Sunday, 17th January 2010
IN THIS ISSUE
AGM Reminder
Environment Magazine
Update on Volcanic eruption in DRC
Zimbabwe Rhino Poaching Court Case a Turning Point?
VELDWAGTERS !
12 Rhino Poachers Arrested in Kenya After Rhino….
Chili to ward off marauding elephants (Botswana)
PROCEDURE TO APPLY FOR A FIREARM LICENCE
I THINK OF AFRICA (Book)
POSITION(s) Wanted
A Member, Looking for a job
Tailpiece
Hi again,
Herewith, some snippets from various sources.
I appeal to you to send me items to distribute to our members for the Cleft Stick, the Game Ranger magazine and to be posted on the web site. These are your magazines and website, so ensure it gets the news that you would like to see in it.
Please let me have any changes to your physical address, phone no. or e-mail address to keep the database up to date. Remember this is the address we will send your Game Ranger Magazine to.
Thanks to all of you who have made the effort. Please will any of you who know of members who do not get this "electric" Cleft~Stick, & have access to e-mail, pass their address along to me.
Don Yunnie
7 Chalet Drive, Hilton, 3245, South Africa Local Tel & Fax (033) 343 1534
Int. Tel & Fax (+2733) 343 1534 cell 082 377 7562, E-mail dyunnie@telkomsa.net
If you do not wish to receive this e-mail newsletter please send a blank e-mail to me at the above address with the word “Unsubscribe” as the message heading.
Please feel free to write to express your views on the content or the subject of any of the articles in this magazine – to the address above.
GRAA AGM 1- 4 March 2010, Berg en dal Camp, KNP
Just a final reminder that bookings close this week (15th January) after which any unallocated accommodation will be returned to Sanparks for reletting to the public. Anyone who has booked via free bed nights through their organisation must please let Jackey know, via an application form (mark the form “booked free bed nights”), to confirm and pay your delegate fees, so she will know to cater for you (and anyone else in your party) for teas and dinners. If you have not kept your application form, please let me know asap and I will send you a copy, or contact Jackey Deacon at dot@mpu.co.za.
Come on everyone, this is our 40th Anniversary celebration, let’s make it an AGM to remember.
“ It is extremely important that the organizers have accurate numbers of people attending the AGM, to plan catering etc. We are trying to get sponsorship for a number of meals, and numbers booked are very low. To have a last minute rush is going to make things very difficult. Jackey is also drawing up lists for commemorative GRAA Caps & Shirts & will need to know numbers & sizes, so please confirm your attendance with her.
Environment Magazine
Just to let you know that the magazine has been posted. If you have paid your subs in the past 2 years you should receive your copy in the post. It will have an invoice inside the front cover. The Airmail cost to rest of Africa was R65.75 ea & the Airmail cost to the rest of the world was R116.50 so unfortunately they have gone at the cheaper surface mail rate. The bad news is that they will take between 6 & 12 weeks to get to you!
News from Jobogo Mirindi
Subject: Update on Volcanic eruption
Dear friends,
I knew you must be worried about us and wildlife in DRC, the Nyamulagira Volcano erupted recently on 2nd of January. The lava flow is taking the direction of Sake-Kichanga towards the west opposite to the gorilla habitat. There is no damage to human lives so far but the residents of Goma city are worried in case of the progress, the road from Sake may be cut off and will affect economic assets; fortunately the lava was taking the direction to the park.
In the Virunga park, the lava is swallowing immense of habitat and Chimpanzees are threatened and running away for their safety. In Bukima and Jomba, on the Right side of the Volcano, the gorillas are safe and tourists are visiting them.
The last news from volcanologist reports that the lava is slowing down although the danger remains unpredictable since the magma are still boiling inside the crater and the volcano is in activity. Another threat is observed on vegetation around the region has been burned due to the effect of acid rain. I will try to get you some night photos as it is danger to come closer by now, the UN team are able to fly with Helicopter and can get photos.
I also forward you the photo of the region (AWF photo) got from a friend of the technical team.
I will keep you posted of the upcoming events.
