THE CITY NATURE CHALLENGE
www.iNaturalist.org
The City Nature Challenge is an annual international event organised by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Academy of Sciences and has been taken up by cities worldwide. It is tricky for scientists to conduct biodiversity surveys in urban areas because the habitats are so fragmented, and it is not always possible to access private properties. This iNaturalist challenge calls on citizen scientists to help record the wildlife occurring in their cities.
Cities contain ecosystems that, while not all in a natural state, are filled with wildlife that have adapted their behaviour to survive and thrive in these environments and are essential in maintaining a balance in green spaces and urban ecosystems, which provide us with critical services such as oxygen and carbon sequestration, flood and drought regulation, water, recreational space, and many more. To maximise our understanding and protection of the wildlife in cities, scientists need to have all the information they can get, and you can help just by looking around and recording what you see!
“Citizen scientists collect thousands of valuable records every day on biodiversity and the environment to assist conservation and research efforts across the globe. Play your part in helping to protect your patch of nature in your city by participating in this great global initiative and recording what species occur there.”
Dr Lizanne Roxburgh, Senior Scientist, EWT Conservation Science Unit
This year’s challenge takes place in two parts. The first phase (30 April–3 May 2021) involves taking pictures of wild plants and animals. The second phase (4 May–9 May 2021) is dedicated to identifying what was observed during the challenge.
To participate, download the app and sign-up to iNaturalist, find a project in your city (or start one!) and join in the fun – it’s addictive! See www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2021 for more information.The following projects in South Africa have been registered so far:
Nelson Mandela-Bay
Ethekwini
City of Cape Town
Garden Route
Tshwane
Check out the project journals for training, helpful hints, and other great resources to get you started!
RESCUE AND REHABILITATION OF A POISONED EGYPTIAN GOOSE
Dr Lindy Thompson (lindyt@ewt.org.za) and John Davies (EWT Birds of Prey Programme Field Officers), Rebecca Lambert and Nikita Jackson (Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre), and Carrie Hickman (APRN Ground Hornbill Project). In December 2020, while conducting fieldwork along the Olifants River, we found a poorly-looking Egyptian Goose showing signs that indicated it might have been poisoned. While the goose appeared to be in an otherwise good condition , with no visible injuries (broken bones or bleeding) or signs of trauma, it stumbled, fell, and rolled down the riverbank when it tried to get away from us as we approached. It was unable to fly. The African Wildlife Poisoning Database contains records of 724 Egyptian Geese that have been poisoned in Africa between 1998 and 2020. The substances used are usually organophosphates and carbamates (pesticides), and we think that most cases emanate from human-wildlife conflict due to crop damage by the geese. In this case, we suspect the goose may have been grazing in lucerne that was recently sprayed with insecticide.]
We collected the unfortunate goose and drove it to Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, leaving it in the capable hands of their experienced clinic team. On its arrival, the Egyptian Goose was treated with Atropine (used to treat organophosphate and carbamate poisoning) and activated charcoal (which binds to many toxins and prevents their absorption), and then it was given Ringers solution (to replace fluids and electrolytes) every two hours. After that, the goose received tubed pet food (a recovery food that is easy to digest), and then later, it was fed with pigeon pellets, crushed mealies, mealworms, flying ants, and grasshoppers. On 4 February 2021, after all this treatment and time to heal, the rehab team was happy with the bird’s condition, and we released it close to where we found it on the Olifants River. It flew off as though nothing had happened, without a backward glance – just how we like it to be every time we return wildlife to the wild. Click here to see a video of this bird being released: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLB80t5AvGy/ After publicising this rescue on Instagram, people asked us why we bothered rescuing a bird many people view as a pest species because its numbers are increasing. Firstly, when we found the bird and realised that it had been poisoned and was suffering we decided to rescue and rehabilitate it as the possible death of this bird would have bene due to human action and not natural causes. Secondly, if we had left the poisoned goose in the bush and it had died, it may have been fed on by scavengers such as vultures and jackals, which in turn may have experienced secondary poisoning. Thirdly, the EWT’s John Davies’ work with the annual Balule Waterbird Survey showed that Egyptian Goose numbers have increased along the Olifants River and a few other river systems in the Lowveld, mainly due to the deterioration of water quality due to human actions and large-scale losses of riparian forest, which has created open banks suitable for this species. Egyptian Geese exploit suitable conditions, and when these environmental conditions change, we expect their numbers to decline again. In 2020, in Balule Game Reserve, there were 377 Egyptian Geese along 49.8 km of river, including 47 chicks, while 84 Egyptian Geese were counted near the Phalaborwa barrage, and 71 at Three Bridges, almost half were found at the two most transformed (polluted) sections of the Olifants River. For most of the river, the average number of Egyptian Geese was just over four adults per kilometre, likely still slightly higher than normal, but not excessive. This is similar to parts of the Kruger National Park large-scale loss of riparian habitat have taken place. 
