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.