Jean Pierre Jobogo
PS Jobogo has included a map of the area it is a .pdf file (2.54mb) – if you need to see it let me know – ed
Zimbabwe Rhino Poaching Court Case a Turning Point?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2010
CONTACT: Susie Ellis, +1-540-660-4152 or +62-858-1022-1293, s.ellis@rhinos-irf.org
Conservationists concerned with inconsistent sentencing of poachers
Zimbabwe– This month, Tichaona Mutyairi, a Zimbabwe rhino poacher with the infamous Mazhongwe gang, was sentenced to 17 years in jail after being captured during an exchange of gunfire with the police in October 2009. Although a regional court in the town of Masvingo took a strict stance, punishing the poacher to the full extent of Zimbabwe’s wildlife and firearm laws, this sentence remains a rare occurrence among captured poachers.
International conservationists are watching the Mutyairi case given the highly varied outcomes in several court cases against members of rhino poaching gangs that have recently been finalized or are still underway.
In previous court cases, many poachers have been released from jail escaping punishment instead of facing strong, consistent sentences that would deter them from hunting down Zimbabwe's remaining rhinos.
“After so much conservation effort and funding has been ploughed into rhino protection in Zimbabwe, we look to the Zimbabwean authorities to hold up their side of our shared commitment to conserve rhinos,” said Dr. Susie Ellis, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation. “If strict sentences continue to be imposed on poachers, there may finally be a chance that the poachers will start to back off from their all-out assault on Zimbabwe’s remaining rhinos”.
These court rulings will be put under the international spotlight when Zimbabwe’s track record of rhino conservation is assessed at the March conference of parties to the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). By then, it may be clear if Mutyairi’s recent case is a turning point in the conservation battle or is merely false hope that Zimbabwe’s law-enforcement officers and court officials have resolved to confront the poaching menace.
The temptation to poach rhinos has been stimulated by weak levels of law enforcement in Zimbabwe. Since January 2008, approximately 40 rhino poachers have been arrested, often through the efforts of private rhino custodians. However, fewer than five of the arrested poachers have actually been convicted for their crimes, which include use of illegal firearms and the slaughtering of the endangered rhino species.
In one failed court case which conservationists found particularly disturbing, a Zimbabwean High Court judge granted bail to a group of poachers who were found with five automatic assault rifles and admitted to killing seventeen rhinos. This ruling overturned another ruling in a more junior court case in which captured gang members were released from jail until sentencing giving them the opportunity to immediately abscond. The same process was followed shortly afterwards in a similar case, allowing two Mazhongwe gang members to vanish into thin air instead of remaining in jail.
While conservationists applaud the professional action of the Masvingo court and the police investigators who built the case against Mutyairi, they worry his lawyer will follow the route of appealing to another court. The financial power of poaching syndicates and the legal antics that have disrupted other convictions could still come into play in this process.
According to the Lowveld Rhino Trust, which monitors and manages rhinos in southern Zimbabwe, approximately 130 rhinos were poached for their horns between 2008 and 2009. The Mazhongwe poaching gang, led by brothers “Big Sam” and Ishmael, are responsible for at least a quarter of these losses. Rhinos are killed for the sole intention of selling their horns on the black market, which are used in traditional Asian medicine to reduce fever. The willingness of emboldened poachers such as the Mazhongwe gang to fire upon law enforcement patrols that interfere with their hunt in Zimbabwe has resulted in a literal war.
“The illicit horn deals provide a relatively good income for opportunists like the Mazhongwe gang trying to survive in Zimbabwe’s collapsed economy,” said Ellis. “We are continuing our efforts to put pressure on the Zimbabwean government to keep rhino poaching at bay. Only time will tell how the Zimbabwean courts will handle prosecuting future rhino poachers.”
Rhino poaching remains a high-stakes, organized endeavor in Zimbabwe undertaken by everyone from government officials and foreign diplomats to gangs of violent criminals.
# # #
About the International Rhino Foundation
The International Rhino Foundation is a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to the survival of the world’s rhino species through conservation and research, and increasing
awareness about the plight of the rhino. To learn more about the IRF or make a direct contribution, visit www.rhinos-irf.org.
VELDWAGTERS !
