Kruger Park e-Times

June 2009 - e1

Bustards threatened
Heritage site plaques in Kruger restored
Canned hunting is everyone’s responsibility
Krazies in Kruger

200-bed
hotel
planned
for Kruger

Clock ticks towards

water scarcity
 Newsclips
Drug bust in
Kruger Park
Mpumalanga police have arrested
two suspected drug smugglers and con-
fiscated 33kg of dagga in the Kruger
National Park (KNP), Beeld newspa-
per reported on Friday May 15. Police
Inspector Oosie Oosthuizen stopped
and searched the vehicle in the Kruger
National Park, about eight kilometres
from the Malelane gate, on Thursday,
said Skukuza spokesperson Inspector
Oubaas Coetzer.
He found three bags of dagga worth
R68 000 in the vehicle. It is believed
the men were smuggling the drugs
from Swaziland to Gauteng. The pair
appeared in a Skukuza court on Fri-
day.Sapa
Elephant kills man
in Limpopo
A man in his fifties was trampled to
death by an elephant in the Madimbo
area near Masisi in the Kruger Na-
tional Park, Limpopo police said on
Monday May 4, 2009.
Superintendent Ronel Otto said Nel-
son Masikhwa and another man were
walking in the area around 5.30pm on
Sunday. Details were unclear but it ap-
pears an elephant charged the two and
trampled Masikhwa.
The other man ran to a nearby vil-
lage to get help but when the man,
residents and police returned Masikh-
wa was already dead and the elephant
gone. The elephant who trampled
Masikhwa could not be identified and
no elephants were shot due to the in-
cident. An inquest into Masikhwa’s
death was being investigated, said
Otto.
www.iol.co.za
kruger park times - 2 - kruger park times
New conference centre at
Mopani Camp opened
The Kruger National Park’s (KNP) acting
managing executive Abe Sibiya officially
opened the new, state-of-the-art R5,2-mil-
lion Mopani Conference Centre on Friday
June 12, 2009.
“I can proudly state at the official open-
ing this facility at Mopani Rest Camp that
the KNP has certainly arrived as a confer-
ence venue with a number of world class
options that will hopefully meet and exceed
most clients’ needs,” Sibiya said.
“Kruger’s tourism business has always
been seasonal with high season times coin-
ciding with South African school holidays.
Conferences are seen as one of the ways
in which these huge drops during off peak
times could be negated,” explained Sibiya.
Built with the assistance to Infrastructure
Development Program (IDP) funding from
the South African Government, the confer-
ence centre can house up to 300 people cin-
ema style in its main hall. The facility was
converted from the camp’s shop and store-
rooms and this work took nine months to
complete.
“As I stand before you, I can proudly say
that the establishment of this facility only
had a negligible environmental impact and
this was short term. All these buildings were
already here and all they needed was to re-
organise the interior and equip them for
Ben van Eeden, Abe Sibiyia and
William Mabasa of the Kruger
National Park
conferencing,” said Mr Sibiya.
In addition to the main conference hall,
the facility also includes three break-away
rooms which can house 21, 30 and 45 peo-
ple respectively (all cinema style) and a tea
area which includes a wooden deck that
overlooks the nearby Pioneer Dam.
The break away rooms also include 15
moveable panels that can convert the three
separate rooms into either two larger rooms
(one hosting 67 people cinema style and the
other housing 45 people cinema style) or
one large venue which can house 150 peo-
ple cinema style. All four venues, the main
hall and each of the three breakaway rooms
include screens and full audio visual aids.
Mopani Rest Camp is one of the newer
large camps in the KNP and can accommo-
date 506 people. It is situated 74 kilometres
north of Phalaborwa Entrance Gate.
In the KNP, other conference centres in-
clude Berg en Dal Rest Camp, a small venue
at the Elephant Hall in Letaba Rest Camp,
a small conference centre at Shingwedzi
Rest Camp and the conference facility in
Skukuza Rest Camp, which is presently be-
ing upgraded. For more information about
the new Mopani Conference Centre, access
the SANParks Website (www.sanparks.org)
or contact Christa von Elling on (013) 735
6535.
Garth Holt, hospitality man-
ager of Mopani rest Camp.
Canned hunting, a public
responsibility
Every year thousands of people visit facil-
ities in South Africa where they can interact
with lion cubs, young Cheetah and in some
cases even tigers. But seldom do people ask
what happens to the cubs when they grow
too big for the facilities to manage them.
“There is substantial evidence to suggest
that these animals are very often sold, or
‘returned’ to lion and other predator breed-
ing facilities from which they are often sold
on as trophies into the very lucrative canned
hunting industry, which has thrived in South
Africa for at least the past 12 years,” says
Yolan Friedmann, CEO of the Endangered
Wildlife Trust (EWT).
With the inclusion of lions in the Threat-
ened or Protected Species Regulations, the
hunting of a captive bred lion within a pe-
riod of less than 24 months post its release
into an extensive wildlife area is now pro-
hibited.
Cubs are often taken away from their
mothers to stimulate faster reproduction
and so keep up a constant supply of pet-
ting lions. Visitors pay to pet the animal and
have their photograph taken with it, and ei-
ther do not consider the animal’s situation
and what will happen to it when it grows
up, or they assume that there is a conserva-
tion effort associated with petting lions.
Human imprinted
The lions are however human imprinted
and have not grown up in a natural social
group, making it impossible to release them
into a natural habitat for the long term.
This, coupled with the disease risk posed by
captive bred animals, as well as their dubi-
ous genetic lineage renders them a risk for
release. They therefore have no conserva-
tion value and are purely a source of in-
come for those exploiting them.
Often the situation of a “paying volun-
teer” is also exploited for further financial
gain, with volunteers being told that the
lion mothers are not able to care for their
offspring and that once they are old enough
hand raised lions are returned to the wild.
A recent report by the National Council
of SPCAs suggests that many of these li-
ons end up as targets for canned hunting.
The report states that “the hunting of cap-
tive bred lions is in fact at an all time high
kruger park times - 3 - kruger park times
and the South African Predator Breeders
Association (SAPBA) estimated in January
this year that about 1 050 lions were hunted
in South Africa in 2008. Nearly all of these
animals were raised in captivity. This is a
more than 300% increase on the 322 lions
the Department of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism (DEAT) says were hunted in
2006 and a 35% increase on their 2007 fig-
ure of 700.”
This raises the question: where do all
these lions come from? In South Africa, a
thriving canned hunting industry can in
most cases be linked to an equally thriving
industry based on cub petting and commer-
cial captive breeding centres.
The EWT encourages the public to take
an active role in putting an end to canned
hunting by asking the following questions
before taking an opportunity to play with
a cub:
• Where is the cub’s mother?
• Why is the cub not being raised by its
mother?
• What happens to the facility’s cubs
when they grow up?
• If they are released into larger wildlife
areas, where are these and can the facility
provide documentation to prove a viable
and ethical release process?
• If, and therefore once cubs have been re-
leased, do they have the opportunity to live
out their natural lives, or are they hunted?
• If they are sold to game reserves, is their
future secure or is this a cover for simply
being hunted?
• If they become part of a breeding pro-
gramme, for what purpose?
• What happens to the facility’s surplus
animals?
Some may argue that there is educational
value in allowing people to handle wild ani-
mals. However this kind of education pro-
vides the incorrect message that wild ani-
mals exist for human entertainment, that
they can be petted like domestic animals,
and that they have value only in captivity
and not in their natural habitats. Moreover,
lion cubs are naturally boisterous and even
a young lion is capable of inflicting damage
on a human being. Visitors are expected
to sign indemnity forms that protect the fa-
cility, but many people are hurt, sometimes
very badly, through these interactions. It is
also important to note that captive breed-
ing is not a conservation recommendation
for any carnivore species in South Africa.
Carnivores in fact breed extremely well in
the right conditions and for almost all our
threatened carnivore species, the conser-
vation priorities include reducing human-
wildlife conflict, securing suitable habitat,
reducing poaching and illegal offtake and
maintaining balanced, functioning eco-
systems. Without these in place, captive
breeding leads to an over-supply of non-
releasable animals which often end up as
trophies.
The Endangered Wildlife Trust is not
against legal, ethical forms of sustainable
use and recognises the role that hunting
plays in many conservation programmes.
We do not however support the intensive
breeding of wild animals for canned hunt-
ing. It must be noted that other species are
also hunted under condtions where they
have no chance of escape and thus are also
victims of canned hunting.
While we urge the government to ad-
dress captive lion breeding situation in
South Africa, and all canned hunting, we
similarly urge members of the public to
recognise their role in supporting or put-
ting an end to both the cruel treatment
of lions in some captive facilities, and the
practise of canned lion hunting.
The EWT is working with many other
NGOs to develop an ethical, humane pro-
posal which may avert the continuance of
cruelty being meted down to Africa’s King
of the Beasts.
 Newsclips
Lions maul
suspected poachers
Rangers rescued two suspected rhi-
no poachers who were mauled by lions
in the Kruger National Park. The two
men were hospitalised and charged
with trespassing and the possession of
an unlicensed AK47 assault rifle and
pistol. Emmanuel Ngobeni, 34, and
Mtlakavaka Matose, 35, of Masingeri
in Mozambique appeared in Skukuza
