DR KEITH HENRY COOPER 1937–2020
The forest is echoing with sad silence and shock at the passing of a great South African conservationist. He was passionate about our trees and forests, and it can indeed be said of Keith Cooper that a great tree has fallen.
Keith was one of a band of conservationists mentored by the likes of Dr Ian Player, Dr Ian Garland, Prof. Eugene Moll, and Dr Nolly Zaloumus, who were closely allied to The Wildlife Society (WESSA). The seeds grew.
Keith was respected by authorities, NGOs, and ordinary people, and became a legendary pioneering force in WESSA for the sustainable conservation of South Africa’s animal and plant biodiversity, and terrestrial, marine, and urban environments. He remained active in conservation and was always willing to help when asked, giving of his time and experience freely. Many of us grew into our conservation jeans or slacks at his feet. He coordinated WESSA’s Conservation Committee (CONCOM) including leading academics and conservationists; together the group formulated WESSA’s scientifically and socially sound conservation policies and kept long-standing interpersonal and inter-NGO links. CONCOM meetings were a wonderful classroom. Keith pioneered many conservation principles that are now deeply embedded in our country. He received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2003 for his scientific and conservation work in preserving South Africa’s biodiversity, and in 2016 received WESSA’s highest award for his contribution to conservation.
He was an avid birdwatcher and, while stationed in Mtubatuba, the young Cooper fell among the local Wildlife Society members and teamed up with bird ringers. Later, as Administrative Officer of the Oceanographic Research Institute where he worked for 11 years, his interests in biodiversity conservation were further nurtured. Keith joined the Committee of the then Natal Branch of the Wildlife Society and represented them as a National Councillor. In the mid-1960s, he was asked to become a full-time Wildlife Society employee to run the National Office as the Director (1972). The position of Director did not fit comfortably with Keith, however, and he moved sideways to become the Society’s Director of Conservation in 2002 and dedicated his life full-time to biodiversity conservation, with the support of his more than able assistant Di Dold and wife Mae.
In the early days Keith and Eugene Moll produced several fieldwork reports on areas that later became Nature Reserves, and they led monthly excursions to places of interest for Natal Branch members’ families and kids (with numbers sometimes up to 100 people).
Keith was ahead of his times. During his WESSA tenure he set up many conservancies, nature reserves and protected areas around the country and helped communities next to conservation areas to develop eco-tourism and associated conservation projects. He established and developed the Society’s ACE (African Conservation Education) project (the first of its kind in South Africa, set up to educate black teachers in the field of environment and conservation); in this he worked closely with Mr Simeon Gcumisa who was later employed by the Society.
His survey of forests in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Transvaal, and Transkei included all flowering plants, particularly those with medicinal value. The consummate citizen scientist, he was a prolific recorder of observations, authored two forest surveys, many WESSA field reports, and was editor with Prof. Mike Bruton of the book Studies on the Ecology of Maputaland. He drove the project to identify all important areas for conservation in Natal and Kwa Zulu in 1978 and was instrumental in the development and final production of the Kwa Zulu Natal Environmental Atlas — the first such undertaking in South Africa, and a valuable tool for Iand-use planning.
While Keith’s contributions were primarily in KZN and the Eastern Cape (Transkei), they extended significantly to other areas of South Africa and all Society regions, branches and members through direct interventions and by example. Keith was a strong, highly respected master in lobbying decision makers, politicians, State and Provincial authorities, local authorities, local communities and other NGOs; he was Chairman of the Kwa Zulu Natal Branch of the Society from 1970 to 1972 and was generous in sharing his experience and providing informed advice and inspiration to others. He surveyed the indigenous forests of the Transkei and wrote an extensive series of reports on proposed conservation areas in Kwa Zulu-Natal, Transvaal, QwaQwa, Transkei, Lebowa and other areas. The raw data he collected have been digitized by Prof Timm Hoffman’s group at UCT for future research on vegetation changes over time (something we could all consider in order to save our unique personal records for future research). Keith and Prof. John Grindley of UCT initiated proposals for marine and estuarine reserves in South Africa. Indeed, there have been few South African conservation plans that have not benefited from his insights.
After retiring Keith and Mae continued to be actively involved with black communities in both rural and urban areas in Tongaland, Maputaland, the Pondoland coast, Drakensberg, and informal settlements around Durban. He served on many conservation committees and Trusts. He completed a botanical survey of the Mbona Private Nature Reserve. His Karkloof projects doubled the area of conserved Afro-montane forest – another huge commitment over many years.
All this and more from an astute, humble, and real gentleman.
