongosa’s Director of Communications, who fervently believes that the best protection for wildlife is to be surrounded by a community that sees tangible benefits from conservation.
And it appears that Galante is right. Gorongosa is now home to over 650 elephants. Last year 30 new lion cubs were born. Painted wolves (African wild dogs), completely absent after the war, have been successfully reintroduced.
We took three game drives with outstanding local guide Tonga Torcida, which proved to us that Gorongosa is thriving. We watched elephants wander through sunlit forests of yellow fever trees, lions lazing around after a dinner of warthog, and massive herds of waterbuck grazing as the sun set over the plains.
We left Gorongosa and headed for the coast on a high, feeling optimistic about the success this approach to conservation can achieve. We spent our final days in Mozambique visiting another beautiful park hoping to follow in Gorongosa’s footsteps.
Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, a string of tiny islands off the coast of Vilankulos, is home to a stunning array of marine life. We spied dolphins, flamingos, tropical fish in every colour of the rainbow, and even elusive dugongs during our day exploring the sea. Unfortunately, as in all of Mozambique’s protected areas, Bazaruto’s wildlife is threatened.
The park is in its first year of a partnership with African Parks, which plans to overhaul its management in order to protect this unique ecosystem. We met with Pablo Schapira, another committed conservationist who is in charge of Bazaruto’s operations. He hopes to see the park boundaries expanded, locals (particularly women) hired and trained as expert rangers, and communities living on the islands supported in moving toward sustainability.
DID YOU KNOW that African Parks offers safari camps (lodges and campsites) where 100% of tourism revenue goes to conservation and local communities? Find out more and book your African Parks safari.
On the last day of our expedition, we visited one of those islands to deliver educational booklets to a tiny, open-air school. Just like at every school Blue Sky Society visits, the students were overjoyed to sing, dance, and create art while learning about the animals they can help to protect.
As we said our goodbyes and wrapped up our expedition, we all hoped that these young students will play a part in saving Mozambique’s threatened wildlife.
Our journey through Mozambique showed us two options for the future: A vast forest empty of both tourists and wildlife, threatened by anyone hoping to profit off its resources; or a glorious park that has fought itself back from the brink through partnership with the community around it.
As tourists, we have an incredible privilege, and by visiting Africa’s parks and conservation projects we help to ensure that their work will continue. We get to choose which future we want to become a reality.
The High Court of Zambia has ruled that the controversial Kangaluwi open-cast copper mine project will go ahead in the heart of the Lower Zambezi National park, dismissing the appeal against the mine on a legal technicality because the initial legal team that fought the case five years ago failed to file a record of appeal. Read the High Court’s ruling here.
The news is already sending shock waves throughout the Zambian and regional tourism community. The Lower Zambezi National Park is one of tourism’s major economic contributors and the lodges in and around the park employ hundreds of local people, supporting thousands more in the communities on its periphery. The mine threatens this thriving tourism economy and the livelihoods of everyone involved in tourism in the Lower Zambezi Valley. It also threatens to derail Zambia’s recently unveiled tourism growth strategy which hinges on the country’s commitment to protecting its wilderness areas.
The Lower Zambezi National Park sits directly opposite Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The site of the mine is between two seasonal rivers which flow directly into the Zambezi River. Its tailings dams will be located just a few hundred metres above the valley floor, next to these rivers. The risk of pollution and collateral damage to the environment is high, as is the impact the mine will have on the wildlife in the area.
The licence for the mine is held by Mwembeshi Resources Ltd, but it is still unclear where its owners, Grand Resources Ltd, are based. They are registered in Dubai but suspicions are rife that they are Chinese owned. Unless an appeal is lodged quickly, the mine company will move onto the site and begin the work of clearing it.
It’s September 2019, and I am about to embark upon one of my many pilgrimages to Mana Pools National Park – one of the finest wildlife destinations in the world that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 3 May 2013. Located in northern Zimbabwe on the southern banks of the mighty Zambezi River, the national park spans some 219,600 hectares of wildlife conservation area. ‘Mana’ means ‘four’ in the local Shona language, and refers to the four large permanent pools created by the meanderings of the middle Zambezi, the pools are called Long Pool, Chine Pool, Green Pool and Chisasiko Pool.
Year after year Mana’s unique landscape of acacia and albida trees, the abundance of birdlife, packs of painted wolves (African wild dogs), magnificent standing elephants, the tranquillity of the Zambezi River, and the unique variety of wildlife keeps luring me back time and again to this Utopian paradise.
However, September 2019 in Mana Pools was a heart-wrenching and devastating sight to behold, and bears little to no resemblance to the park the same time last year, or even the year before that.
The park has been ravaged by ongoing drought, the landscape is dry and scorched, food supply for the wildlife is scarce and the famous ‘pools’, if not already completely bone dry, are fast on their way to becoming dry, hollowed-out memories of what used to be.
This of course is having a dramatic effect on the well-being of the animals, with scores literally dropping to the ground weak and weary from starvation. There is hope that November will bring the rains, but right now it’s tough times for the inhabitants of the park.
As a photographer one becomes mesmerised by the ethereal backlit blue and orange landscapes that Mana Pools is famed for, and, previously, if you were lucky you might just get that shot with an elephant or a zebra in the frame. This year I encountered something I have never seen before in the beautiful albida forests – predator prominence.
Given the extent of the drought, it is rich pickings for the waiting predators, and it is not at all unusual to see lions devouring an easy catch of an elephant or buffalo.
Just too weak to protect themselves the larger animals and their young are vulnerable to the waiting lions, hyenas and vultures. They simply cannot find enough sustenance to meet their daily requirements, and survival of the fittest determines the outcome.
There is no question that it is a dire set of circumstances, and there are various thoughts and opinions as to why Mana Pools has experienced such extreme severity this year. Some say climate change, some say the cyclical nature of life in the bush and nature taking its course, some feel that it’s just the turn for the predators to have a good season. Whatever the reasons, it is tough viewing seeing the smallest emaciated elephants striving for survival, alongside an equally gaunt mother and herd. The prognosis for those diminutive creatures is not good.
Something that has divided opinion and caused some controversy is the introduction of a feeding programme. Trucks of donated Rhodes grass are brought into Mana Pools, a lifeline for the animals that devour the supplies and feed their young.
I have seen firsthand that in some instances this has come not a moment too soon for some desperate animals and has undoubtedly saved some lives. Controversy reigns, however, and there are those that feel nature is being tampered with and that it should be allowed to take its course. The nature versus nurture debate rages on, with no definitive ‘right’ answer.
Some of the game species seem to have fared slightly better – perhaps they are less hunted due to the easy meals on offer to predators. The kudu, impala and eland seem somewhat more relaxed, despite also having to forage and depend upon the handouts being distributed.
Witnessing the direct impact of the drought in this area made me wonder what the long-term implications for the wildlife will be – not just in Mana Pools, but across the other drought-ridden areas of Africa.
Documenting a drought is not the ‘prettiest’ work a photographer can embark upon, and I found this year’s visit to Mana Pools disturbing and not at all what I had expected. Nonetheless, it is the true story of how tough life can be in the wild.
Flowers and plants captivate me, skulls, skins and bones fascinate me. To me, they are potent symbols of life and death, inseparable and complementary. Living with my life partner Clive Stockil in the Lowveld wilderness of Zimbabwe, I am an artist and a naturalist, celebrating the indigenous plants and wildlife in the wilderness and in my gardens, and finding inspiration in the skulls, shells, stones and bones that nestle amongst the flowers, trees and leaves.
The following are a selection of some of my favourite pieces of art, and the inspiration behind them.
Shells are endlessly fascinating. The remains of giant African land snails, creatures of myth and story, are pristine white shells which they leave behind after they die. I have painted them tucked into the stems of the towering Strelitzia nicolae in my bush garden.
In the oral history of the Changana Chauke clan, who live adjacent to Gonarezhou National Park in the village of Chief Mahenye, there is a fascinating story told by the elders of how the giant African land snail came to be their totem. Back in those far-off days of hunter-gatherer existence, their rivals, the Hlungwani clan, had the knowledge and use of fire. The Chauke clan did not. Fire was supposed to be their totem, and yet they were deprived of it. By luck, a Chauke clan member surreptitiously managed to collect some fire embers from the rival clan by using an empty giant snail shell as a receptacle for the glowing treasure.
The Chauke clan celebrated the fact that they, at last, had fire in their clan. They could now keep warm and cook their meat, and most importantly, they could fire and harden the full-bellied clay pots that the women crafted to carry life-giving water, cook food and brew sorghum beer. So they revered the giant snail – a creature which ‘withstood’ the fire; a creature which, even after an intense bush fire has passed, will eventually creep out of its underground hiding place unscathed.
I am fascinated by the shapes and stories that lie in skulls and bones, and by the natural cycles of life and death. In being born, we are already in the process of dying, and so in my garden and my art studio I sketch, muse and paint endless combinations of bones, skulls and flowers.
Crossandras are summer flowering perennials in the Gonarezhou National Park and the Save Valley Conservancy where I live, tucked under the protective shade of mopani trees and blanketed with a profusion of delicate peach flowers during the rainy season.
Sabi stars are hardy survivors, succulents nestled in rocky places, their water-swollen, grey-skinned stems bursting forth with deep pink stars in the middle of our dry, dusty winters. Also referred to as an impala lily in South Africa and a desert rose in East Africa, these flowers seem to me to be the epitome of hope, bursting forth in wild colour and exquisite form from a leafless grey stem.
Fallen kigelia (or sausage tree) flowers – gorgeous wine red cups of goodness – are sought after in the winter months by impala, as they forage beneath the trees of our riverine woodlands. And in turn, the impala is hunted by the slinky leopards who lie in ambush, dappled coats merging into the surrounding nature.
An old warthog skull that I found years ago in the bush near my house, a victim of leopard or lion, and with shapes as wondrous and strange as any dragon or dinosaur skull could be, has pride of place in my studio when I am in sketching mood. A treasured palette knife that belonged to my father is my favourite tool, and acrylics are my preferred medium when working in the field, due to their fast drying time. The palette knife is perfect for capturing the curve of a tusk.
The porcupine that visits regularly to nibble on the vegetation around our bush house thrills me with his magnificent quills – and also loves to inspect the bowl of dog food while our Jack Russells keep a respectful distance!
Amongst my treasures, I have a special skull, a painted wolf (African wild dog) alpha female. I once watched her at her den with five-week-old pups; she died when a lion bit through her spine. The rest of the pack rallied and fed the eight pups, successfully rearing the tiny mites to adulthood. That was a natural death, the result of inter-predator confrontation and as such, a sad but acceptable reality.
The unacceptable reverse is true of indiscriminate animal deaths by wire snares, pesticides, poisoning or other human activity such as illegal wildlife trade.
Just like how wild predators utilise their prey, we humans utilise animal parts. We wear leather shoes and belts; many of us eat animal products; we use skins and horns in musical instruments, whether ivory for piano keys or skins and kudu horns for traditional dancers. Our challenge is, how do we utilise the world around us ethically, sustainably?
Traditional hunter-gatherers would have created snares from woven grass to trap the bushmeat that they needed to feed their families, and, if not recovered, these woven snares would have broken down over a short time, becoming harmless. The advent of iron gin traps and the availability of deadly indestructible wire from fences and telephone cables have created monsters (‘Land Mines’ I call them), which lurk in the environment, in the leaves and undergrowth, and remain deadly for years and years to come.
Painted wolves are particularly susceptible to running through fence wire and copper wire traps set for antelope in the bush. Constantly we face the issue of losing these elegant, endangered creatures if we cannot intervene in time to remove the constricting wire from their necks or waists.
Painted wolves are crepuscular, usually hunting in the hours of dawn and dusk. Still, on many full moon nights around the campfire or at our bush house I have heard these hunters calling their evocative “hoooo” call to each other, having enough light by the glowing moon to hunt late into the night. And I sit there worrying, knowing that then they are even more vulnerable to running through unseen snare lines.
Over the years I have sketched many skulls from animals lost to snares and poaching: a rhino skull from a female who died of bullet wounds near our bush house recently, after running wildly through the mopane trees from the poachers who shot at her; the pelvis and bones from a male black rhino who was shot by poachers, then ran away and died below our bush house a few years ago.
How do we maintain balance and honour the natural cycles of birth and death? How do we address illegal trade and excess harvesting of our wildlife and plants? How do human communities live with their environments so that both benefit from the relationship? What legacy do we leave our children? Are we living in the Garden of Eden, or are we well on our way to Armageddon?
My large mixed media painting on canvas, called ‘Zebra, Coat of Many Colours’, reflects joy, a belief that varied solutions of many hues can be embraced to maintain ecosystems for the good of people and wildlife. To embrace our Garden of Eden before it is too late.
“Skulls, Skins and Skeletons in my Garden… Eden or Armageddon?” is the title of my solo art exhibition at The Corridor Gallery in Harare, Zimbabwe, which will open on 23rd October 2019, and will run for a month after that.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, LIN BARRIE
Expressing herself with found objects, palette knife and paintbrush, Lin Barrie believes that the abstract essence of a landscape, person or animal can only truly be captured by direct observation. She immerses herself in her subjects, whether observing African night skies, sketching rhinos drinking at a favourite waterhole, watching African wild dogs and their pups, or capturing the mood of an abstract landscape or traditional dance. She is fascinated by the synergies between elements of landscape, people and animals, such as the flow of water which becomes fish, the texture of baobab skin which so closely resembles that of elephants’ limbs, the shapes of monumental rock outcrops which take human or animal forms, plants which echo human parts, animal totems and people. You can see more of her artwork on her website and Facebook page.
We’re back with another dose of just what the doctor ordered: adorably cute wild baby animals of Africa! After the success of our last gallery, we’re turning our eyes to the incredibly close bonds that these babies share with their parents. This epic celebration gallery would not be possible if not for the stunning photographs entered in our Photographer of the Year 2019 competition. SCROLL DOWN to enjoy this gallery.
Conservation organisations in Namibia support the recent decision by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to grant an import permit for a black rhino trophy from our country. Responses to this decision from some US organisations and the public, however, reveal that there is still strong opposition to hunting. We believe that this opposition stems from a lack of knowledge and understanding of how hunting fits into the Namibian conservation model. Please allow us to explain.
Against the backdrop of a global extinction crisis and booming illegal wildlife trade that fuels poaching throughout Africa, Namibia is an exceptional conservation success story. We are amongst a handful of countries in the world that have enabled wild animals like rhinos to increase in their natural habitat. After nearly losing all our precious free-ranging black rhinos during the dark apartheid era, we are proud of the fact that today, Namibia hosts close to 2,000 black rhinos. These account for 33% of the entire black rhino species and 85% of the south-western subspecies.
By global standards, Namibia is not a wealthy country. Many Namibians struggle to meet their daily needs in the harsh desert environment, a situation that may worsen with climate change. Our government is faced with numerous competing socio-economic demands for its scarce resources – education, health and drought relief, to name a few. Dedicating funds to protect black rhinos from poachers while simultaneously meeting manifold development challenges is tough, to say the least.
The Namibian solution to this daunting task is to use the full value of our rhinos and other wildlife to fund conservation and sustainable development. In a welcome departure from the exclusionary policies of the past, our post-apartheid independent government has included local people as key partners and beneficiaries of wildlife conservation.
The direct benefits from wildlife include income and increased food security from photographic and hunting tourism, which operate within the same areas in Namibia without negatively affecting each other. A recent study in Namibian communal areas found that while the two industries are complementary, photographic tourism could not fully replace hunting if the latter were banned. These tourism sectors together generate significant income from Namibia’s wildlife, which funds conservation.
Notwithstanding the significant heritage and ecological value of black rhinos, they cannot be effectively protected from poachers without substantial funds. The US$400,000 paid to Game Products Trust Fund (GPTF) for the recent black rhino hunt provided a welcome boost to Namibian conservation. The GPTF links income from government wildlife sales and trophy fees directly to on-the-ground conservation.
Between 2012-2018, GPTF spent over US$7.5 million on conservation projects; 61% of this expenditure (about US$4.6 million) was dedicated to anti-poaching and rhino population management (Figure 1). US$2.3 million of this budget provides direct support for anti-poaching teams.
Figure 1. The Game Products Trust Fund (GPTF) expenses
The remaining funds are used for anti-poaching vehicles (including helicopters and boats), managing and monitoring rhino populations, and rewarding informants who provide tip-offs leading to poacher arrests (Figure 2).
Figure 2. The Game Products Trust Fund (GPTF) rhino-related expenses
Namibia’s substantial rhino populations have unfortunately attracted organised poaching syndicates. To counteract increased poaching in 2014 and 2015, the government and their partners mobilised funding from GPTF and other sources to strengthen and coordinate their anti-poaching efforts. Consequently, black rhino poaching declined by 33% during the last three years. Etosha National Park, which hosts the largest rhino population in the country, reported fewer than 30 incidents in 2018, down from a high of 80 in 2015. Even more impressive, communal conservancies that host free-ranging black rhinos have recorded zero poaching incidents during the last two years!
Besides the economic benefit of this hunt, removing old bulls from the population also increases the rhino population growth rate. Particularly in small black rhino populations, older bulls can become a problem. They prevent young bulls from breeding and may even kill them in territorial fights. The females in their territories are likely to be their daughters, so keeping these old bulls in the population may jeopardise its genetic integrity. Black rhinos are managed by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, which oversees a highly successful black rhino custodianship programme on freehold and communal land. Removing older bulls from these smaller populations is thus part of their broader black rhino population management plan.
Considering the successful Namibian conservation model and our collective colossal efforts to reduce poaching, the recent public comments suggesting that money from the black rhino hunt would be misappropriated are especially offensive. The “animals first” message promoted by animal rights and welfare organisations has alienated rural communities throughout Africa as it disregards their rights and ignores their needs. For wildlife, the result is widespread habitat loss and animal extermination. While certain ideologues want to pressure Namibia into accepting this lose-lose scenario, we would rather support the proven, home-grown strategy that reaps rewards for people and wildlife. We invite you to visit Namibia and see our success for yourselves.
“Elephant damage!” is now a common phrase in reaction to the sight of fallen trees, and landscapes bereft of trees. The apparent loss of large savanna trees such as marula and knobthorn in Africa’s protected areas is often blamed on elephants, and this perceived direct link between elephants and treefall drives many conservation authorities and strategies to focus on managing elephant numbers to ‘save’ trees.
And yet, there is not necessarily a direct line between elephants and the ongoing loss of large trees, as there are many layers of complexity to the situation. A recent report ‘The management dilemma: Removing elephants to save large trees’ dives into this complex, important issue and comes up with some surprising and thought-provoking conclusions.
Here follows a summary of this report:
THE IMPACT OF HISTORICAL PREJUDICE
The report kicks off by explaining that management practises in the mostly fenced Kruger National Park have historically sided towards managing elephants to achieve an ‘ideal state’ concerning trees, which is based on a colonial perspective, tourist expectations and the pursuit of an aesthetically pleasing (treed) landscape. And yet those historical records were based on a time when elephants had been largely exterminated from South Africa, from an earlier population of about 100,000 elephants – by poaching, recreational/trophy and subsistence hunting. And, the 19th-century rinderpest outbreak resulted in the crash of herbivore populations. This absence of elephants and herbivores (which eat tree seedlings) resulted in trees dominating the landscape at the time that we now refer to as having the ‘ideal landscape’.