circuit court on Wednesday, May 13,
2009. Skukuza branch commander
Inspector Willie Broodryk said rang-
ers who were on patrol at the Nwanet-
si concession near Satara camp on
March 17 heard the two men calling
for help.
“They found the two suspects crawl-
ing along the ground as they couldn’t
walk after being attacked by lions the
previous night,” said Broodryk.
He said the men are believed to have
fired the two weapons to chase the lions
away as there were spent cartridges on
the scene. There was no evidence that
the lions were injured, however. The
men denied the weapons belonged to
them, so police have sent the weapons
for forensic tests. The men are believed
to be rhino poachers, as rhino poach-
ers are known to use AK-47s to kill the
animals. The two men were flown to
hospital where they were treated for
two weeks before being discharged.
African Eye
New name for
international park
An international conservation park,
sprawled across Botswana, South Af-
rica and Zimbabwe, the Limpopo-
Shashe Transfrontier Conservation
Area (TFCA) was renamed Mapun-
gubwe National Park on June 19,
2009. The Limpopo-Shashe TFCA
was created in 2006 by an agreement
between South Africa, Botswana and
Zimbabwe.
The Ministers said the decision to
change the name of the TFCA was to
choose a name that accurately reflects
the uniqueness of the TFCA, adding
that the name Greater Mapungubwe
TFCA was preferred because all three
countries already have sites called Ma-
pungubwe.
kruger park times - 4 - kruger park times
Going green doesn’t have to
mean slower economic growth
Author and democracy activist Frances
Moore Lappé says we already know how to
solve the pressing issues of our time, such as
climate change and world hunger.
But she says our own pre-conceived ideas
about how things should work – our mental
map of the world – is actually preventing us
from taking action.
In a speech at Ottawa’s Carleton Univer-
sity as part of the 78th Congress of the Hu-
manities and Social Sciences, Lappé called
for a wholesale revamping of the way we
view government, the economy and democ-
racy. If we manage to do it, she says, we can
save ourselves from our own demise.
Lappé, made famous in the 1970s by her
bestselling vegetarian cookbook Diet for a
Small Planet, is an activist, author and co-
founder with her daughter Anna Lappé of
The Small Planet Institute. She says many
people today are frightened by the potential
for disaster, ecological and otherwise, and
fearful that nothing can be done to prevent
it. Lappé says we can do something – if we
challenge five assumptions about the way
the world works.
The first is that going green means “pow-
ering down,” or reducing our consumption
of energy. Lappé says all we have to do is
stop getting energy from fossil fuels and
start getting it from renewable sources like
the sun.
“Every day the sun supplies us with
15,000 times the amount of energy we’re
now using in fossil fuels,” she says. If every-
one had a solar panel or windmill on their
roof, we wouldn’t be dependent on oil com-
panies – and as individuals we’d feel more
in control of our own destiny.
The second idea to dispense with, she
says, is that going green means an end to
economic growth. What we have to do, she
says, is change our idea of what growth
is. Right now, she says, the Walton family
– owners of Wal-Mart – controls as much
wealth as the bottom 40 per cent of the
U.S. population. Is it growth if the wealthy
families just get wealthier?
There’s plenty of room for growth, she
says, if we learn to do things more efficient-
The Kruger Park e-Times is published regularly to keep you uodated on conserva-
tion, science, sustainable development and tourism issues in and around South
Africa’s national parks, transfrontier parks and other environmental hotspots.
Read the rest of the June issue at www.krugerparktimesonline.com
ly. For example, she says various estimates
show that between 25 and 50 per cent of
all food produced in the United States is
wasted. And that every year, Americans
throw out some 300 pounds of packaging
material.
The third idea she wants to challenge
is the notion that humans are by nature
greedy, self-centred and materialistic.
Under certain conditions, she said, we
can be monsters. But there wouldn’t be 6.8
billion of us on the planet today if we didn’t
also have positive qualities such as empathy,
cooperation and fairness. As a society, she
said we should simply try to make sure our
rules try to bring out the best, not the worst
in us.
The fourth idea she disputes is that we
dislike rules. She says humans crave struc-
ture, particularly rules that make sense to us
as individuals and which foster a sense of
inclusion. We will accept the right rules, she
says, citing as an example a German law
that enables individual citizens to sell power
they produce at home, through renewable
sources such windmills or solar panels for
example, to utilities at a guaranteed price.
People there have embraced the idea, she
says.
The final concept she wants to challenge
is the idea that our problems are so pressing
there’s no time for democracy, and only an
authoritarian regime can save us. She be-
lieves the only hope for the planet is to trust
in people and set rules that bring out the
best in us.
“The mother of all issues is who makes
the decisions,” she says, adding that if de-
cisions are taken by people with the most
money, we all suffer.
Lappé says she’s not against a market
economy – just the idea that there’s only
one way to run the economy.
She also wants to challenge the idea, she
says, that change is impossible. Recent his-
tory has shown that seemingly insoluble
problems have in fact been solved.
“It’s not possible to know what’s pos-
sible.”
 Clock ticks towards
water scarcity
The clock is ticking for South Africa’s fluent, which would entail revamping in- “Water service provision is critical, and it
stretched water supply, and in another five frastructure, with waste treatment plants a is a sensitive issue,” Turton said. “We have
years demand will have caught up with priority. to give people everything
supply, according to a top official. Water treatment plants would that the struggle was about,
Jones Mnisi, acting chief operating of- have to produce effluent clean like dignity. If we don’t, we’re
ficer at Johannesburg Water, the public enough for reuse in the in- going to have a lot of angry
utility overseeing supply in the country’s dustrial sector, for exam- people.”
economic hub, told a recent conference on ple switching to buying SAICE’s Herold
water security that the tipping point where cheaper, recycled wa- said government
demand outstripped supply may not be far ter for cooling plants, should crack
away. he said. down on hun-
South Africa is chronically water- This may be dreds of farm-
stressed. Although growth has slowed, an harder than it ers who used
expanding economy, a growing popula- sounds. Turton water illegally
tion, and increased evaporation caused by pointed out from the Vaal
climate change are conspiring to put addi- that 12 waste- River, 100km
tional pressures on water resources. water treat- south of Johan-
Yet leading experts at the conference ment plants, nesburg, which
said the situation could be addressed if the none of supplies the city.
country curbed demand and improved wa- which func- The department
ter quality to facilitate reuse. A paper by tion prop- of water affairs
the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) erly, were has established
said South Africa’s water surplus had been d u m p - a unit, known
dangerously low since at least 2000 - four ing efflu- as the “Blue
years after the country began buying bulk ent into Scorpions”, to
water from the multi-dam Lesotho High- the Hart- police illegal
lands Water Project, built on the Senqu- beespoort bulk water use.
nyane River in neighbouring Lesotho. Dam on the © IRIN. All
Although the next phase of the project, Crocodile River, 20km southwest of Johan- rights reserved.
expected to be in place in 2019, could re- nesburg.
lieve some of the pressure on South Afri- He and others have also begun to con-
ca’s water supply, it was likely to be too late, clude that if water could be stored in un- DAM FACTS AND FIGURES
said Chris Herold, chairman of the water derground man-made aquifers, he said, it * According to the World Commission
division of the South African Institute of could save a vast quantity of water from on Dams there are an estimated 48
Civil Engineering (SAICE). evaporation annually. 000 dams worldwide over 15 m high.
When the democratic government came About half of these are in China.
to power in 1994, an estimated 14 million * There are about 1 500 dams under
Quantity and quality people lacked access to a formal water sup- construction worldwide at present.
ply, and about half the population had no * It takes about four years to build one
Experts said the quality and quantity of formal sanitation, according to the Depart- dam.
the water supply should be better man- ment of Water and Environment. * The highest dam in the world is the
aged, and called for more investment in in- Water and sanitation remain contentious Rogun Dam in Tajikistan which is 335
frastructure. “The national water resource issues, and government has assured South m high.
strategy has assumed that water demand Africans that it will commit more funds to * The Three Gorges Dam, which is
management will happen,” said Herold, improve water infrastructure, deploy per- being built in China, will be the larg-
“On the implementation side, some of sonnel to local government to oversee op- est concrete dam in the world. When
the local authorities have not come to the erations, build capacity, and ensure proper it is completed in 2009, the dam will
party.” financial management. stretch almost two kilometres across
Anthony Turton, a former researcher A recent progress report card on the UN the Yangtze River and soar 183 m
at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Millennium Development Goals said the above the valley floor. The reservoir will
Research, who now works as a water man- country was on track for achieving access be 563 km long.
agement consultant, predicted that South to safe drinking water and sanitation by Source: World Wildlife Fund
Africa would soon have to start reusing ef- 2015.

