Volunteering in Africa

Wildlife Veterinary Volunteering in South Africa

My third week on the Big 5 Wildlife Project

 

Another week has gone by ever so quickly here on the reserve, filled with exciting stuff that has happened and the necessary labour. We started the week by working on the buffalo boma we’re building next to the house. This is where the buffalo will stay for a period of 6-8 weeks before the two bulls get sold, to test for TB. The plan is to get it done by next Friday, but it looks like that’s wishful thinking! Furthermore, we have checked all the fences for holes because we were planning on releasing cheetah this week, any and all holes we found have now been closed with rocks. I’ve also had the privilege of learning how to drive a tractor when Hein and I were reconstructing a road down in the reserve, and I must say it looks easier than it actually is, it’s definitely the weirdest thing I’ll ever drive...!

 

Over the weekend there had been a bad case of rhino poaching in the Western Cape (only three hours away!), where all the rhino’s on a farm have been poached within two nights, absolutely outrageous and horrible that people can do something like that! This has us quite worried about the rhino’s on the reserve and as such we have been checking up on them every morning, sometimes till late in the afternoon since they’re very capable of hiding. Luckily, all three of them all still doing great!

 

Then we arranged for the wildlife vet to come visit us on the Wednesday, because there were some things going on with the animals. First of all, we wanted to move a zebra stallion into the reserve with the ladies to go do his business, so the vet darted the dominant stallion of the four zebra. We then moved him into the reserve where I was allowed to administer the antidote IV, which was totally awesome!

After that we had the buffalo cow darted to check up on her red eye, which turned out to be conjunctivitis. The wildlife vet took care of that with some antibiotics and painkillers. We also had him look for signs of pregnancy and we learned that she is around 9 months pregnant, so that’s great news!

 

Next up was the release of the cheetahs, Bobby and Victor, two inseparable brothers. The vet darted them as well and we then collared them so that we can keep track of their location, average speed, temperature etc. Then we moved them into the reserve and once again I got to wake them up with the antidote IM, so very cool indeed! Because they seemed to be waking up rather slowly and were still quite groggy, we decided to stay with them the rest of the day to make sure they would be all right. Now they are doing great, are starting to get more active by the minute (making the springbok go crazy) and we’re anticipating their first kill out in the reserve this week!

 

Furthermore, we dug up a cheetah skeleton that was buried around about two years ago after that cheetah had died a natural death (old age). So I have also been very busy working on that skeleton as it is now my job to put it together for the conservation centre. It is very interesting to do, but not really that easy seeing as how there are lots and lots of tiny little bones! I’ll be sure to put pictures up when (if) it’s done...

 

The last veterinary experience I got this week was when we heard about the baby gray rhebok that was just lying down all the time and seemed to have a torn lip. Hein and I immediately drove there and checked the baby out. She was absolutely covered in ticks and her lip was indeed torn up, she was in bad shape and couldn’t even stand up anymore! So we decided to bring her back to the house where I put her on the table to have a better look at her. We then gave her painkillers and antibiotics and took out a lot of the ticks (especially the bigger ones) and then sprayed the rest of them. I was getting ready to stitch up her little lip after cleaning it thoroughly, when we suddenly saw her jawbone sticking out of her mouth! Unfortunately, she didn’t make it!

 

All in all, it has been a very exciting week! My first week without my fellow volunteers Hanna and Alma (miss you guys!), but luckily Hein, Kim and cutiepie Malan are still here, still very caring and welcoming towards me, so that’s great.

 

Being a veterinary student, I just loved the fact that I got to do a lot of veterinary work! But, even though we got a lot of stuff done, the list of things that still need to be done is even longer so I’m looking forward to next week!

 

Elise van der Heijden

Netherlands

EDGE of AFRICA Volunteer

November 2010

 

Is an introduction of elephants to the Knysna Forest feasible? By Jo Kotze, EDGE of AFRICA

Introduction

The few remaining elephants that continue to survive in the Knysna forest are the World’s most southerly elephants, and represent just a small fraction of the estimated 10,000 elephants that resided in the Cape region prior to European settlement in 1650 (Hall-Martin 1992). The decline of the Knysna elephants has occurred over many years and their decline has been attributed largely to hunting practices. 

 

By 1876 an estimated 400-500 elephants remained in this area and these elephants were under heavy pressure from hunters (Phillips 1925). By 1908 only 20 individuals remained and these elephants were declared Royal Game (Kinloch 1968). In 1970 the population stood at 11 individuals and the continued decline was attributed to illegal hunting (Carter 1970). However, it has also been suggested that inadequate forest forage resulting in poor reproductive success caused a population crash in the 70s (Vermeulen 2000).

