Elephant GPS collars needed
Debbie Mair has set a challenge for all the high schools in the Wellington region.
The Hutt City Rotarian wants each school to raise $6000 for GPS collars for Borneo elephants.
The collars would alert her Rotary group, and the Wildlife Rescue Unit that they were working with, when the animals may be in danger.
‘‘If the elephants are standing still we will get out there and see what is happening,’’ she said.
If they were standing still it probably meant they were being attacked by poachers.
The collars would also show the groups where the elephants travelled so palm oil farmers, who had been shooting the elephants on sight, had time to make corridors for them to safely travel through.
Mair will visit all the high schools in the Wellington region in the next three months to set them the fundraising challenge.
Being able to track the elephants from New Zealand would have benefits for the students. ‘‘It will be like having National Geographic right there in their classroom.’’
The former policewoman spoke to Rotary about her recent trip to Borneo to collect data on feeding orphan elephants Fonterra milk powder.
‘‘In comparison to Japanese and Malaysian milk powder, the Fonterra milk powder doubles their growth.’’
Malaysian milk powder will be trialled for six weeks before any further decisions were made. But if the trial proved Fonterra milk powder was the best, Mair would start fundraising to buy more.
A givealittle page had been set up to buy video cameras to film illegal snaring and poaching.
She wants to build an elephant enclosure with a tourist platform at the animal sanctuary so ecotourism can take off.