kruger park times - 5 - kruger park times

 Newsclips
Three Kruger
camps for 2010
SANParks’ managing executive
tourism and marketing, Glenn Phil-
lips According to Phillips, said the
Kruger National Park has dedicated
three of its camps to the 2010 FIFA
World Cup - Skukuza, Berg en Dal
and Pretoriuskop.
New mobile tented products with-
in above camps at Kruger National
Parks will also be utilized. This will
add an additional 420 beds to the in-
ventory contacted for 2010.
“The tents will be used as a con-
duit to address the legacy issue – as
they will be used to provide addi-
tional inventory to parks in other lo-
cations around the country that lack
sufficient accommodation inventory
during high season or specific events
such as the flower season in Na-
maqua National Park.”
“The exciting part with 2010 is that
approximately 15 000 people will be
introduced to the national parks. We
want to use this event to optimize
marketing opportunities, while we
continue to build our brand.”
Phillips went on to mention the de-
tails of the contract with MATCH a
professional services company select-
ed by FIFA to provide ticketing, ac-
commodation and event information
technology during the 2010 World
Cup event in South Africa.
“If all goes according to plan, it
means the value of inventory sold to
MATCH per day is in the region of
R1.4 million and this over the event
period will amount to an impressive
R 52.5 million based on two people
per unit inclusive of dinner, bed and
breakfast and activity.”
Other contracted parks closer to
the World Cup matches are Addo El-
ephant National Park, Garden Route
National Park which incorporates
formerly Wilderness, Tsitsikamma
and the Knysna Lake Area, Mar-
akele, and Golden Gate Highlands
National Parks.
kruger park times - 6 - kruger park times
SANParks to auction rhino, buffalo
South African National Parks (SAN-
Parks) will auction twenty white rhino from
the Kruger National Park (KNP) as well as
eland bulls from Mountain Zebra Nation-
al Park at the annual Kirkwood Auction
on June 20. SANParks earned the highest
price for a single
adult white rhino
bull which went for
R640 000 at last
year’s auction.
Proceeds of
the sale of SAN-
Parks wildlife on
the game auc-
tion are ploughed
into SANParks’
Park Development
Fund, a fund which is used to expand and
develop the national park system.
The Kirkwood Wildlife auction, which
raised R11 million in 2008, is now the sec-
ond largest auction in the country. Bidders
from far and wide will converge at the Kirk-
wood Wildlife Festival grounds for the auc-
tion.
Addo buffalo
Twenty-two Addo buffalo will be up for
sale at the auction. The buffalo will be sold
in four family groups consisting of a bull
and several cows as well as six individual
breeding bulls and one individual subadult
bull. The buffalo have already been cap-
tured and are being held in the bomas at
Researchers closer to the
ultimate green ‘fridge magnet’
Scientists are a step closer to making
environmentally-friendly ‘magnetic’ refrig-
erators and air conditioning systems a real-
ity, thanks to new research published in the
May issue of Advanced Materials.
Magnetic refrigeration technology could
provide a ‘green’ alternative to traditional
energy-guzzling gas-compression fridges
and air conditioners. They would require
20-30% less energy to run than the best
systems currently available, and would not
rely on ozone-depleting chemicals or green-
house gases. Refrigeration and air condi-
tioning units make a major contribution
to the planet’s energy consumption - in the
USA in the summer months they account
for approximately 50% of the country’s en-
Addo Elephant National Park for the test-
ing necessary to confirm their disease-free
status.
Addo buffalo are traditionally much
sought-after as breeding stock due to the
absence of diseases such as bovine tuber-
culosis, corridor disease
and foot-and-mouth dis-
ease in the herd. Addo
Elephant National Park
is home to the largest
disease-free buffalo herd
in South Africa.
Other game
Also on auction for
the first time will be
four family herds of the endangered Cape
mountain zebra. These family herds will be
captured in Mountain Zebra National Park
which now boasts over 500 of the endan-
gered zebra. They will be sold on catalogue
at the auction.
Bushveld Game Capture will host a fam-
ily herd of Burchell’s zebra as well as bles-
bok family groups and breeding rams in
Addo’s bomas. Breeding groups of various
antelope as well as giraffe will also be sold
on catalogue at the auction.
Bidders can view the wildlife on auction
before the sale at Addo Elephant National
Park, RiverBend and Shamwari bomas. For
further information on the auction, contact
Jan Pienaar on 082 5721516 or John Aden-
dorff on 082 9084160.
ergy use.
A magnetic refrigeration system works by
applying a magnetic field to a magnetic ma-
terial - some of the most promising being
metallic alloys - causing it to heat up. This
excess heat is removed from the system by
water, cooling the material back down to its
original temperature. When the magnetic
field is removed the material cools down
even further, and it is this cooling property
that researchers hope to harness for a wide
variety of cooling applications.
Researchers are still looking for improved
materials that provide highly efficient cool-
ing at normal room temperatures, so that
the technology can be rolled out from the
lab to people’s homes and businesses.
South Africa’s bustards threatened
South Africa’s bustards are in trouble,
with six of the country’s ten species listed in The Denham’s Bustard has a
the South African Red Data Book. “They spectacular display (photog-
are threatened by a variety of factors”, says rapher: Mathew Prophet).
Mark Anderson, executive director of Bird-
Life South Africa “…with some of the most
important threats being habitat destruction
and power-line mortalities”.
BirdLife South Africa is concerned about
the precarious conservation status of the
country’s bustards and korhaans. At a work-
shop in Johannesburg in May, the status,
threats and necessary conservation mea-
sures relevant to these birds were discussed
by the country’s bustard experts.
Populations of Ludwig’s bustard and
Denham’s bustard are probably in decline
due to a single mortality factor, collisions
with the cables of power-lines. “These birds
fly in groups during low light conditions and
due to their limited manoeuvrability are not
able to avoid electricity cables in their flight
path”, says Jon Smallie, manager of the En-
dangered Wildlife Trust’s (EWT) Wildlife has been estimated to only number between the South African Red Data Book. It pre-
Energy Interaction Group (WEIG) and the 56,000 and 81,000 individuals. The thought fers tall, undisturbed grassland, and is thus
Eskom-EWT Strategic Partnership. Studies that we could be potentially losing them at a threatened by human population pressure
by Anderson and the University of Cape rate of over 10,000 birds killed annually by and inappropriate farm management. The
Town’s Dr Andrew Jenkins, have found that this factor alone is terrifying”. white-bellied korhaan is also found in cen-
on average across six patrolled sites, about The blue korhaan, which mainly inhabits tral, west and east Africa, but there is some
one Ludwig’s bustard collides per kilometre grasslands in the central and eastern regions debate about whether the South African
of power-line per year at these sites. of South Africa, is severely threatened by population is a separate species (Barrow’s
There are approximately 16,000 km of afforestation, crop farming, overgrasing, korhaan). If genetically distinct, there is
transmission (>132000volts) power-lines burning, urbanisation and mining. Analy- even more pressure on South African con-
crisscrossing the Karoo indicating the po- ses of information from the Coordinated servationists to attend to the numerous
tential severity of this problem. The Es- Avifaunal Roadcount Project (CAR) suggest threats which are impacting on this threat-
kom-EWT Partnership’s Central Incident that this korhaan has “…declined in both ened species.
Register documents no less than 265 con- numbers and range during recent years”, It was decided at the bustard workshop,
firmed Ludwig’s bustard mortalities from stated Donella Young, the CAR coordina- which was made possible through funding
power-lines. In response, Eskom is currently tor at the University of Cape Town’s Ani- from E. Oppenheimer and Son, that a bus-
funding research into bustard collision mal Demography Unit. The blue korhaan tard working group would be formed under
rates, movement patterns and visual acuity is only found in South Africa and margin- the auspices of BirdLife South Africa. The
– all critical aspects if we are to mitigate this ally in western Lesotho, so we have an im- group will have several aims, but will focus,
threat. portant obligation to protect this localised at least initially, on disseminating informa-
According to David Allan, ornithologist at species. tion about bustards to the relevant authori-
the Durban Natural Science Museum and a The white-bellied korhaan, another spe- ties and stakeholders, prioritizing research
world authority on the biology of bustards, cies that is restricted to the grasslands and needs, and determining urgent conserva-
“The global population of Ludwig’s bustard open thornveld, is listed as vulnerable in tion interventions.

