BEGGING FOR BUNNIES
Esther Matthew, Drylands Conservation Programme Specialist Field Officer, estherm@ewt.org.za . With Easter coming up, we know you will be on the hunt for the Easter bunny, and if you see him or anyone resembling him, we want proof! The EWT’s Drylands Conservation Programme is trying to gather more information on all the South African lagomorph species (that’s rabbits and hares!). We are specifically looking at their distributions within the Northern, Western, and Eastern Cape provinces and the potential overlap of different species’ distributions in these areas. Have you seen one of our furry friends? We are looking for photos that you have taken or any camera trap images of rabbits and hares in South Africa. Become a citizen scientist by contributing your images to the study of rabbits and hares in the country. We will happily accept any images, with or without species identification, as long as it is submitted with a location, preferably a GPS point.
In the process, of course, we hope to get a few photos of our elusive Riverine Rabbits in areas where we don’t have recent records. Riverine Rabbits are Critically Endangered and very difficult to find, and we encourage the public to assist us in gathering more information on the distribution of this mysterious species. However, please note, we do not, under any circumstances, encourage the handling or capturing of any wild rabbit or hares. Please send all of your bunny photos and locations to estherm@ewt.org.za. The locations you submit will not be made available to the public to prevent poaching, but the locations will add value to datasets for research and the conservation of the species. We will use the images to identify the species and contribute to updating the distribution maps!This initiative is sponsored by The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and Rand Merchant Bank.
SCIENCE SNIPPETS: SUCCESSFULLY REARING ORPHANED CHEETAH IN THEIR NATURAL HABITAT
Adaptation from the article: Warmenhove C, Canning G, Davidson-Phillips S, van der Merwe V, Burger A, Davidson-Phillips P, Naude VN. 2020. Successful in situ supplementary feeding leads to the independence of orphaned cheetah cubs. Conservation Science and Practice. e353: 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.353
This paper provides evidence that orphaned Cheetah cubs can successfully, under certain conditions, be left in the wild with supplementary feeding from at least 7.5 months of age, and they will learn how to hunt and otherwise fend for themselves. The decision to take this approach was influenced by the low densities of other large carnivores, including Lion, Leopard, and Spotted Hyaena, and reduced predator visibility due to the terrain. While these species are present on Welgevonden Game Reserve, the low risk of interspecies competition was considered acceptable. This study reveals a credible alternative strategy for supporting orphaned cheetah in their natural habitat instead of removing them and placing them in captive facilities.
SNAPSHOTS FROM THE ROAD
Siboniso Thela is researching rail mortalities and animal avoidance/behaviour adjacent to the railway in Balule. Here are some of the images that he has found of wildlife crossing the railway line safely using the culverts under the line. This project is supervised by Dr Lourens Swanepoel (UNIVEN) and co-supervised by Dr Mansiha Bhardwaj (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden), Dr Gabi Teren, Paul Allin (Transfrontier Africa-Balule), and Wendy Collinson from the EWT’s Wildlife and Transport Programme.
I WOULDN’T TRADE YOU FOR THE WORLD
Dr Andrew Taylor, EWT’s Wildlife in Trade Programme Manager, andrewt@ewt.org.za and Ashleigh Dore, Wildlife and Law Project Manager, ashleighd@ewt.org.za On 20 February, the EWT celebrated World Pangolin Day. There are eight species of pangolins worldwide, and all are threatened with extinction and listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The biggest threat to pangolins is illegal trade – they are the most traded mammal globally, highly prized for their scales, which are used in traditional medicine practices across Africa and Asia. Pangolins are also a source of food, as bushmeat in Africa and as a delicacy in parts of Asia. Although pangolins are shy and hard to find, they are easy to catch once discovered, making them particularly vulnerable to poachers. Add to this the fact that pangolins are uncommon, do not often survive in captivity, and have a slow reproductive rate, and we have a recipe for extinction.
