Elephants and us

Our April issue, devoted almost entirely to savanna elephants, attracted a lot of attention (almost all of it positive). Here are some of the letters we received.

As I am a frequent visitor to Kruger National Park yet do not see the damage I am told the elephants are causing, I am totally against the culling of these beautiful animals. I have read the views of scientists and conservationists and am still against it. I am also totally against trophy hunting in all forms. We live in a very corrupt society and I believe that none of these actions will be conducted ethically.
Kruger Park is looking very lush and green at present with all the rain it has had, but come winter, it will be the fires that do untold damage, although the elephants will get the blame.
The park is not overrun with elephants, so please no culling!

Margie Ivins
via e-mail
 

 
Before the arrival of the white man, the lives of Africans and elephants were deeply entangled. Elephant feet tramped out the paths that men followed and elephant tusks dug the waterholes that sustained men in times of drought. After independence, the African people’s first instinct was to wipe out the elephant populations, not merely for the money the ivory could provide, but also to destroy their world’s wildness, to erase what many considered to be a primitive and shaming past.

That instinct is slowly being curtailed, and Africans are now coming to realise that the continent’s future depends as much on harnessing its own past as on grabbing something of the outside world’s alluring present. The fate of Africa is wrapped up in its elephants; the way in which we handle elephant conservation could be interpreted as a sign of how advanced we are as a species or, possibly more significantly, how far we are removed from the spirit of the wilderness

E. V. Cassani
Irene, Pretoria
 

 
Congratulations to all those at Africa Geographic responsible for the brilliant issue ‘Elephants & Us’. What made it so good was that it was written in a language that allowed the layman to understand the ‘elephant problem’ and its possible solution from all perspectives. I am in favour of the no-culling route, particularly when I think about what happened in Tsavo.

The photography was also stunning. Well done to the Balfours.

Peter Francois
via e-mail
 

 
Errata
The illustrations on page 48 of the May 2006 edition of AG are (C) SAIAB and Elaine Heemstra. In that same article (‘The real cost of seafood’), we referred to telephone numbers on pg. 48, which were then omitted.

The telephone number for the KwaZulu-Natal anti-poaching hotline is 083 3806298 and the South African national environmental tip-off hotline is 0800 701701.
 

In the Beat about the Bush Giveaway in the February issue we asked ‘Do giraffes lie down?’ and received a flood of photographs showing them doing just that.

Adult giraffes spend at least a few hours every night lying down or resting, says Trevor Carnably in his book Beat about the Bush, and they also do so during the heat of the day. They do not voluntarily lie down flat as this could result in the stomach contents, which are forced into the mouth during rumination, being ingested into the lungs, resulting in suffocation. In the normal lying position, giraffes rest slightly to one side on the brisket, as do other ruminants, to prevent the ingestion problem and to make rumination easier.

This photograph of a group of giraffes in the Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, was taken by Wolfgang Heinrich of Trebur, Germany.

 
Carnivorous warthogs
In response to Anna Merz’s letter (Viewpoint, February 2006), it is not in the least unusual to see warthogs eating mammal remains in the Masai Mara. During the recent drought it was an almost daily occurrence.

Some time ago, again in the Masai Mara, I was driving back to camp one afternoon with a storm threatening when I spotted a male cheetah in pursuit of a Thomson’s gazelle. After a long chase, just when it looked as if the gazelle would escape, it tripped and was caught. The cheetah was completely exhausted and, just as it was about to start feeding, a large male warthog ran up and chased it away. To my amazement, the warthog then started to eat the gazelle. I was surprised how easily it tore into the carcass.

Dave Richards
Kenya
 

 
Back in the hunt
Many readers responded to Ian Michler’s article on trophy hunting (‘Back in the hunt’, March 2006). Here are just a few.

Michler’s article was not actually about hunting, but about canned shooting, a practice condemned by every hunting association in South Africa. There are some truths in his article, but it would have been far more accurate if he had taken the time to consult with the industry. What is true is that during the past 12 years (a period of rapid growth in the hunting and game industry) there has been an eroding of the authorities’ ability to control it. Each of the newly created nine provinces has its own regulations and degrees of competence in enforcing them. The forum between the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (PHASA) and government was dissolved for political reasons, leaving the industry voiceless. The biggest threat to wildlife is government’s inability to control, regulate and promote the wildlife industry.

