Don’t let them be a memory
THE SIGHT of a dead rhino with a gaping hole where its horn used to be has become a familiar one. And the callous, botched shooting of Cecil, a lion that was part of a Zimbabwean research project, has added fuel to the anger at the killing of wild animals for profit and the gratification of ego.
But no matter how whitehot the fury burns, poaching is an African reality. Experts predict that unless we are smarter, and plan better than poachers, the sight of rhinos, lions and other “Big Five” species in their natural habitat may soon become a memory. That’s the bad news. Here is the good. Today, and every day, committed conservationists and researchers are developing strategies that will mitigate climate challenges, the threat of poachers and disease, and build strong relationships with communities that live next to wildlife parks, so that their members become champions of the survival of endangered species.
I met two exceptional men this week at a special fundraiser at Mt Edgecombe Country Club by the SATIB Conservation Trust. If it is up to individuals like these, the future of African wildlife is assured.
Brian Courtenay, chairman, spent his career working in the wild animal insurance sector and, on retirement moved into active conservation. Speaking at the event, planned to coincide with World Elephant Day, he explained that the trust sought solutions and fundsapproved wildlife research projects, anti-poaching programmes and community education initiatives that “deliver tangible, sustainable results to reduce conflict between the human and animal inhabitants of Africa, ensuring the conservation of our wildlife”.
Co-incidentally, given that the fundraiser was organised months ago, before the furore over the death of Cecil, Courtenay was the last person to touch the animal before the arrow fired by the US trophy hunter dentist found its mark.
SATIB co-funds the Hwange Lion Research Project run by the Wildlife Conservation Unit of Oxford University’s Department of Zoology (WildCRU) in Zimbabwe’s largest wildlife reserve. Courtenay visits often to check on progress and the utilisation of donor funds.
“Last year, I helped dart Cecil and change his data transmitting collar. We were the last people who touched him before he was shot.”
Regarded by those in the know as among the best-run of its kind, the Lion Research Project is just one of the initiatives funded by SATIB. Unlike similar organisations, Courtenay’s project donates 100 percent of the funds raised to conservation. Projects it supports include The Botswana Lion Corridor Project, Elephants Alive, the Kgalagadi Lion Research Project, Wild Dog Research and the Southern Africa Wildlife College.
“We identify good research projects run by, among others, the universities of Rhodes, Oxford and Bristol, and fund them,” he explained. “One sees so many wildlife societies making huge amounts of money, but not much of a difference. We are making that difference.”
Thanks to SATIB, the researchers on the Kgalagadi Lion Project in the Kalahari were provided with a 4x4 needed to facilitate research, and are completing PhD theses, documenting what Courtenay terms “absolutely mindblowing” findings on the lion population in that area.
In Hwange, the conservation trust is assisting WildCRU to change mindsets and build a database on the endangered lion population that will help assure its future.
One of the greatest challenges to the Hwange lions is its 140km unfenced boundary. This allows poachers access to the animals and, in the past, subsistence farmers were at war with the creatures, that preyed on their livestock.
WildCRU and SATIB have introduced a simple, mobile boma system that is proving successful in preventing lions killing livestock, and has the added benefit of fertilising the arid soil the farmers plant their crops in.
Essentially a kraal made of opaque material, supported on poles, is erected for around a month at a time on poor soil, and the cattle droppings are then dug into the ground to enrich it.
“When the lions can’t see the cattle, they don’t jump into the boma and, by the same token, when the cattle can’t see the lions, they don’t stampede.”
Lions like Cecil at Hwange are fitted with GPS satellite collars that allow researchers and rangers to follow their progress through the wooded savannah. Members of the Lion Guardian Programme pick up via cellphone where the animals are at any given time, and warn farmers to corral their cattle when the lions move into farmland.
The Scorpion Anti-Poaching Unit, another part of the project co-funded by SATIB, patrols the reserve’s boundaries constantly, removing snares and tracking poachers. It is manned by highlytrained staff and has significantly reduced lion mortality since its formation in 2008.
If you would like to help support the work done by SATIB, or learn more, contact Brian Courtenay at bcourtenay@satibtrust.com, visit the trust’s website at www.satibtrust.com, or call 031 514 4200 or 082 926 0791.
Fifty years ago there were more than 200 000 lions in Africa. Today, there are fewer than 30 000. Play a part in making sure they and other endangered African animals have a fighting chance at a future.