A WORD FROM THE CEO
Yolan Friedmann, EWT CEO
yolanf@ewt.org.za
In recent weeks there has been a flurry of social media posts around some proposed regulatory changes that would, if implemented, have a significant impact on the future management, wellbeing, and conservation value of our wildlife resources in South Africa. As with all news that goes viral, there will be some elements that are accurate and many that are not. Humans appear to need to amplify hard facts to get the attention that they want and perhaps in this day of extreme media overload and noise, this may well be a relevant strategy. Be that as it may, the EWT prides itself on being a science and fact based organisation whose contributions are credible, meaningful and evidence based. We have been inundated lately with messages across all platforms, asking what we are doing about, and what the public can do about, a series of proposed regulatory changes and the following is a brief description of the issues, our concern and our responses:
- The Animal Improvement Act – this act promotes the intensive and selective breeding and cross-breeding of animals. On 17 May 2019, a notice was published to include the following species as landrace breeds in terms of this Act: Lechwe, Giraffe, Zebra, White Rhinoceros, Black Rhinoceros, Lion and Cheetah. We have launched an application in the North Gauteng High Court, challenging and seeking the review of the decision to list wild animals in the Animal Improvement Act. Our grounds of review include legitimate concerns regarding the conservation value of breeding animals that are claimed to be genetically superior animals and the possible detrimental impact on natural selection and evolutionary processes.
- The Meat Safety Act – the amendment to the Meat Safety Act as read with the proposed regulations on game meat (if and when they are promulgated) aims to facilitate and regulate the processing of meat from game animals that have been hunted or culled. We have submitted extensive comments to the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development in this regard, holding that while we wholly support the move to create a legal framework to support the commercial sale of game meat from wild animals from natural free-living conditions, we do not support the intensive and selective breeding of wild animals in general, or for commercial meat production specifically.
- The Threatened or Protected Species Regulations of 2007 have been undergoing amendment since March 2015, when the public was afforded an opportunity to comment on proposed amendments. Early in 2020 we received information of the submission of a version of these regulations to the National Council of Provinces for their approval (the 2019 Amendments). We have extensively compared the 2015 version of Amendments with the 2019 version of Amendments, and found well over 200 changes between these two versions, 56 of which are substantial changes in our view. We have written to the Minister of Environment Forestry and Fisheries, raising concern about the lack of public participation in the finalization of the 2019 Amendments, considering this process has taken five years and the two versions are fundamentally different. We are awaiting feedback in this regard.
The EWT has an experienced and highly skilled team of experts who developed our submissions on all of these proposed regulations, and we are vigilantly watching the process to ensure that our concerns, as well as those of several other specialists, are considered. We will keep our readers updated. We cannot guarantee that our opinions will triumph, but our voice will be heard. Your support keeps the EWT in a position to engage with government and hopefully, improve the outcomes to the benefit of our wildlife. Please keep supporting the EWT during these times, every bit helps.Yolan Friedmann
CEO: Endangered Wildlife Trust
INSPIRING YOUNG SCIENTISTS – THE EWT CONSERVATION SCIENCE UNIT IN ACTION
Dr Lizanne Roxburgh, Senior Scientist, Conservation Science Unit
lizanner@ewt.org.za
Young South Africans are the conservation champions of tomorrow. They will become the next generation of soldiers and explorers in the frontlines, fighting to conserve our biodiversity and promoting a more sustainable tomorrow. Critical to effective conservation practice is robust science, and ensuring that the scientific methods we use in all of our projects are rigorous and defendable, is the role of the EWT’s Conservation Science Unit. In celebration of Youth Day, and to provide inspiration to other aspiring conservation scientists, we would like to showcase the young scientists in our unit, and the exciting career paths they have ahead of them. However, we recognise that our team of hard-working young scientists were privileged to attend universities and had opportunities to enjoy South Africa’s wildlife and natural environments while growing up, which are opportunities that are not yet given to all South African youth.
Claire Relton – Conservation Science Officer
My journey to conservation began at a young age, inspired by cross-country family road trips to South Africa’s diverse and spectacular protected areas. A passion and wonder for the natural world were instilled in me during Drakensberg hikes beneath Cathedral Peak, and hippo-watching through small red plastic binoculars with my feet dangling off the edge of a wooden bird hide. During a family camping trip, I remember sleeping with my head outside of the little triangular tent, just to hear the captivating sounds of the night more clearly. After waking up with my eye swollen shut, looking as if I had crept straight out of a horror movie, I only wondered with fascination, which crawling creature had bitten me in the night. My graduate and postgraduate education in biology and environmental science took me to the Universities of Cape Town, Pretoria, and Wits. I began working for the EWT as a nervous, yet enthusiastic volunteer, and now, as a conservation scientist, I aim to assist teams to develop, monitor, and implement impactful and effective conservation projects. Although I committed to hard work and dedication throughout my education and career in the conservation field, I also deeply understand that much of my story is one of privilege, access, and opportunity. If we hope to combat the enormous and increasing threats to biodiversity that the conservation community faces in this country, it is critical that all young South Africans are provided with the opportunity to access, appreciate, and understand South Africa’s splendour of wildlife and natural spaces.