The Bustard/Korhaan Workshop was attended by South Africa’s bustard experts (photographer: Geoff Lockwood).

kruger park times - 7 - kruger park times

 Newsclips
Zimbabwe de-horns
rhinos to curb
poaching
The Zimbabwe government has
launched a massive exercise to de-
horn rhinoceroses so that these ani-
mals do not have any value for poach-
ers, a media report said.
Environment and Natural Re-
sources Management Minister Fran-
cis Nhema said the de-horning exer-
cise would remove the “incentives”
for poaching.
Rhinos are reportedly poached for
its horns that are used in traditional
Chinese medicines. Some people be-
lieve the horn contains aphrodisiac
properties.
He said the black rhinos are most
vulnerable to poaching. “We are de-
horning some of the rhinos so that
there would not be any incentives for
poaching,” the minister was quoted
as having said by the Daily Mail.
Nhema said the exercise is among
the preventative measures in place af-
ter reports that more than 80 black
rhinos fell prey to poachers in the past
12 months. The government has also
relocated some of the rhinos to en-
sure protection.
The de-horning process must be
repeated every few years as horns
grow back, he said, while calling for
harsher punishments against poach-
ers.
“The fines that are in place now are
not deterrent enough to stop people
from poaching and there is a need to
impose heavy fines,” he said.
The wildlife sanctuaries have en-
tered into a strategic joint manage-
ment partnership with the police and
the army to combat poaching, the
minister added.
Zimbabwe has an estimated 800
black and white rhinoceroses.
Source: http://blog.taragana.
com/n/zimbabwe-de-horns-rhinos-
to-curb-poaching-68177/
kruger park times - 8 - kruger park times
New vulture restaurant and hide
in Phalaborwa region
South African vultures are facing ever-
increasing threats. Of the nine vulture spe-
cies that occur in South Africa, seven are
listed in the Eskom Red Data Book of Birds
of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
The main cause of the demise of this im-
portant raptor group is a declining food
source, although other issues such as loss of
foraging areas, electrocution on electricity
pylons, and inadvertent poisoning also have
a strong influence on their numbers.
The Kruger to Canyons Birding Route, a
BirdLife South Africa project, has recently
been involved in developing a number of
infrastructure development projects in the
Lowveld including the establishment of a
vulture restaurant and hide on the Grietjie
Private Nature Reserve, 20 km south of
Phalaborwa. The reserve forms part of the
Greater Kruger National Park.
The purpose of this new viewing hide
is threefold. Its main purpose is to provide
exceptional, close-up views of these mag-
nificent birds, but more importantly it will
serve as an educational facility highlighting
the plight of vulture populations in south-
ern Africa which are in a drastic state of de-
cline. As well as reaching birders, BirdLife
South Africa plans to bring school groups
to the hide to show them the importance
of vultures in the ecology of the Lowveld,
as well as to dispel the myths surrounding
the birds. Lastly the hide will also be used
by sister organisations, such as the Endan-
The vulture restaurant is easily accessible and open to the public. Reservations
can be made through Ian Owtram ian@antares.co.za or 0832868281, or through
the reserve warden on 0788758722.
gered Wildlife Trust, who play a critical role
in monitoring vulture populations in the
Lowveld.
Carcasses are normally only put down
at the weekends, ensuring that the birds do
not become dependent on the additional
food source. This vulture restaurant is one
of just a few that are located within the re-
serve and hyaena and other carnivores fre-
quent the carcasses.
Spotted Hyaenas are particularly useful in
breaking up the remaining bones from old
carcasses, and vulture restaurants such as
this have been proven to increase the breed-
ing success of vultures by providing bone
fragments which substantially increases the
calcium content of their diet.
Mark Anderson, executive director of
BirdLife South Africa, officially opened the
vulture restaurant on 20 March 2009. Since
then all five locally occurring vulture species
have become regular customers. The visitor
book also reveals that it is not uncommon to
find yourself surrounded by more than 150
vultures during feeding time.
The vulture restaurant is easily accessible
and open to the public. Reservations can be
made through Ian Owtram ian@antares.
co.za or 0832868281, or through the re-
serve warden on 0788758722. A small fee
of R30/person is charged which will go di-
rectly back into maintenance and providing
carcasses for the vultures.
Wood carvings used to attract
cranes to bird-watching site
The small town of Wakkerstroom is fa-
mous for its endemic grassland and wetland
birds, and ecotourists come from far and
wide to experience the area’s well known
birdwatching opportunities. Although the
special birds mainly include smaller species,
such as Rudd’s and Botha’s lark and yellow-
breasted pipit, one of Wakkerstroom’s main
attractions is its cranes.
Three species of crane, grey crowned
crane, blue crane and wattled crane, occur
in South Africa, and all are found at Wak-
kerstroom.
Some of Wakkerstroom’s birds migrate to
warmer climes during the winter months,
but others remain. The grey crowned
cranes is one species which remains in this
area, sometimes in large numbers.
As an additional tourist attraction, Bird-
Life South Africa now lures cranes to its
winter feeding site using life-size wooden
decoys. Maize grain is put out regularly for
the cranes in front of BirdLife South Africa’s
Muzi Makhubu carving
a Grey Crowned Crane
from an alien species
tree.
kruger park times - 9 - kruger park times
crane hide at the Wakkerstroom wetland. nity of Wakkerstroom to benefit from bird
Four wooden crane decoys have been tourism, it is important that they align their
made from alien, invasive trees obtained activities to the needs of the birders” said
from local farmers. The decoys are very re- Hansco Banda, who is the Wakkerstroom
alistic and similar in size and colour to grey project site manager for BirdLife South Af-
crowned cranes and, at first glance, they rica’s Community Based Conservation Di-
fool most bird-watchers. vision.
The decoys were made by the very tal- BirdLife South Africa is also engaged
ented Muzi Makhubu, who is from the in a farm-worker outreach programme, in
Indalo Carving Project. Muzi is a local en- collaboration with the Endangered Wild-
trepreneur and his wood-carving business life Trust’s South African Crane Working
is supported by BirdLife South Africa. His Group, which educates farm workers and
wooden art-work has become a sought-after farm schools about conservation issues, in-
souvenir by visitors to Wakkerstroom. cluding bird conservation.
Muzi says that “I never thought that carv-
ing could be linked to tourism and bird con-
servation, but this example is
evidence that it can”. A Grey Crowned Crane (right) inquisitively dis-
Muzi’s workshop is at Bird- plays to the wooden decoy at the feeding site
Life South Africa’s Wakkerst- in front of BirdLife South Africa’s Crane Hide.
room Centre and it is visited
by many birders and other
ecotourists. “For the commu-

