South Africa’s weekend press carried a sickening story of some angler posing triumphantly over a dying shark he had minutes earlier hauled from the waters around Mossel Bay. No doubt using the most sophisticated equipment to catch what is apparently a Great White, it is people of this ilk that are also prone to boast of the ‘contest’. The image clearly captures the man gloating at his achievement – he has killed an animal of some size.
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Top Notch!
Author: Tim Jackson
Simon Naylor and one of his rangers successfully blindfold a white rhino cow after she has been sedated. Getting her to lie down is next in line.
There’s no way I can sit here and write something that does justice to the efforts people are making to protect and conserve our rhinos, that really gets to the heart of the emotion and sense of communal purpose that drives them… but I’ll try! And, there’s no more fitting day to do that than International Rhino Day. Trying to describe the energy I felt this past weekend is like trying to describe that sweet smell of the bush after rain – it’s just something you have to experience yourself to really understand.
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Mana Pools faces threat
Author: Admin
Mana Pools, the iconic Zimbabwean national park and World Heritage Site, faces another threat to its wilderness status as two new lodge developments on prime sites within the parks boundaries have been proposed. And both are being vigorously disputed by the wider conservation and ecotourism communities.
It was just over a year ago that strong opposition from environmental groups stopped Protea Hotels from going ahead with their 144-bed hotel and conference centre across the river from Mana. But this time, the battle is likely to be more complex as those involved are reputed to have strong political connections.
Mana Pools has established its world-wide reputation because it remains a low-volume wilderness region offering some of the best wildlife experiences on the continent. And it lies along an extended floodplain section of the Zambezi, which makes it an ecologically sensitive area. It is for these reasons that UNESCO established the region as a Word Heritage Site. Indiscriminate development by unconcerned developers puts this status at risk.
Both proposed lodges seem to have been given government approval without going to tender and without comprehensive EIA’s a being completed: in fact, according to local conservationists, everything about the procedures goes against the parks own approved management plans that state all new developments should be well away from the river for ecological and impacts reasons.
The first site, referred to as ‘Nyamepi Lodge’, is situated on the banks of the Zambezi River midway between the parks western and eastern boundaries, and is controlled by the son of George Pangeti, Chairman of Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority Board. The second site, known as the Vine site, is also situated on Zambezi River between the existing Ndungu Camp Site and Vundu Camp, and is controlled by an Italian citizen. He is involved in a tannery business not far from Marondera that has extensive government contracts. His partner, a Chinese national, has links to various businesses in Zimbabwe, including minerals and the development of an agricultural university. It is believed that this consortium won a concession to establish a lodge in Gonarezhou National Park, which then subsequently fell through. In exchange, they requested and have been granted a site in Mana Pools!
For more information, go to www.zambezi.co.uk/mana_pools.htm **or** the Facebook groups: Friends of Mana Pools and Keep Mana Pools Wild
Sanya Rhino Farm in China
Author: Ian Michler
The images above, likely to be some of the very first ever taken, show rhino being kept under harsh conditions at the Sanya rhino facility in China. And most, if not all of these animals are thought to have come from South African stocks, sold to China through the SANParks auctions *or* by private ranch owners. First touted by the Chinese authorities as a themed safari park called Africa View, Sanya is more likely to be the Chinese government’s first official project farming rhino for commercial purposes.
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End the mockery now
Author: Ian Michler
Picture by Tim Jackson
Developments over the last week in South Africa’s rhino poaching crisis clearly indicate that trophy hunting is one of the largest contributing factors to the ongoing slaughter. This is the cue for the professional hunting bodies, both in this country and abroad, to play their part in attempting to solve this sorry saga. They need to call for an immediate moratorium on all hunting of rhino.
And the South African regulatory authorities need to do the same as it has also become apparent that the licencing officials in certain regional departments need investigating. Together, the hunters and suspect licensing practices are making an absolute mockery of any attempt to deal with the crisis.
Copyright Ian Michler
The latest issue of Africa Geographic carries an update on the rhino poaching crisis. When going to print, approximately 160 animals had been killed. That figure is now over 190, which means at the current rate, somewhere between 400 and 450 animals will be illegally killed by the end of this year.
And the slaughter continues despite an increase in general awareness and the widespread calls to action from both private sector and government bodies. Which then begs the obvious question – at what point does South Africa’s white rhino population again become endangered? To their credit, it would seem that SANParks have begun considering this. In another development since the update was submitted, sources claim the heavy losses have forced the authorities to reconsider the idea of selling rhino to China – all deals are apparently off for the moment.
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Serengeti Highway update
Author: Ian Michler
Copyright Ian Michler
Readers are by now familiar with the controversy over the Tanzanian governments proposed new highway through the Serengeti National Park, which is a World Heritage Site . It’s been something of an ‘on-again, off-again’ saga as the pros and cons have been highlighted by the various parties involved.
More recently, government plans for other infrastructural development have come to light, and these give strong indications that the authorities will now press ahead with the proposed highway plan despite viable alternatives. One report refers to Kenya’s imminent decision to pull out of a bilateral agreement with Uganda to build a new railway line between Mombasa and Kampala. Apparently, this comes about due to pressure from the Chinese government who are seeking to have their own plans for a railway system accepted by the Kenyan government. Compliance by Kenya will no doubt come with further aid and soft funding packages.
Dying To Breed
Author: Grant Atkinson
Each year, beginning in April and May, the woodlands of northern Botswana begin to echo to the sound of male impala carrying out their rutting rituals. This behaviour is triggered by shortening day lengths. Normally quiet, the male impala begin to vocalize with loud, guttural grunting calls. This is just the sound of the rut though, and the impala go much further than just calling. Males become aggressive toward one another, and rival males strut, snort and posture in their attempts to intimidate one another. If this doesn’t work, then things may get physical. Serious males may lock horns and try to wrestle each other to the ground, and fights can become serious. I have seen a male impala walking about with another males horn broken off in his neck, and on another occasion a male that had broken both his own horns in half. Even younger males, not yet old enough to breed, seem to become more combative and can be seen chasing each other about.
The northern wildlife areas of Botswana are well-known for their healthy populations of African elephant. For the past four years, high rainfall has created conditions that are ideal for the elephants that live around the network of waterways made up by the Chobe, Kwando, Linyanti and Savuti rivers. Most of the individual animals are in good condition, and there are many baby elephants to be seen, of all ages, indicating that the survival rate is high.
This is in stark contrast to the situation in these same areas just six *or* seven years ago.
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A Reproductive Preoccupation
Author: Admin
It is the time of year in the north of Botswana when most settled and established wild dog packs are entering the beginnings of their breeding cycle. The African wild dog has a gestation period of approximately 70 days, and typically only the alpha male and alpha female engage in breeding activity.
The Linyanti pack are well settled in the Savuti area, and during a recent sighting I had of this pack, I was struck by just how much the mating activity impacts on the other dogs. Since late November, the alpha male has been sticking very close to the alpha female, and whenever they are at rest, he has been grooming her most affectionately. This is all part of the bonding process that is reinforced between these two vital members of the pack. When I last saw the dogs in mid-March, the pair were busy mating. They remain close to the other members of the pack during this time, and the mating bouts are of short duration.
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