 

Knysna elephants & Forest habitat

Seydack et al. (2000) suggest that the decline of the Knysna elephants is attributable to the low nutrient/carbon ratios in the diet available to them, having been confined to a predominantly forest environment due to residential and agricultural development in the area. The low nutrient/carbon ratios are thought to result in low metabolic turnover rates and thus reproductive rates that are too low to offset mortalities (Seydack et al. 2000).

 

Prior to the increase in residential and agricultural development, seven to eight decades ago, both source and sink populations of elephants existed within the Southern Cape (Seydack et al. 2000).

 

In terms of habitat patches, source patches can be defined as “productive sites that generate a seasonal supply of migrants to other patch locations” and sink patches can be defined as “unproductive sites that only receive migrants” (Hanski & Gaggiotti 2004).  

 

In the case of the Knysna elephants, the source population occupied more open vegetation types, whereas the sink populations resided primarily in the forest and were sustained by immigration from source populations (Seydack et al. 2000).  Based upon this model, Seydack et al. (2000) suggest that the Knysna elephants represent a remnant sink population.

 

The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) have a similar view on the Knysna elephants. However whereas Seydack et al. (2000) suggest that the Knysna elephants are a remnant sink population that cannot persist due to the demise of the source populations; WESSA suggest that the Knysna elephants have been forced into the forest due to human encroachment.

 

WESSA state that “In general, the indigenous forest, fynbos and exotic plantation areas to which the elephants are limited by human activity are nutritionally poor.  Nutritionally superior areas, from which the elephants are presently excluded, exist between Mosselbay and George. It is thus most likely that the Knysna elephants are a relict population forced into unsuitable habitats by human encroachment. If this is the case, then the reintroduction of more elephants will only postpone the extinction of this subpopulation.” The statement also adds that “If, however, reintroduced elephants do manage to increase in numbers it is most likely that their impact on the largest and best-conserved indigenous evergreen forest in southern Africa could be substantial, and culling would need to be instituted” (WESSA Policy Statement 2001).

 

1994 introduction of elephants 

In 1994 an attempt was made to supplement the Knysna elephant population by introducing 3 young female elephants from Kruger NP. The hope was that these introduced elephants would join up with what was believed to be the only remaining elephant, an elderly matriarch in the forest. However, one of the elephants died on release and the other two elephants preferred to spend the majority of their time in the more open fynbos habitat.  In 1999 conservation officials decided to move the introduced elephants instead to Shamwari Game Reserve (Seydack et al. 2000, Milewki 2002).

 

Conclusion

Both the suggestions of Seydack et al. (2000) and those of The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA Policy Statement 2001) imply that to re-introduce elephants into the forest itself may not be feasible due to the nutritionally poor habitat resulting in low reproductive rates.

The 1994 re-introduction attempt also indicates that even if elephants were to be introduced into the forest, they wouldn’t necessarily be inclined to stay there.

 

However, there is one concept that could be a feasible way of re-introducing a sustainable population of elephants not to the Knysna Forest, but to the Garden Route area in general; and that is the proposal of an Eden to Addo corridor.  

 

Eden to Addo Corridor

In simple terms a conservation corridor is a strip of land joining two protected areas.  Conservationists have come to realise that simply creating isolated protected areas is not sufficient to protect the complex processes required for proper ecological functioning. A conservation corridor allows for freedom of physical movement and freedom to exchange genetic material; both of which are vital for the survival of organisms.

 

The dream is to create such a corridor which would start in Plettenberg Bay and radiate out until the Eden municipality is linked to Addo National Park. The corridor would comprise a zig-zagged stretch of land that unites private landowners, conservation authorities and the state. This corridor would connect the existing three mega-reserves of the area – Garden Route Mega Reserve, Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve and Addo Elephant National Park.

Most excitingly, in theory this conservation corridor could re-establish ancient elephant migration paths across the Cape....  

(Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative)

 

References

Carter, B. (1970) ‘Knysna Elephant Survey: February 1969 – January 1970.’ Report to the Wild Life Protection and Conservation Society of South Africa, Eastern Province Branch, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

 

Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative (2007). Available at:http://www.edentoaddo.co.za/about.html. Accessed: 15 November 2010.

 

Hall-Martin, A.J. (1992) ‘Distribution and Status of the African elephantLoxodonta africana in South Africa 1652-1992.’ Koedoe. Vol. 35, pp. 35-68.

 

Hanski, I., Gaggiotti, O.E. eds. (2004) ‘Ecology, genetics and evolution of metapopulations.’ Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-323448-4

 

Kinloch, B. (1968) ‘The elephants of Knysna.’ African Wildlife. Vol. 22, pp. 185-190.

 

Phillips, J.F.V. (1925) ‘The Knysna elephants: a brief note on their history and habits’ South African Journal of Science. Vol. 22, pp. 287-293.

 

Seydack, A.H.W., Vermeulen, C. & Huisaman, J. (2000) ‘Habitat quality and the decline of an African elephant population: implications for conservation.’ South African Journal of Wildlife Research. Vol. 30, pp. 34-42.