PHASA has attempted to keep the industry clean, but it is toothless without government support. Even when it suspends someone’s membership, the culprit doesn’t lose his licence, as the government is the regulating authority. The game-ranching industry has condemned practices such as cross-breeding of species and forced breeding against natural cycles. These are isolated cases, yet Michler implies that they are common.

As Michler correctly states and we at PHASA endorse, true hunting must contribute to biodiversity and conservation of all species. Some hunters do need to wake up to this fact, but at the same time the media must assist in endorsing good hunting practices and not paint the entire industry with the same brush.

Stewart Dorrington
President, Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa
 

 
Man is a collector the world over, whether his passion is stamps, books, cars or hunting trophies. Trends change – it used to be quantity that counted, now it is rarity. I am not in favour of all the cross-breeding and inbreeding that takes place, but in a few years’ time trends will dictate that it is the pure-bred kudu or impala that is desirable once again. South African farmers own their wildlife just as they own their cattle and, as long as they are ethical and humane, let them get on with managing them.

Is it such a bad thing that the hunting industry spends many millions of dollars a year on specific causes like tracking giant sable antelope, breeding game birds and setting aside land so as to engineer more wilderness in which to hunt? Would it be better to use the land for agriculture or for urban developments, or should we let the poachers in to clean up what little game might be left?

Christopher Dandridge
Botswana
 

 
For many years people have watched in disbelief as South Africa’s conservation standards went to the dogs as a result of our wildlife and hunting industries’ clandestine and unethical behaviour.

Sustainable use is no longer a matter of wisely using our natural resources and treating our fauna and flora with respect to conserve it for future generations. Bad people with an obsolete obsession to collect dead animals at any cost have been hiding behind the so-called sustainable-use concept to obscure their own unnatural obsessions and greed.
Hunting is no longer about conservation. It is about killing to satisfy greed.

Louise Joubert
SanWild Wildlife Trust
 

 
High spirits in Lower Zambezi
On behalf of Conservation Lower Zambezi, I would like to thank you for the excellent coverage that CLZ received in the February issue and update you on recent developments. CLZ has since hired a dynamic management couple, Adrian Hudson and Anna Harrison, to replace Ian Stevenson and his partner Lea who are now in Ethiopia. CLZ is confident that Adrian and Anna will make a positive contribution to the Safari Guide Training Programme mentioned in the article. With substantial funding from the Royal Danish Embassy, the programme will be the first of its kind in Zambia and its intention is to train local safari guides to the highest international standards.

CLZ is looking for an experienced, mature professional safari guide to help develop, implement and maintain this programme. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the right person to become a part of, and positively contribute to, one of Africa’s most successful and proactive conservation NGOs.

If you are interested in this position, or know someone who might be, e-mail CLZViceChair@iwayafrica.com<P> for more details.

Grant Cumings
Conservation Lower Zambezi, Zambia
 

 
The [not so] secret life of otters
I read the letter from Karina Behr (March 2006) with interest. It must be wonderful to be able to associate with wild otters in that way.

I have never seen a live otter, but I did see one that had been knocked down and killed on the M3 highway near the Koeberg Interchange in Cape Town. It is interesting that there are otters to be found in this highly urbanised area.

Chris Dixon
via e-mail
 

 
Winners!

• The winner of a two-night stay at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in the Western Cape is Miriam Humphreys of Sedgefield, Western Cape.
  
• Linzi and Mark Burgess were the winners of our ‘Living with leopards’ competition. They had a wonderful time in the Cedarberg and at the Londolozi Private Game Reserve – a ‘once-in-a-lifetime experience that we will always remember’ said Linzi.

Errata
The photograph of an elephant’s feet on page 70 of the April issue was incorrectly credited. The photographer is Cheryl-Samantha Owen.
 

 
Do African wild dogs hunt in relays?
If you know the answer to this question, send it to Beat about the Bush Giveaway 6, c/o Africa Geographic, P O Box 44223, Claremont 7735, South Africa or e-mail jane@africageographic.com with Beat about the Bush 6 in the subject line. You may win a copy of Trevor Carnaby’s Beat about the Bush, published by Jacana, which settles this and any other queries you may have about animal behaviour.