In the post-culling era, Kruger elephant numbers have again increased, but populations are restricted to smaller areas than historically. To add to the dynamic, the ‘ideal landscape’ is now primarily determined by the needs of the photographic tourism industry.
ELEPHANTS AND TREES
Elephants utilise trees such as marula, knobthorn and red bushwillow for nutrition, and may strip bark, break branches or push trees over as they forage – with large bulls pushing over more trees than cows do. Trees that are trimmed down, rather than pushed over, become vulnerable to insects and fire.
By engaging in this ‘ecosystem engineering’ behaviour, elephants benefit ecosystems by improving plant diversity – opening up woody areas to grassland. Elephants are also essential dispersers and germination agents of tree seeds, often depositing those seeds in a ball of organic fertiliser (dung) up to 65 km away from the mother tree, with the seed having a higher chance of germination after being exposed to acids in the elephant’s digestive system. Elephants produce up to 150 kg of wet dung per day, further enriching the ecosystem by promoting overall biological diversity and introducing micro-habitats for insects, frogs and reptiles.
On the other hand, the dominance of elephants above a certain threshold can, in conjunction with fire, result in the removal of large trees, and the resultant reduction in the diversity of birds, bats and small mammals.
CARRYING CAPACITY: A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION
The Kruger National Park culling program from 1967 to 1994 was based on maintaining a population of one elephant per square mile (0,4 per km²) – about 7,000 elephants in the 1.9-million-hectare national park. This figure, which was based on outdated agricultural parameters, became entrenched in the minds of former protected area managers and some sectors of the general public, and the current elephant population of over 20,000 causes much angst and discussion amongst those sectors of society. This application of a static carrying capacity figure to a dynamic ecosystem is no longer supported by current management thinking.
FENCED-OFF AREA SHOWS SAME LOSS OF LARGE MARULA TREES
A 300-ha area in northern Kruger was fenced off to breed roan antelope, during the time of the elephant culling program, and no elephants accessed the fenced-off area. Large marula trees within the fenced-off area disappeared from that landscape at the same rate as did trees outside of that area – indicating that other factors are also at play. Also, the lack of browsers in the 300-ha roan enclosure resulted in marula seedlings growing taller than they did outside of the fence, where impala and other small herbivores predate on significant volumes of tree seedlings and saplings. This lack of a clear, direct relationship between dead marula trees and elephant numbers during the culling period suggests that elephants are not solely responsible for the loss of marula trees. There is a growing body of evidence that there is a complex relationship between elephants, fire and climate change when it comes to treefall rates and bush encroachment.
TSAVO AND CHOBE COMPARISONS
Both Tsavo (Kenya) and Chobe (Botswana) National Parks have seen elephant numbers fluctuate in the last two centuries under the pressure of poaching, with resultant impact on tree cover and populations of grassland grazers versus browsers. Both protected areas are currently seeing elephant populations recover to what they were before the 19th century ivory trade period, with resultant reinstatement of a landscape with fewer large trees. Also recovering in Chobe (from the rinderpest outbreak) are impala populations, resulting in increased predation on tree seedlings and saplings, further increasing the swing back to fewer trees and more grassland than existed historically.
MITIGATION METHODS
The primary determinants of tree extirpation are elephants, fire, soil and elevation – and therefore, elephant density alone does not explain the survival and recruitment rate of large trees.
That said, the report does cover various lethal and non-lethal methods for elephant population reduction and stresses that these points are made without reference to the obvious ethical considerations. The report also emphasises that each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages.
Lethal elephant population reduction
Culling was described in the report as not effective because it results in a spike in elephant birth rates, in response to more food per head, and the inter-regional movement of elephants into culling areas. Also, culling was found to have taken place in the regions that did not match the natural spatial movements of elephants. Poaching reduced elephant populations by one third in seven years across Central and East Africa, but for obvious reasons, this is not a supported elephant management tool. Trophy hunting was described as non-effective because of the focus on male elephants carrying large ivory results in undesirable skewed sex ratios and age structures within populations.
Non-lethal elephant population reduction
The use of contraceptives is successful in several smaller reserves in South Africa, including Greater Makalali Private Game Reserve and Tembe Elephant Park. The success of elephant translocations is dependent on additional land becoming available for elephants, and the impact of successful translocations is presumed to mirror that of culling.
The spatial availability of water resources regulates elephant movement and impact on trees. For example, Kruger elephant bulls make use of artificial waterholes to range further away from natural rivers than do family groups, and the Kruger management strategy now includes the closure and spatial distribution of artificial waterholes to influence elephant movement. This strategy has already resulted in the annual elephant population growth rate reducing from 6,5% to 4,2% over 12 years. Importantly, the closure of artificial waterholes will also reduce the populations of tree seedling predators such as impala, further improving the survival rates of trees. To date, Kruger has closed two-thirds of the 365 artificial waterholes and 50 earth dams.
By comparison, the privately-owned game reserves to the west of Kruger National Park that share an unfenced border with Kruger have not reduced the number of artificial waterholes, instead choosing to protect individual trees. They are experiencing a significantly higher elephant population than was the case before Kruger started closing their artificial waterholes.
Fences are also used to influence the spatial movement of elephants. Elephants also avoid fear zones – where threats to their safety are spatially predictable, but where the timing and type of threat are unpredictable.
Protecting individual trees
Protecting individual large trees is justified as a tool to maintain both the seed banks for future generations and the aesthetic importance of trees as landscape features. In this regard, wire-netting prevents bark-stripping, and rock-packing and honey bees keep elephants away from the trees. Artificial propagation of tree seedlings increases the density of food plants and has been successfully applied to diminish human-elephant conflict in Thailand.
Reducing the poaching threat in neighbouring protected areas such as Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park could produce benefits for South Africa’s Kruger National Park, by reducing the ‘fear zone’ implications and increasing the movements of elephants out of Kruger and between these protected areas.
CONCLUSION
The authors of this report conclude that protected area managers face difficulties in protecting biodiversity where particular objectives may conflict. The question “Can large trees and elephants coexist and what strategies should managers implement to optimise biodiversity goals?” is a vital one facing protected area managers.
Full report: Henley, M.D. & Cook, R.M. (2019). The management dilemma: Removing elephants to save large trees. Koedoe 61(1), a1564. https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v61i1.1564
The African lion is a strong, powerful cat that is more than capable of climbing vertical surfaces. But descending is always a problem, and so these big, heavy cats usually avoid climbing.
However, they are opportunistic felines, and will go to extraordinary lengths to find food and there are some populations of lions that are known to climb trees – the small pride in Zimanga Private Game Reserve in South Africa are one such population.
On a recent game drive in the reserve I witnessed the two lionesses from the pride climbing something that I had never witnessed before – a near-vertical cliff face on the banks of the Mkuze River.
We found the lionesses lying in the sandy, dry riverbed during our morning game drive. As we watched, first one and then the other spotted something high up on the cliff beside them.
After a while, one of the lionesses stood up and started walking towards the base of the cliff. To my amazement she launched herself straight up the rock face. She confidently picked her way along the labyrinth of cracks and ledges that led towards her target.
About two thirds of the way up the cliff she paused and looked down at her sister, who was following her progress from the riverbed, before continuing with her task.
The second lioness was much more cautious as she tried to find a route to join her sister. At one point she was forced to descend a sloping rock and her lack of confidence was clear to see as she gingerly worked her way over the hard surface before resuming her ascent.
Malawi – known as the Warm Heart of Africa – may be one of the continent’s most peaceful nations, but it is currently locked in a fierce battle to protect some of the world’s most threatened species of wildlife.
Following years of concerted efforts to clamp down on wildlife criminals, this small nation has just made a huge stride forward by dismantling one of Africa’s most prolific organised crime syndicates. Following a complex, multi-agency operation in May this year, ten Chinese and four Malawian nationals are currently on trial on various charges of trafficking rhino horn, elephant and hippo ivory, pangolin scales and live pangolins, as well as possession of illegal firearms and explosives.
The leader of the criminal network, Yunhua Lin – who has been described by the Government as ‘Malawi’s most wanted suspected wildlife trafficker and notorious king pin’ – was finally apprehended in August after a three-month manhunt. Last week his wife, Qin Hua Zhang, and son-in-law, Li Hao Yaun, were found guilty for trafficking 21 kg of ivory in 2017 and are currently in custody awaiting sentencing. Two of the Malawians from the same group have already received a three-year custodial sentence for pangolin trafficking.
The case exemplifies the modern nature of wildlife warfare. This was believed to be a highly organised criminal unit operating across multiple international borders with ample resources and extended networks at its disposal. This kind of operation is exactly what makes illegal wildlife trade the world’s fourth-largest transnational crime, after the trafficking of drugs, firearms and people.
Fighting crime on this scale demands a collaborative approach. As Prince Harry pointed out on his recent visit to Malawi, ending the illegal wildlife trade needs action “across agencies, borders and continents”. It’s no longer a battle being fought by conservationists on the ground against poachers in the parks. Instead, it requires cross-border investigations and intelligence, robust law enforcement, tough punitive measures and a culture that supports zero tolerance towards wildlife crime.
Malawi has made impressive strides on all these fronts in recent years – prompted largely by a damning indictment in 2016, when it was identified by CITES (the global body that regulates wildlife trade) – as a country of “primary concern” and Southern Africa’s “principle transit hub” for international trafficking syndicates.
Since then the Government has invested significant energy and resources in bolstering its response to a crime that was decimating both its own wildlife populations and those of neighbouring countries. In just a few years, average sentences have moved from paltry fines of just $40 to significant prison sentences of up to 22 years. Earlier this year CITES moved Malawi from the “Primary concern” category and just a couple of months ago it recognised the country’s legal framework as being among the strongest in the world for tackling wildlife crime.
It’s an impressive turnaround, and there are positive signs that Malawi will continue to cement its reputation as an emerging global leader in fighting wildlife crime. However, there is no room for complacency. So far, no non-African foreign national has yet served time in jail for wildlife crime in Malawi. In comparison, foreign nationals are receiving 20-year sentences in countries such as Namibia and Tanzania.
The battle lines have been drawn and the world is watching. Malawi must stand firm in its resolve to protect some of the world’s most endangered species and bring justice to the criminals robbing Malawi – and future generations – of its natural resources and economic potential.
It is a year since the BBC first screened Dynasties: Painted Wolves and nearly three since they stopped filming in Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. Since then, the dynasty has struggled. Nicholas Dyer, who has followed these packs for the last seven years, tells the story of Tammy and the Nyamatusi Pack.
It has been a dark time for the painted wolves of Mana Pools.
Since the BBC finished filming Dynasties, it has been a story of intrigue, adversity and of a struggle that is all too familiar to this desperately threatened creature.
The BBC tells the story of Tait and her daughter Blacktip, who pushed her mother into the dangerous ‘Pridelands’. In doing so she overstepped her mark, resulting in several tragedies for both packs of painted wolves (also referred to as African wild dogs) and eventually the tragic loss of Tait to the jaws of a lion. In contrast, Blacktip’s pack were in retreat, licking their wounds.
The film ends, however, on an optimistic note, with the emergence of seven young females. All were Tait’s daughters who had escaped the lions and dispersed from Tait’s disintegrated pack. As the credits roll, they are seen to be ‘eyeing up’ seven healthy males, and we are left with the hope that this incredible dynasty is set to rebuild its strength and resume its dominance over the Mana floodplain.
A New Beginning
They did indeed form a pack. Peter Blinston – who is a good friend, head of Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) and co-author of our book Painted Wolves: A Wild Dog’s Life – and I first found them near the mouth of the Mana River in November 2015 just after they had got together. They were a geeky group yet to decide who would be the alpha female to lead them, and thus totally rudderless.
It was a bit like watching teenagers at their first school dance; they were all very excited but could not decide what to do with each other. They could never agree on what time to hunt, nor in which direction. But play, bond and muck around, relishing their new-found freedom they could do with abundance, and when they did eventually hunt, they were lethal.
I don’t know if they knew, but they were related. The males were Blacktip’s sons and Tait’s grandsons; the females Tait’s daughters. This made the relationship incestuously close. As we watched them play, Peter and I tried to figure out the connection, and after much debate, the best we could come up with was aunts and step-nephews. Whatever it was, it would undoubtedly have been illegal in human terms.
Eventually, Tammy, who I had known since a pup, emerged as the alpha – which was surprising as she was only two years old. A robust and healthy wolf called Twiza became her alpha male, and together they would lead the pack and become the sole breeding pair.
It was an exciting time for me. This was the fourth year I had been following these packs and the first time I had seen a new pack form. Spending all my time with them on foot had bonded me to them, far more than photographing from a car ever can. I now knew each individual by sight and had come to believe that they also recognised me. Not that I would ever interact with them in any way.
Tammy denned in the dense ‘jungle’ on the banks of the Mbera River in a very wild part of the park. It was named the ‘Pridelands’ by the BBC on account of a large pride of lions that dominate the area. After several weeks of patiently sitting in the riverbed near the den, two kilometres from the safety of my car, the painted wolves became increasingly used to my presence and eventually they allowed me to get close enough to view the den mouth.
A den is a very sensitive place, and I was always concerned that I might disturb the pack. I was given strict guidance from PDC and ZimParks and acquired a lens configuration which gave me a reach of over 1,250 mm, enabling me to take photos far away from the den.
This meant I also needed a sturdy tripod. Carrying the heavy gear for several kilometres on my own each morning, walking along elephant tracks, through dense riverine bush, dodging grumpy elephants and wary of scratchy lion and cantankerous buffalo, was, to be honest, always terrifying.
But the reward was immense. Eventually, seven gorgeous black balls of fluff emerged from the den mouth, the pride of the pack.
Every morning the pack set off to hunt. Tammy would follow them for a kilometre as if to see them off to work, and then come back to resume her motherly duties. The pack would return, bellies full and eager to feed Tammy and the pups. Tiny squeaks of joy would pierce the quiet bush as the pups delighted in regurgitated impala and baboon.
It was magical spending so much time with these creatures and watching real characters emerge. There was Patrick, the gentle but strict headmaster, Tait Junior the caring maiden aunt, Taurai and Timmy, the strong warriors.
Meanwhile, the pups developed their idiosyncrasies which multiplied the depth of my love for them. My favourite was Little Greedy Guts, who always came away with more than his fair share of food.
After three nurturing months it was time for the family to leave the den, to resume their nomadic lifestyle and lead the pups into the big wide world of Mana Pools – full of freedom and wonder, but also loaded with devastating dangers. Lion, leopard, hyena and crocodile all pose a continual mortal threat to painted wolves, especially to the pups.
But in spite of this, to experience the elation of the little pups when they finally shed the shackles of the den, filled me with hope and optimism – the survival of the species rested on their fragile but enthusiastic little shoulders. But in the back of my mind, I knew the odds – on average, only 50% of pups survive their first year.
It was only weeks before the trouble started. One morning I found the pack, but could only count six pups. I never saw the other pup’s body, but hyena tracks were all around. Days later, renowned Mana guide Henry Bandure told me that another pup had been taken – he suspected a lion.
It was noticeable that after the loss of a pup, the pack became more attentive to the survivors and played with them with increased vigour. I wondered if this was to distract the pups from the trauma and their loss, or did it just impress on the adults the value of those that remained?
In November, when the rains began, I left the park and Tammy with only three pups out of the original seven. It was a harsh beginning for her first litter, but I noticed that Little Greedy Guts was still there.
Mana Pools becomes virtually unnavigable during the rains, and the new tall grass makes it highly unwise to walk. But as I processed that season’s 60,000 photographs in sunny Plettenberg Bay, my thoughts were never far from the packs, battling through the ferocious summer storms.
I returned in April 2017, and late one evening, I found Tammy and her pack on the bed of the Cheruwe River. There were no pups in sight and through my binos, I could count only eight adults. Maybe the rest of the pack were lazing under a bush? The sun was about to kiss the Zambezi escarpment, and my car was a half-hour walk away, so I left, wary of nocturnal lions that become overfamiliar at dusk.
But a week of sightings confirmed that three more of the pack had died and only one of the pups had survived – a bouncy female called Ruby. It was not a great start for Tammy, but I took comfort in the fact that she was still very young, had a strongly bonded pack which had gained much experience.
That year, she denned again, and this time had five pups. When they were just old enough, she moved them deep into the densest bush far up the Mbera River. The walks to this den were the most terrifying I have ever done in Mana. If an elephant were five metres away, I would not have known. I only did it twice and each time with an armed guide. She would be safe there.
Again, Tammy successfully took the pups out of the den, but the attrition experienced in 2016 was to be repeated. By the time the rains came, there was only one pup left. It was sad to see this little guy alone, full of joy and mischief, but no playmates. The adults did their best to amuse him, especially Ruby, but it was not the same without siblings, and it felt like the life force was draining from the pack.
The pack weakens
In 2018 the attrition continued. When I came back after the rains, the little pup was no longer there, but somehow that was expected. More worrying was that four more of her adults were missing, including the yearling Ruby – with only seven painted wolves left, the pack was now half its original number… half its strength for hunting and defending against aggressors.
Despite these losses, Tammy successfully fell pregnant for the third time. She had seven pups to match her seven adults. Would they be able to take care of them this time?
Over the previous two years, I had put Tammy’s tribulations down to bad luck. But 2018 saw misfortune turn to tragedy. Before even leaving the den, more adults started succumbing to lion and hyena attacks. Patrick, my favourite wolf, went missing, Tait Junior never came back from a hunt, and before Tammy left the den, her mate Twiza had been killed.
By the end of the year, this once strong pack was reduced to only four adults and one surviving pup. Thomas Mutonhori, the brilliant PDC tracker, named the little guy Atten, in honour of Sir David Attenborough’s visit to Mana Pools earlier that year to top and tail the BBC Dynasties series.
Atten was still alive when the rains came, but just like the pups that went before him, he did not survive them, although Tammy and her four remaining males did. Taurai, the strongest of the males looked ancient, his Mickey Mouse ears shredded by a lifetime of skirmishes. He was perhaps too old to become an alpha, but his younger brother Jimmy successfully mated with Tammy and earlier this year she incredibly had ten pups, denning in the Wilderness concession at the eastern edge of the park.
Was 2019 to be Tammy’s year? A bumper brood but only four painted wolves to provide and protect. In early September, soon after they had left the den, there was a savage hyena attack in which all but one of Tammy’s pups were killed. Tammy herself sustained a massive wound to her right shoulder. She struggled on for a few days, Jimmy, Taurai and Timmy nursing and feeding her.
Thomas found her body a few days later, the rest of the pack sitting nearby. It was a tragic and violent end to a beautiful alpha who started her life with so much promise. Only one little pup is surviving today, a fragile thread to take on her legacy, with three tired males to protect him.
Back in September 2014, I watched a vicious hyena attack on Tait’s Vundu Pack. A little pup stood in front of me, transfixed as a full-grown spotted hyena bore down on her, intent on her destruction. The little pup skilfully side-stepped its powerful jaws before three other wolves could see it off. That little pup was Tammy, and she survived that attack by a thread.
Tammy was lucky then, but in life, she was not so fortunate. I described her in my book as “the promising Tammy”, but that promise never came to fruition.
I had known Tammy since she was a pup and had grown very attached to her. Tammy’s life was a sad one, but what makes it tolerable for me is that her death was natural. Lions and hyenas are the painted wolves’ nemesis in a constant battle for dominance within a shrinking landscape.