200-bed luxury hotel proposed for
Kruger National Park
South African National Parks (SANParks)
has called for proposals in respect of Pub-
lic Private Partnership projects for the pro-
posed Malelane Hotel development close to
the Malelane gate in the Kruger National
Park (KNP).
The proposed development is set to pro-
vide a new facility in the park that is differ-
ent from the existing rest camps. The new
development is within the approved KNP
Management Plan and the Commercializa-
tion Strategy which has already delivered
seven concession lodges in the KNP.
“SANParks is primarily focussed on bio-
diversity conservation and is dependent on
government funding to perform the envi-
ronmental public good.
With government priorities being fo-
cussed on providing health services, edu-
cation, municipal service-delivery, hous-
ing and other pressing needs, conservation
grant funding is static and diminishing in
real terms. SANParks has, over the past few
years, supplemented the shortfall in funding
through its successful ecotourism business
without deviating from its core mandate.
As such, SANParks needs to continually
keep abreast with the top tourist destina-
tions by improving its product and appeal-
ing to a wider range of visitors in the 21st
Century.
The inbound tourism market and the
emerging middle class have repeatedly de-
manded a product that provides a full ser-
vice in addition to the
safari experience
without “Disney-fi-
cation of the park”,
according to a SAN-
Parks press state-
ment.
“The KNP cur-
rently offers self-
catering facilities
throughout the park
which are hugely
popular but falls
short in meeting
the expectations of
the current genera-
tion who want a full
service safari experi-
ence that includes
modern conference
and support facili-
ties.
kruger park times - 10 - kruger park times
?
The proposed “hotel” will be a full-ser- and-ride” ser-
vice facility that will be constructed on the vice very simi-
periphery of the park at the Malelane Gate lar to that of
Precinct.” private game
Dr David Mabunda, chief executive of lodges. “So in-
SANParks said that this was in line with stead of hav-
the peripheral development policy which ing a typical
allow for development on the periphery of N1 Highway
the park rather than within the park where traffic conges-
there will be a greater ecological impact. tion with at What do you
The geographical location of the facility least two oc- think about this
will make it accessible for 24 hours and elim- cupants driv- proposal. E-mail
inate the undesirable risk associated with ing through
late arrivals driving to the nearest camp. the park, we
your view to
“The 200 bed facility is not going to be a will have these krugerparktimes
high-rise building in the mould of the gen- cars neatly @vectorbb.co.za
eral perception of a hotel with the “bells tucked away
and whistles” of a city hotel but a develop- and fill up ex-
ment in line with the hall-mark SANParks isting park game drive vehicles which are
environmental ambience that will compli- running at 50% occupancy to enhance the
ment its surroundings. It will provide full game-viewing experience in the most ap-
meals, laundry services as well as regular propriate style and help towards reducing
tours through the park. There will be no de- the menace of traffic on the park’s roads,”
marcated traversing area for the hotel as is he explained.
the case with the luxury lodges.” The proposed facility will not be built on
“This “hotel”, which is what we are call- pristine land, because the area identified for
ing it for want of a better word, will have a the development is an old road construction
much smaller footprint in the park as com- camp and a quarry , but SANParks, has
pared to the existing camps that have be- specified in its call for proposals that the re-
tween 300 and 600 beds,” said Dr Mabun- quired EIA’s must be conducted.
da. “We had to design the concept and pro-
He also emphasised that guest to the hotel vide specifications first before weighing its
will not be driving in the park as guests of possible impacts on the ecology.
the camps do, they will be offered a “park- All applicable environmental scrutiny will
be applied indepen-
dently and we are
confident that all
EIA’s will reflect its
ecological feasibil-
ity.
Its impact will
definitely be far less
than the sprawling
towns of Skukuza
and Satara.
Who knows this
might be the be-
ginning of a new
era – the camps in
the core of the park
moving to the pe-
riphery by 2059?”
concluded Dr.
Mabunda.
New 4x4 Eco-Trails Open at
Karoo National Park
Two new 4x4 eco-trails have opened at
the Karoo National Park near Beaufort
West.
The new trails provide an opportunity for
visitors to experience a new area of the al-
most 90 000-hectare Karoo National Park.
Routes are open only to visitors with 4x4
vehicles.
The Nuweveld Trail follows a 90-kilo-
metre route into the western section of the
Park, starting off the relatively new Potlek-
kertjie Loop which was opened in October
2008. Approximately 50 kilometres of this
trail is a Grade one 4x4 trail with some
steep, rocky sections and sandy dry river
crossings.
The first section of the Nuweveld Trail
travels through riverine thicket before head-
ing onto the plains and then climbing onto
the foothills of the Nuweveld Mountains.
The route then heads onto the lower plains
in the Sandrivier area, before linking up
again with the Potlekkertjie Loop via the
Afsaal Trail.
About 20 kilometres from the start of the
trail, visitors will find the Embizweni Cot-
tage which provides an ideal place for an
overnight stay in a remote and tranquil lo-
cation.
kruger park times - 11 - kruger park times
Embizweni Cottage has spectacular views
of the Nuweveld Mountains to the east and
the area is frequented by large herds of
eland, gemsbok and individual black rhino.
Cape mountain zebra, red hartebeest and
kudu can also be seen as well as Verraux’s
eagle and kori and Ludwig’s bustard.
The cottage provides fully-equipped ac-
commodation for six people with a gas-
powered stove, fridge and geysers as well
as solar-powered lights. A fireplace in the
living room provides a cosy atmosphere in
winter.
The shorter Afsaal Trail is a 13-kilometre
route which provides a challenging drive in
wet conditions. The trail, commencing off
the Potlekkertjie Loop, travels south and
then east before linking up with the Potlek-
kertjie Loop again.
Visitors can enjoy both the Nuweveld
and Afsaal Routes free of charge. A stay
in Embizweni Cottage is very affordable
with rates starting from R600-00 for four
people.
For more information, please telephone
Karoo National Park on 023 4152828 or
Email karooreservations@sanparks.org
Heritage sites in Kruger restored
Honorary rangers (HR), Johan and Col-
leen Kotze, restored 55 heritage sites in the
Kruger National Park to their glimmering
best.
Under the auspices of the HR Higveld
Region, the Kotzes started the project on
September 4 last year. First on the agenda
were 31 plaques in the southern region
camps – Crocodile Bridge, Lower Sabie,
Pretoriuskop and Berg-en-Dal.
On February 3, 2009, the Kotze team
inspected and cleaned 12 sites in Skukuza,
Satara and Olifants camps.
On May 19, 2008 they began the north-
ern leg of their project, which included
eight sites from Letaba to Pafuri.
“A full report was submitted to Thanyani
Madzhuta of the heritage division in the
Kruger National Park,” says Johan.
“The exercise revealed that a number of
plaques are missing or have deteriorated
over the years. Sanparks will put a program
in place under the leadership of Thanyani
as to how these plaques will be replaced.”
The HR Higveld Region is chaired by
Willie de Beer, Hoffie Sutherland Vice
Chairman, Dennis Botha Treasurer and
Anja Botha Secretary.