Welkom vriendelik wink die kole van laasnag se vuur, die luggie is koel in die vroeë oggend uur
Oggend ster wat blink nog flonker, maar buite die vuurkring luier die oggend steeds donker
Die vuurtjie vra naderskuif en behaaglik wag, op die eerste koffie van ‘n nuwe dag
Twee kamerade, een wit en een swart, hul werk snoer hul saam in een enkele hart
Tyd stap aan en dis tyd om te roer, in die kole sis die uitgeskiete moer
Deure klap en ‘n enjin dreun, dan ‘n Jeep wat die randjie agter die kamp uitkreun
‘n Nuwe patrollie, ‘n nuwe dag, in die ooste bloei die oggenstond nog sag
Kronkelend sak die paadjie agterrand af, onder langs die spruit, ‘n kwaggahings se blaf
Deur grasvlak en bos, oor rand en valei, twee paar oë wat soekend rondgly
Hier ‘n reuse hardekool se wit-vaal stam, daar oorkant, rivier-klimop se helder rooi vlam
Rooibok troppies met ooie in lam, koedoes, kameelperde en seekoeie in die dam
Teen ‘n randjie ‘n eensaam ou olifantbul, duttend in koelte bewegingloos stil
‘n Bosbedekte klofie bring skadu oorheen, in die lower roep vleiloerie knaend na reën
Kakelaars uiter hul kekkelende gekrys, heuningvoeltjie belowe om die bynes te gaan wys
Bosbontrokkies wip deur die takke, hul swart en wit veertjies soos deftige jonkmans pakke
Bokant die rivier die mooiste lawaai, uit die keel van ‘n visarend wat lui sirkels draai
Daar word gestap, geluister en gesoek, deur die veld wat hul ken soos ‘n geverfde doek
Met geluk vandag ondek hulle geen teken, van wrede stropers wat dood in die bos kan ontketen
Geen sleepsel of spoor van verfoeilke mens, geen geweerskoot wat val tussen basis en grens
‘n Gevoel van genoegdoening, ‘n taak welgedaan, met tevredenheid kruie hulle huiswaarts aan
Geleidelik nader die einde van die dag en die ongenaakbare son verloor sy versengende krag
Skaduwees rek oor die grond en word lang, mooi kleure verf nou die oorkantste hang
Vol sweet en stof na ‘n lang dag se werk, moeg maar gelukkig in hul geloof so sterk
“Dankie O Heer vir nog ‘n wonderlike uur, in hierdie, U ongerepte skone natuur”
Johann Oelofse – Oktober 2009
12 Rhino Poachers Arrested in Kenya After Rhino Slaughtered on Private Ranch
12 suspected rhino poachers and rhino horn buyers have been arrested in Kenya following the killing of a female Southern white rhino on a private ranch.
A manhunt in central Kenya has resulted in the arrest of 12 suspected rhino poachers and rhino horn buyers, after a 10-year old female Southern white rhino was shot at the Mugie rhino sanctuary on December 28, and her horns brutally hacked off.
The rhino’s horns were recovered in the arrest, along with $8,500 USD in cash.
The poaching season is normally in April but it seems the poachers have changed tactics. They thought because it was a holiday season we would relax our surveillance but they were wrong.
Illegal rhino killings on the rise
Demand for rhino horn throughout Asia - most notably China and Vietnam - is responsible for the surge in the illegal slaughter of rhinos throughout Africa, India, and Nepal.
Although trade in rhino horn is banned, the illegal market in rhino horn - along with other endangered species products - continues to flourish in Asian countries where superstitions attribute rhino horn with “medicinal” properties to treat common ailments.
The Southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) population has recovered to over 17,500 from fewer than 200.
However, the Northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) population consists of just eight individuals, after being decimated by rampant poaching to fulfill Asian demand for illegal rhino horn.
Numerous scientific studies have long ago proven there are no medicinal properties in rhino horn.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Eco World
Chili to ward off marauding elephants (Botswana) BONIFACE KEAKABETSE, The Botswana Gazette, 19 DECEMBER 2009
North West district Council chairman, Tebogo Bethia, has hailed the use of chili peppers to help farming communities to peacefully coexist with the problematic elephant population of Ngamiland.
Ngamiland and the Chobe have the largest elephant population in Botswana.
Often this leads to conflict with humans when farmers shoot at elephants that have wandered into their ploughing fields and when elephants kill farmers in self-protection.