What is far harder to bear is to see packs wiped out through our destructive human tendencies; through snares, road kills and disease. In the relative paradise of Mana Pools, at least we can celebrate that all wildlife can play out its natural dramas, far from the worst ravages of man.
Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe is a World Heritage Site and one of the last true wildernesses in the world. It is the only park in Africa where you are allowed to walk alone, albeit at your own risk. It is also one of the best places to view painted wolves. Many of the photographs in this article were taken at the den. Nick visited the dens under the guidance and supervision of Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) and ZimParks in preparation for the campaign to raise global awareness of this endangered species. Denning season is a sensitive time for the painted wolves and Nick, and PDC would strongly discourage den visits for reasons unrelated to conservation. They would, however, strongly encourage visitors to thoroughly enjoy painted wolf sightings but always treat them with respect and observe the sensible Mana Pools’ “Code of Conduct”.
ABOUT THE PAINTED WOLF FOUNDATION
The Painted Wolf Foundation (PWF)was set up by Nicholas Dyer, Peter Blinston and leading conservationist Diane Skinner. It aims to raise awareness about this much threatened and ignored species and support organisations that conserve painted wolves on the ground. PWF is a UK-registered charity (Number 1176674).
THE BOOK
PAINTED WOLVES: A Wild Dog’s Life
The painted wolf is Africa’s most persecuted predator. It is also its most elusive and enigmatic. For six years, Nick has been tracking and photographing them on foot in the Zambezi Valley.
For twenty years, Peter has been doing all he can to save them from extinction. If there is one book that will let you into the secret world of the painted wolves, this is it, expertly narrated across 300 pages and illustrated with over 220 stunning images.
“Wildlife photographer Nick Dyer and conservationist Peter Blinston have crowdfunded a new book, Painted Wolves: A Wild Dog’s Life, which takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the lives of the painted wolves and what is being done to save them. It’s a beautiful book full of interesting facts and stunning photos, which I hope will raise the profile of the animals.” ~ Sir Richard Branson Buy the book here.
FURTHER READING
Read the second part of this trilogy here – the story of the alpha painted wolf Blacktip and her Nyakasanga Pack in Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, Nicholas Dyer
Nick grew up in Kenya and after careers in finance and marketing in the UK, has found a new métier as a wildlife photographer, author and conservationist with a deep passion for painted wolves. He has spent much of the last six years photographing the packs of Mana Pools on foot while living in his tent on the banks of the Zambezi. He is a founder of the Painted Wolf Foundation and frequently gives talks around the world on this neglected species. He was an award winner in the 2018 NHM Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition and leads specialist photographic safaris in Mana and across Africa so that people can experience this stunning creature. See more of his photography at www.nicholasdyer.com, and follow him on his Facebook and Instagram page.
On 14 October this year in the High Court of Zambia in Lusaka, a judge is expected to finally hand down a decision on whether an open-cast copper mine will go ahead in middle of one of the country’s prime tourism destinations – the Lower Zambezi National Park.
In a landmark legal case brought by a group of concerned conservationists and NGOs against Zambia’s Attorney General and the mining company involved – Mwembeshi Resources Limited – the forthcoming hearing represents the culmination of years of political intrigue and no small amount of interference by the Zambian authorities, peppered with allegations of corruption and underhanded dealings.
It began some nine years ago when Mwembeshi Resources, a Bermudan-registered subsidiary of Australian-based mining company Zambezi Resources Limited (now Trek Metals Limited) applied for a large-scale mining license for its Kangaluwi Copper Project inside Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park, which is directly across the Zambezi River from Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site.
The application was supported by a prerequisite environmental impact study (EIS) that quickly became the subject of intense scrutiny by tourism stakeholders, conservation organisations and concerned citizenry, all of whom were outraged by the prospect of this globally recognised piece of African wilderness being defiled by mining. The EIS was found to be fatally flawed, not just by an in-depth assessment undertaken by an independent scientist on behalf of the Lower Zambezi Tourism Association (LZTA), but also by the Zambian Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), which promptly rejected it, stating categorically that the proposed site was “not suitable for the nature of the project because it is located in the middle of a national park, and this intends to compromise the ecological value of the park as well as the ecosystem”.
In a move that stunned all involved and ordinary Zambians alike, in January 2014 the incumbent minister of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Harry Kalaba, overturned ZEMA’s ruling and personally rubber-stamped the project. Thanks to the organisation of a group of conservation-based NGOs who immediately appealed the minister’s decision in the High Court, an injunction granted a stay of execution and Mwembeshi’s mining plans ground to a halt. Although the judge in the matter promised to hand down a final judgement, this final judgement never came. The entire case was consigned to a filing cabinet, where it sat, gathering dust until June this year, when Mwembeshi filed a secondary affidavit, reviving proceedings and the threat to the Lower Zambezi.
In the interim, Zambezi Resources changed its name to Trek Metals Ltd and sold Mwembeshi Resources to a Dubai-based Grand Resources Ltd – a company that is impossible to track down and obtain a statement from. Suspicions are high that Grand Resources is either a front for a Chinese company or is owned outright by Chinese nationals. China seems to be not very highly regarded in this part of the world, especially where the exploitation of natural resources is concerned. In common with many other developing world countries in Africa, Zambia has allowed virtually unrestricted heavy investment from China, and Beijing effectively owns a good portion of the country’s national debt, seemingly taking what it likes in return. It could be one reason why there is such effort being put into greenlighting this project.
“The thing is, we don’t know why Mwembeshi are going to such lengths to push this through,” says Dr Kellie Leigh, author of the independent EIS assessment for LZTA. “The assessment, which was put together with input from several key Zambian mining experts, found not only that the mine proposal failed to address environmental concerns, it was not going to be economically viable based on the information Zambezi Resources itself provided. This was due to the low grade of the ore discovered at the prospect site and the considerable cost of extraction and transportation to either the nearest refinery in the Copperbelt some 500 km away, or off-shore.”
At the time of his intervention, Kalaba had claimed that the reason he overturned ZEMA’s ruling was that “ordinary Zambians” would benefit from the mine through jobs. The ordinary Zambians referred to live in communities contained within the game management areas (GMAs) on the periphery of the park, most notably in the Chiawa GMA which forms the western buffer zone. These communities are dependent on tourism and the income it generates, which has created a sustainable micro-economy in the region. Tourism employs more than 700 people in the lodges and camps strung out along the length of the Lower Zambezi valley, both in the GMA and in the park itself. These 700 people support thousands more in their extended families and communities.
“At the beginning of this case, there were rumours of lobbying going on in the communities here,” says Ian Stevenson, CEO of Conservation Lower Zambezi – a conservation NGO set up by tourism operators in the area that plays a critical role in helping to maintain the delicate balance between protecting wilderness areas and benefitting communities through sustainable development initiatives.
“The communities in the eastern Rufunsa GMA, which has not really benefited as much from tourism due to its geographical location, were encouraged with the promise of jobs, but I question if they were properly informed of the risks associated with the mine,” he says. “In the Chiawa GMA, many residents were not in favour of it as it presented such a risk to the tourism industry and the livelihoods derived from it.
“This sets a dangerous precedent for Zambia’s wealth of protected areas. There’s lots of proposed mines outside protected areas so why don’t the mining companies and government focus on them? This mine will most definitely damage the integrity of the Lower Zambezi National Park in favour of short-term gain, whereas the wildlife and tourism sectors here, if they are protected and managed properly, will last for generations into the future and will bring in significantly more wealth to Zambia.”
Tourism growth in particular seems to be of enormous importance to Zambia, which in July this year unveiled its Tourism Master Plan 2018 to 2038 – a two-decade-long development strategy designed to enhance the economic contribution of the tourism sector. According to Betty Mumba Chabala of the Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA), tourism is currently the fastest growing sector of the Zambian economy, contributing US$1,8-billion last year to Zambia’s coffers. “The vision is for Zambia to rank among the most-visited holiday destinations in Africa,” Chabala said at the official launch of the strategy, adding that the government is “working hard towards providing an investor-friendly environment”.
Quite how mining inside national parks fits into that growth strategy remains a mystery, as various attempts to reach Chabala for comment failed, and the ZTA phone number seemingly permanently unavailable.
It’s not as difficult to get local Zambians working in tourism in the Lower Zambezi to add their input, but getting them to do so on the record is problematic as most prefer anonymity due to the very real threat of intimidation and reprisals from a government that currently ranks the 105th least corrupt out of 175 countries on the Trading Economics annual Corruption Perception Index, way behind South Africa in 73rd place.
“I am against mining here,” says one lodge worker who has been involved in the tourism and hospitality industry for the last 15 years. “I’ve seen first-hand how tourism benefits people in the local community here, employing people and helping them to enrich their lives, giving them steady income and able to send their children to school. The multiplier effect is amazing. Then there’s our pride in our natural resources as well, this place [the Lower Zambezi National Park] is a place we Zambians are immensely proud of and love to boast about. If we turn it into a mine, what does that say about us as Zambians?”
The effect on neighbouring countries is also of concern.
“What about our neighbours in Zimbabwe and Mozambique?” asks another lodge worker. “How is this going to affect them and how are they going to feel about us if we allow this to go ahead. We could be responsible for polluting the Zambezi. That’s not something that we could ever live with as Zambians. And how would we explain to our peers that we sat back and allowed our government to pollute this incredible natural environment that people from all over the world come to visit and admire?”
How indeed. As the clock ticks down to the 14 October, it can only be hoped that justice in this case prevails, and that the resultant decision is arrived at free from the influence of fraud and corruption that seems to dog the mining industry at large. Perhaps the world spotlight needs to shine on this small corner of Africa. With Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg shaming world leaders for their greed and the west’s political behemoths entrenched in their own political scandals, it may well be that hope alone is not enough to save the Lower Zambezi. Time alone with tell.
NEWS DESK POST with information sourced from Mmegi Online
Recently the Botswana government declared the opening of the hunting season for 2019, having lifted the ban on elephant hunting earlier this year.
According to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), a reserve quota of 86 elephant hunting licences has been set aside for Botswana citizens (at the price of BWP 8,000 each), while an open quota of 72 licences for next year’s hunting season (expected to begin in April) is allowed for non-citizens. The licenses will be awarded to non-citizens through a bidding process, while a nationwide raffle system will award licences to citizens.
Recently one of these raffles was held in Maun (for hunting concession NG9, with a total of 111 animals to be hunted, including eight elephants), where almost 6,000 people turned up for the chance to win one of the eight elephant licences reserved for the area.
According to Boniface Keakabetse who was at the raffle in Maun, numbers showed that at least 30,076 people registered to participate in the raffles across the various species on offer, which include impala, baboon, ostrich, warthog, steenbok, duiker, wildebeest and kudu. In Maun, at least 5,990 registered for a chance to receive an elephant hunting licence.
However, once the raffle was concluded, those few who had received an elephant hunting licence were left frustrated after the terms and conditions were subsequently announced: The licenses to hunt elephants cannot be transferred to anyone else, including non-citizens. They are expected to pay the hunting licence of P8,000 (US$720). They cannot sell or export the tusks. The hunt has to be supervised by a professional hunter and professional guide, as well as a tracking team and DWNP personnel.
These conditions will be enforced strictly, with penalties and censures in place for transgressors
The strict T&Cs did not go down well with the winners, particularly that they cannot transfer the elephant hunting licences.
Bogosi Thutoetsile (53) from the Shashe ward in Maun was one of the few picked for an elephant licence.
“When the government announced the citizen hunting quota, I immediately applied. I am happy that I have ‘won’ an elephant,” Thutoetsile said. “I had hoped I would be able to sell the tusks. I don’t eat elephant meat so I do not know what I am going to do with it. I think as citizens we should be allowed to sell the licences to commercial hunters or export the tusks to improve our livelihoods.”
The cost of the licence is another concern for Thutoetsile. “That money is too much when you consider that I cannot sell the tusks. There are other costs I will incur like transportation and accommodation costs to NG9 to hunt the elephant.”
The government appears aware of the concerns expressed by citizens and says that the hunting season will start off “slowly and cautiously”, with the first session of the season (which runs between September and November) used to test the hunting guidelines and gauge the demand amongst its citizens for hunting.
GUEST POST by Dr. Michelle Henley – Elephants Alive Director, Co-founder and Principal Researcher
“What would the world be, once bereft of wet and of wilderness? Let them be left, o let them be left, wildness and wet; Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.” ~ Gerard Manley Hopkins (Inversnaid 1881)
There is a special kind of peace to be found in the company of many trees. The purity of air is an added blessing given by the surrounding oxygen-producing and sunlight-seeking aspiring trees. I marvel at the diversity of the stem shapes, trying to follow them with my eyes to the upper crowns where the patterned blue sky is largely hidden by the chlorophyll puzzle of many leaf shapes. Alessandro Fusari (the responsible FFS-IGF Foundation Technical Advisor), walks us through the Miombo Forest of Gilé National Reserve in Mozambique. The grass is tall and rank, the forest vast and seemingly endless. We have come here to find elephants to collar.
Alessandro is a wealth of information about the area and its history. He has known this jewel for 20 years. Before the magic of the forests envelops us, we turn back in anticipation of the landing helicopter so the operation can start. We all realise that this is not going to be an easy task as the dambos (natural open patches in the woodlands filled with grasses, rushes and sedges) are few and far between, offering very little opportunities for the helicopter to land. The dense canopy can easily conceal a herd of wily elephants.
However, we could not wish for a more experienced team under the meticulous planning of Alessandro. We have Drs. Thomas Prin (Project Manager for FFS-IGF), Joao Almeida (Wildlife Veterinarian for Saving the Survivors) and Ben Muller (Wildlife Veterinarian for Wildlifevets.net). Our pilot (Peter Perlstein from Wildlife Helicopters Mozambique) comes with 38 years of wildlife flying experience.
On the ground we have Dr Julieta Lichuge as Wildlife Veterinarian and Elias Matsinhe as Head of Communication and Marketing for ANAC (Administração Nacional das Áreas de Conservação). Tersio Joaquim David represents the FFS-IGF PhD Candidate who will be working with the tracking data amongst many other responsibilities. Then there is a group of nine ladies made up of the Elephants Alive team accompanied by five Blue Sky Society expedition members under the leadership of Carla Geyser. We here to help spot elephants, carry equipment, fit collars and collect data via the five collars kindly donated by FFS-IGF (Foundation François Sommer and the International Foundation for Wildlife Management) and Blue Sky Society.
“What to do?’’ was a phrase we jovially repeated after Alessandro as finding the proverbial needle in a haystack could not be closer to the truth than finding an elephant to dart in a closed canopy of miombo woodland. Fortuitously, Dr Carlos Lopes Pereira from ANAC had collared four elephants in 2016 so we had a starting point with one operational collar left sending out a VHF signal in the sea of bush which stretched for 2,860 km² before us.
Away from the base camps on either side of the Reserve there is only one main road intersecting the breathtaking, unfragmented landscape spread below the beating blades of the helicopter. Anka Bedetti (The Elephants Alive Tracking Project Manager) kept the flying and darting teams on track so that the first tuskless cow was found relatively easily before reaching the one remaining collared cow who was due for a replacement collar.
Thereafter it takes 20 hours of flying outside of Gilé into the neighbouring Community Coutada and even beyond to collar another two cows and a bull, all of which are tucked away in ever denser forest.
Our time and the budgeted hours come to an end too soon. One collar is left to deploy during a future mission together with two buffalo collars which Thomas hopes to deploy on some reintroduced buffalo herds.
Plumes of fires dotted on the horizon remind us all that there is still much to do in Gilé. The Reserve needs more rangers, more elephants and general game. It needs to be on the map as a tourist destination.
The quiet forests and the vast wilderness seem to echo with potential and if these trees could speak they would surely proudly talk of Gilé’s former glory when the Reserve was teaming with black rhino, elephants, and numerous other species including large predators which all hid in the shadows of these same trees.
ANAC and FFS-IGF have joined hands to start the journey to ensure that the animals are brought back and protected. The collared sentinels will lead the way and map the footpaths where we all hope other soft-soles and sharp hooves will also leave their mark. Gilé National Reserve’s surrounding Coutada of Mulela will be community-owned, representing a new model where the people will have ownership of the hope and potential that the Reserve offers as a neighbour.
As we leave the emerald which is Gilé National Reserve, we cross into the buffer zone and then fly over the many shambas (farmlands) with their colourful inhabitants dressed in bright shweshwe prints while standing in clean-swept yards surrounded by rows of cassava crops. I keep thinking of those Brachystegia woodlands and the few remaining secretive elephants.
We follow the lazy bends of the Lice River heading southward and back towards Quelimane. As I look back towards Gilé the trees, people and wildlife seem to blur together on the horizon. I close my eyes in an attempt to burn the Reserve’s beauty into my mind and whisper: “Let them be left, wildness and wet until we meet again’’.
A brief report has identified existing problems within Zimbabwe’s conservation industry, caused by bureaucratic incompetence within Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) and erosion of ethical principles, and resulting in habitat destruction and indiscriminate killing of wildlife. The report suggests that the old ‘fortress’ model of conservation has to adapt to now also include the socio-economic expectations of surrounding communities.
The report notes “ZimParks is expected to generate its own income from both non-consumptive and consumptive activities, such as ecotourism and sport hunting. However, a perennially lean budget, use of obsolete equipment, low morale among the staff, and high staff turnover,” and continues “the situation is continually made direr by fraudulent tendencies, where ZimParks officers, state police and politicians are regularly implicated as accomplices in wildlife poaching syndicates. On the other hand, the techniques used by poachers are dynamic, with recent elephant (Loxodonta africana) poaching tactics involving lacing water sources and salt licks with cyanide poison, which also kills secondary targets such as scavenging vulture species.”
Mention is also made of certain internationalNGOs that pursue agendas to hoodwink donors and generate ‘lavish lifestyles’ for NGO management, far away from the reality on the ground in Zimbabwe.
The report suggests that the granting of wildlife concessions to NGOs and ecotourism establishments can lead to natural resources being “looted and mortgaged [by] predominantly foreign influences, with unverified management concepts”.
The report stresses the importance of “Active involvement of local communities in mainstream conservation [that] could harness indigenous knowledge systems for effective wildlife conservation”.
The report recommends: “the establishment of Community Share Trusts, funded through levies on local ecotourism, sport hunting and the extractive industries, such as mining. Such devolution could finance compensation schemes and capital development projects such as value addition to non-timber forest products, livestock and crop insurance, and mitigatory initiatives such as the ‘fencing people in, fencing elephants out’ concept.”
Full report: Hlengisizwe Ncube (2019). A call to embrace adaptive management for effective elephant conservation in Zimbabwe. South African Journal of Science. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2019/5413
Zambia, a country in southeast Africa, has approximately 1,200 lions, one of the largest lion populations on the continent. More than 40% of the U-shaped country is protected land, with over 120,000 square miles of national parks, sanctuaries and game management areas for lions to roam.
Zambian lions are split into two subpopulations, with one in the Greater Kafue Ecosystem in the west and the other in the Luangwa Valley Ecosystem in the east. Between these two geographically different regions lies Lusaka, Zambia’s largest city, which is surrounded by farmland.
People had assumed that the two groups of lions did not – even could not – mix. After all, they’re separated by a geographical barrier: the two regions feature different habitats, with the east an offshoot of the Great Rift Valley system and the west part of the southern savannas. The lions are also separated by what’s called an anthropogenic barrier: a big city that lacks wildlife protection, making it seemingly unsuitable for lions.