before AFTER

Mokala walk away with

Obituary: BRUCE ROBERT BRYDEN
Bruce Brydon passed away on
the 16 May 2009 due to malaria.
Bruce was born in Johannes-
burg, RSA and was awarded a
Bachelor of Science degree from
the University of the Witwa-
tersrand, followed by Honours in
Wildlife Management at Pretoria
University. In
1971 he started his career in the
Kruger National Park as a gradu-
ate assistant biologist.
He progressed through the
ranks as a Section Ranger, District
Ranger, Park Warden of Karoo
National
Park (1977-80) and Regional
Ranger to become Chief Ranger
in 1983 (in the meantime he man-
aged to successfully complete his
Masters in Wildlife Management
in 1976). He became Head of
Conservation
Support Services and held vari-
ous positions until his retirement in
2001. Since then until his untimely
death, he and his wife Helena have
been living in Knysna.
He is the author of the bestseller
book “A Game Ranger Remem-
bers” (2005). It is a collection of
stories about the life of a bushveld
conservationist as it is lived at the
ground level by that elite band of
men and woman who guard the
Kruger National Park – at the cost
of much sweat and tears and, not
infrequently, quite a bit of blood.
They have two children – Annie,
now married to Glen and Robert –
and a grandson, Bryden.
It is with great sorrow that we
heard the news of the passing away
of Bruce. He will be remembered
with fondness and respect by his
former colleagues and friends in
Conservation and in the GRAA of
which he was a Professional Mem-
ber (209). On behalf of the Afri-
can Committee of the GRAA and
the membership of the GRAA we
would like to extend our deepest
condolences to the family during
this very difficult time.
Source: Game Rangers Asso-
ciation of Africa (Cleft Stick, May
2009)
Welcome award
Mokala was announced the winner in the Parks
and Nature Reserves category of the 2008 Welcome
Awards at an awards ceremony held at South Africa’s
premier tourism showcase, INDABA in Durban in
May.
The park is situated approximately 80 kilometers
south-southwest of Kimberley, and west of the N12
freeway to Cape Town.
The Welcome Awards were founded four years ago
with the express intention of improving service levels
in the tourism sector. The judging process includes pre-
arranged visits and interviews by the Welcome Awards
project team, as well as mystery visits by trained in-
dividuals posing as customers. Winners are chosen
based on the value they add to customer expectations;
on their commitment to excellence in serving custom-
ers; and on exceeding visitor expectations…. “and it is
clear that Mokala has outdone itself in ensuring that
our customer experience value for their hard earned
cash - we really pride ourself with this achievement,”
says SANParks, general manager media, events and
etakeholder relations, Reynold Thakhuli.
Mokala is the Setswana name for ‘Camel Thorn’,
named after the trees that occur in the dry woodland
and arid sandy areas of the desert regions of Southern
Africa. The Camel Thorn is a great resource to both
the wildlife and humans who inhabit these areas, with
the gum and bark of the trees often used by the local
tribes to treat coughs, colds and nosebleeds.

kruger park times - 12 - kruger park times

The influence of fire on mopane and red
bushwillow trees in Gonarezhou
The influence of fire on mopane and red
bushwillow trees in Gonarezhou
A paper on the “Influence of fire frequen-
cy on Colophospermum mopane and Combretum
apiculatum woodland structure and compo-
sition in northern Gonarezhou National
Park, Zimbabwe” appears in the latest issue
of the SANParks journal, Koedoe.
In short
We investigated the long-term effects of
fire frequency on Colophospermum mopane and
Combretum apiculatum woodland structure
and composition in northern Gonarezhou
National Park (GNP), Zimbabwe. Fire fre-
quency was categorised as high (every 1–2
years), medium (every 3–4 years) and low
(every 5–6 years). The following variables
were measured or recorded: plant height,
species name, canopy depth and diameter,
basal circumference, number of stems per
plant, plant status (dead or alive) and num-
ber of woody plants in a plot.
Bookings open for Addo Birding Weekend
Avid birders should hurry to make
their bookings for the Sasol Addo Bird-
ing Weekend which will be held in Addo
Elephant National Park from 23 to 25
October 2009.
The weekend of birding will offer a
wonderful opportunity to experience the
diverse biomes of Addo Elephant Na-
tional Park and the chance to spot over
400 bird species.
Organised by the Addo Honorary
Rangers, birding activities will feature a
choice of excursions which include trips
to the marine area of the Park around
St. Croix Island and the arid Karoo area
around the large expanse of Darlington
Dam.
Birders will join groups birding in sev-
en different areas of Addo Elephant Na-
tional Park. A 4x4 excursion will explore
the Nyathi area of the park while another
group will visit the Sundays River estuary
kruger park times - 13 - kruger park times
There was a positive correlation (r = 0.55,
P = 0.0007) between annual area burnt (to-
tal from January to December) and annual
rainfall (average over two rain stations per
rain year, July to June) between 1972 and
2005.
A total of 64 woody species were record-
ed from C.mopane and C. apiculatum wood-
lands. Mean plant height increased from
4.5 to 8.2 meters in C. mopane woodland and
from 4.5 to 5.1 meters in C.apiculatum wood-
land in areas subjected to high and low fire
frequencies. In C. mopane woodland, low
fire frequency was characterised by a sig-
nificantly low density of woody plants (P
< 0.001), however, with a significantly high
mean basal area (P < 0.001). Fire frequency
had no significant effect on species diversity
(P > 0.05).
Our results suggest that C. mopane and C.
apiculatum woodlands are in a state of struc-
tural transformation. Fire frequency effects,
however, appear to be woodland specific.
and adjacent coastline with its good tern
and wader sightings. The group visiting
the marine area around St. Croix Island
by boat will view the African penguin col-
ony on the island as well as pelagic birds
such as skuas, petrels and shearwaters.
Birders based in the park’s main game
area can count on thicket species such as
the southern tchagra as well as Denham’s
bustard and blue crane in the grassland
patches. Fitter participants can explore
the forests and fynbos of the Zuurberg
Mountains on foot to sight birds from Afri-
can crowned eagles to longtailed wagtails.
Those based in the Park’s Woody Cape
area near Alexandria will explore the in-
digenous coastal forests which are home
to trumpeter hornbill. Birders visited the
Park’s northern-most Darlington area will
look for birds such as the Namaqua war-
bler on the arid land and spoonbills and
lesser flamingo on the vast lake.
Fire management strategies in GNP
should take into consideration annual rain-
fall and the different vegetation types.
Conservation implication: This study pro-
vides valuable information on fire frequen-
cy effects on woody vegetation in northern
GNP, which can be used in fire management
programmes for the park. The positive rela-
tionship between annual rainfall and annual
area burnt emphasises the need for wildlife
managers to consider annual rainfall in fire
management.
“We hope that you will visit us soon at
www.koedoe.co.za and be enlightened by
the articles we will be publishing through-
out 2009,” says title operations coordinator,
Liezel Grunewald.
For more information on this article visit
http://www.koedoe.co.za/index.php/koe-
doe/index
Prizes will be presented at an evening
braai function and there is an optional
afternoon training session on birding and
identification. A variety of accommoda-
tion units, as well as camping facilities will
be made available in the Addo Elephant
National Park.
Sasol has provided sponsorship for
logistics and prizes while Glendower
whisky has also sponsored some prizes.
Funds raised by the Honorary Rangers
birding weekend will go towards funding
conservation support work, research and
upgrade of facilities for the benefit of all
visitors to the Park.
Bookings for the birding weekend close
on 31 July 2009. For more information,
contact Deon and Mileen De Vos on de-
ondv@telkomsa.net or Tel: 041 966 1297
or 082 775 4998.
Staff changes at popular Kruger concession
Singita Game Reserves announced a
number of key managerial appointments.
Jason Trollip has taken over from Tony
Romer-Lee as general manager of Sin-
gita Sabi Sand, comprising Singita Ebony
and Boulders lodges, and Castleton Camp.
Romer-Lee has taken up the position of re-
sort manager with One&Only Cape Town
after three years with Singita in the Sabi
Sand.
Trollip joined Singita in 2003 and has
for the past six years held the position of
general manager Singita Kruger National
Park, situated on Singita’s private conces-
sion that comprises Singita Lebombo and
Sweni lodges. With a genuine passion for
conservation, Mpumalanga born Trollip
has played an important role in the estab-
lishment of the Singita concession, and has
displayed a unique understanding of the re-
quirements of guests and staff alike.
Singita welcomed Caroline Burke who
took over as general manager of Singita
Lebombo and Sweni lodges. Burke is well-
known in the travel and safari industry for
her professionalism and customer care ex-
cellence, bringing with her extensive expe-
rience, that includes 12 years in key man-
agement positions with CC Africa (now Jason Trollip
re-branded &Beyond).
Singita is also proud to announce that af-
ter just over three years with Singita Game
Reserves, Moses Nkuna has been promoted
to lodge manager at Singita Sweni lodge
in the Kruger National Park. Nkuna has
proved himself here as a competent and
caring host, and also brings with him expe-
rience gained at the Coach House Hotel in
Tzaneen, Grande Roche Hotel in Paarl, as
well as The Queens Hotel in Leeds, Eng-
land.
In Tanzania, Singita Grumeti Reserves
has appointed Mandy Cloete as lodge man-
ager Singita Sasakwa. Having taken time
off to complete her MBA degree, Cloete re-
turns to Singita where she previously served
as lodge manager Singita Sweni. Hence she
not only has a complete understanding of
the Singita ethos and its guest profile, but
also brings with her experience gained at
other exclusive private game reserves, as
well as enthusiasm for East Africa and the
offerings of Singita Grumeti Reserves and
the Serengeti.