On the property where the goose was found, none of the 19 vulture nests we are monitoring was lost due to disturbance from Egyptian Geese. In fact, over the last six years of the EWT’s vulture nest-monitoring in the Lowveld, we have found only one case where an Egyptian Goose tried to breed in a nest still used by a recently-fledged Hooded Vulture. After numerous interactions between the geese and the vultures, the Goose’s breeding attempt failed, and there was no negative impact on the vultures. See here for more details
Thank you to Andre Botha for sharing records from the African Wildlife Poisoning Database, https://www.africanwildlifepoisoning.org/.
Please submit records of any poisoned wildlife to this database, and please contact Dr Gareth Tate at GarethT@ewt.org.za for details of Wildlife Poisoning Response Training in the Lowveld.
BRIDGING THE GAP FOR VERVET MONKEYS
Courtney Maiden, EWT’s Wildlife and Transport Programme student, 64083152@mylifeunisaac.onmicrosoft.com
Gaps caused in the forest canopy cover from linear infrastructure, such as roads, force arboreal species to come down to the ground and face threats such as wildlife-vehicle collisions. Wildlife crossing structures, such as canopy bridges, have been installed in many countries to reduce the impact of roads and enhance habitat connectivity for tree-dwelling species. The Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) is one of the arboreal species subjected to daily vehicle collisions throughout South Africa.
In an attempt to reduce mortalities, EWT student Courtney Maiden is designing and testing Vervet Monkey-specific canopy bridges in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, with an end goal of installing wildlife-friendly bridges in roadkill hotspots across the country. By interrogating proposed designs and methodologies to establish a preferred Vervet Monkey crossing structure design, effective roadkill mitigation processes and species management plans can be established by integrating a simple yet potentially effective design to minimise wildlife-vehicle collisions, encourage habitat connectivity, and ensure the viability of Vervet Monkey populations. This work is being done in collaboration with the University of South Africa and the University of Wisconsin.
GOING BOSSIES
Bonnie Schumann, EWT’s Drylands Conservation Programme, Senior Field Officer, bonnies@ewt.org.za
The EWT Drylands Conservation Programme, in partnership with the Grootfontein Agricultural Institute, held Karoo bossie (vegetation) identification days around Loxton this week. Altogether 32 people, mostly farmers, attended the sessions. Karoo veld generally appears rather grey and uninteresting to many passers-by, and getting to know the different species, mostly dwarf shrubs, can be very challenging at the best of times as they tend to look rather similar at first glance. For the novice, in order not to get demotivated on the first day, it is best to go in Spring and Autumn. At these times, if there has been rain, the bossies (little bushes) may be flowering and seeding, making it a lot easier to identify them. Once you spend time in the veld, you realise that there is actually a great deal of plant diversity, including over 3,000 species in the Nama Karoo. Not bad for a desert!
If you dare get up close and personal with the larger, thorny, rather formidable-looking bushes, you realise that they shelter a range of other fascinating species, which is why they are often called “mother bushes”. Despite the rather barren appearance of Karoo veld, when the veld is managed sustainably, the rangeland will provide fodder for wildlife and livestock year-round, as there is always something growing in every season. Grasses, which are less common as one travels west across the Karoo, are nonetheless an important component of the Karoo veld. Years of good early summer rainfall will result in a good grass component. On the other hand, the shrubs tend to prefer the cooler, wetter periods, providing valuable fodder during Autumn and Winter.