So mycolleaguesand I were surprised when we found that a small number of lions are in fact moving across the area in between presumed to be uninhabitable by lions. These sneaky lions – and their mating habits – are causing the high levels of genetic diversity we found in the entire Zambian lion population.
Identifying which genes are where
Working with the Zambian Wildlife Authority, biologist Paula White collected hundreds of biological samples from lions across Zambia between 2004 and 2012. Eventually, a box of this hair, skin, bone and tissue, meticulously packaged and labelled with collection notes and sampling locations, arrived at my lab at Texas A&M University.
Our goal was to investigate genetic diversity and the movement of various genes across Zambia by extracting and analysing DNA from the lion samples.
From 409 lions found inside and outside of protected lands, I looked at two kinds of genes, mitochondrial and nuclear. You inherit mitochondrial DNA only from your mom, while you inherit nuclear DNA from both of your parents. Because of these differences, mitochondrial and nuclear genes can tell different genetic stories that, when combined, paint a more complete picture of how a population behaves.
My mitochondrial analysis verified that, genetically, there are two isolated subpopulations of lions in Zambia, one in the east and one in the west. However, by also looking at the nuclear genes, we found evidence that small numbers of lions are moving across the “unsuitable” habitat. Including nuclear genes provided a more complex picture that tells us not only which lions were moving but also where.
Genes on the move as lions roam
The amount of variation from alternate forms of genes found within a population is known as genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is important for a wildlife population because more genetic options give animals a greater chance for adaptation in a changing environment. Genetic diversity can also tell biologists about ways a population can fluctuate.
To a geneticist, migration, also referred to as gene flow, is the movement of genes from one geographical place to another. Mitochondrial DNA, inherited from the mother, can only tell researchers where genes from mom have been.
In the lion mating system, males travel long distances to find new prides, while females remain in or close to the pride they were born in. So, for the lion, it’s primarily males that are responsible for the movement of genes between prides. This male-mediated gene flow explains the lack of gene flow seen in mitochondrial genes compared to that of nuclear genes – female lions aren’t making the journey, but they do mate with new males who come from far away.
Male-mediated gene flow has helped keep the lions of Zambia genetically healthy, increasing genetic diversity by introducing new genes to new areas as male lions move between subpopulations. The eastern and western subpopulations each have high levels of genetic diversity; since only a few lions move between the groups each generation, the subpopulations stay genetically distinct.
My colleagues and I were also able to determine where the lions are moving based on which individuals are more genetically similar to each other. Lions in the North and South Luangwa National Parks, part of the eastern subpopulation, appear entirely separated from the western subpopulation. Gene flow is occurring through the southern regions of the east subpopulation.
Lions are most likely travelling a route between the Lower Zambezi National Park and eastern corridor to the Kafue National Park in the west, possibly along the Kafue River. We can’t tell which way they’re moving, but by looking at where lions are more closely related, we can see where genes are being moved.
Lion data can help manage wildlife overall
Human-lion conflict is a big issue in Zambia, particularly outside of protected land. If lions were moving across human-dominated areas, you’d think they’d be seen and reported. But these lions are sneaking through virtually undetected – until we look at their genes.
As a large, charismatic carnivore, lion research and conservation influences many other species that share their habitat.
Wildlife managers can use these findings to help with lion conservation and other wildlife management in and around Zambia. Now that we generally know where lions are moving, managers can focus on these areas to find the actual route the big cats are taking and work to maintain or even increase how many lions can move across these areas. One of the ways of doing this is by creating more protected land, like corridors, to better connect suitable habitat.
Full report: Caitlin J. Curry, Paula A. White, James N. Derr (2019). Genetic analysis of African lions (Panthera leo) in Zambia support movement across anthropogenic and geographical barriers. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217179
Africa’s lions, one of the world’s most iconic animal species, are facing a catastrophic decline with their population numbers dropping 50% in only 20 years. According to a new report published by Equilibrium Research, “lions will not survive the 21st century on goodwill alone. Nor will they survive if reduced to being merely the centrepiece of a high-status vacation for foreign visitors to the continent, or even the target of trophy hunters”.
Listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List (meaning that they are vulnerable to extinction soon), there is great concern that the vast majority of the population is inferred to have declined at a rate that meets the criteria for ‘Endangered’ (high risk of extinction in the wild). Some estimate the lion population in Africa to be between 18,841 and 31,394 (although many believe that 20,000 is closer to the mark).
To raise awareness of the issues facing lion conservation, this latest report, The New Lion Economy. Unlocking the value of lions and their landscapes highlights the importance of lions and their territories for Africans, detailing how lions contribute to Africa’s economy, beyond tourism and hunting revenues.
Lions are the ultimate indicator species of healthy intact savannah landscapes in Africa. Their dramatic decline is a sign of the pressures on land and communities throughout their range. “Landscapes supporting lions, ‘lionscapes’, provide more ecosystem services, the benefits that humans receive from healthy ecosystems, than the average across Africa,” reads the report. “Yet many of these services will disappear if ecosystems are lost or degraded. Lions, therefore, make excellent indicators of ecosystem services and sustainable development.”
The report shows that the economic development of Africa and conservation of nature are convergent, not conflicting goals.
“It is a false dilemma to suppose that Africa’s wildlife and wild landscapes must or should be sacrificed for the continent to modernise and maintain the steady pace of its economic growth,” said Mr Kaddu Kiwe Sebunya, CEO of the African Wildlife Foundation.
The findings provide evidence that lions are a perfect flagship or umbrella species on which to focus policy and development decisions, and investing in lion conservation, as the reports shows, provides a range of benefits.
“Investing in lion conservation is not simply a charitable act that might protect populations of one particular species, however important. It also protects the many commercial and subsistence values that rely on lions directly, or that rely on the landscapes where lions live, and come as a no-cost extra to conservation,” added Sebunya.
The New Lion Economy shows:
• Lions directly support ecosystem services;
• Lion conservation supports other ecosystem services;
• Lions also have important livelihood, cultural and political values;
• Lions can generate economic benefits and attract new sources of revenue;
• Lion conservation is not just a matter for conservationists, but for anyone interested in a sustainable and vibrant future for Africa; and
• Lion conservation needs serious investment if these wider values are to be retained.
According to the report, a range of actions are needed to support lions and ecosystem services:
• Measure and communicate the value of ecosystem services (actual and potential) to all sectors of society;
• Rebuild ecosystem services to improve food, carbon, water and human security in sub-Saharan Africa;
• Use the market for these ecosystem services to support conservation throughout the lion range;
• Create business models that support both ecosystem services and lions;
• Create conservation models that reflect the needs of human communities;
• Encourage policymakers to consider these benefits (and their potential loss);
• Encourage governments and international donors to invest in lion conservation;
• Recognise the significance of the continent’s unique biodiversity in shaping and sustaining Africa’s cultural heritage; and
• Restore lion populations as an indicator of healthy ecosystem services.
“Their decline is a tragedy for the whole world,” said the report. “And if Africa loses more lions, many countries will not only lose the direct economic benefits that they bring through tourism and trophy hunting but likely also a host of other ecosystem services that come from the threatened habitats through which they stalk.”
For some wildlife photographers out there, capturing the true essence of a photo is their primary goal – a photo where it goes beyond the physical image and portrays the raw emotion of another’s world. For Charlie Lynam, this is precisely what drives his passion for wildlife photography and ignites his desire to continually seek out and create incredible shots. It is through photography that Charlie has been able to connect with nature, one incredible click of a second at a time – to express and capture brief, fleeting moments, otherwise lost. His photos showcase the best that African wildlife and landscapes have to offer – unique images that create awareness and appreciation of the beauty and rawness of the natural world.
In this gallery, we want to share with you some of Charlie’s favourite photos taken during his wanderings across Africa and from his home in South Africa’s Ingwelala Game Reserve. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the spectacular sights of the African wilderness.
“Once Africa has touched you, life will never be the same”. I was born and raised in England, but somehow fate decided my destiny was Africa. I am fortunate to have developed a lifestyle from my two greatest passions – wildlife and photography – which make for the happiest of marriages! I gave up a lucrative career in high-tech to follow my calling and have never looked back. I have great faith in the power of visual media and its ability to educate, inspire, create awareness and shape change. My raison d’etre is to be an ambassador for all things wild. I hope that my enthusiasm and photography will act like ripples in a pond that encourage others to protect, conserve and sustain this beauty for future generations. I am still unsure where this path will lead, but I enjoy the journey of following the roads less travelled. See more of Charlie’s work on website, Instagram and Facebook page.
The Zambia National Community Resources Board Association (ZNCRBA) has called for the immediate suspension of trophy hunting in all hunting blocks until the government releases all funds owed to communities through the individual Community Resource Boards (CRBs).
In a statement (see end of article) issued to the media by the CRBs, communities have received no concession fees since 2016 and no hunting revenue since 2018. The statement points out that by law, the CRBs are entitled to 15% of the concession fees and 45% of the hunting revenue, while the chiefs who run the communities receive 5% of both. The CRBs use these funds to support the employment of over 1,000 community scouts, community coordinators and bookkeepers, and to support community development projects (including the establishment of boreholes, schools and clinics) in the game management areas (GMAs).
In Zambia, wildlife areas are divided into national parks (where no hunting is allowed) and game management areas (GMA), which act as a buffer between the parks, farmlands and private hunting reserves. Legally, there has to be revenue-sharing from hunting and concession fees with the communities in the GMAs.
“It is regrettable that since the transformation of Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) in 2015 into Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), the communities and their Royal Highnesses have been denied their share of income from the concession fees. This is a clear violation of the spirit of devolved wildlife governance. Their Royal Highnesses and CRBs should actually have been retaining the 100% of the concession fees as they are owners of the customary land,” the statement read.
The CRBs have now withdrawn their signatures to all the hunting permits in their areas and have refused to sign any others. This will stop any trophy hunting in the future unless the government pays the funds owed.
In the statement the CRBs claim that in 2012 a conference was held with communities, the government and stakeholders where progressive resolutions were agreed to: Firstly, to allow hunting operators to pay the CRBs their share of the revenue directly, and vice versa for government fees. And secondly, the sharing of concession fees were to be reviewed in order to allow the communities – the landowners in GMAs – to receive a higher share. These resolutions “would have avoided the current problems” if they had ever been implemented.
“We are immediately calling for the suspension of the hunting activities in all hunting blocks of Zambia,” the statement continues. “We as signatories to the hunting concession agreement have withdrawn our support – making the existing agreements null and void. We would be working with our community scouts and community members to prevent any further hunt until the matter is resolved. All hunting camps in GMAs will be secured to block any attempt to re-open hunting.”
While the press release states that they will stop all hunting going forward, hunts already underway will be allowed to be completed. The CRBs concludes the statement by appealing to hunting operators to engage with the government to release the funds belonging to communities or sue the government for any loss of business as a result of their action.
Below is the statement shared by the Zambia National Community Resources Board Association (ZNCRBA)
Images of a rare spotted zebra foal have been sweeping the Internet this week after photographers caught sight of the spectacularly-coloured animal in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.
The tiny foal, who has a dark coat with white polka dots, was first spotted last Friday by Maasai guide Antony Tira – who subsequently named the foal Tira. The following day wildlife photographer Frank Liu came across the plains zebra foal while searching for rhinos.
Tira the foal appears to be pseudo-melanistic. Also referred to as abundism, this genetic anomaly is a 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 other example of abundism is the ‘king’ cheetah.
This condition is hereditary but can skip generations, and can be passed on by generations that show no visual signs of the condition.
It’s going to be a difficult life for little Tira, as most zebras with such unusual colouration stand out from the herd and make easy targets for predators. He may also suffer a bit more than others from biting flies as the latest research shows that zebras’ stripes act as a deterrent towards flies and other blood-sucking parasites. In Africa, flies carry dangerous debilitating diseases such as trypanosomiasis and African horse sickness, which cause wasting and often death. Therefore zebras must utilise both behavioural defences (running away and tail swishing) and morphological striping to avoid flies.
But for now, Tira seems to be fitting in well with the rest of his herd in the Maasai Mara, followed closely by many keen wildlife photographers and guides, so here’s hoping he will do just fine!
It was pitch dark and a bit chilly as I made my way cautiously to the outside privy, scanning the inkiness with my head torch for predators and things that go bump in the night. There had been plenty of hippo and elephant activity all night, and so I was wary. And there she was, 12 paces from me, all tawny feline grace and power as she stood staring, uncertain about what to do next. I too was uncertain, and our moment of mutual fascination and frozen indecision was broken when she merged with the ink to my right – a bit close for comfort. I concluded my privy business with all senses on full alert, and retired to bed, eventually being lulled to sleep by southern ground-hornbills hooting in the distance.
The next morning I found her tracks around my hut, and those of her companion – a very large male lion. My decision to close the wrap-around fold-out cane windows at night was a good one…
Elephants, dwarfed by the wide Save River
This was my first visit to Zimbabwe’s Gonarezhou National Park, and I was travelling with close friends Sharon Haussmann and Dex Kotze, who also had this iconic paradise on their life lists. Guests of park management, our mission was to find out for ourselves why Gonarezhou has amassed such an ardent following as a ‘bucket-list” dream destination for experienced travellers. And, to better understand why Gonarezhou is a rising conservation success story.
Look, this is not your thing if you are into rim-flow pools and Paris-trained pastry chefs; it’s more for those of us that seek the wilderness solitude of truly wild Africa. That said, there is a luxury lodge to the north that I recommend highly – but more about that later. Accommodation within the national park ranges from rough and remote wilderness camping to very comfortable self-catering chalets, and park management is looking to invest significantly into further photographic tourism offerings inside the park.
The iconic Chilojo Cliffs – the most photographed feature of Gonarezhou National Park. This 13 km-long sandstone ridge dominates the landscape, looming 200 m above the wide Runde River floodplain. We arrived at the Runde River picnic and camping spots facing the cliffs in the early afternoon and decided to spend the remainder of the day there, absorbing the spirit of the area and taking photographs while the sun and shadows tracked across the landscape. Luckily, we had come prepared, with plenty of gin & tonic, ice and snacks. Two herds of elephants crossed the river in front of the cliffs during our time there, but they were too far away to be photographed.
TIP:Plan to spend plenty of time at Chilojo Cliffs, to absorb the spirit of the place and to get a decent photograph. The cliffs are best photographed from mid to late afternoon, but hazy skies and long shadows can influence your photographic results. There is a long and bumpy drive to the top of the cliffs, but we opted out, deciding instead to focus on the view facing the cliffs.
We chose to drive to Gonarezhou from our homes in the Hoedspruit area, routing through the Kruger National Park, and so had the pleasure of exploring Gonarezhou on our terms. Entering the southern section of Gonarezhou via the Sango (Chicualacuala) border post between Zimbabwe and Mozambique, along the way we crossed the Limpopo River and the Lebombo Mountains. This route took us along some of the ancient migratory paths that elephants use when travelling between Kruger and Gonarezhou. There ARE more accessible ways to Gonarezhou!
Our primary reason for visiting Gonarezhou was to understand better the challenges facing elephants as they move seasonally between Kruger, Gonarezhou and protected areas in Mozambique, a passion I share with my travel companions.
A large herd of buffalo grazing on the fertile Save River floodplain
SWIMUWINI CAMP
Our first stop inside the national park was in self-catering cottages at Swimuwini, a charming camp near the park’s southern HQ of Mabalauta. The old-school vibe reminded me of early-day Kruger National Park camps. Our immaculate cottage sheltered under an enormous baobab tree and commanded outstanding views over the wide and sandy Mwenezi River (called ‘Nwanetsi’ in Kruger National Park).
The river forms the southwestern border of the national park, and the 15,000-hectare community land across the river, known as ‘Malapati’, until recently used as a trophy hunting area, is now managed as part of the national park, where no hunting is permitted. This ground-breaking agreement with local communities is part of the visionary sustainable strategy for Gonarezhou National Park. Morning coffee with THAT view, as grey-headed and brown-headed parrots squawked overhead – just spectacular. Lions killed a giraffe in camp that night, and only the carcass remained…
Our cottage at Swimuwini, overlooking the Mwenezi River
ELEPHANTS, ELEPHANTS, ELEPHANTS
Gonarezhou is elephant country – hosting a large population of almost 11,000 pachyderms, including the largest tuskers in Zimbabwe, which are from the same genetic population as the famed large tuskers of the Kruger National Park and southern Mozambique areas. The steady increase in elephant numbers in the park is a great success story, and indicative of a well-managed protected area. BUT the convergence of elephants into a well-protected area also speaks of a bigger-picture management issue that African countries are trying to address.
Elephants used to migrate freely between Gonarezhou in Zimbabwe, Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Mozambican national parks of Limpopo, Zinave and Banhine (and other areas), in search of seasonal food and water and for mating purposes. Although some elephants do still follow these ancient migration routes, the number of migrating elephants is significantly reduced, because of human pressure and ‘fear zones’. When poachers and trophy hunters ply their sordid trade, elephants (particularly family groups) get to understand the threats, and actively avoid those areas where possible – hence the term’ fear zones’. In common with many formally protected areas, Gonarezhou is almost entirely surrounded by trophy hunting blocks.
Also, there is an ongoing tension between rural villagers living near the park and elephants, which raid crops and threaten lives. Problem-causing elephants are killed, usually by trained rangers, to protect lives and livelihoods. To better understand the difficulties faced by rural communities that live amongst elephants, please read my story Life With Elephants. As a result of these combined pressures, elephants remain primarily within the boundaries of Gonarezhou National Park for far longer than nature intended and place increased pressure on the habitat.
Throughout Africa, this is a familiar story – the concentration of elephants into areas not biologically resourced to host such large numbers throughout the year. This results in there being ‘too many elephants’ in specific areas, while Africa-wide the elephant population is being hammered by poaching.
The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA) is a visionary international drive to protect 10 million hectares (five times the size of Kruger National Park) spanning South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique – and so re-establish these natural elephant migration patterns.
Huge herds of elephants define the Gonarezhou experience
MASASANI MANANGA
And on we journeyed, driving from the south through the dry deciduous woodland centre of Gonarezhou to Masasani Mananga in the north, near the main national park HQ of Chipinda Pools. The name Masasani means’ good Samaritan’, a very apt name for this rustic, off-the-grid self-catering camp. We used the camp as a base for a few days, as we were shown around the area by park management.
Malugwe Pan, in the remote centre of the national park. This viewing platform is excellent for lunches and sleep-outs with qualified guides
TOURISM AS A DRIVER OF CHANGE FOR GOOD
The footprint of Masasani Mananga camp speaks volumes for the long-term thinking going into Gonarezhou. The camp was built entirely by local women, from local material and old fence posts. The roofing thatch was purchased from villagers, who harvest the grass inside the national park – legally. Mopane saplings were used for the basic framework and rope for binding is made from ilala palm leaves. The floors are made of goat dung, and the walls are dried mud, painted with charcoal. The wall and floor cladding will require replacement after every rainy season. YES, that would be every year – because this guarantees ongoing employment and a sense of ownership. Wooden furniture is built on-site by a local cabinet-maker.
A collection of photos of Masasani Mananga camp
All waste is removed from the park, and the outside privy for each hut uses Enviro Loo waterless technology. The shower is inside your hut, but you have to hand-pump the water from a point next to your hut and carry it inside to fill your bucket (safari) shower. The water is gravity-fed to your unit, and heated by solar pipes.
