Tales from the field Archives | Page 5 of 17

Lydenburg Learners Celebrate World Wetlands Day at De Berg Wetland

Eulalia Jordaan, an MPTA ecological technician, showed the learners the different kinds of plants found in the wetland

On 31 January, the Mpumalanga Wetland Forum chaired by the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Bradley Gibbons hosted Grade 7 learners from Lydenburg Primary School as part of a World Wetlands Day celebration at the De Berg Wetland in Mpumalanga.

The De Berg Wetland is South Africa’s 30th Ramsar site and is therefore a wetland of international importance.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated annually on 2 February to mark the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar. The theme this year was ‘Protecting Wetlands for our Common Future’.

The event comprised talks by Bradley Gibbons about what wetlands are, how they function, and the importance of wetlands and the impact these water resources have on communities reliant on the water flowing from them. Marius Kruger of Northam Platinum provided an overview of the De Berg wetland and the species of concern found in this pristine area.

The learners accompanied officials from the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the EWT and Northam Platinum to the heart of the wetland where they learnt about the difference between grassland, wetland and peat soils, and the various plant species found in the grasslands surrounding the wetland.

Bradley Gibbons, EWT senior field officer, explains the importance of wetlands to learners from Lydenberg primary school

Children feeling the different types of soil found in wetland environments

A Wild Dog Valentine Story

By Cole du Plessis

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines ‘relocation’ as the deliberate movement of organisms from one place to another for conservation purposes. This is also known as a conservation translocation.

In the space of Wild Dog management, a conservation purpose can include several different activities: a reintroduction, a genetic swap or a population supplementation. In the case of the managed metapopulation tool that we’ve implemented to grow range distribution for Wild Dogs in South Africa (the EWTs Wild Dog Range Expansion Project), we sometimes do relocations where we move Wild Dogs to temporary holding to bond new packs or bring them to safety if they have been exposed to human-animal conflict.

In February, the EWTs Carnivore Conservation Programme relocated two male Wild Dogs from Lapalala Wilderness Reserve to Rietspruit Game Reserve. The two males were two-years old and had left their natal pack to go in search of unrelated females, with the hope of forming a new pack of their own. They were fondly nicknamed ‘Starsky and Hutch’. When Wild Dogs enter this phase of dispersal, they can cover several hundred kilometres in only a week. This often results in them leaving protected areas and encountering danger. This was the case of the Lapalala males, and with use of the GPS collars, the Lapalala management team managed to track them, capture them and bring them to safety.

The next challenge we faced was to find a suitable home for these two males. While human-induced threats such as snaring, poisoning, disease and roadkill do pose a major threat to Wild Dogs, diminishing safe space is their primary threat. So, a rehoming exercise included finding eligible females that were in a similar phase of their life.

Following a search of several months, we found a small pack of females at Rietspruit Game Reserve that had lost their only male to a Lion ambush towards the end of last year. Only two female Wild Dogs remained and had stayed in the general area for some time. We felt that this could be an opportunity to not only rehome the males, but reestablish a viable pack by introducing males to the two females.

All conservation partners were onboard, and the planning was underway. We would relocate the two male Wild Dogs to Rietspruit Game Reserve and place them in the predator boma. With some luck, the females would find the males, and the bonding would commence through the fence. Wild Dogs have an incredible, and somewhat unknown, ability to pick up the scent of other Wild Dogs from many kilometres away.

So, on 3 February, we immobilised Starsky and Hutch, fitted a new collar on them and drew some genetic samples. We then placed them in our new state-of-the-art ‘Wild Dog Box’ that had been custom made to fit into our Ford Rangers. Six hours later, we safely offloaded the Wild Dogs in the Rietspruit predator boma.

The two female Wild Dogs also had tracking collars, but they hadn’t registered for several days in the lead up to the relocation and we weren’t 100% sure where they were – a classic curveball! Our fear was that they might have suddenly bomb shelled, which would have greatly compromised this mission. Fortunately, the monitoring team picked them up the day after the relocation, about six kilometres from where the two males were. We opted to give the females time to find the males – hoping that they would approve and keep interested enough to stay and bond with the males at the boma.

