CONCERN OVER POACHING METHODS IN FERNCLIFFE NATURE RESERVE
The discovery of a sophisticated snaring system in Ferncliffe Nature Reserve has raised concern regarding poaching operations in the reserve.
Nearly 30 snares have been found in a matter of weeks in Ferncliffe Nature Reserve, in the Chase Valley area, in Pietermaritzburg.
A weekend hunt for traps saw 13 sophisticated snares removed from an area within a perimeter of 4.4 km that includes an indigenous forest in the reserve.
On a previous hunt, owners of non-profit organisation, Ferncliffe Forest Wilding, Connor Cullinan and Janine Stephen, had found 15 less sophisticated snares, bringing the total to 28.
Cullinan believed that this was the work of two separate entities — one a poacher, thought to have been in the forest for years, and the other, squatters.
“The ones we found the first time were regular loop snares suspended by a pole,” Cullinan said. “The squatters who put them up didn’t bother to move off from the main paths.”
The recent snare hunt, however, has produced hidden traps which make use of a sapling bent over and its tip buried in the ground with the snare attached.
The tension-filled trap is held in place by string and a buried twig. The poacher uses branches to funnel the animal to the snare where, once triggered, will launch a small animal up. Larger animals are secured to the snare and unable to escape.
The NGO members and volunteers recently found remnants of a bushbuck still attached to a snare with leaves hiding the mess of blood and fur, and bits of plastic bag. In the past, Cullinan and Stephen have found remains of porcupines and bushpig.
“This man, at least I think it’s a man, is brazen and clearly going for bigger game,” said Cullinan.
“Someone in the group [from Saturday] said that at this level of snaring, the man could be doing this commercially, putting the meat into plastic bags and selling it. But I don’t think so. The roads aren’t the best for cars.”
Cullinan said he once spoke to a day walker, who said they had bumped into a poacher, who boasted about living off the land.
“The poacher said he was living off the land, eating meat and honey to survive,” said Cullinan. “There’s a picture taken where a poacher had enlarged the entrance hole of a beehive with a panga, then used rocks to keep the bees inside. This could be the same individual.”
Peter West, chairperson of Bisley Nature Reserve, along with two volunteers from Snare Aware in the South Coast, said they have not seen this type of trap before.
“The snares found in Bisley rely on the head of the animal going through the loop. The one in Ferncliffe is known as a whip snare,” he said.
West explained that the snare commonly found in Bisley Nature Reserve uses a stout tree with a trunk of about 100mm thick. If the poachers cannot find a tree nearby, they will use a log. The animal will then walk through the snare and pull the log until it gets hooked. However, the log method, according to West, is not preferable as the animal is not easy to track.
“They will mark their trails and snare areas with two stones, one on top of the other. They use string, plastic bottles and cans,” said West. “However, once they’ve caught one animal, they will leave the remaining snares, which continue to hurt and kill animals.”
West said he and his colleagues have seen “too many cases” where snares have led to horrific, unnecessary animal deaths.