Masasani Mananga closes for the duration of the rainy season – November to March every year. A training facility has been established in the park, to train local people for roles such as chefs and guides, to add value to tourists and entrench a sense of ownership amongst local communities. A major power line that runs through the national park is being moved out of the national park, to deliver power to nearby communities and remove an eyesore from the park – how’s that for driving change for good?
Thomas Chauke is a local artisan who makes the doors and cabinets for the camps in Gonarezhou. He is self-taught, having started making doors for his home. Thomas uses local materials such as leaves from the ilala palm, branches and bark from mopane trees, and buys nails and tools from local traders. His dexterity with the machete (large slashing knife) and his precision and focus on the detail were eye-opening. We chatted with him for a while as he worked, with his son Mandla watching closely.
BATTLE OF THE GIANTS
Gonarezhou is undoubtedly the land of giants, and there is an ongoing battle for survival between elephants and baobab trees, although severe drought and ongoing climate change could also be playing a role. Baobabs are, in fact, succulents, and retain enormous amounts of water in their fibrous bodies – and that makes them irresistible targets for thirsty elephants (and eland and porcupine, amongst others) during dry periods. Baobabs can survive severe mauling from elephants, and will not die even if the entire tree circumference is ‘ring-barked’, but they do fall over and die once too much of the tree has been gouged away by elephants.
‘Normal’ baobab lifespans are mere guesswork – growth rings are very faint and often fade away, and so are difficult to count, but carbon dating has been done on a few individuals. The Panke Baobab in Zimbabwe (which died in 2011) was thought to be 2,500 years old, and others have been estimated at 1,000 to 2,000 years old. Usually, old baobabs die by simply crumbling into a pile of fibre, and it is speculated that years of drought in Gonarezhou and increasing regional temperatures are reducing the lifespan of baobabs. Add increased elephant pressure, and things do not look rosy for Gonarezhou’s baobabs.
Gonarezhou Conservation Trust director Hugo van der Westhuizen, who thrilled us with a flight over the northern reaches of the park, told us that Gonarezhou is losing about one baobab per week due to these combined pressures. We saw a few carcasses. I wondered what other knock-on impacts were playing themselves out below us, as we soared over this ancient landscape so defined by the two grey giants. Silent battles that we do not see or hear about on social and news media.
Elephants and baobab trees – grey giants of the Gonarezhou landscape
THE BAOBAB PROJECT
Although elephant impact on baobab trees and other habitats is seen as a natural process, a project to protect individual baobabs was launched in 2015. Many baobabs and other trees were lost in the drought of 1992, and elephant impact on the remaining baobab trees has been noticeable since then. Much of the damage occurs on the river floodplains, where most tourists spend their time, and the decision was made to protect trees in those areas. Methods to protect the trees include placing rocks or fallen logs around the base of trees or wrapping the trunk in wire mesh. These methods are proving to be successful, with a few exceptions.
To protect the baobabs rocks (left) are placed around the base of the tree, or wire mesh (right) is wrapped around the trunk.
This enormous baobab tree, known as ‘Shadreck’s Office’, has plenty of stories to tell. Infamous Mozambican poacher Shadreck Muteruko used the hollow in the tree during the years 1968 to 1983, to store his ill-gotten gains. He killed 20 to 25 tuskers and black rhinos per year, and sold the ivory and horn to Portuguese traders in Beira, on the Mozambican coast. His partner-in-crime, John Puzi, later became an anti-poaching tracker. Shadreck and John were local ‘Robin Hoods’ because they gave the meat to local villagers, and so ensured their loyalty and protection. Many local inhabitants were removed from their homes when Gonarezhou was declared a national park and did not otherwise have access to meat. Shadreck was arrested in 1983, shortly after the introduction of the CAMPFIRE program, which resulted in legal meat becoming available to local people.The author inside ‘Shadreck’s Office’ baobab tree
A BIT OF LUXURY
After a few blissful days exploring north Gonarezhou with park management combined with long nights around the campfire, it was time for a bit of luxury. We fired up the wagon just after sunrise and headed northeast through the park to Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge, located on communal land on the border of the national park. The slow drive was punctuated with regular stops, to stretch the legs and to make ‘safari coffee’ – our blend of cold water and ice, coffee and Amarula (a South African cream liqueur derived from the fruit of the marula tree). We justified this decadence because elephants are known to favour the fruit and bark of the marula tree, and so our journey remained on-theme.
We enjoyed wonderful wildlife encounters during this morning sojourn, including painted wolves (African wild dogs) and plenty of elephants. We left the national park by crossing the wide Save River, and arrived at the lodge just in time for a delicious lunch, while green pigeon, trumpeter hornbill and purple-crested turaco lurked in the overhanging trees. And one of the best vistas I have seen from a lodge, in my many years of travelling Africa.
On one extended drive in the north of Gonarezhou, we encountered three painted wolves (African wild dogs) – one female and two males. They hung around our vehicle for a while, seeming not at all bothered by our presence. One of the males had lacerations on his hindquarters, and he appeared very gaunt, with saliva dribbling from his mouth. That afternoon our images and exact location were emailed to members of the Gonarezhou Predator Project – citizen science in action! The female and healthy male in the above photograph were consistently calling their pack members, and all were looking in one direction, to the northeast of us.
We spent two glorious days in the hands of the team at Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge and felt like family. I have heard that everyone feels like that after a spell at this delightful lodge. Our safari guide and knower-of-all-things was John Zvinashe, a local man who has a deep and insightful understanding of Gonarezhou.
Our game drives into the park were extremely enjoyable, especially so because of John’s unique understanding of this wild area. The game drive area easily accessible to Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge comprises a large area in the park known as ‘the confluence’, sandwiched between the Save and Runde rivers as they merge downstream of the lodge, with ‘Garden of Eden’ along the banks of the Save River being particularly rich in wildlife and scenic beauty.
John Zvinashe explains the inner workings of mopane leaves. This man’s extensive understanding of life beyond the usual knowledge base astounded us. Top right: ‘Garden of Eden’, a wildlife-rich game drive area on the banks of the Save River. Bottom right: The Save River forms the northern boundary of Gonarezhou National Park. This breathtaking view is from the breakfast terrace of Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
A quick online search will inform you that ‘Gonarezhou’ means ‘place of elephants’, but John offered a different interpretation – that this is a Shona phrase, meaning ‘horn (gona) of (re) elephants (zhou)’. He went on to explain that a powerful local sangoma (traditional healer) by the name of Khomondela used a hollow elephant tusk to administer his potions, and thus the name Gonarezhou was born. Local knowledge is always more interesting!
On the topic of names, John refers to zebras as ‘disco donkeys’ – which had us in stitches. Shout out to him for showing me my first lemon-breasted canaries and broad-tailed paradise whydahs!
A collection of photos of Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge
THE MAN WITH GONAREZHOU SOIL IN HIS VEINS
During one outing with John, we visited conservation icon Clive Stockil, a proper legend in my circles. Clive was hosting fortunate clients at the remote Chilo Gorge Tented Camp on the bank of a wide sandy stretch of the Runde River, a more rustic option for Chilo Gorge clients. We chatted for a few hours, and I was buzzing for days afterwards. This man is the epitome of community-based conservation, a man with Gonarezhou soil in his blood.
Clive, who is a part-owner of Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge, has worked amongst the local Mahenye community for more than 40 years. The conflict between this community and wildlife escalated when they were expelled from Gonarezhou when it was declared a national park in 1975. Removal from their ancestral homeland led to a loss of that sense of ownership that is vital to keeping wildlife and ecosystems secure. They also lost their source of meat protein. Poaching was rife, as was human-wildlife conflict. Clive was requested by the government and local council members to intervene and find a solution.
The author (right) in deep discussion with renowned conservationist Clive Stockil
After many years of hard work and dedication, the basic principles of what would later become the highly successful CAMPFIRE project were implemented, under Clive’s direction. This project works on the ‘community-led conservation’ principle that humans will only care for wildlife if there is a benefit for them. CAMPFIRE is the acronym for “Communal Areas Management Programme For Indigenous Resources”. It empowers indigenous communities to take responsibility for sustainably managing natural resources for their benefit and to ensure the protection of the environment.
Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge was one result of that close cooperation with the Mahenye Community, who benefit from the lodge via the development of a school and guiding academy, maintenance of a clinic, and via the employment of 40 community members as lodge staff. Clive’s latest project with the Mahenye community is supported by the European Union and involves the establishment of a 7,000-hectare community-driven wildlife conservancy bordering Gonarezhou National Park.
Chilo Gorge Tented Camp, for a more rustic Gonarezhou safari
JUST WOW
So, what do Gonarezhou elephants have in common with a fish with the shortest lifespan of all animals with a backbone – the turquoise killifish? This rather extraordinary story was told to me by Simon Capon, who manages business development in Gonarezhou, during a rather enjoyable exploration of a remote section in the north of the national park.
So, the exquisitely-named turquoise killifish Nothobranchius furzeri lives in temporary pools of water in ephemeral river systems in some semi-arid areas of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It lives for only about nine to 10 weeks before succumbing when the water dries up and has the dubious distinction of reaching sexual maturity sooner than any other vertebrate species – at about 14 days. This fish’s eggs are adapted to last until the next rainfall event – months or years hence. Simon explained that the fish migrates downstream when the water is flowing, a good thing for genetic diversity. But how does the fish migrate upstream, to retain its distribution? This is where elephants come into the picture. Simon told me that research is underway to confirm the theory that elephants are vectors (carriers) of the eggs in their skin folds as they wander between mud wallows and tree rubs. Wow. Although not yet proven conclusively for this particular fish, this has been established for other aquatic species in this area. So, this begs the obvious question – what is happening to this fish’s range and the population now that human pressures severely restrict elephant migration?
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Gonarezhou National Park has a substantial indigenous community engagement and involvement program, embracing several initiatives that include conservation education, human-wildlife conflict mitigation and general outreach programs into communities neighbouring the park. During my extensive discussions with the previously-mentioned Hugo van der Westhuizen, it became clear to me that the involvement of neighbouring communities is the cornerstone of the Gonarezhou team’s strategy. I have known Hugo for many years, and he has not changed his tune about the need to involve indigenous communities – which is possibly why this man has such a successful track record in protected area management. Click here to read more about these vital community programs. This focus on community-led conservation is shared by Clive Stockil of Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge, whose life-long commitment speaks volumes.
Clockwise from top: 1) Shangaan dancers; 2) Fresh potable water is an essential resource for rural villagers; 3) A rural Shangaan villager shucks maize (corn); 4) The annual Mahenye Festival offers tourists the opportunity to learn about and celebrate the unique and vibrant social culture of the Shangaan people; 5) Education is a vital component of community outreach
THE ENGINE DRIVING GONAREZHOU SUCCESS
Gonarezhou National Park is managed in its entirety by the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust team, utilising an innovative results-oriented model agreed upon between the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) and the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS). The Trust became operational on 1 March 2017, following nine years of successful cooperation between these entities, and has a 20-year mandate. The Board of Trustees consists of equal numbers of nominees from ZPWMA and FZS.
Under this model, all cost and investment decisions are made by the Trust management team, and all revenues raised go directly to the Trust, rather than into government coffers. Revenue consists of donations and tourism proceeds, and no hunting is permitted in the national park. The 20-year plan is for Gonarezhou National Park to be financially self-sustainable, and the best tourism commercial strategy for the park is currently under deliberation and implementation.
Anti-poaching dogs being put through their paces
The Trust has the experience and commitment of Evious Mpofu (Senior Area Manager) and Elias Libombo (Community Liaison Officer) in their impressive arsenal of human resources.
I have known Trust director Hugo van der Westhuizen for many years, including during his reign at North Luangwa National Park in Zambia, where his impact was also profound. He and his wife Elsabe make a formidable team. I have often referred to Hugo as the most effective protected area manager that I have met. I don’t say that lightly. Based on my more recent discussions with Trust business development manager Simon Capon, Gonarezhou is in safe commercial hands. His commercial reasoning and strategy are rock solid, and yet agile (a good thing these days). Enough said, watch this space.
Gonarezhou has a high-tech approach to anti-poaching security, with 24/7 surveillance conducted from this ‘war-room’
ABOUT GONAREZHOU NATIONAL PARK
Description
The 5,035 km² (503,500 ha) Gonarezhou National Park lies in the southeast corner of Zimbabwe and is separated from South Africa’s Kruger National Park (2 million ha) by unfenced community land. Gonarezhou is the second-largest national park in Zimbabwe, second only to Hwange (1.5 million ha). To view and download a map of the park,click here.
Wildlife
Gonarezhou hosts 89 larger and 61 smaller mammal species, 400 bird species (plus another 92 ‘likely to occur’) and 50 fish species (including Zambezi shark and small-tooth sawfish at the confluence of the Runde and Save rivers). The park has experienced a significant increase in wildlife populations since effective management was put in place, with the latest (2016) wildlife survey of elephants and large herbivores estimating 10,715 elephant, 4,797 buffalo, 7,421 impala, 1,789 kudu, 446 giraffe, 1,830 zebra, 929 wildebeest, 241 eland and a host of other species. For a comprehensive understanding of the current populations of most herbivore species in the park, download the 2016 elephant and large herbivore survey here.
Clockwise from top left: 1) Pel’s fishing owl; 2) Ground pangolin; 3) Male lion; 4) Cheetah with her two cubs; 5) Flowering impala lilies
Black rhinos
Gonarezhou has twice lost its black rhino populations, with the last of the original population going extinct in the early 1940s. Seventy-seven black rhinos were introduced between 1969 and 1977, which increased to more than 100 before being wiped out by poaching in the 1990s. Editorial note: Reintroduction of black rhinos back into the park commenced in 2021.
Predators
The Gonarezhou Predator Project (GPP), established in 2009 as a collaboration with the African Wildlife Conservation Fund, monitors population trends and identifies and mitigates threats facing predators.
Historical threats to lions included over-hunting in the trophy hunting concessions around the park, retaliatory killing by livestock owners outside the park and depleted prey base. The main threat to painted wolves (African wild dogs) was a lack of prey base. To counter these threats, ZPWMA introduced a moratorium on lion trophy hunting around the park until populations recovered, and GPP introduced anti-poaching measures and human-wildlife conflict mitigation programmes. These measures have been hugely successful, with predator numbers escalating since 2009. Lion populations increased from 31 in 2009 to 181 currently, and the painted wolf population grew from a handful in 2009 to 190 now, of which 125 are adults and yearlings. Leopard, cheetah and hyena populations have also increased. Wire snares used by poachers continue to be a problem for predators, and there is an ongoing need to check painted wolves for snares.
Vegetation and landscapes
Gonarezhou’s vegetation is dominated by various types of woodlands – including alluvial, mopane, miombo, combretum, dry forests and wooded grasslands. Natural grasslands and acacia woodlands are virtually absent, and aquatic systems are limited to the three main rivers and various natural and man-made dams and pans. Baobab trees dot the landscape, towering over all other tree species. Download a 2010 vegetation study here.
Gonarezhou is baobab country
Gonarezhou landscapes are dominated by impressive sandstone cliffs, various seasonal pans and the large Save, Mwenezi and Runde rivers – which feature wide beds, dense riverine forest and steep rocky gorges with waterfalls and pools. The spectacular Chilojo Cliffs on the Runde River is a much sought-after site for tourists and has become the most-photographed feature of the park.
History
The area has been protected in some form since 1934 and was declared a national park in 1975. Before that, trophy hunters plied their trade without check, and large numbers of trophy animals were hunted. Attempts by the authorities to rid the area of the tsetse fly (which affects people and cattle with nagana – sleeping sickness) resulted in vast tracts of riverine forest being ring-barked or bulldozed, natural pans filled in, fences erected, animals exterminated and pesticides sprayed.
Then, just after the area was declared a national park in 1975, civil war broke out, and soldiers treated the national park as their pantry, making snares from the fence wire. To add to the destruction, almost 10,000 elephants were culled by the authorities over 20 years, out of concern for the habitat. The national park is surrounded by trophy hunting blocks and poor communities desperate for protein. Poaching by community members using snares and poisoning used to be rife inside the park, and trophy hunters would routinely bait predators and elephants out of the park, to be shot. Born from that cauldron of fire, present-day Gonarezhou is well-managed, with steadily-increasing wildlife populations and local community involvement. That said, the park faces enormous pressures, and strong growth in tourism support will ensure that this iconic Zimbabwean gem will survive mounting human pressures.
Buffalo skull on the shore of the Save River
Tourism
The current tourism facilities inside Gonarezhou National Park are geared towards the self-catering and adventure traveller, and range from extremely remote wilderness camping sites with no facilities to comfortable fully-equipped self-catering chalets. For a comprehensive list of facilities, and to book your Gonarezhou adventure, go to this website page and to view and download a map of the park click here.
There are currently no luxury safari lodges inside the national park, but bordering the unfenced park boundary to the north is the luxurious Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge. This must-visit lodge enjoys spectacular views over the Save River and into the park and is a short game drive away from some of the best game-viewing areas in the park.
Want to go on safari? To find lodges, search for our ready-made packages or get in touch with our travel team to arrange your safari, scroll down to after this story.
A lion spoor (left) and ‘Art on safari’ by Lin Barrie (right)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, 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 Hoedspruit 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’. Image caption: Simon (left) with travel companions and photographers Sharon Haussmann and Dex Kotze
Sometimes great experiences come along unexpectedly and in this case an experience that we won’t soon forget! It was after a few exciting days in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania when we decided to spend some quiet days camping in the mountain village of Monduli Juu – about an hour’s drive from Arusha. The actual campsite, which lies just outside the village, is run by the Maasai themselves and provides stunning views of Mount Meru, the Rift Valley and – on clear mornings – of Mount Kilimanjaro. The Maasai have greatly developed the campsite in the last few years, which now offers toilets and access to water – which is hard to come by in the highlands of Monduli Juu.
The campsite is set in a small woodland area and is very peaceful. A variety of birds including speckle-fronted weavers, rufous sparrows, African grey flycatchers and olive thrushes are a common sight around the campsite.
On the Saturday we visited the local market where everything from goats, jewellery and clothes, to household goods, fresh produce and shoes made from motorbike tyres were for sale.
The following day we went on a short walking safari with Leska, a Maasai warrior, through the woodlands that cover the gentle slopes below the campsite. While large predators are rare in the area, it still is home to a variety of antelopes, gazelles and giraffes which can be encountered while on foot!
We followed the tracks and signs of giraffe and eland and finally met two graceful giraffes who did not mind at all to pose for photos with us. Our young daughter especially enjoyed this close experience with wildlife!
We finally reached the goal of our walk, a lookout point where the gentle slopes suddenly fell away and the vast Rift Valley spread out in front of us in dusty tones of grey, brown and yellow. Within this vast, dry landscape, the Maasai bomas (enclosures) were barely distinguishable and sparsely strewn. Within each boma, there are a number of huts where each hut represents the house of one wife. From this viewpoint, Leska was able to point out the boma where he was born.
We immensely enjoyed our stay at the Monduli Juu campsite. It was the ideal place for us to learn more about the Maasai culture and experience a more intimate, off-the-beaten-track safari.
In a world-first, the single largest GPS satellite tagging of giraffes has taken place in Kenya. Twenty-eight solar-powered GPS satellite tracking units (called ‘ossi-units’) were fitted to endangered reticulated giraffes in a mix of public, private and communal land across northern Kenya in order to better understand their spatial movements and habitat use in the wild.