Dominic Henry – Ecological Modelling Specialist
In a misguided attempt to pursue a respectable career in the financial sector, I started a Business Science degree at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2003. After a year and half of learning about rands and cents, following this trajectory no longer made sense (to me at least). I thought about places and times in my life where I found joy and contentment, and quickly realised that growing up on a farm had primed me for being happiest outdoors. I met with a prominent entomologist and Science Faculty student advisor who encouraged me to immediately move faculties and start a degree in Ecology. Little did I know that this meeting would lead me towards a fascinating and fulfilling career as an ecologist. During my studies, I developed a strong passion for birds and birding, and after my Honours degree, I took a year off to work as a field guide in a game reserve. I was lured back to the UCT by an offer to start a Master’s degree (which I later upgraded to a PhD) working on the movement ecology of southern African waterbirds, conducting fieldwork at 60 sites within the protected areas of Zululand). As an avid birder, this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I developed an affinity for working with large datasets that led me to take a deep dive into learning quantitative ecology techniques. I then took up a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation (SEEC), in which I used statistical models to quantify patterns of species richness of birds, reptiles, mammals, scorpions, butterflies, grasshoppers, and plants in a part of the Karoo that is threatened by shale-gas exploration. This gave me a deep appreciation for biodiversity in very sensitive ecosystems. After 13 years at UCT I decided to leave academia and take up a position at the EWT as an Ecological Modelling Specialist. While I am still involved in research, my primary work now involves developing models that quantify the distribution of threatened species of reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and butterflies. These models are used to inform land-use decision making and aid responsible infrastructure development. I derive a deep sense of satisfaction knowing that I can use the skills I have learned during my scientific training to address real world conservation issues.
Samantha Nicholson – Lion Database Coordinator
Ever since I can remember I knew I wanted to work with wild animals. For most of my primary school days I dreamt of becoming a game ranger and spending every day in the bush and being with wildlife. I then started to learn about how many species were threatened with extinction and I knew I wanted to do something to help conserve them, specifically large carnivores. In high school I came across the term ‘Zoologist’ and thought “well ok, that’s what I will be”, and off to university I went. In 2014 I graduated with my Master of Science degree with distinction in Zoology. I then began working at the Endangered Wildlife Trust as a Conservation Science Intern, and in 2018 I was appointed as the project coordinator for the global African Lion Database (ALD) initiative. This unique project aims to develop a platform to consolidate lion population and distribution data from across the African continent. This will allow us to better understand the distribution, conservation status, and population trends of this iconic African cat. I consider myself incredibly lucky to be able to have a career that contributes to species conservation.
Oliver Cowan – Conservation Science Officer
I have always been fascinated by how things work and why things are the way that they are. As a child I would want to know, for example, why flowers were different shapes and sizes. I was drawn to science as a way of understanding nature better. As my scientific curiosity increased through adolescence, so too did my comprehension that not only could science help me understand the world, but it could also be used to help correct the damage we humans have inflicted on the environment. This led me to the decision to study ecology and environmental science after I finished school. I have never regretted this decision and, after a long adventure in academia, I was fortunate to be offered a job with EWT’s Conservation Science Unit upon completing my PhD. Currently, I am working on a nation-wide project to increase the protection of species and habitats of conservation concern. I feel so fortunate to be able to combine the skills I learned in my academic career with my lifelong passion for nature, to assist in applied conservation practices that protect and safeguard our wondrous biodiversity.
Tamsyn Galloway – Conservation Science Intern
If ever given the choice of holiday destination, it always has and always will be the African bush. There is nothing better for me than spending time in nature – watching, listening, and learning from the great teacher herself, Mother Nature. Therefore, when considering career options, I felt I had to work with wildlife, and science was an obvious choice. However, having an innately logical mind and a knack for Geographical Information Systems (GIS), I looked for a niche where wildlife conservation and GIS could meet. At the Endangered Wildlife Trust, I have been able to do just that, creating maps that show species distributions and their habitats. I also assist in the writing of research papers that aim to identify and test the effectiveness of potential mitigation measures to address the threats that power lines present to our iconic African bird species. I am eager to see where this career path takes me and look forward to growing into the role of a true wildlife conservationist of Africa. For more information about the CSU, please contact us here.