A copy of Beat about the Bush is on its way to David Ball of Pretoria, South Africa. He was one of the very few people who answered the question in our March issue correctly – springbok cannot prolong their pregnancies. No mammal can consciously alter their gestation period. If pregnancy is extended, natural birth would be impossible as the offspring would be too large. Perceived ‘holding’ of the young is probably a consequence of mating taking place slightly later than usual the previous season.
 

 
PS One point that I have observed about the lion population of the Lower Zambezi NP, having guided there since 1989, there appears to have been a slight decrease in the number of lions seen in LZNP since the increase of tourism and conservation activity in the area – in the period 1992-94 we regularly observed a pride, among others, of some 36 lions which has since dissipated and split into at least two sub prides but which still periodically join together to form a pride of about 18 lions. One popular theory as to how a pride of that size remained cohesive and successful was that they specialized at feeding on the carcasses of poached elephants meaning less natural attrition from hunting and, because of more reliable nourishment, possibly less disease and competition within the pride. With the reduction in elephant poaching so have the observed lion (and hyena) populations reduced although whether these two results are linked remains to be proven. However the lion population in the neighbouring GMA has been subject to other pressures, such as safari hunting, poaching, problem animal control, encroachment and competition for habitat and prey, resulting in its near demise.

I refer to your article in the March edition of Africa Geographic.

I believe the solution lies in understanding the social system of the lion themselves. In the 1970`s I was in charge of calling of lions for the Sabi Sand Game Reserve (55,000 hectares).

I established that there were 7 territories and 15 mature males controlled the territories on advice from scientists 30% or 5 mature males were hunted for trophies.

The other lion were called at night using a system developed in the Kruger Park. At present I am doing a project in the Free State so I will speak only for the Free State but I’m certain that canned lion hunting is pretty much the same in the other provinces mentioned

The indictment against the system is that male 60-70 lions are canned every year in the Free State and there is not a single free ranging lion in the province.

Many of the dealers you mention are well know to me. I know how they operate I know what they charge and I know what mutates them.

The mentality of the overseas hunter is also well known to me having them on hunting safari a long time ago. Some things you will never change. Roland Ward records of Big Game Safari Club International Records Book are indeed the bibles for overseas hunters.

Every big trophy scores points. Prizes are awarded, prestige and status
achieved for big trophies taken.

I have seen hunters start a safari friend and end enemies because one got bigger trophies than the other. It is naïve to think you can simply do away with these. Hunters hunt for trophies. The bigger or rarer they are, the more money they pay.

It is naïve to think you can do away with bad practice. Operators will suit,
shoot from vehicles, shoot with lights and host of other bad things because you simply can’t police it so don’t even try. It’s not about hunting it’s about money. Therefore what can you police?

I believe Ministers Van Schalhwyk decision is simple. It reads like this:

1. The government welcomes the practice of sport hunting and the role it
   plays in conservation and the contribution it makes to the economy.
   
2. With regard to the hunting of lion. Lion may be hunted on any registered
   ranch with a minimum size of 5000 hectares with the required predator proof
   fence surrounding the ranch.
   
3. Only free ranging lions may be hunted i.e. lion that hunt prey for
   themselves.
   
4. No permit is recguired to hunt the lion. The owner decides what is to be
   hunted.
   
5. A permit is recguired to remove the trophy from South Africa.

The effect of this legislation is as follows:

1. Anyone investing in game, land, fence and lions on 5000 hectares must be
   a serious player and much of the bad practice and bad operators are. The
   rats and mice
    

 
Unlucky for some
First pic
August is a dry month in Botswana and most of the waterholes in the Savute area are at low levels – very far from ideal habitat for a hippo. Guests at Savute Safari Lodge were in luck, however, when the resident lion pride made a pass past the lodge one morning. Five unsuccessful days of hunting meant that they were hungry. All of a sudden the lions turned from their path and ran into the bush, whereupon a full grown hippo burst upon the scene with the whole pride in hot pursuit. The lions were very cautious, only attacking the hippo from behind, and running away every time he turned to face them.

Second pic
At one stage the hippo sat down and two lions jumped on to him from behind. Everyone watching thought, ‘This is it’.

Third pic
But no, he got up again and ran up the bank into the bush, trailing lions behind him. A short while later the lions returned to the waterhole, clearly unsuccessful in their attempts. A lucky escape for the hippo, but unlucky for the lions, now six days without food.

Mark and Lizette Carlson