The project was undertaken by the San Diego Zoo Global (SDZG) collaborating with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Northern Rangeland Trust, Loisaba Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), and BiK-F Senckenberg,
“Knowing where giraffe are, how much space they need, and how they move across the landscape seasonally, is vital to inform effective conservation and planning. For the first time we will now have this information for the endangered reticulated giraffe species,” says SDZG Community-based Conservation Ecologist David O’Connor, one of the leaders of this ground-breaking operation. “It was an immense, collaborative team effort, which is what is needed to move the needle forward in conservation.”
Fitting 28 ossi-units in arid and remote communal lands is no easy task. Each giraffe was carefully darted by the skilled KWS veterinary team before the safe capture and fitting of the ossi-unit capitalising on the long experience of the small expert team of GCF and partners. Important biodata was collected simultaneously including physical measurements, genetic and blood samples. Some of the data was the first-ever collected for reticulated giraffe in the wild and forms part of an Africa-wide effort lead by GCF.
While in the field, the veterinary team also treated other injured wildlife and reunited an orphaned giraffe calf with its mother – contributing to the all-round conservation success of this operation.
“Since we first trialled GPS satellite technology on giraffe in northwest Namibia in 2001, these units have gone through quite a design evolution. The latest design is small (the size of three matchboxes), less obtrusive with better technology and increased battery capacity compared to previously giraffe collars and head harnesses. The opportunity to bring field conservation science and technology together allows us to unravel many mysteries about giraffe across Africa,” adds Dr Julian Fennessy, Director of Giraffe Conservation Foundation, another key player in this operation in northern Kenya.
The ossi-units were developed in partnership with the Kenyan company Savannah Tracking. So far over 115 giraffe in six African countries have been fitted with these trackers as part of the Africa-wide initiative Twiga Tracker (‘twiga’ is Swahili for giraffe). Twiga Tracker is an international collaborative programme led by GCF with SDZG, BiK-F, SCBI and Wildlife Conservation Alliance, to better understand spatial movements of all four giraffe species and their habitat use throughout Africa. Using science as a base to support long-term giraffe conservation, Twiga Tracker aims to track a minimum of 250 giraffe across their range by the end of 2020.
Some giraffe populations are in peril, facing many threats in the wild such as loss of large-scale habitat, fragmentation and degradation of their preferred habitat, disease and in some places, illegal hunting/poaching. These threats were highlighted when reticulated giraffe were assessed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List in 2018.
As one of the first countries in Africa to develop and commence implementation of a National Giraffe Conservation Strategy and Action Plan, Kenya is at the forefront of giraffe conservation. While Kenya is home to the vast majority of reticulated giraffe, it is also the only country in Africa that hosts three different species of giraffe.
As part of the continent-wide Twiga Tracker, this latest GPS satellite tagging of reticulated giraffe will allow our team to monitor the movements and habitat use of individual giraffe in these critical connected refuges over the next few years. It is estimated that reticulated giraffe numbers have dropped by over 50% in the past 30 years alone, and it is essential to better understand their needs to help protect this species.
While technology can help conservation, it is important to complement these technological advances with on-ground field-based monitoring linked to clear conservation objectives as identified in the National Strategy. SDZG in collaboration with partners is doing just that: since 2016 a team of Twiga Walinzi (giraffe guards) are supporting reticulated giraffe conservation in northern Kenya. The programme, which is wholly implemented by local community members, has cemented itself as a leader in community-based giraffe conservation in the area and the results have helped us make informed conservation management decisions.
Together we can make a difference for giraffe before it is too late.
The unpredictable nature of wildlife is what makes going on safari special and unique. Who knows what may be lurking around the next acacia bush or down a quiet dry riverbed? However, knowing what signs to watch for and adopting a deeper understanding of animal behaviour can give you that little boost in ‘reading’ this unpredictability. Being patient and knowing when to hang back and concentrate on one animal, rather than hurrying off to the next sighting, may be rewarded with an unbelievably epic sighting. And if you are lucky enough to bear witness to any sighting of such magnitude, then it is sure to remain in your memories for a long time to come.
And this is clearly what happened to professional wildlife photographer Kevin Dooley on one particular morning in Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana. Below he shares with us his account of what was at first a very typical sighting of a leopardess and her cub but soon turned into something beyond his wildest imagination.
“We were photographing this leopardess with her cub, who were both showing signs of being hungry. The cub was licking its mom’s face and rubbing up against her, while she was looking thin and acting restless. Soon the leopardess left the cub in the safety of a thick bush and headed down the riverbed in search of food. Leopards usually eat every three to five days, although with a growing cub it can be more frequently.
“We followed the leopardess at a distance and within a half an hour or so we spotted a lone male impala. The impala was at the very end of a long and narrow part of the dry riverbed. The leopardess had also spotted the impala and immediately focused on it. We held tight and let the situation play out, with the leopardess scanning the area and looking for a way to sneak up on the impala without being detected. The leopardess chose a low spot in the riverbed where she was hidden from the impala. This also placed her out of our view. We checked the wind, and it was blowing her scent away from the impala, and so we knew there was a good chance she would have success.
“I focused my lens on the impala and changed my camera settings for a fast action shot. It was difficult because the light was dim due to a very overcast day. I kept my finger on the shutter release and my eyes on both the impala and the area where I believed the big cat would reappear.
“The waiting was intense – over ten long minutes of wondering if the hunt was going to take place. With only a 35-40% hunting success rate for leopards generally, this leopardess certainly had her work cut out for her.
“So many thoughts were going through my mind. Will I get the image? Will the leopardess reappear? Will she be successful? When will this all happen? I have had so many predator-prey interactions in my photographic career that ended in disappointment when the hunt was interrupted, or the wind was blowing in the wrong direction, the potential prey discovered the predator, or the prey ran into brush that was just too thick to photograph. All of these questions and doubts were running through my mind while I waited for the action to happen.
“Meanwhile, I knew that if I took my eyes and attention off this situation for even a brief moment, there was a good chance of missing a possibly great photo. I had to keep it together and not lose my focus – ready with my finger on the shutter release. My experience told me that I would have just seconds to get the photos of the leopard actually taking the impala down.
“As if the leopardess was reading my thoughts, she suddenly appeared! First, a paw slowly came into view, then a nose, followed by her head and eventually her whole body was in sight – all primed and ready for a burst of incredible speed. And then in an instant, she was off!
“I firmly held my finger down on the shutter release, continually taking photos as I panned and followed her throughout the entire hunt. I could not believe my eyes. From the moment she sprang into action to the point where she brought the impala down lasted maybe 15 to 20 seconds. Had I looked away for even a briefest of moments I would have missed it!
“I experienced a mixed bag of emotions – amazement at what I had just witnessed, excitement and accomplishment at having successfully photographed the hunt, and sadness for the impala. It was an overwhelming blast of emotions that I will never forget, a highlight in my photographic career that will be in the top three wildlife encounters of my lifetime of creating photos. There really is no way to explain it. Tears rolled down my face in the happiness of knowing that I just experienced and photographed one of the most amazing moments of my life.”
Kevin Dooley is a professional wildlife and portrait photographer living in New Mexico, USA. His father was a professional photographer, and Kevin grew up working in a photography studio. At the age of 14, he received his first camera from his father, who took him on many journeys to discover himself and his style of photography. These days Kevin teaches wildlife photography and conducts wildlife photographic safaris around the world. For the majority of the year, he can be found travelling through numerous countries – spending most of his time in Africa – in search of creating incredible wildlife photos.
DECODING SCIENCE POST with information supplied by the British Ecological Society
According to a new study, certain species of daisies that close their flowers at night have been found to produce colour in their exposed lower petals that makes them harder to spot for herbivores, reducing herbivory rates of flowers.
In the study, which was published in the British Ecological Society journal Functional Ecology, researchers from Stellenbosch University in South Africa found that tortoises, one of the main herbivores of the daisies, were unable to distinguish the lower petal surfaces against a green leaf background. Tortoises prefer to eat protein-rich flowers over leaves, but when confronted with closed flowers, they showed no preference between them.
When the researchers modelled the colours of the lower petal surfaces in the vision of other herbivores, they also found these colours to be indistinguishable from leaves. In contrast, species of daisy that do not close at night produced the same colouration on their lower petals as the upper petals exposed to pollinators.
Plants face an evolutionary conflict between having flowers that attract pollinators while avoiding herbivores. Often plants defend themselves chemically, but this can have adverse effects on pollination.
“When plants defend their flowers chemically, the pollination interactions can be negatively influenced. Our study shows a novel way in which flowers can avoid herbivores without compromising pollination interactions.” Says Dr Jurene Kemp, lead author of the study.
“These flowers can potentially circumvent the conflict of attracting both pollinators and herbivores by producing attractive colours on the surfaces that are exposed to pollinators (when flowers are open) and cryptic colours that are exposed when herbivores are active (when flowers are closed).”
In Namaqualand, South Africa, where the research took place, daises bloom annually in a spring flowering. This makes preserving flowers, responsible for reproduction, particularly important.
The researchers examined the colouration of 77 Asteraceae species, modelling how they appear in the visual systems of chameleons, horses and goats as proxies for tortoises and larger herbivores in the area, like springbok. They then tested the preferences of real tortoises with both open and closed flowers against leaf backgrounds.
Not all Asteraceae species that close their flowers had cryptically coloured lower petal surfaces, but in the experiments, the tortoises did not readily eat these flowers. Dr Kemp said, “One interesting question would be to test whether non-cryptic flowers have chemical defences and whether these chemical defences are absent in the cryptic flowers.”
On further research, Dr Kemp said “Unfortunately, we could only do this using one plant family in one botanical region, it would be great to see if other plant species also use colour to avoid herbivores.”
The researchers would also have liked to use larger herbivores such as springboks in their behavioural experiments, but Dr Kemp adds that “this was practically not possible.”
Full report: Jurene E. Kemp; Allan G. Ellis (2019). Cryptic petal colouration decreases floral apparency and herbivory in nocturnally closing daisies. Functional Ecology.https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13423
“When one thinks about vultures, one envisions a bald-headed, blood-thirsty scavenger waiting for something or someone to perish. We have been brought up to believe that evil surrounds vultures, and this has led to cinematography portraying the species in a negative and unloved light. This has most certainly contributed to the species being disliked and misunderstood by so many of us.
Twenty years ago, I had no appreciation for vultures. I did not care for them much, let alone understand them, and I most certainly had no inkling that I would be dedicating my life to saving such an underappreciated and misjudged species. Theyare our natural garbage collectors, and we owe them our gratitude for keeping our environment balanced.” ~ Kerri Wolter (Founder/CEO of VulPro)
Vultures are classified into two groups – the Old World and the New World. New World vultures are found in North and South America and are represented by seven species belonging to five genera. Old World vultures are found throughout the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe and are represented by 16 species belonging to nine genera. However, the two groups are not genetically closely related, but instead, their similarities are due to convergent evolution (when species have different ancestral origins but have developed similar features).
Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, buzzards, kites and hawks. New World vultures belong to the family Cathartidae, that includes condors.
A significant difference between the two groups is that Old World vultures do not have a good sense of smell and thus locate their meals by sight, whereas New World vultures have a keen sense of smell and sharp eyesight.
For this story, we will be looking at various species of Old World vultures.
MORE ABOUT VULTURES
Both Old World and New World vultures are scavenging birds, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals. However, some have broad food habits, and in addition to carrion will also consume garbage and even excrement. Vultures seldom attack a healthy living animal but may kill the wounded or sick.
A particular characteristic of many vulture species is a bald head, devoid of feathers. Most researchers suggest that this is because it would be difficult to maintain a feathered head and keep it clean from all the blood and other fluids picked up while feeding on carcasses. However, recent research theorises that a bald head can also help with thermoregulation.
Vultures are opportunistic feeders and when prey is abundant will gorge themselves until their crop is full, after which they will sit in a half torpid state to digest their food. Most species have powerful hooked beaks that are used to tear hide, muscle and bone from carcasses.
When vultures of different species descend on a carcass, it may look like a ‘first come first served’ frenzied mess, but there is a strict hierarchical feeding structure based on body size and strength of beak. Vultures with powerful beaks, such as the dominant lappet-faced vultures, are the first to the carcass, tearing it open to allow other vultures to feed, such as white-backed vultures and white-headed vultures who will gorge on the soft tissue of the carcass. Smaller vultures will usually wait for the scraps left behind by the larger, more dominant species.
All vultures have very long, broad wings that allow them to soar gracefully at great heights, catching the thermals and remaining aloft for hours with minimal effort. With their keen eyesight, they can scan for carrion or spot other vultures descending to prey from miles away.
When it comes to nesting, Old World vultures build large platform nests made out of sticks – in trees or on cliffs. They may use the same nest for several years, taking turns sitting while their partner finds food. The majority of Old World vultures incubate a single egg at a time. Vultures generally do not have strong feet or legs, so they are unable to carry food back to their young. Instead, they gorge themselves on food, filling up their crop, and upon returning to the nest regurgitate the food for the young to eat.
All vultures play an essential ecological role in the ecosystem by disposing of dead carcasses and decreasing the spread of diseases from animal remains that would otherwise rot. Unfortunately, the majority of species are facing a continual and rapid decline in numbers due to a variety of threats, which is not good news for the future state of the ecosystem.
Today, vultures face an unprecedented onslaught from human activities, and the IUCN Red List currently lists many of the Old World vultures as ‘Vulnerable’, ‘Endangered’ or ‘Critically Endangered’. Threats range from electrocutions and collisions with electrical structures to poisonings and exposure to toxicity through veterinary drugs. In Africa, the majority of deaths are attributed to poisonings and the harvesting of body parts for the bushmeat trade and use in traditional medicine – it is believed that the heads, or brains, of vultures, provide powers of premonition or foresight.
Because vultures tend to circle over potential prey, ivory or rhino horn poachers lace the carcasses with poison intending to kill the vultures so that they won’t alert the authorities to future kills. Vultures are also unintentionally killed by pest control poisons when consuming the carcasses of predators that have been poisoned by farmers who want to protect their livestock.
Africa is home to 11 Old World vulture species, of which six are confined to the continent while the rest also occur elsewhere in Eurasia. Seven of the African vultures are on the verge of extinction, and we cover these species below, based on information provided by the IUCN Red List and VulPro.
WHITE-BACKED VULTURE – CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
The white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus) is endemic to Africa, being the most widespread and common vulture on the continent. It is ‘Critically Endangered’ owing to the very rapid decline in habitat loss, degradation, and prey, and also due to hunting for trade, persecution, collisions and poisoning. The IUCN Red List states that its global population is estimated at 270,000 individuals, while South Africa has an estimated 40,000 individuals left.
They feed in large numbers at a carcass, resulting in lots of hissing and grunting to protect their share of the food. They clean and preen themselves thoroughly after feeding and are often seen bathing and sunbathing together with other vulture species.
HABITAT AND REPRODUCTION
It is a lowland species which prefers wooded savannah, particularly acacia trees. They require tall trees for nesting and have been recorded nesting on electricity pylons in South Africa. They nest in loose colonies of 2-13 birds. Nests are made out of sticks and lined with grass and leaves. They breed at the start of the dry season, and the female lays a single egg, sharing the incubation with her mate for around 56 days. Both parents feed the pale grey chick until fledging at 120-130 days of age.
DISTRIBUTION
The white-backed vulture occurs from Senegal, Gambia and Mali in the west, throughout the Sahel region to Ethiopia and Somalia in the east, through East Africa into Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa in the south. They are now extinct as a breeding species in Nigeria, with only one stronghold in Ghana. APPEARANCE
White-backed vultures have bald heads and long necks. The adults are brown to cream-coloured with dark tail and flight feathers. They have a white rump patch and ruff. Juveniles are generally darker in colour.
• Body length: 89-98 cm
• Wingspan: 210-220 cm
• Weight: 4.2-7.2 kg
The hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) is endemic to southern Africa. It is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’, and populations are declining rapidly due to indiscriminate poisoning, trade for traditional medicine, hunting, persecution and electrocution, as well as habitat loss and degradation. The IUCN Red List states that its global population is estimated at a maximum of 197,000 individuals.
Hooded vultures feed on insects and carrion and are known to follow ploughs to eat exposed larvae and insects, as well as making use of rubbish dumps for carrion. The adults are very quiet and seldom vocalise.
HABITAT AND REPRODUCTION
Hooded vultures are often associated with human settlements, but are also found in open grassland, forest edge, wooded savannah, desert and along coasts. Very little is known about their breeding habits, although it has been noted that baobabs are usually their go-to roosting and nesting trees. In West Africa and Kenya, it breeds throughout the year, but especially from November to July. Breeding in northeast Africa occurs mainly in October-June, with birds in southern Africa tending to breed in May-December. A clutch of one egg is laid with an incubation that lasts 46-54 days, followed by a fledging period of 80-130 days.
DISTRIBUTION
This species is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa; from Senegal and southern Mauritania east through southern Niger and Chad to southern Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and western Somalia, southwards to northern Namibia and Botswana, and through Zimbabwe to southern Mozambique and northeastern South Africa. APPEARANCE
Hooded vultures are smaller and shyer than other vultures, with the female being larger than the male. It is a small, scruffy-looking vulture with mostly brown wings with a pinkish bald head and beige hood. Juveniles usually have a pale blue face and a hood of short, dark brown down feathers rather than beige.
• Body length: 67-70 cm
• Wingspan: 160 cm
• Weight: 2 kg
Rüppell’s vulture – CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
The Rüppell’s vulture (Gyps ruppellii) was uplisted in 2014 from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Critically Endangered’ due to severe declines in parts of its range. As with all threatened vultures, the population is undergoing a very rapid decline due to habitat loss, degradation, declines in prey (wild ungulates), hunting for trade, collision and poisoning. The IUCN Red List states that its current population is estimated at 22,000 mature individuals.
This vulture is regarded as the highest flying bird in the world and is known to fly as high as 37,100 feet (11,278 metres) above sea level.
HABITAT AND REPRODUCTION
Found in open areas of acacia woodland, grasslands and montane regions, these vultures breed in colonies of up to 2,200 birds, building large nests on cliff faces. They lay only one egg per year, and both parents incubate the egg for a period of up to 55 days, with young becoming independent during the following breeding season.
DISTRIBUTION
Rüppell’s vultures occur throughout the Sahel region of Africa – Senegal, Gambia and Mali in the west to Sudan and Ethiopia in the east– as well as savannah regions in the east of Africa to Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. Since the 1990s there has been a series of records involving small numbers of individuals in Spain and Portugal. APPEARANCE
Rüppell’s vultures are a medium-sized vulture. The adults have mottled dark-brown/black plumage with pale creamy edging to the body feathers. The flight feathers are dark, and they have a white ruff, dark neck and pale head. Juveniles have a dark beak and paler body plumage.
• Body length: 84-97 cm
• Wingspan: 260 cm
• Weight: 7-9 kg
The white-headed vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis) is endemic throughout sub-Saharan Africa and is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ due to poisoning, persecution and ecosystem alterations. The IUCN Red List estimates a population of 5,500 individuals, with severe declines throughout its West African range. Poisoning seems to be the major factor in the decline of this species.
This shy species tends to avoid human habitation. They fly lower than other vultures are often the first vulture species to arrive at carcasses, where they keep their distance from vulture gatherings, waiting for larger species such as lappet-faced vultures to move off. They are quite agile on the ground and fight by leaping into the air and lashing out with their strong talons.