The pangolin species that occurs in South Africa, Temminck’s Ground Pangolin, is currently listed as Vulnerable. We do not know the extent to which Temminck’s Ground Pangolin is trafficked out of South Africa, but there does appear to be an increasing trend in illegal catching and attempting to sell pangolins within the country because of the high prices they fetch. Pangolins and products derived from them are often trafficked around the world in air cargo or shipping containers, and these modes of transport provide an opportunity to intercept pangolin contraband. In collaboration with other conservation partners, the EWT is trying to reduce this illegal trade by placing detection dogs (aka Conservation Canines), trained to detect pangolins and their scales, in strategic sites that traffickers are likely to pass through. But they are not the only ones hot on the trail!
African Giant Pouched Rats have been used to detect landmines and even sniff out tuberculosis. Now APOPO, in partnership with the EWT, is training rats to detect pangolins. This Pangolin Day, we are incredibly excited to showcase this work through a feature film done by Waterbear. Subscribe now to watch how these African Giant Pouched Rats are doing their bit to protect forever, together.This work could not be possible without funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Combating Wildlife Trafficking Strategy and Partnerships Branch, the UK Government through the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, and the Wildlife Conservation Network Pangolin Crisis Fund.
This work could not be possible without funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Combating Wildlife Trafficking Strategy and Partnerships Branch, the UK Government through the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, and the Wildlife Conservation Network Pangolin Crisis Fund.
A LEGACY FOR LIFE
We were sincerely grateful to receive a moving tribute from a long-time supporter of the EWT, Greg Bond.
“I have been in communication with EWT for at least the past 20 years. This includes email education, updates on projects, donation requests, interesting presentations and their beautiful Vision editions. I have been contributing to their donation requests as they are all for a good cause as well as buying time for the future.
The continual habitat loss, stress on species and extinctions really sadden me. It is uplifting to read about the positive work and successes that EWT does and have achieved. It has been a pleasure to have helped some projects in the form of small contributions.
In this light, I have decided to leave a considerable portion of my estate to EWT, which is mentioned in my latest will.
I sincerely hope that more of your supporters do the same to help preserve and protect the environment for future generations.
Best regards, Greg.
If you too yearn for a better future for your children, leave a Legacy for Life by remembering the EWT in your will, and help us secure the health of our planet and its wildlife beyond your lifetime.
All bequests made to the EWT create legacies for life that are immeasurable and remembered through the survival of our endangered species and spaces.
A WORD FROM THE CEO
Yolan Friedmann, EWT CEO
yolanf@ewt.org.za There is not much more to say about 2020 that has not already been said. But if you are reading this then you, like us, have a lot to be grateful for despite the hardships of the year. The EWT staff and trustees have banded together in an unprecedented way to ensure that we forge ahead in a time of grave uncertainty and change and that above all else, conservation and wildlife do not suffer. The year forced us to reset our priorities and ensure that we keep our own heads above water whilst supporting the wellbeing of the communities we serve – human and wildlife – and safeguarding the most vulnerable. We have not been unaffected by the turbulence of the year, and yet we have continued to provide essential lifesaving services to thousands of people, and support the conservation of many wildlife species. The pages ahead detail just some of these triumphs and make for uplifting reading at a time when joy and gratitude are so important.
We could not have done this without the support of our followers and your help has helped to save lives. From my desk, I never take for granted how blessed I am to be part of team of people that puts each other, their work, their commitment to conservation and their desire to build a better world first. The sacrifices made by the EWT staff during this time, to keep us all moving forward together, have been extraordinary I am grateful to the EWT team that has become stronger and more united as a result. Protecting tomorrow together has never been more real or more relevant as it was this year, or as we step forward into another year of uncertainty. Thank you to the EWT staff, the Board of Trustees and to all our supporters who kept making conservation happen this year. The reset button on all of our lives has had some positive benefits and, at this time of global gratitude and joy, may these opportunities for change and to count our blessings prevail as we build this tomorrow, together.