IN MEMORIAM: FAREWELL TO FURY, A CONSERVATION HERO (7 FEBRUARY 2012 – 3 JUNE 2020)
Ndifelani Mulaudzi, Trade Officer, EWT Wildlife in Trade Programme
NdifelaniM@ewt.org.za
Much-loved Conservation Canine, Fury, sadly passed away on 3 June, as a result of complications arising from a twisted spleen, despite his handler and best friend, Shay Seebran, and the vet’s every effort to save him.
Fury, a German Shepherd, was an incredible conservationist, working tirelessly to protect endangered species in many public and private game reserves in South Africa. As a detection dog, he was trained to detect wildlife products such as rhino horn and ivory, as well as arms and ammunition. Over a two-year period, he and Shay conducted 5,213 vehicle searches at 27 gates in 16 game reserves. They also conducted compound, open area and cargo searches at various airports.
The EWT pays tribute to Conservation Canine Fury for the massive difference he has made with his successful seizures of wildlife contraband and illegal arms and ammunition, helping in the fight against illegal wildlife trade, and preventing many poaching incidents from occurring.
More than that, Fury was a constant companion and partner to Shay, whose life he saved more than once. These best friends had been working and learning together for over two years, travelling South Africa as a team, and spending every moment of their days together, trying to leave a lasting footprint in the anti-poaching world. Shay is devastated by his loss, and says, “The legend may be gone, but certainly not forgotten. I will always appreciate your service, Fury. Rest in power, son.
Conservation Canine Fury was indeed a legend, and well-known to many around the world. He has left an amazing legacy behind, to be carried on by many conservationists just like him. He has been laid to rest at his home, the EWT Conservation Campus.
Fury’s work was funded by U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and Tourvest, and supported by Royal Canin and Boehringer-Ingelheim.
MY JOURNEY IN CONSERVATION AND THE ROAD AHEAD
Innocent Buthelezi, Field Officer, EWT Wildlife and Transport Programme
innocentb@ewt.org.za
I was born on 27 January 1990 at Jericho Clinic. Jericho is a rural village in the North West Province of South Africa. I grew up in Johannesburg, where my mother worked as a domestic worker. During the school holidays, I would alternate between visiting my maternal family in North West and my paternal family in KwaZulu-Natal, where my parents now live in Madadeni, near Newcastle.
While my parents were growing up, neither of them had the opportunity to finish their schooling, but they were determined to build a better future for me and provide me with the opportunities that they never had. Living in Johannesburg, I was fortunate to receive a higher standard of education than many other children residing in the more rural areas of the North West or KwaZulu-Natal. At the age of seven, I discovered a love for karate, and progressed to Red Belt by the age of 13. I stopped my karate lessons when I went to high school, but continued with other sports such as soccer, rugby, and athletics. My love of rugby encouraged me to build up my strength and stamina, and I started lifting weights that I made from cement compressed into empty paint cans.
During my teenage years, while not doing sports, I developed an interest in watching National Geographic and Animal Planet on DSTV, where my passion for nature really took hold, and eventually led me to pursue a career in nature conservation. I matriculated in 2008, and I started my studies at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in 2009. I graduated from TUT with a National Diploma in 2012, which I would never have achieved without the generosity of my mother’s employer, who financially supported my studies. No one else in my family had completed schooling, let alone tertiary studies. After graduating I volunteered with SANBI and worked at Rand Water as an assistant until 2017, when I embarked on my current career with the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Wildlife and Transport Programme (WTP).
Upon joining the EWT in 2017, I felt the urge to pursue a Bachelor’s in Technology (BTech), and with support from the EWT and a generous study bursary from Trans African Concessions (TRACN4) to conduct my BTech through a research project entitled ‘Assessing the effectiveness of road signage in altering driver behaviour in the Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa,’ based on reports on social media (specifically Facebook) that indicated levels of public concern for the number of animals being killed on the roads (i.e. roadkill) inside the KNP.
I have always been a dreamer; it is what has always kept me going throughout my conservation career, and my ultimate goal is to achieve a PhD. Despite the disruption of the academic year by the COVID-19 pandemic, I aim to complete my BTech this year and I hope to graduate in 2021.
I will not deny that working full-time and studying has not been without its challenges, particularly while fulfilling the role of a husband and father. Fortunately, a lot of my studies have related directly to the work I do with TRACN4, and without the bursary it would have been extremely difficult to support my family and further my studies. I am eternally grateful for the faith they have placed in me and bringing me ever closer to my destination as a wildlife conservationist.