The plant identification sessions give farmers the opportunity to share their knowledge of the species growing in their area and encourage and facilitate more effective management of the veld, ensuring that the important palatable species are grazed with care, species diversity is promoted, and effective rest periods are implemented. These sessions formed part of the Karoo Forever Project, which focuses on promoting sustainable land management in the Karoo. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility and managed by the United Nations Development Programme, in partnership with the Department of Environment, Forestry, and Fisheries, and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development.
SCIENCE SNIPPETS:
POWERLINE MARKERS PREVENT COLLISIONS IN BLUE CRANES BUT NOT LUDWIG’S BUSTARDS
Shaw JM, TA Reid, BK Gibbons, M Pretorius, AR Jenkins, R Visagie, MD Michael and PG Ryan. 2021. A large-scale experiment demonstrates that line marking reduces power line collision mortality for large terrestrial birds, but not bustards, in the Karoo, South Africa. Ornithological Applications. 10.1093/ornithapp/duaa067
Power line markers, such as flappers, are widely used to reduce or prevent bird collisions with power lines. However, few studies have robustly tested how effective they are in doing this. Power line collisions are an escalating problem for several threatened bird species endemic to southern Africa, as our powerline network continues to expand to meet the growing demand for electricity. Therefore, it is critical to know whether or not line marking works to adequately manage this problem and reduce the number of birds that are killed.
A recent paper published by Jessica Shaw from the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town, using EWT/ESKOM data, and coauthored by three EWT staff members, describes the results of a large scale eight-year experiment that tested the efficacy of the markers. The experiment was set up on 72 of 117 km of monitored transmission power lines in the eastern Karoo, South Africa, to assess whether line markers reduce bird collision mortality. The two bird species of particular interest were Blue Cranes (Anthropoides paradiseus) and Ludwig’s Bustards (Neotis ludwigii). Two different marking devices commonly used in South Africa were tested: bird flappers and static bird flight diverters.
The authors found that:
The monitoring conducted by the research team at this site also confirmed high levels of mortality of a range of species of conservation concern on unmarked lines. The authors, therefore, recommend that marking be widely installed on new power lines. However, other, more effective options need to be urgently explored to reduce collision mortality of bustards. Five different bustard species were in the top 10 list of most frequently found carcasses. High collision rates of Ludwig’s Bustards add to wider concerns about population-level effects for this range-restricted and Endangered species.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
CONSERVATION WEEK
Last week, the EWT held its annual Conservation and Development Week. This event gives EWT staff from all over the country the opportunity to connect, discuss projects, share lessons learnt, revise our conservation strategies, and give back to our community. It was wonderful to catch up with colleagues after lockdown, get our creative juices flowing, and inspire each other to take our conservation work to new heights. The South African National Blood Service also joined us for a day, enabling 21 staff members to donate much-needed blood to their reserves.
CAPE TOWN GOLF DAY
We hosted our very first golf day fundraising event in the mother city on 16 April at the Royal Cape Golf Club. Cape Town was at its most beautiful with perfect weather and no wind to speak of, and all of our players commented on what a great day out it was on an amazing course.
Fundraising is difficult at the best of times and during COVID-19, it has been even more challenging. That is why events such as this one are so important, helping to keep The EWT going and raising much needed funds for our conservation activities.
To host a successful event, you need lots of support, and the EWT had that in abundance at this event. A massive thank you to Jurgens Bekker Attorneys for sponsoring so many of our prizes and our celebrity fourball, and aha Hotels and Lodges for generously sponsoring some fantastic weekends away for our auction.
The Table Mountain Fund, Twizza, Syntell, and Bose Professional all sponsored holes on the day and played a round of golf themselves.
Jurgens Bekker, aha Hotels and Lodges, Q20, Painted Wolf Wines, Miir, Lancewood, Rhino Beetle Gin, Spanjaard, Blue Bottles Liquors, Sherry’s antiques, The Meter Man, Meerlust wines, Rob Little, and Adidas all sponsored some fantastic prizes that helped to make the day a success.