Yolan Friedmann
IT’S A MATTER OF PRIDE
Marnus Roodbol, EWT Carnivore Conservation Programme Field Officer, marnusr@ewt.org.za
I am living my lifelong dream. I am part of an exciting project intended to understand and protect Africa’s most iconic species, the African Lion, within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA). The GLTFCA, which includes Kruger National Park (KNP) in South Africa, and Limpopo National Park (LNP) in Mozambique, is one of the ten remaining Lion strongholds in Africa. I have been blessed to travel through most of southern and east Africa, but Mozambique was one for the books – the multiple police and army stops along the way, the non-existent road structures, and some of the kindest and friendliest people in the world. Everybody is just trying to make a living. Arriving at Limpopo National Park, I was rather impressed by its unique beauty which is that of raw nature. Few parks in Africa still contain that rugged beauty that requires some elbow grease and sweat to see the potential. The park is directly opposite the world-famous Kruger National Park; however, it is seen and known as the ugly sister or the “underdog”. The biodiversity is the same as in the Kruger Park, yet it doesn’t attract near as many tourists as the KNP. I like supporting the underdog though, as I tend to see similar qualities in myself at times (rough around the edges but just as full of fun).
I met many people working within this biosphere, some doing conservation research, others doing rather impressive anti-poaching work, having a significant impact in some regions of the reserve. During my time I was fortunate to spend many a night out in the bush with only a tent and two rangers, there to support and protect me from the constant threat of poacher activity within the park. We worked tirelessly daily, tracking lions on foot and searching from the sky in a tiny plane known as a “bat hawk”, and we managed to find signs and occasionally catch sight of the Lions that we were looking for.
The next chapter, however, was the one that excited me the most. I was sad to leave magnificent Mozambique but was thrilled to begin my dream job working with Lions in the Kruger National Park. But as life goes, it seems that just when you settle into a rhythm and pick up speed, it gives you some obstacles to keep you grounded. A broken-down vehicle meant that I had to attempt the rather tricky and challenging feat of driving a vehicle 400 km back to Maputo with no steering support or ABS brakes. This was a challenge, but with the fantastic support of the EWT Head Office staff who arranged contacts, accommodation, and vehicle support, and I was ready to get back on the road in a couple of days.
On the eagerly awaited first day of collaring Lions, I was joined by my colleagues Yolan Friedmann, David Mills, and Grant Beverley, and we were extremely fortunate to collar one large lioness in the Shingwedzi district of the Kruger Park. The following day, a much smaller team ventured out yet again during the evening but failed to collar any new lions due to heavy winds and a bit of rain. Luckily one team did manage to remove a collar that had been placed on a male lion several years before our project by a previous researcher, so this male is now free after playing his part for conservation.
There were times when the nights felt lengthy as the evenings and early mornings melted together, and it was nearly impossible to sleep in a tent during the day time in the overwhelming heat. Nevertheless, we managed to collar several more lions over the next few days, and by the last call up, which began at 23:00, I drifted off into a light sleep as the pre-recorded sound of a distressed buffalo calf echoed through the still evening air (used to call up lions). Eventually, we called it quits around 02:00 and headed home, where we then nearly had a close encounter with a vehicle sitting next to some stationary Lions next to the gravel road. The two Shingwedzi boys were resting, on what we suspected was their mission to meet up with the female we had collared on the first evening.
All in all, the beginning of the project was successful, even though there were some glitches along the way. I guess the glitches are what build tolerance, patience, as well as wisdom, and are par for the course when working with wildlife
This project is a partnership between the EWT, South African National Parks (SANParks), National Administration of Conservation Areas in Mozambique (ANAC), and the Peace Parks Foundation, with funding from the UK Government, through the International Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.
A PRICKLY SITUATION
Ndzalama Chauke, EWT Wildlife and Energy Programme Field Officer, ndzalamac@ewt.org.za
The Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Wildlife and Energy Programme (WEP) and the Eskom Transmission team (Central Grid) have been working determinedly to capture porcupines that have been burrowing close to a transmission line tower foundation near Delmas. When porcupines burrow at the foundations of transmission towers, the excavations can destabilise the structure, causing the tower to shift and eventually fall over. Amos Letsoalo and Ndzalama Chauke from the WEP team, and Reg Chadinha from transmissions, had set a cage trap under a tower where porcupine activities were taking place. A watermelon was placed inside the cage as bait a night before capture. In the early morning of 29 October 2020, during Reg’s usual rounds, he arrived on the scene, and there was a porcupine in the cage, our first catch after years of trying! The WEP team immediately rushed on-site and relocated the captured porcupine to Bezuidenhoutshoek farm in the Middelburg. On the night of 2 November 2020, we used watermelon as bait again and, we succeeded again – a porcupine was waiting in the cage the following morning! We relocated this animal to the same farm as the previous one.