Environmental
consciousness recognised
Umlani Bushcamp in the Timbavati Pri-
vate Nature Reserve in South Africa was
presented with The Wilderness Foundations
sought after Green Leaf at an awards cer-
emony at the Indaba International Travel
Trade Show in Durban.
Marco Schiess, owner of Umlani Bush-
camp says “Ian Player has been an inspi-
ration to me all my life, my association
with the Wilderness Leadership School
has formed the principles by which we run
Umlani. It is a great honour for me to be
certified by the Wilderness Foundation as
the Green Leaf standard is everything that
Umlani stands for”.
“With global warming and climate
change a reality. The tourism industry has
the responsibility in protecting the integrity
of our environment and has the opportu-
nity to educate their guests. The Wilderness
Foundations Awards encourages tourism
role players to reduce the effects of con-
sumption on our environment and improve
upon environmental management and
awareness in an eco friendly manner”, adds
Schiess.
The Wilderness Foundation, founded in
1972 by Dr. Ian Player and Magqubu Ntom-
bela, is a conservation organisation that
encourages, plans and manages wild lands
and wilderness areas, uplifts the knowledge
and lives of historically disadvantaged citi-
zens, and stimulates an environmental ethos
among current and future leaders.
Umlani is also a member Fair Trade in
Tourism South Africa. “Everything we do
is influenced by our commitment to respon-
sible tourism. This means that we take great
care to treat people and the environment
with respect by actively minimising the neg-
ative impact on our surroundings and make
a positive contribution whenever possible”
states Schiess
Umlani Bushcamp based in the heart of
world famous Timbavati, which is now part
of an open system with the Kruger National
Park, is becoming well known as a specialist
in providing visitors with a close to nature
wilderness adventure in a responsible way.
Tree identification
in the Lowveld
Eugene Moll will facilitate a five day
(six nights) tree identification course at
The Southern African Wildlife Col-
lege (SAWC), taking place from Sun-
day evening 30th August to Saturday
morning 5th September 2009. The
course will also focus on some of the
plant ecological issues facing the KNP
and Timbavati area in particular.
The cost of this course is R5,500.00
per person inclusive of food and ac-
commodation at the SAWC, transport
for fieldwork and armed guard, and
two night drives.
The SAWC is some 10km west of the
Orpen Gate to the KNP on the north-
ern side of the tarred road and some
70km from Hoedspruit. The SAWC is
2km off the tarred road and the 30ha
campus has an electric perimeter fence.
A minimum of 10 and a maximum of
20 people are required to make this
course possible.
Should you be interested in joining
the group please contact Alice Moll
on amoll@telkomsa.net for further de-
tails.