Thank you to all of our fourballs: Table Mountain Fund, Blur Bottle Liquors Paarl, Limecoal, Jurgens Bekker attorneys, Twizza, Allister Rogan, Rian du Plessis, The Meter Man, Alexander Forbes, ALP Investments, Independent Claims, Mission Engineering, Paper Boss, Syntell, Duncan McGuire, Craig Milner, John Lamont, Karen Kearns, Tania Ihlenfeldt, IQ Business, and aha Hotels and Lodges.
SOME OF OUR FASCINATING SCIENCE SATURDAY POSTS
A WORD FROM THE CEO
Yolan Friedmann, EWT CEO
yolanf@ewt.org.za We have many challenges in our country, and one that plagues us all too often is poor decision-making on behalf of the authorities who have the mandate to safeguard our environment for current and future generations. We fully appreciate the fine balancing act that our decision-makers face, with millions of unemployed people needing jobs at all costs. But we cannot lose sight of the long-term devastation that can arise out of many developments that are, in fact, only opportunities for very limited, short-term gain for a select few. In cases like these, it behoves organisations like the EWT and our partners to fight for a greater good that considers not only the needs of future generations but those of the current as well. A case in point is the ongoing fight to protect the Mabola Protected Environment in Mpumalanga from inappropriate mining activity, which will destroy its critical biodiversity, its important contribution to water security, and its unique variety of threatened species.
The EWT is a member of a coalition of eight civil society organisations, which has been working since 2015 to prevent the development of the proposed Yzermyn coal mine near Wakkerstroom, Mpumalanga proceeding. Our reasons for wanting to stop this mine are based on our grave concern for the negative impact of this proposed coal mine, which would fall within a Strategic Water Source Area – one of only 22 areas from which more than 50% of South Africa’s freshwater originates. Protecting strategic water source areas is crucial for South Africa’s water security, provide water for people and economic activity, food security, and meaningful, long-term job creation.
There are currently five court challenges to various permits granted for the proposed mine, which are pending before the High Court, with more in the wings as decisions are taken which, in our view, are not in the interest of sustainable living and environmental protection to the benefit of all.
Whilst we await the courts’ decisions on the pending matters, the coalition went to court in March to seek an urgent interdict to halt any form of development. The matter went before the Pretoria High Court, which issued a ruling on 23 March that interdicts the coal mining company from commencing mining and related activities in a Strategic Water Source Area. The interdict was issued to allow the legal challenges of its various permits to be decided first before harm is done to this fragile system.
The EWT is not a litigious organisation by nature but takes seriously our commitment to ensuring a healthy planet and an equitable world that values and sustains the diversity of all life, so if we need to resort to the courts to help us secure critical water sources and fragile ecosystems, we will. The Mabola Protected Environment is one of these critical areas that cannot be lost to future generations for the unique and critically important life-giving services it provides. The other coalition members feel the same, and hence we joined forces to defend the Mabola Protected Environment along with the Mining and Environmental Justice Communities Network of South Africa, groundWork, Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, BirdLife South Africa, the Federation for a Sustainable Environment, the Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD), and the Bench Marks Foundation, and we are all represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights in this critical and landmark case.
The EWT is pleased with the outcome of this court action, which builds confidence around the balancing role that our courts still play by upholding the rule of law in a country where competing interests can drown out the voices of many. We will continue to update you on this matter as the various court proceedings come to a head later this year.
CONSERVATION CHAMPION
[Thank you to Conservation Champions Gavin Chamberlain and his team for running another successful fundraising campaign. His team provided magnificent wildlife photos, and they designed and printed these 2021 wildlife calendars to raise funds for our conservation activities. There are still some left if you would like to grab one. They are R150 each, and all proceeds go to the EWT.
FOLLOWING FLEDGELINGS
Rebotile Rachuene, African Grass-owl Project Coordinator, EWT’s Birds of Prey Programme (BOPP), tselaner@ewt.org.za
Five years ago, we embarked on a project to monitor African Grass-owl fledgelings once they leave their nests to understand their movement patterns and behaviour. To do so, we ring them so that we, and others, can identify individual owls when they are seen again.