CONSERVING CRANES AND COMMUNITIES
Dr. Lara Jordan, EWT African Crane Conservation Programme Field Officer, laraj@ewt.org.za
“The wind does not break a tree that bends”.
– Sukuma Proverb
We have all adapted to the new normal of social distancing and wearing face masks. As we all think about the year 2020, it might look like a dark portrait, but the picture is made beautiful by different streaks of bright colours. These bright streaks represent the generous gestures that brought hope to the lives of community members across Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa.
We are all dealing with the collective loss of the world we knew. Grieving the loss of jobs, livelihoods, physical connection with friends, loss of our daily routines etc. This has given people the world over opportunities to show our care for each other, and a little help has indeed gone a long way, not only through humanitarian efforts but also in building trust and hope across communities that we work with.
When COVID-19 struck in Africa, there were speculations that the warm, tropical weather of Africa would shield the developing countries from the virus, but to-date, the cases reported are still rising. Yet even after warnings that the African continent’s healthcare systems would not be able to bear the weight of the virus, Africa has resisted and continues to weather the storm of the pandemic. This has in no small part been a result of heroes who chose to go out of their way to help where they could.
Many families in East Africa, in the communities with which we engage, live in rural areas, and the work they are able to find is often only on a casual basis and pays enough money to feed their families for the day. When the pandemic struck, most of these families did not have a “work from home” policy, as their livelihoods depended on getting out and hustling to get their daily bread. Today, we choose to celebrate heroes that might be unnoticed but have played important roles in the lives of communities during this pandemic.
The Leiden Conservation Foundation provided generous support to families across East Africa, and as a result, many were cushioned over this difficult period.
In Kenya, 238 households with an average size of 7 people were beneficiaries of masks, bar soap and handwashes (1,666 individuals). In Uganda, 34 Crane Custodians benefitted from food relief packages, including 100 kg of maize flour, 30 kg of beans, and 10 kg of salt per person. In Rwanda, face masks, soap for handwashing, cooking salt and hoes for cultivating, were distributed to 284 households, 100 fodder farmers, and 184 beekeepers (beneficiaries of conservation agreements).
In South Africa, HCI Foundation and The Lewis Foundation enabled the delivery of food parcel across four rural communities of the Eastern Escarpment, this generous donation helped beat hunger for the marginalised in the communities. An additional 299 food parcels were delivered across three communities that were so rural that it took four days to deliver the parcels, and more recently, a further 73 food parcels, weighing over 40 kg, were delivered to two rural communities. The average household size within the communities was six members, adding up to a total of 1,398 individuals that received food.
Supporting communities in this way has been vital during this period, not only for the benefits to communities but also the benefits to wildlife. Community engagement and reporting has increased during this period, despite the difficulties of lockdown, and through this support, it has become apparent that communities have embraced crane conservation, which we hope will help to steadily increase crane numbers within these vital areas. And that is how we change the world – “One random act of kindness at a time” (Nelson Mandela)
COFFEE WITH A CONSERVATION CONSCIENCE
New ENDANGERED Outliers Roasters coffee blend is now available! This blend supports the EWT Drylands Conservation Programme (DCP) team’s work on the Critically Endangered Riverine Rabbit. For every bag of coffee sold, Outliers Roasters will contribute to the team’s camera trap research, Jessie the Border collie‘s fieldwork, and other conservation activities related to the species. Outliers also stocks other blends, including the ELUSIVE Pel’s Fishing Owl and RARE Cheetah blends, which are also in support of the EWT’s work on these species. The three EWT blends makes a perfect gift for friends and family!
Coffee can be bought on the Outliers online store. The new ENDANGERED blend is also available at Loxton Lekker Restaurant in Loxton and Papkuilsfontein Guest Farm in Nieuwoudtville. Do your part and buy coffee with a conscience!