We waited for 24 hours, but the link hadn’t been made just yet. So, two days after the relocation, we decided to improvise. We took grass out of the Wild Dog Box, rolled it into a ball and used a lot of string to hold it in place. We then went out and found the females, deployed our grass ball off the back of the vehicle and started driving towards the boma. This grass ball immediately caught their interest and the plan was working…and we figured if we could even get them halfway there with some ‘hoo’ calls in-between, then maybe they would do the rest themselves. But the plan was working better than anticipated! In fact, we couldn’t drive fast enough. These females were desperately following the scent – clocking 50km/h. We ticked off the first kilometre, then another, and then another. The only thing that was giving way was our grass ball. By kilometre number five, it was no bigger than bowling ball, but it was enough to pull the females the final distance.

The link had been made. The two groups had met at the fence and the interactions were underway. A lot of flirting, scent marking and high-pitched murmurs – maybe it was love at first sight. The females have stayed at the boma since. Before the end of February, and after the males have had a little more time to acclimatise, the gates will be opened and the new pack will have the chance to bond – and they might just be in time for the Wild Dogs denning season which usually commences this time of year.
Some Wild Dog pups in 2025 will be the cherry on the top!

We would like to thank our partners, the Rietspruit Game Reserve, Painted Dog Tv., Lapalala Game Reserve, LEDET.

Turning Traps into Hope: Poacher’s Snares Repurposed for Conservation

By John Davies

Across much of Africa, snaring of wildlife is on the rise, driven by a combination of poverty, bushmeat demand, and organized wildlife crime. With economic hardships pushing more people toward illegal hunting for sustenance or profit, snares have become the weapon of choice—they are cheap, easy to set, and devastatingly effective. However, they do not discriminate, often trapping unintended species, including elephants, lions, and wild dogs. Many animals suffer prolonged, agonising deaths, while those that survive can be left with severe injuries that compromise their ability to hunt or evade predators.

In a significant step toward protecting South Africa’s wildlife, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) recently removed 3.5 tons of wire snares from a protected area in the Lowveld region of South Africa, forming a critical buffer zone along Kruger National Park’s western boundary. These snares had been stockpiled over the last five years and had been removed during routine patrols by reserve anti-poaching teams.

Instead of being discarded, the snares have been given a second life through a partnership with Down2theWire, a local initiative that transforms confiscated poaching materials into handcrafted jewellery. This innovative project not only raises awareness about the devastating effects of snaring, but also provides funding for conservation efforts generated through the sale of jewellery and other products made from snares. Profits from the jewellery sales will be reinvested into anti-poaching initiatives, supporting rangers, education programs, and community-driven conservation efforts.

This initiative underscores the importance of sustainable solutions in wildlife conservation, proving that even the most destructive tools can be reshaped into symbols of resilience and protection.

As wildlife crime continues to challenge conservationists, creative collaborations like this offer a beacon of hope. Consumers can now play a direct role in the fight against poaching—one bracelet at a time.

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Small Hands, Big Impact: A Greener Future for Lesotho

Children Lead the Charge in Conservation Efforts

By Danielle du Toit, Field Officer: Birds of Prey Programme

A three-day inititiative by the EWT in October brought together 65 young conservationists from grades four to six in Molumong village, Lesotho.

Led by Danielle du Toit (EWT Birds of Prey) and Mapeseka Makaoae (Bearded Vulture Recovery Programme Community Liaison), the children joined a litter cleanup aimed at fostering a cleaner, healthier environment for their community and local wildlife.

Supported by the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA), the cleanup was initially planned to focus on rivers and waterways. However, a last-minute cancellation of transport shifted efforts to the school grounds and nearby mountain slopes, areas where litter risks flowing into rivers. Over three days, the children collected an impressive 96 bags of litter—38 on Monday, 20 on Tuesday, and 38 on Wednesday. The waste, primarily plastic packaging and tins, highlights a pressing need for proper refuse management in the village.

To address this, LHDA has committed to providing at least three rubbish bins for the school, with plans for additional bins in the broader community. Efforts are also underway to establish a regular refuse removal service to ensure long-term cleanliness.