Since 2017, we have ringed at least 30 individuals from both the Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces. The majority of these individuals were fledgelings, and two were breeding adults. The ringing follows extensive field monitoring to ensure that the nests are not disturbed during the owls’ breeding and nesting periods. As soon as they reach fledgeling age, we go in and ring them
This month, we were fortunate enough to ring five fledgelings, about six weeks old, now from two different nests in Midrand, Gauteng, two siblings from one nest, and three from the other. Working together with our partner, the Greater Kyalami Conservancy (GEKCO), we have successfully safeguarded these nests and eventually successfully ringed our first clutch of fledgelings in the area since 2018. One nest is in a site destroyed by fire in the 2018/2019 season, and the other is in a new breeding site that we discovered had been occupied recently – very exciting news! The five chicks were released and will be monitored closely up until they fledge and find their own sites to nest in. In 2019, one of our ringed birds was found actively breeding 10 km away from where it was ringed, which was extremely valuable information, demonstrating how this form of monitoring can provide us with a better understanding of how far they can travel in search of new territories.
REMEMBERING OUR FALLEN HEROES
In loving memory of Gary Grant
Tammy Baker, EWT Business Development Officer
Gary Grant was one of the kindest and most generous individuals I have ever met. Gary was a big family man and loved nothing more than to spend time in the bush with his wife Debbie and his son and daughter.
His wife Debbie had this to say about Gary:“Gary was an incredibly special man, and we miss him desperately. I just want to say a huge thank you to you for organising one of Gary’s best days in the bush – this would be the day we spent with Grant doing the Wild Dog tracking in the Kruger, whilst an incredible experience at the time, is now also a cherished memory for me of Gary at his absolute happiest. The EWT will always remain close to my heart, and I promise I’ll try to ensure that we continue with Gary’s commitments to yourselves.
Yolan Friedmann, EWT CEO wrote the following tribute:
“Gary’s unfailing love of wildlife and his support of the Endangered Wildlife Trust ensured that we were able to undertake much more work to save the threatened species that rely on us for their future and this was even more valued in a year that was just as tough for them. Gary’s legacy will live on, not just in our hearts, but in the conservation benefits his support brought to Wild Dogs, Cheetahs, vultures, cranes, and a host of other threatened species. We will honour his memory through the life of a dedicated indigenous tree planted at our Campus in Midrand, and we will never forget the role he played in all our lives.
Celebrating the life of conservation legend Anne van Dyk
The EWT is deeply saddened by the passing of Ann van Dyk. Ann dedicated her life to the conservation of Cheetahs and was intimately involved with the EWT’s work from the early 1970s to generate interest, funding, and action for Cheetah conservation. Anne van Dyk played an important role in kick-starting the Cheetah Range Expansion work currently coordinated by the EWT. The major changes in land use that came with South Africa’s transition to democracy opened up millions of hectares of suitable habitat for wild Cheetahs and they recolonised from Botswana into areas where they been almost eradicated for decades, including the Bray-Vryburg area of the North West, the Lephalale-Thabazimbi area of the Waterberg, and the Hoedspruit-Phalaborwa area of the Lowveld. Wildlife ranchers and livestock farmers did not want these economically destructive animals on their properties. In the process, 157 ‘problem’ Cheetahs were removed from farms and ranches and relocated to 41 newly established state and private game reserves across the country.
More than 100 Cheetahs were held temporarily at the Anne van Dyk De Wildt Cheetah Centre before being released back into free-ranging conditions at their new reserves. These actions essentially established a new network of reserves that contained Cheetahs, where they had been previously wiped out. In 2009, when the wild Cheetah component of De Wildt’s work was handed over to the EWT, this network included 217 Cheetahs on 41 reserves. Since then, we have increased this population to 455 wild Cheetahs on 63 reserves and expanded beyond South African borders to Malawi and Zambia. This restored population of wild Cheetahs currently constitutes the only growing wild Cheetah population worldwide. Over the years, the EWT and Ann worked together on numerous projects, including vulture conservation and nurturing conservation talent.
The EWT thanks Ann for her enormous contribution to Cheetah conservation through the awareness, knowledge, and value she generated for this threatened species over 60 years. We salute her and send our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends who mourn her loss.