HABITAT AND REPRODUCTION
White-headed vultures prefer mixed, dry woodland at low altitudes, avoiding semi-arid thorn belt areas. The top of tall trees is where they will roost and nest, with nests being built mostly in acacia tree species and baobabs. Usually, one egg is laid during the dry season. Incubation lasts about 43-54 days and is shared by both parents. The young fledge at about 115 days and is fed by parents for up to another six months.
DISTRIBUTION
With an extensive range in sub-Saharan Africa, their distribution is from Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau east to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, and south to easternmost South Africa and Swaziland. APPEARANCE
This stocky, medium-sized bird has predominantly black and white plumage. They have a pinkish-orange hooked beak with a white crest and a downy white head. The skin is bare around the eyes, cheeks and front of the neck. They have white legs and belly with a black breast and ruff. Flight feathers and tail are black. Juveniles are dark brown with a white head and brownish top of the head, and white mottling on the mantle. • Body length: 78-85 cm
• Wingspan: 207-230 cm
• Weight: 3.3-5.3 kg
The Cape vulture, or Cape griffon vulture (Gyps coprotheres) is endemic to southern Africa and is found mainly in South Africa, Lesotho and Botswana. The IUCN Red List categorises this species as ‘Endangered’ as its population is declining rapidly. However, recent increases in parts of its South African range mean declines are not thought to be sufficiently strong to warrant listing as ‘Critically Endangered’. The main threats these vultures face are poisoning, electrocution on pylons or collision with cables, loss of foraging habitat and unsustainable harvesting for traditional uses. Global population numbers are at approximately 9,400 mature individuals or 4,700 breeding pairs.
Cape vultures always make quite the scene at large carcasses and descend in large numbers, arguing over food with harsh, grating calls or standing with wings outstretched to appear larger and to claim their share of the food. Being the hygienic birds that they are, they will often be found using a nearby waterhole or pool of water to thoroughly clean and preen themselves after a large meal.
HABITAT AND REPRODUCTION
The Cape vulture roosts and nests in large colonies on cliff faces in or near mountains. Nests are constructed out of sticks lined with dry grass, and breeding usually takes place between April and July. A single egg is laid and both parents, who mate for life, share the responsibility of incubation and feeding the young. Incubation lasts for 54 days, and the chick fledges at about 140 days after hatching.
DISTRIBUTION
The Cape vulture is restricted to southern Africa with main colonies in South Africa and Botswana. They are now extinct as a breeding species in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Swaziland. APPEARANCE
Cape vultures have a creamy-buff body plumage with black flight and tail feathers. They have a black beak, honey-coloured eyes and a naked, blueish throat. Juveniles are darker brown with pink neck skin and brown eyes.
• Body length: 96-115 cm
• Wingspan: 226-260 cm
• Weight: 7-11 kg
EGYPTIAN VULTURE – ENDANGERED
The Egyptian vulture, also known as ‘pharaoh’s chicken’ (Neophron percnopterus), once lived in abundance along the Nile River and were depicted in hieroglyphics by the Ancient Egyptians. Now they are listed as ‘Endangered’ and, according to the IUCN Red List, the population is estimated at 12,000-38,000 mature individuals. Threats to their population include collisions with power lines, hunting, intentional poisoning, lead poisoning from ingesting ammunition in carcasses, and pesticide accumulation.
They are opportunistic feeders with a varied diet which includes carrion, garbage (such as old vegetable matter), eggs, insects, and occasionally small birds, reptiles, and mammals. These vultures are one of the few bird species known to use tools. To break open eggs, they will drop small stones onto the egg until it cracks. They have also been observed using sticks to gather and roll wool, which they then use as a lining in their nests.
HABITAT AND REPRODUCTION
Egyptian vultures nest on cliff ledges, in caves, or rocky outcrops. The nest is made out of sticks and lined with a variety of material, from wool and animal hair to rags and grass. The female usually lays two eggs per year and incubation is done by both parents for 39-45 days. Once hatched, both chicks are looked after until they fledge at around 70-85 days old.
DISTRIBUTION
Egyptian vultures are found in northern Africa, southwestern Europe, and the Indian sub-continent. APPEARANCE
Egyptian vultures have a yellow, bare-skinned face, white to pale grey plumage and black flight feathers. The beak is yellow with a black tip. Juveniles are largely dark brown with a contrasting area of pale buff.
• Body length: 54-66 cm
• Wingspan: 146-175 cm
• Weight: 1.6-2.4 kg
The lappet-faced vulture, also known as the Nubian vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) is listed as ‘Endangered’ by the IUCN Red List and only a small, very rapidly declining population of approximately 5,700 mature individuals remain. Their decline is primarily due to poisoning and persecution, as well as ecosystem alterations.
They are enormous vultures and are considered the most powerful and aggressive of the African vultures. Dominant at carcass sites, they are capable of tearing into tough hides and muscles, thus benefitting less powerful vultures which then have access to the soft tissue of the carcass.
HABITAT AND REPRODUCTION
Lappet-faced vultures inhabit dry savannah, arid plains, deserts with isolated trees and open mountain slopes. They breed at the top of tall thorny trees such as acacia, balanites and terminalia trees. The female lays a single egg in a nest made of twigs (the same one is used year after year) and shares the responsibilities of incubation and feeding with her lifelong partner. The incubation period is 54-56 days, and chicks fledge between 125-135 days.
DISTRIBUTION
The lappet-faced vulture is endemic to the Middle East and Africa, where it is found from the southern Sahara to the Sahel, down through East Africa to central and northern South Africa. APPEARANCE
This vulture has the largest wingspan of any other vulture in Africa. They have a short neck with a powerful, sharp beak. They have a bald, pinkish-skinned head and lappets (the folds of skin on the sides of its head) which can change different shades of colour depending on the mood and temperature. They have dark brown or black feathers, with white legs, as well as a white bar on the underside of the wing. Juveniles are mostly brown with few down feathers on the head.
• Body length: 95-115 cm
• Wingspan: 250-290 cm
• Weight: 4.4-8.5 kg
FINAL THOUGHTS
“All in all, vultures are such gentle, charismatic creatures that are fascinating and mesmerising to watch, research and conserve. They are noble and forgiving creatures that simplywant to be – i.e. live, reproduce and be left alone. One cannot forget that vultures play a significant role in preventing the spread of diseases by efficiently and effectively consuming carcasses that would otherwise be left to decompose in our environment.
“Each species has their unique character traits and their own inner beauty which defines them and their individualities. They are exquisitely beautiful with their piercing intelligent eyes that look deep through your soul with a longing to be understood and loved.” ~ Kerri Wolter (Founder/CEO of VulPro)
Africa is facing a vulture crisis, and we could lose some of our vulture species within our lifetime. For this genuine reason, VulPro was established in 2007 to address the catastrophic declines of vultures across the continent with special emphasis initially being on the Cape vulture as southern Africa’s only endemic vulture species. However, this focus has shifted to include all African vulture species, with a multifaceted and adaptive management approach encompassing both in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies.
VulPro is leading the way, with innovative and adaptive methods, to saving Africa’s vultures. Vulpro recognises that every person counts and every person can affect change and contribute to the survival of the vulture species. Their mission is to advance knowledge, awareness and innovation in the conservation of African vulture populations for the benefit and well-being of society.
VulPro conducts and facilitates educational talks at its rehabilitation and educational centre in Hartbeespoort, as well as at external, formal and informal venues and with groups of varying demographics, ages, interests and expertise.
Their objectives are to save vultures from extinction through the following conservation strategies:
• Vulture rehabilitation
• Monitoring distribution and foraging ranges throughout sub-Saharan Africa
• Monitoring wild vulture populations and breeding success
• Veterinary and ecological research related to vultures
• Conservation breeding and reintroduction programmes
• Public education and awareness programmes
Earlier this month in western Zambia, Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organisation, and the Barotse Royal Establishment of the Lozi People in partnership with Peace Parks Foundation and Cartier launched the Saving Spots project – an innovative and culturally-sensitive conservation initiative that seeks to protect declining wild cat populations using synthetic leopard, serval and lion furs, known as ‘Heritage Furs’.
Held annually on the Zambezi River in the Barotseland Kingdom, the Kuomboka festival (meaning ‘to get out of the water’) involves passage of His Majesty the Lozi King between palaces by barge. Historically, the King’s barge has carried approximately 200 paddlers adorned with ornate, full-length skirts or lipatelo made of nearly a thousand leopard and serval furs. Paddlers have also traditionally worn red berets topped with lion mane headpieces, known as mishukwe.
This year, with the roll-out of our new wild cat conservation initiative at the Royal Palace in Mongu, festival attendees received 200 Panthera-created synthetic leopard and serval fur lipatelo and 200 synthetic lion mishukwe, which have replaced the use of real furs and, we expect, will help to reduce the hunting of hundreds of wild cats across southern Africa where the species are severely threatened.
His Royal Highness the Lozi Senior Chief, Inyambo Yeta, stated, “The Barotse Royal Establishment was concerned that leopard and other cat populations are dwindling in Zambia, and as a conservation-oriented establishment, worked with Panthera to devise a culturally appropriate solution to reduce the impact on wild cats.”
Lozi leadership was instrumental in ensuring adoption of the Heritage Furs, with official endorsement and valuable design input provided by His Majesty the King and the Senior Chief. Working with digital designers, Panthera arranged for the manufacturing of the ceremonial regalia in China and tailoring in South Africa. Along with the garments donated last week, Panthera will provide an additional 400 Heritage Furs to the Barotse Royal Establishment.
Panthera Leopard Program Director and Conservation Science Deputy Director, Dr. Guy Balme, stated, “The rollout of the Heritage Furs to the Lozi people offers a lifeline to leopards in Zambia and beyond. Innovative solutions such as this, that garner local support and can be implemented at scale, are needed to turn the tide for a species in desperate need of increased conservation attention.”
Earlier this year, the United Nations global biodiversity report raised red flags regarding the extinction crisis facing 1,000,000 species, including big cats like leopards. Many communities across Africa believe that those wearing leopard furs are imbued with its enviable qualities, including strength, grace and stealth.
Despite this reverence for the species, the illegal killing of leopards for use in ceremonial attire is devastating the big cat’s populations across Africa, alongside bushmeat poaching, conflict with people, habitat loss and unsustainable trophy hunting. Panthera scientists estimated that nearly 200 paddlers were dressed in furs from approximately 150 leopards and 800 servals at the 2018 Kuomboka festival.
Speaking on behalf of His Majesty the Litunga Lubosi Imwiko II in front of his council, and over 400 Lozi community members at last week’s event, the Prime Minister of Barotseland stated, “We are grateful for Panthera’s partnership in saving Zambia’s wildlife with the donation of these regalia. Only an expert could tell the difference between the garments and original furs. We greatly look forward to all the paddlers using these at the next Kuomboka festival.”
In order to track leopard population trends and tailor conservation efforts accordingly, the project has additionally established a robust monitoring network that extends across the Namibian, Zambian, Zimbabwean components of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. Thus far, survey results have painted a bleak picture for leopards in areas historically considered strongholds for the species, underscoring the dire need for increased conservation efforts and funding on their behalf.
The Saving Spots project is operated through and modelled after Panthera’s Furs For Life program. With leopard populations in southern Africa declining at alarming rates, Furs For Life was formed in 2013 after Panthera scientists discovered that as many as 15,000 illegal leopard fur capes were being used by followers of the Nazareth Baptist Shembe Church during religious gatherings.
In six years, Furs For Life has donated more than 18,500 synthetic leopard fur capes to the Shembe community, decreasing the use of real leopard furs at religious gatherings by half and preventing hundreds of leopard deaths each year. Now successfully replicated in Zambia, the Furs For Life model holds great potential for adoption within additional willing communities across southern Africa that currently utilise cat and other animal furs during traditional ceremonies.
Watch the video about the project, Saving Spots, below – provided by Panthera
Left: Lions killed 25 goats belonging to farmer Euphrasius Dawids in Torra Conservancy on Saturday morning; Right: Farmer Desmond Tsuseb lost 19 goats to lions on Monday in the same region. Images sourced from The Namibian
NEWS DESK POST by AG Editorial, with information sourced from The Namibian and DeLHRA
Over 40 goats have been killed by a pride of lions in Namibia in the past couple of days, in two separate incidents. The first incident occurred early on Saturday morning where a communal farmer in the Torra Conservancy in Kunene Region, Euphrasius Dawids, lost 25 goats to lions. The lions apparently broke through the kraal and killed the rams, ewes and kids. Dawids estimates the loss at about N$40,000.
Two days after that, on Monday, more goats were killed in the same area where communal farmer Desmond Tsuseb lost 19 of his livestock to lions. The animals were found dead in the bush near the farmhouse after they were left out on Sunday (and would usually make their way back to the kraal on their own). As this latest incident took place a few kilometres from the previous incident, it is suspected that the killings were by the same lion pride.
Saturday’s kill was the biggest in more than a year, according to The Namibian, with livestock losses having been limited by measures put in place to deter lions from entering livestock kraals – such as the use of shade cloth kraals (enclosures). Before these measures were in place, major lion attacks on livestock were more frequent.
The drought that is affecting the region has decreased the wild game count by 40% in the last year, say the farmers, with the result of less wildlife for the lions to hunt. This is most likely the reason why the lions have turned to vulnerable prey such as livestock.
Izak Smit from DeLHRA (Desert Lions Human Relations Aid) said in response to the attacks: “The kraal near Bergsig where 25 goats had been killed by lions 3 days ago was only closed with shade cloth on one of the four sides – hence the attack. Farmers should contact us for shade cloth to prevent such losses. The farmer is a friend and collaborator, and we regret his loss. It was a temporary kraal in an area used for emergency drought relief grazing.”
The latest census (August 2019) of Namibia’s leopards estimates a population of 11,733 leopards. This is a reduction from the 14,154 estimate from a 2011 census (Stein et al). The report states that the leopard population is not declining country-wide and that changes in methodology caused the drop in reported populations between 2011 and 2019.
Information and data for the census was collected from across Namibia, including sightings, photographs, distribution data and population trends. Two camera trap surveys and an intensive questionnaire survey were also conducted. Some areas showed leopard density increases over the 2011 census, and others showed reductions.
Evidence collected reveals that the core of Namibia’s leopard population occurs on freehold farmland and communal conservancies in the Kunene region, where they are under pressure due to human-leopard conflict and illegal poaching using wire snares. Populations in these areas are higher than they are in national parks because of less competition from other predators and a higher prey base.
Results show a clear link between the tolerance of leopards on the one hand, and income-generating activities (photographic tourism and trophy hunting) on the other hand. The report suggests that the biggest threat to leopard populations in Namibia is ‘problem leopard’ removal due to human-leopard conflict.
The research was led by carnivore specialist Dr Louisa Richmond-Coggan of LRC Wildlife Conservation. Her website description of this project: “In cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, NAPHA has employed my services to undertake a Leopard: National Censusing & Sustainable Hunting Practices study which will run from June 2017 to December 2018.”
The following organisations collaborated to carry out this census:
• The Namibian Ministry of Environment & Tourism (MET);
• The Large Carnivore Management Association of Namibia (LCMAN);
• The Namibian Professional Hunting Association (NAPHA);
• The Namibian Chamber of Commerce (NCE).
OPINION POST by “Concerned Protected Area Managers”
Following up on the previous article which highlighted the serious environmental concerns of a proposed citrus development to border South Africa’s largest intact Protected Area, LEDET (Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism) has ignored all concerns and given the farm development the go-ahead. By doing this, LEDET has failed not only the Hoedspruit community, they have also put the Protected Areas Network at risk by destroying the continuity of the landscape and habitat, while also failing to secure a future for fauna and flora supported within the surrounding ecosystems.
This seemingly inconsequential act of approving the development severely undermines national and provincial conservation efforts to maintain ecosystem resilience for future climate change implications. The greater consequence of this development will derail the plan of expanding the area under conservation of the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) to Hoedspruit, and reduce the opportunity for the region to become a cornerstone for conservation (see Figure 1 below).
Figure 1. Layout of the authorised commercial citrus development in relation to the surrounding Private Nature Reserves and Hoedspruit
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is incorrect in claiming that the 120 ha piece of land that is about to be irreversibly destroyed by planting citrus trees is not unique. Although similar land types are relatively widespread throughout the Lowveld, this approval highlights the lack of understanding of the urgency to protect these areas and keep them intact. This was the very reason that track of land was classified as a Protected Areas Buffer Zone and Critical Biodiversity Area (CBA2). For an ecosystem to function properly it must not be fragmented as this reduces its resilience and leads to environmental collapse. LEDET’s approval shows a general short-sightedness by the relevant authorities, and a lack of understanding of the environmental impacts of one development at a time. This cumulative effect of negative impacts is equivalent to the “death by a thousand cuts” for our environment.
If similar developments are to be authorised, there will be no viable areas left to create crucial ecological networks.
This approval of a commercial farm within a critical biodiversity area begs the question why the bigger picture for the region is being blatantly disregarded in favour of an inappropriate agricultural development. How would a citrus farm, which not only borders a Protected Area, falls on classified land but also occurs on an important river, benefit the surrounding landscape? How justifiable is it to allow for the deliberate degradation of a Protected Area through the cumulative impacts of excessive water extraction and the addition of pesticides, chemicals and other pollutants? Not only would the development decrease the area’s ecological integrity, but it would have immense impacts on wildlife movements within the Protected Area. An attractant such as citrus will lure all kinds of animals from the APNR, diminishing its purpose to act as a safe haven.
Unfortunately, as previously reported by others, there appears to be an apparent trend for inappropriate development applications being granted without due consideration of the real and severe impacts on the environment. We can only hope that by standing together as a community, we will be able to turn the tide and protect what is left of our natural environment. There has to come a time when the importance of safeguarding our natural environment takes preference over the economic benefit of a selected few.
“AFRICA” – now tell me that you don’t hear Sir David Attenborough’s voice when you read that word. Home to an abundance of incredible wildlife and considered the birthplace of humankind, this continent beckoned wildlife enthusiast Olli Teirilä in a way that he could never have expected. With a passion for adventure and wildlife, Olli found himself visiting Africa countless times, and through each epic safari, his love for photography grew.
He discovered the endless excitement and anticipation that comes with observing and understanding how animals behave in the wild – what movements to anticipate and what sounds to listen out for – and with that the challenge of capturing this all on camera. After almost ten years of travelling to Africa, Olli has identified his favourite destinations: the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park for the self-drive adventures, the photographic heavens of Maasai Mara in Kenya, and the sweeping grasslands of Ndutu in Tanzania.
In this gallery, Olli shares with us some of his best photos, or what he fondly refers to as ‘stories’, from his safaris in Africa.
SCROLL DOWN to enjoy this stunning gallery, plus a fantastic video clip filmed by Olli during his travels in the Kgalagadi.
Enjoy an adventurous video clip of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – one of Olli’s favourite destinations – filmed during his self-drive camping safari to the park. This clip features lions, leopards, cheetahs, an array of bird species and other incredible sightings.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, Olli Teirilä
Olli Teirilä is a frequent traveller with a passion for wildlife that has turned into a serious hobby of wildlife filming and photography. His love for Africa started from an innocent first-time visit back in 2008 and has grown ever since. Olli’s favourite destinations on the continent are the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, the Maasai Mara and Ndutu. The big cats, especially the cheetah, are his favourites, but he enjoys photographing all wildlife. He lives in his native Finland. You can see more of his wildlife photos and videos on his Black Grouse Photography page.
