Sports events help grow crane numbers
Conservation projects pay off, writes Terry van der Walt
IT’S A muddy and gruelling race over three days, but everyone taking part in the Three Cranes Challenge does it for the chicks.
And the chicks they are doing it for are small bundles of fluffy feathers that spotters can see from an aeroplane during the annual survey of our endangered cranes, including our national bird, the Blue Crane.
And it looks good. More than 30 years of hard work reversing the downward spiral of the Blue Crane, Wattled Crane and Grey Crowned Crane, has paid off with increasing numbers being counted over the past several years.
This past weekend saw the seventh edition of the Three Cranes Challenge take place at Karkloof outside Howick – one of a series of sports events that take place in protected areas in our province.
It is the brainchild of the Wildlands Conservation Trust – bringing sporting types into the picture by making them aware of the difference they can make by entering these events in the wild.
Kevin McCann, deputy director of Wildlands, said each event brought in R200 000 each year, apart from private fundraising done by entrants.
The challenge – sponsored by Old Mutual with support from the Sunday Tribune – takes place in the Karkloof conservation area which covers 3 500 hectares and is home to an ever-increasing population of all three crane species, thanks to conservation bodies, farmers and ongoing education campaigns.
Numbers are slowly increasing. More chicks are being spotted on nests, and more farmers are heeding the call to do more to help cranes make a comeback from the brink.
Tanya Smith, Southern Africa regional manager of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, said the same: hard work brought about the change.
“All three species are found in South Africa, and KZN is lucky to have all three, and although the numbers were affected over many years through loss of habitat, farming, mining and urbanisation, those numbers have been increasing over the past ten years.
This has involved 25 years of working with farmers and industry towards sustainable development,” she said.
Making farmers aware of their impact on the crane is another major challenge. In the past many farmers would burn wetlands in winter to create firebreaks. Unfortunately this is breeding season for the wattled crane and their chicks would often perish.
One such advocate of change is Charlie McGillivray, 62, a Karkloof farmer and chairman of the Karkloof Conservancy, which signed a biodiversity agreement with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.
Some years ago he sold a major portion of his dairy farm, retaining 112ha for beef cattle.
He signed a stewardship agreement to retain the wildlife, as well as to encourage the return of species which had taken flight because of habititat loss.
“If the environment is suitable and habitats have been recreated, cranes and other bird species will return,” he said.
Gartmore farm has two bird hides where members of the public can pay R25 to see some 200 bird species that flourish alongside a functional farming operation.
“It is really just about being respectful to others, and to nature.
It is possible for a farming operation to be in harmony with the environment without being harmful to nature,” he said.
If you want to become part of the solution by reporting birds and animals killed by accident on the road or near powerlines, visit http://www.ewt.org.za/WTP /wtp.html
Get more on the work of Wildlands, go to www.wildlands.co.za. To get the low down on the Endangered Wildlife Trust, visit www.ewt.org.za