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Daniel Myburg - Can you feel that
The 2009 SANParks Amateur
Photographic Competition winners
SANParks announced the winners of the
2009 SANParks Amateur Photogrpahic
Competition in 12 categories.
The photographs were submitted accord-
ing to the type of camera used, that of the
the DSLR and Compact and categorised
into sections of landscapes, portrait, ani-
mals and insects, human activity, plants and
black and white.
The winners are:
kruger park times - 15 - kruger park times
Valerie Blanca - Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
DSLR
• Portrait: Jaycee Rousseau - Grubs Up!
• Animals & Insects: Daniel Myburg -
Can you feel that?
• Black & White: Mario Moreno - Zebra
Family in Plains Camp
• Human Activity: Karlwim Heese - Re-
turning home with the sunset
• Plants: Valerie Blanca - KTP
• Landscapes: Katja Soehngen - Kalahari
cloud
Compact
• Portrait: Nico Steenberg - Pied king-
fisher
• Animals & Insects: Ken Mackay - Sec-
retary Bird
• Black & White: Trevor Lagerwall - El-
ephant
• Human Activity: Marijke Arends-Meir-
ing - Hyena versus Yellow Ribbon
• Plants: Corli Meiring - Yellow flowers
• Landscapes: Muhammad Mia - Sabie
River Sunrise
During the course of the
2009 Amateur Photographic
Competition, 1 046 submis-
sions have been received, com-
pared to last year’s 420 submis-
sions:
DSLR Submissions
Landscapes - 95; Portrait -
185; Animals and Insects - 173;
Human Activity – 57; Plants –
51; Black and White - 84.
Compact Submissions
Landscapes – 69; Portrait-
86; Animals and Insects – 100;
Human Activities - 54 ; Plants
– 41; Black and White - 42
For more information log on
to www.sanparks.org
Ken Mackay -
Secretary Bird
Hunting can help protect wildlife in
South Africa
In the Sunday Independent of May 17,
2009, David Mabunda, chief executive of-
ficer of SANParks (South African National
Parks) commented in hunting in South Af-
rica,
The business of conservation is one that
lends itself to a number of contestations ev-
ery now and then as everyone sees their im-
portant role in protecting or owning mother
nature.
As a business and a science it is still very
young, in most countries no older than a 100
years or so. Because of this relative newness
of this area you find that there are any num-
ber of stakeholders who have diverse and
differing views on how business should be
conducted by conservation authorities in
order to ensure continued income.
The recently revived debate on hunt-
ing on the borders of the Kruger National
Park, our national and international icon, is
one that is also squarely based in this public
discourse of who has the environment’s best
interests at heart. Unfortunately nobody
ever wins this debate because it often de-
generates into emotional and unconstruc-
tive speculations.
Hunting in South Africa is a sport that
is legal and regulated by law. The legisla-
tion that regulates the establishment and
management of protected areas makes spe-
cific provisions for sustainable resource use,
which includes hunting.
The National Environmental Manage-
ment Act: Protected Areas Amendment Act
31 of 2004, clause 50 (1) allows the manage-
ment authority of a national park to enter
into a written agreement with a community
resident inside or adjacent to the park to al-
low members of the community to use in a
sustainable manner the biological resources
in the park.
This is aimed at promoting sustainable
utilisation of protected areas for the benefit
of people, in a manner that would preserve
the ecological character of such areas. The
NEMA: Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004 also
makes provision for the use of biological re-
sources in a sustainable manner.
Hunting is also recognised by the IUCN
(World Conservation Union) as a sustain-
able form of use of natural resources which
is able to generate a high level of income.
It is practised in many parts of the world
around national parks which act as the
source for natural resources, much in the
same way that sustainable fishing around
marine protected areas can occur in perpe-
kruger park times - 16 - kruger park times
tuity if those areas are
properly protected and
fishing is controlled
professionally and sci-
entifically.
South African Na-
tional Parks (SANParks)
is not opposed to hunt-
ing in buffer areas as
long as it is done trans-
parently and accord-
ing to the management
plans and protocols
that have been agreed
to between the adjoin-
ing land owners and
SANParks.
It is important to
note that there is a
marked difference be-
tween protected areas
and game reserves - most of which are pri- hunting permits are evaluated and issued
vately owned - as well as between different by the respective provinces.
types of protected areas. SANParks does not have the mandate or
Simply put, a protected area is a recogn- the jurisdiction to regulate hunting in any
ised geographical area that will be protected area, be it private land or provincial man-
by whatever means for its ecological, historic aged land. The former Minister of Environ-
or cultural value over a long period of time mental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van
and may also include a tourism element. Schalkwyk, started a process which sought
Within the suite of protected areas there to further regulate the hunting of wildlife.
are various levels of protection accorded At present the current draft Norms and
to a range of parks, varying from national Standards for Hunting Nationally have
parks, to provincial reserves and right at the been developed, which would put a stop
bottom protected environments. Game re- to undesirable forms of hunting such as
serves are specifically designed for tourism canned hunting.
and as such, may include activities such as Although hunting is not one of the activi-
hunting of the wildlife kept in the areas. ties on offer to visitors to national parks (and
Because of the high status of protection we do not envisage that it will become one
accorded to national parks, extractive forms any time in the future) we support the game
of resource-use, such as hunting and min- farming and hunting industry as a form of
ing, are not permitted within the boundar- land use that is sympathetic to biodiversity
ies of the national park. conservation.
The fact that land-holders in buffer zones
Buffer zones to national parks may derive income from
sustainable hunting, is one of a range of in-
In this context it should be understood centives for them to keep the land in a state
then that land on the buffer zones of na- that is compatible with the maintenance of
tional parks, though legally contracted to or wildlife.
entered into formal agreement for the drop-
ping of fences, is not national park land.
The hunting occurring on the borders Contractual national parks
of Kruger National Park is actually tak-
ing place in the buffer zones - private land In the case of contractual national parks,
which is largely managed by the provinces, we accept that our contractual partners may
communities or private individuals. derive income from sustainable use of wild-
Because hunting is regulated in SA one life, including hunting, if they so wish.
needs to have a specific hunting permit in
order to practice such. Applications for continues on page 17
Hunting can help protect wildlife in
South Africa
continued from page 16
It is important to further note that of
South Africa’s 122 million ha, only 7.5 mil-
lion ha consists of state protected areas with
17 million ha of protected land in private
hands.
In its bid to increase land under protec-
tion from the current six percent to 10 per-
cent by 2012, the government may rely a lot
on the contributions of the private sector.
One must realise that the private sector re-
lies a lot on the optimal, though sustainable,
use of the land under its management.
In a number of these private establish-
ments trophy hunting brings in a substantial
amount of revenue which is put back into
managing the area to make the industry self-
sustainable. Some revenue is also allocated
towards community outreach programmes.
For example, the Professional Hunters’
Association of South Africa (Phasa) has
established a Wildlife Conservation Fund
that, according to them, seeks to sustain the
hunting industry and to assist with the regu-
Climate Change Threatens
Blue Crane Stronghold
The Blue Crane has found an unlikely
haven on farmlands in the Western Cape,
but climate change threatens to put an end
to this. The Endangered Wildlife Trust
(EWT) is keeping a close eye on the situa-
tion so that it can act timeously to avoid a
major loss.
“The mosaic of wheat farms and pastures
in the agricultural areas of the Western
Cape has given Blue Cranes an opportunity
to live in an area where they weren’t found
before,” says EWT crane conservationist
Kerryn Morrison. “While we’re not sure
how they got there, the unnatural grassland
setting in this man-made environment has
become home to 60% of South Africa’s to-
tal Blue Crane population.”
Climate change is expected to affect the
western parts of the country most severely,
and the current land use practices are like-
ly to change to something more viable for
the changed climate and its impacts on the
economic drivers. This will affect the Blue
Cranes, which don’t seem to be comfortable
in the indigenous Fynbos habitat that sur-
rounds the agricultural areas.
kruger park times - 17 - kruger park times
lation of professional hunting.
The funds are also used to finance ac-
credited research projects, and most private
game reserves supporting hunting are com-
mitted to establishing proper wildlife man-
agement techniques in order to maintain
the area’s ecological balance and therefore
to sustain their own industry at the same
time.
As to the wild claims that the animals be-
ing hunted in these buffer areas are those
belonging to national parks, wildlife is de-
clared res nullius (nobody’s property) and as
such, one cannot speculate on this matter.
Animals are territorial by nature and are
not prone to wander unless under extreme
circumstances. The likelihood of these be-
ing national parks animals is minimal. Most
of the animals in the private reserves were
part of these reserves before the fences were
removed. The only effect of removing the
fences was to create more land for the ani-
mals.
With all of this in mind, it should be
noted, however, that all hunting within the
The EWT’s crane conservationists have
been monitoring cranes across South Africa
since the 1980’s and have the only compre-
hensive database on cranes in the country.
While the Blue Crane population is cur-
rently stable, predictive models show that
too many adult losses could cause the popu-
lation to crash. “Blue Cranes are long-lived
and slow-breeding,” says Morrison. “The
chicks also stay with the parents for at least
eight months, and a Blue Crane pair will
rarely have more than one chick in a year.
This means that losing one adult crane has
a severe impact on the breeding success of
the population.”
Numbering around 25 000 individuals,
the Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus) is a
near endemic to South Africa. It is found
mainly in the Western Cape and Karoo,
with lower numbers spread across the
grasslands of the country. Between the late
1970’s and 1990’s, Blue Cranes declined by
up to 80% across much of their grassland
range, resulting in their current Red Data
List Status of Vulnerable.
boundaries of national parks where fenc-
es have been dropped is done only under
agreed conditions.
Hunting off-takes usually come to less
than one percent of annual population re-
production. This is not nearly enough to
create a vacuum that would draw game
from the national parks.
Due to the extensive boundary of the
Kruger National Park and the myriad of
streams of all sizes that it has to cross, it is
virtually impossible to keep all animals in
the park all the time.
As long as the sanctity of national parks
is maintained according to the laws of the
country, SANParks cannot dictate or con-
trol the activities of its neighbours.
Although unpalatable to some, it is pru-
dent to note that regulated trophy hunting is
the one avenue through which wildlife can
create substantial revenue for the sustain-
able management of some small protected
areas and environments as well as the uplift-
ment of adjacent communities.
Sunday Independent
Migratory
Soaring Birds
Project - Regional
project manager
BirdLife International requires a dy-
namic, self-starting individual to man-
age a cross-regional project that will
mainstream biodiversity conserva-
tion, and especially the conservation
needs of migratory raptors, within ec-
onomically important sectors across
the countries of the Middle East and
East Africa. Further information about
the project can be found here.
The position will be based within the
BirdLife International Middle East
Division office in Amman, Jordan. Ap-
plications comprising a CV and cover
letter should be sent to Taghreed Abu-
jwied (taghreed.abujwied@birdlife.
org) via email before 03 July 2009.
For the Terms of Reference (TOR) for
the position click here http://www.
birdlife.org/jobs/jobs/2009/soar-
ing_birds_regional_manager.html or
write to Taghreed Abujwied via email.
Kruger Krazies’ Claim to Shame

Near Berg-en-Dal At Pretoriuskop rest Camp

1
Photos 1 ,2, and 3 were taken by Roli Bosch
from Switzerland in May this year.
2
Near bridge over Letaba River.

These photos of transgressors of Park rules are published in an attempt to as-

sist in restoring basic respect for others and the Park. Entries are sent by visitors,
rangers and all people concerned wit the welfare of the Park and its visitors.

kruger park times - 18 - kruger park times