The CITES 18th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP18) in Geneva, Switzerland has now come to an end, and a number of controversial proposals for trade have been settled. Some of the decisions have not been well-received by African range state governments, as they restrict or prevent these countries’ ability to generate much-needed revenue that could be used for conservation purposes.
These meetings occur roughly every three years, and amendments to the international trade rules can have profound conservation implications for affected species.
The listing of a species in Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction that are or may be affected by trade, and effectively prevents commercial international trade, except under exceptional circumstances. Species listed in Appendix II are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation. They can be traded under special permit conditions. Appendix III is for species which any Party identifies as being subject to regulation within its jurisdiction for the purpose of preventing or restricting exploitation, and as needing the co-operation of other Parties in the control of trade.
Below is the list of the results of the proposals that affect species occurring in Africa and the continent’s coastal waters.
MAMMALS
The African elephant came under the spotlight in a number of trade proposals
African elephant (Loxodonta africana)
Three proposals out of the 56 submitted by governments to change the levels of protection of species of wild animals pertained to the African elephant and ivory poaching. Below are the three proposals:
PROPOSAL 10: Transfer the population of Loxodonta africana of Zambia from Appendix I to Appendix II PROPONENT: Zambia SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Transfer the population of Loxodonta africana of Zambia from Appendix I to Appendix II subject to:
• Trade in registered raw ivory (tusks and pieces) for commercial purposes only to CITES approved trading partners who will not re-export;
• Trade in hunting trophies for noncommercial purposes;
• Trade in hides and leather goods;
• All other specimens shall be deemed to be specimens of species in Appendix I and the trade in them shall be regulated accordingly. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: REJECTED
PROPOSAL 11: Amendment to Annotation 2 of Appendix II pertaining to the elephant populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to enable resumption of trade in registered raw ivory PROPONENTS: Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Amendment to Annotation 2 of Appendix II pertaining to the elephant populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to enable resumption of trade in registered raw ivory:
• From government owned stocks (excluding seized and of unknown origin);
• Only to trading partners verified by the Secretariat;
• Proceeds only to be used to fund elephant conservation and community conservation and development programmes. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: REJECTED
PROPOSAL 12: Include all populations of Loxodonta africana in Appendix I through transferring populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe from Appendix II to Appendix I PROPONENTS: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: REJECTED
In addition, three documents relating to elephants were considered: 1) trade in live African elephants; 2) closure of domestic ivory markets; and 3) management of ivory stockpiles.
THE OUTCOMES OF THE THREE DOCUMENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
• There is now a total ban on the trade in live, wild-caught African elephants to destinations outside of the African elephant range, with limited exceptions. This means that zoos will no longer be able to import wild-caught African elephants from Africa to their facilities in the United States, China, and many other countries outside the natural habitat of the species. Only in “exceptional circumstances” may elephants be exported beyond their natural range.
• Countries that have not closed the domestic trade in raw and worked ivory must provide details of measures they are taking to ensure that the domestic trade is not contributing to poaching or illegal trade.
• Countries are required to maintain and report annually on their ivory stockpiles, or face sanctions.
Namibia proposed to transfer its population of white rhino from Appendix I to II, and Eswatini proposed a measure that would allow international trade in rhino horns for commercial purposes. Both proposals were rejected
Southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum)
The proposals by Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Namibia to loosen restrictions on the trade in live rhinos and rhino parts was voted against by the members of the CITES committee.
PROPOSAL 8: Remove the existing annotation for the population of Eswatini PROPONENTS: Eswatini SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Remove the existing annotation on the Appendix II listing of Eswatini’s white rhino population, which would allow:
• International trade in rhinos and their products – including horn and derivatives.
• Rhino horn to be sold from existing stock to licensed retailers in the Far East, plus up to 20 kg per annum, including harvested horn, to those retailers. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: REJECTED
PROPOSAL 9: Transfer the population of Namibia from Appendix I to Appendix II PROPONENTS: Namibia SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Change the CITES status of Namibia’s white rhino population from Appendix I to Appendix II , which would allow international trade in:
• Live animals to appropriate and acceptable destinations; and
• Hunting trophies. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: REJECTED
Wild populations of giraffe have declined by up to 40% in the last 30 years due to habitat loss and poaching
Giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis)
Giraffes have been given their first ever international protection through a new Appendix II designation. This means that international trade in giraffe parts, such as hides, bones and meat, will be regulated to ensure that it is not detrimental to the survival of the species.
PROPOSAL 5: Include in Appendix II PROPONENTS: Central African Republic, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Niger, and Senegal SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Place all seven species and subspecies of giraffes under the protection of Appendix II. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED
PROPOSAL 19: Transfer from Appendix II to Appendix I PROPONENTS: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Transfer the black-crowned crane from Appendix II to I, to prohibit international trade in the species. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED
PROPOSAL 30: Include in Appendix II PROPONENTS: European Union and Madagascar SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: List the gecko under Appendix II in order to have more control over its trade. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED
Pancake tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri)
PROPOSAL 37: Transfer from Appendix II to Appendix I PROPONENTS: Kenya and United States of America SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Transfer from Appendix II to Appendix I due to the high demand in the international pet trade and its status as ‘Critically Endangered’ by the IUCN Red List . DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED
PROPOSAL 42: Include in Appendix II PROPONENTS: Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Egypt, European Union, Gabon, Gambia, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Maldives, Mali, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Palau, Samoa, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Togo SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Place mako sharks under Appendix II in order to regulate trade. This will ensure that the harvest of specimens from the wild is not reducing the wild population to a level at which its survival might be threatened by continued harvesting. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED
Guitarfish (Glaucostegus spp.)
PROPOSAL 43: Include in Appendix II PROPONENTS: Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, European Union, Gabon, Gambia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Monaco, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Palau, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, and Ukraine SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Place guitarfish species under Appendix II in order to regulate trade. This will ensure that the harvest of specimens from the wild is not reducing the wild population to a level at which its survival might be threatened by continued harvesting. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED
Wedgefish (Rhinidae spp.)
PROPOSAL 44: Include in Appendix II PROPONENTS: Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, India, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Maldives, Mali, Mexico, Monaco, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Palau, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, and Ukraine SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Place wedgefish species under Appendix II in order to regulate trade. This will ensure that the harvest of specimens from the wild is not reducing the wild population to a level at which its survival might be threatened by continued harvesting. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED
PROPOSAL 45: Include in Appendix II PROPONENTS: European Union, Kenya, Senegal, Seychelles and United States of America SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: To regulate the trade in sea cucumbers to ensure that harvest from the wild is not reducing population to a level where survival might be threatened by continued harvest or other influences. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED AS AMENDED
PROPOSAL 50: Include in Appendix II PROPONENTS: Malawi SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: This species faces numerous threats, the most serious of which are changing fire regimes, fuelwood collection, illegal logging, invasive tree species and conifer aphids. Placing under Appendix II will provide additional protection. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED
Afromosia (Pericopsis elata)
PROPOSAL 53: Amend annotation #5 for Pericopsis elata PROPONENTS: Côte d’Ivoire and European Union SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Afromosia is a highly valued timber native to Central and West Africa. It is currently listed under Appendix II with the annotation #5 which restricts the listing to “logs, sawn wood and veneer sheets”. However, loop holes have been discovered where traders from range States have been exporting sawn wood with minor, superficial transformations in order to circumvent CITES controls. The proposal now wants the annotation to be changed so that it includes transformed wood (and plywood), as follows: “Logs, sawn wood, veneer sheets, plywood, and transformed wood.” DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED
African padauk (Pterocarpus tinctorius)
PROPOSAL 54: Include in Appendix II PROPONENTS: Malawi SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: Place the species under Appendix II to help in the trade and harvest regulations. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED AS AMENDED
Bitter aloe (Aloe ferox)
PROPOSAL 55: Include in Appendix II PROPONENTS: South Africa SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL: amend part f) of annotation #4, so that it includes Aloe ferox as part of the finished product. DECISION BY CITES COMMITTEE: ACCEPTED AS AMENDED
OPINION POST by Simon Espley – CEO Africa Geographic
OPEN LETTER TO MINISTER BARBARA CREECY, Department of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, South Africa
Madam Minister,
I read with interest your call for ‘scientific’ feedback on your recommendation that South Africa permit international trade in white rhino horn, and allow increased numbers of black rhino to be shot by trophy hunters. And, your recommendation goes even further – you suggest downlisting white rhinos from CITES Appendix I to Appendix II, because, “it is clear that C. simum simum does not meet the biological criteria for inclusion in Appendix I of CITES”. You have given us a mere 30 days to respond.
Surely, Minister, if those with the relevant resources and nous are to provide ‘scientific’ input, they should, at the very least, know how many rhinos we have left in our National Parks? I would imagine that you know how many wild rhinos remain and that you used this information when you came up with these recommendations. And yet your department has refused all approaches to reveal the numbers.
In the body of your recommendations, you make a few claims that took me by surprise. For example, you say that “legal and illegal harvests combined are currently still within sustainable levels”. Feedback from my networks is that white rhino populations in Kruger National Park have been particularly hammered by a horrible cocktail of drought and poaching and that the lower poaching statistics for 2019 to date that your department claim as a “success” (190 for the first six months of 2019, compared to 222 for the same period in 2018) is because there are fewer rhinos left to poach. Your claim that the situation is “sustainable” seems out of sync with what people on the ground are saying.
Feedback from several well-placed, respected individuals in my network is that the current population of white rhinos in the Kruger National Park is now significantly lower than the official 2017 estimate of 4,759 – 5,532 – this being the most recent official update. But, in the light of no official current numbers, everyone is speculating.
Subsequent editorial note: 17 months after we published this request the minister had still not revealed the rhino populations, but we did, from other official sources – the 2019 Kruger population was an estimated 3,549white rhinos – a reduction of 67% in nine years.
I would imagine that a dramatic population reduction would be a bad foundation on which to be making applications to CITES to reduce rhino conservation protection, or to remove increased numbers via trophy hunting. Again, speculation.
The keyword here is ‘speculation’, and I have heard much of it lately. Without formal notification from you about how many rhinos are left in our National Parks, those of us who are concerned about rhinos, and particularly those that you now task to provide ‘scientific’ feedback, are left to speculate.
Speculation is what fills the void when facts are withheld, and becomes a powerful tool for those whose priorities are not aligned with yours. By not following the example of your predecessor, by not being transparent about how many wild rhinos we have left in our National Parks, you are feeding the very monster that is ripping the conservation world apart – those purveyors of emotive speculation, ideological rants and misinformation. These enemies of conservation are a fact of life these days, and they feast on this lack of transparency.
Please don’t tell us that releasing these figures is a security threat. As if poaching syndicates crunch their numbers and plan their attacks based on annual population updates. Or, is that your understanding of where poaching syndicates and ground crew get their intelligence?
Please Madam Minister, end the speculation, arm our scientists with the necessary facts, and disarm the enemies of conservation. Let’s focus on fact and the resultant considered strategies to keep our wildlife safe. Tell us how many wild rhinos remain in our national parks.
The South African Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, has requested public comment of a scientific nature on her proposal to:
1. Enable the international trade in white rhino horn by down-listing the white rhino on CITES.
2. Increase the annual quota of black rhinos for trophy hunting in South Africa, from the current five males to an unspecified number.
WHITE RHINOS
Currently, the South African population of white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum simum) have a split listing on CITES. They are listed on Appendix II of CITES, as regards permitting the international sale of live white rhinos that are bred in captivity for commercial purposes, and the export of trophy hunting trophies for non-commercial purposes. In all other forms (such as rhino horn), white rhinos are included in CITES Appendix I, and no international commercial trade is permitted.
After providing extensive background information, the minister concludes that “The export, for primarily non-commercial purposes, of rhinoceros horn that has been legally sourced, either through natural mortalities and/or horn harvest from wild populations, or from captive breeding facilities, will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild provided that (1) the income derived from these exports contributes directly to the conservation of wild rhinoceros populations and (2) the captive breeding facilities meet the Scientific Authority’s approved criteria for the captive breeding of white rhinoceros” and “it is clear that C. simum simum does not meet the biological criteria for inclusion in Appendix I of CITES and a proposal to effect a straight Appendix II listing (i.e. without an annotation) can be considered.”
Put another way, the minister has recommended downgrading the protection afforded to the South African white rhino population under CITES from Appendix I to Appendix II, which will permit the export of rhino horn, in addition to the current permission to export live rhinos and hunting trophies.
BLACK RHINOS
Currently, the South African population of black rhinos (Diceros bicornis)is listed under CITES I, but with an annotation that permits the trophy hunting of five black rhino males per annum. No other international commercial trade is permitted.
After providing extensive background information, the minister concludes that “current exports of live animals and hunting trophies pose a low risk to the survival of this species in South Africa and should be allowed to continue” and “Legal hunting of black rhinoceros is beneficial to the conservation and protection of the species in South Africa, though the current low levels of trophy offtakes do not sufficiently incentivise the conservation of the species or its habitat. As there are surplus males that could be hunted, over and above the 3-4 trophy bulls hunted per year, the CITES export quota of five hunting trophies from adult males could be increased” and “Due to the Endangered status of the species in South Africa and the difficulties of regularly dehorning black rhinoceros, the export of black rhinoceros horn for primarily non-commercial purposes is not recommended at this stage.”
In other words, the minister has recommended that the number of black rhinos available for hunting annually should be increased, although she does not specify a number. She does not support the international trade of black rhino horn.
The two PDF documents below provide detailed reasoning by the minister for her two recommendations, including an extensive history of the conservation successes and failures of each species. We highly recommend that you read both documents before responding to the Minister, as only informed and scientific feedback stands a chance of being taken seriously.
You have until 22 September 2019 to send your feedback to the minister at:
Chair: Scientific Authority
South African National Biodiversity Institute
Attention: Ms M Pfab, Private Bag X101, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
• Or by hand: 2 Cussonia Avenue, Brumeria, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
• Or via email: m.pfab@sanbi.org.za
• Or by fax: (+27) 086-555-9863
The Wodaabe tribe are nomadic pastoralists of the Sahel region in Africa. Their migratory journeys cover the expanse of northern Africa, where they travel with their cattle and families across the arid areas of Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic. They are a small, isolated branch of the Fulani ethnic group and are considered by neighbouring tribes as wild, uncivilised people, labelled as Mbororo, or ‘cattle Fulani’ – those who dwell in cattle camps.
They speak Fula, but do not read or write the language. In Fula, Woodabe means “people of the taboo”. The code of ethics (pulaaku) of the Wodaabe emphasises reserve and semteende (modesty), munyal (patience and fortitude), hakkilo (care and forethought), and amana (loyalty).
The Wodaabe place great emphasis on beauty and charm as this plays a vital role in their culture. When it comes to establishing relationships, the responsibility falls to the man who is required to attract the attention of a woman. Because of this, men will invest large amounts of time, money, and effort into beautifying themselves.
Once a year these nomads come together in a festival known as the Gerewol. It is the most important ceremony among the Wodaabe where men compete to be selected by young marriageable women as the most beautiful. I went to Chad for a week to watch the Gerewol festival, the location of which is not decided upon until the last minute. Still, it is always held at the end of the rainy season in the Sahelian zone which has seasonal rainfall and grass that provides grazing for the cattle.
In this beauty pageant for the men, the women are usually younger (in some cases they may be as young as 12 or 13), and the men are seen as fair game in a society which is polygamous and polygynous. The male beauty ideal of the Wodaabe stresses tallness, white eyes and teeth; the men will often roll their eyes and show their teeth to emphasise these characteristics.
The men adorn themselves using an array of colourful face paints. Their outfits are also vibrantly decorated, embellished with beads, feathers, buttons and baubles in the brightest of colours. Mirrored tunics and hats add to the exuberance and adornment. The overall appearance with the paint, makeup and outfits can only be described as feminine from our cultural perspective. They dance like male peacocks or birds of paradise, which exhibit their plumage to attract females. They are animists at heart, and this may be why they emulate the animal kingdom.
At this festival, there were two groups of Wodaabe: the Sudosukai and Japta. They both use scarification on their faces and bodies, using razor blades and ash, which is then rubbed into the open wound. The result is a black tattoo which is slightly keloidal (raised).
This scarification starts when they are young children, and tattoos are added with time. The Japto are more heavily scarred than the Sudosukai. There are perhaps some physiological differences too, with the Sudosukai being finer – many have model-like features, and all are very slim.
They dance endlessly at this festival, keeping to their ancient rhythms which are repeated over and over. When it gets too hot, they take breaks, but on the last night, they will dance continuously until dawn. The dancers often drink a fermented bark concoction which provides them with the energy they need to dance for long periods. This ‘energy’ drink reputedly has a hallucinogenic effect.
The dances are the focal point of the festival, with the main dance spectacle being the Yaake. Here the men line up and put on their best show, while three women – who are specially chosen as judges by the male tribal elders based on their fortitude and patience – pick the most attractive male.
To participate in the Gerewol, the women must have menstruated before the festival. Effectively when choices are made, the women know they are going to have sex with the chosen Wodaabe male, if the male accepts them. This may be a one-night affair or may last for longer, sometimes culminating in marriage.
Men may have a few wives, with the second or third wife regarded in good stead by the first wife. If a husband is infertile, he may ask a fellow tribesman to impregnate his wife, and in some cases, men will allow their wives to have sex with more handsome men so they can have more handsome children. Children are seen as a sign of machismo, wealth and labour, and having many children helps to offset the high infant and child mortality rate.
Cattle also indicate wealth; they very rarely eat them. Instead, they are predominantly vegetarian and consume millet, milk and occasionally cassava or manioc. They do, however, trade the cattle for other goods. Their animal husbandry is superb, and I witnessed boys as young as seven in charge of tending to the herd. The children grow up quickly in such a society. They have no formal education, and their culture is still resilient to an encroaching outside world.
As a tribe, they perform the Gerewol for themselves and not for any visitors. From what I know, not many tourists have witnessed the festival in Chad, whereas more have seen it in Niger, although instability has curbed potential tourism opportunities. There were only a few photographers and travellers when I was there, but the friendliness of the tribe was universal – although quite a few were shy, which is part of their cultural code. I hope that tourism to this region and these cultural festivals remains sustainable.
Born in the City of Derry (Ireland), Trevor Cole has lived most of his life outside the bounds of Ireland; in England, Singapore, Togo, Italy, Ethiopia and Brazil. He returned to Ireland (Donegal) in 2012. His photography, and travel, have become two of Trevor’s life’s passions. His photography focuses predominantly on culture and landscapes; images which reflect a spatial and temporal journey through life and which try to convey a need to live in a more sustainable world. He seeks the moment and the light in whatever context he finds himself and endeavours to use his photographic acumen to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
He leads small photo tours in his ‘own Donegal’ and Ireland but also to other destinations. He lived in Ethiopia from 2006-2010 and since then has returned to take photographers to the Western and Eastern Omo, Harar, the Danakil desert and the highlands of Ethiopia. Additionally, he takes photo tours to Iceland, Namibia and India and travels on his own to discover and capture new locations – often with a focus on indigenous people.
He has been published by National Geographic (online), several British and European digital photography magazines and newspapers and the Survival International calendar in 2016.
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