Connecting Litter Cleanup to Vulture Conservation

The cleanup is closely tied to the broader conservation efforts for the Endangered Bearded Vulture, a species whose survival depends on the region’s health and cleanliness. In collaboration with Wildlife ACT and the Bearded Vulture Recovery Programme, a feeding site has been established to provide critical food sources for these rare birds whose diet consists largely of bones. The site, designed following strict vulture restaurant guidelines, includes fencing to deter scavengers and camera traps to monitor activity.

To complement this, a vulture hide—a small, unobtrusive structure—has been constructed to promote eco-tourism and provide researchers with a unique opportunity to study the species up close. This hide benefits the community by attracting visitors, creating opportunities for environmental education, and fostering a deeper appreciation for the role vultures play in maintaining ecosystems.

Nature’s Cleanup Crew Meets Future Conservationists

The litter cleanup served a dual purpose: improving community health by reducing waste and emphasising the ecological importance of vultures, often called nature’s “clean-up crew.” Through hands-on participation, children learned about the interconnectedness of their actions, local wildlife, and the environment, fostering a sense of responsibility and pride in protecting their natural heritage.

With such impactful initiatives, the future of conservation in Lesotho looks brighter—and it starts with small hands making a big difference.

Welgevonden Facility Expands for Cheetah Success

In 2021 the Carnivore Range Expansion Project in partnership with Welgevonden Game Reserve developed a state-of-the-art Wild Dog holding facility. This facility has since been the temporary home for 40 Wild Dogs during relocations within southern Africa. It has also facilitated the international export of 22 Wild Dogs and the international import of 12, thus enabling the reestablishment of the species to five protected areas. Based on this success we’ve been kindly granted funds from Paul L King to expand this facility to create an additional holding camp – this one more specifically geared towards cheetahs.

Field Officer, Eugene Greyling, worked meticulously in recent months managing the building team onsite to ensure that the facility met the highest possible standard. While the holding process is an integral part of both Cheetah and Wild Dog relocations, we strive to ensure that we can provide the best possible care and reduce stress as much as possible for each animal. The recently-completed Cheetah holding facility will do just that.

Flood Brings Frogs to Life at Medike

By Darren Pieterse, Medike Nature Reserve and Ecology Manager: Soutpansberg Protected Area

Following the recent good rains on the EWT Medike Reserve and the Soutpansberg in general, the Sand River came down in flood for the first time in two years. Almost instantly, a cacophony of amphibian calls accompanied the rising water level. Amphibians are well-known to rapidly take advantage of suitable conditions for breeding, as they never know when the next opportunity may occur, and most species’ eggs and tadpoles are reliant on water to complete their initial life stage (until they metamorphosise into terrestrial froglets that are less reliant on water). Calls are useful for researchers as each species’ call is unique, although some species, such as Tandy’s, Tremolo and Cryptic Sand Frogs, cannot be reliably told apart based on external characteristics. This means that calls or DNA are required to make a positive identification.

Amphibians play a critical role in the ecosystem. They mostly prey on insects such as the flying ants, which abounded during our survey. They, in turn, are eaten by a variety of mammals, birds and snakes. Amphibians are also a good indicator of ecosystem health. Because frog skin is very porous to allow water to be absorbed and carbon dioxide to be released (the skin of toads is less porous), frogs are sensitive to chemicals such as industrial pollutants. As such, frogs are rarely found in areas with chemical pollution.

The recent onset of frog activity was an ideal opportunity for us to assess what species occur on Medike Reserve, and to get an indication of ecosystem health. During our survey, we recorded 14 different species (although the reserve’s list currently stands at 23 species). None of the species recorded are threatened, although the relatively high species diversity does suggest that the freshwater system is still healthy. Two threatened species are expected to occur on Medike Reserve, one of which is only found on the Soutpansberg and nowhere else on earth. We will continue looking for these and additional species.

Of the species recorded, the Red-banded Rubber Frog is the most interesting, as it exudes toxins from its skin to dissuade predators from eating it. It advertises its toxic state through its bright black-and-red colouration, known as aposematic colouration. This frog exudes cardiotoxins (toxins that affect the heart) from its skin, so if you’re going to kiss a frog in the hopes that it will become a prince (or princess), it’s probably best not to kiss this frog.