In his speech to the NWDC full Council meeting last week Bethia called for a collective effort between local communities and the authorities in conserving the flora and fauna of the Okavango delta.
Bethia told the Councilors that the DWLP had registered 214 cases of elephant- human conflict between March and October in Ngamiland this year. He said: “In the same period 75 lion, 57 leopards, 30 wild dog and 10 cases of hyena attack were reported.
“As part of the implementation of the Okavango Delta Management Plan (ODMP), the DWNP has been growing chili pepper in a two hectare plot at Xobe with the objective of increasing its production so that farmers can also grow it to fight off the crop-raiding elephants.”
He explained that between March and October 2009, 318 farmers had been supplied with chili.
Unlike birds and other wild animals elephants cannot be scared away with loud sounds. They are known to have a strong sense of smell and can detect crops from about 10 km away, while they can consume an entire ploughed field within an hour.
Elephants hate chilli and other strong spices. The chili strategy involves mixing dried chili with elephant dung and water and allowing the mixture to dry. This end product, known as chilli bombs, is burnt and the smoke effectively stops elephants from entering ploughing fields.
On the issue of community based natural resource management (CBNRM), Bethia said P9 876 433.00 was earned through selling hunting quotas, land rentals and other products, while 616 jobs were created by the end of September.
However he said, the department still experiences incidents of mismanagement of trust funds. He said as a result the DWNP has opened temporary holding accounts for the Sankoyo Tshwaragano Trust, the Qcae Qcaqe Thabololo Trust, the Okavango Kopano Mokoro Trust, the Okavango Community Trust and the Mababe Zokotsama Community Development Trust. These accounts are administered with the help of the District Commissioner
The chairman noted that “the Okavango Delta has been declared a wetland of international importance, hence it has been declared a RAMSAR Site.”
He said as part of commitment to the treaty local communities have a duty to ensure the careful conservation of all the resources in the delta as spelled out in the Okavango Delta Management Plan (ODMP).
Bethia also briefed the Council on the multiplication of the Salvania Molesta weed in the delta. He said the authorities have warned that the spread poses a threat to biodiversity.
The eradication of the Salvania weed, popularly known as Mochimbamo to locals, has been initiated by the Department of Water Affairs in the past 25 years through physical and bio control programmes. The Bio Okavango project rolled out a programme to equip tour operators with the skills to control and monitor the weed.
Article at the following link:
http://gazettebw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4719:chili-to-ward-off-marauding-elephants&catid=18:headlines&Itemid=2
GUIDELINES: PROCEDURE TO APPLY FOR A FIREARM LICENCE FOR A FIREARM WHICH LICENCE HAS NOT BEEN RENEWED IN TERMS OF SCHEDULE 1 (TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS ) OF THE FIREARMS CONTROL ACT, 2000 (ACT NO. 60 OF 2000)
I have been sent these guidelines – they are 43kb – if you need them let me know – ed
I THINK OF AFRICA
How One Man Turns Daydreams of Wild and Far-Off Places into Reality
In I Think of Africa, author Anthony M. Whateley tells the remarkable true tale of leaving his home in England at age 20 to travel and work in New Zealand, New Guinea, Australia, and South Africa.
I Think of Africa is a captivating story that invites us to hark back to our past childhood inclinations and daydreams. As a child, author Anthony M. Whateley loved the great outdoors and often wondered about wild and far-off places. At age 20 he courageously risked what few of us would have, by leaving his family in England and pursuing his thirst for adventure. You will be mesmerized as Whateley describes his life in remote countries…sometimes living side by side with primitive people and other times living alone in wild places. And you will be enthralled as Whateley explains his love for Africa and its magnetic pull, as Zululand draws him back, once again, to an exciting and often dangerous life in the bush. Enjoy your journey as you accompany the author on his exploits with wild game and in wildlife management in the oldest game reserves in Africa.
Author’s website: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/IThinkOfAfrica.html
ISBN: 9781608609536
About the Author:
Anthony M. Whateley grew up in England but spent a large part of his adult life in Africa. He began writing in 1969 after spending three years in New Zealand. The author attributes his inspiration to wilderness, wild places and nature.
For media inquiries, appearances, or other publicity — please contact:
Ellen Green — PressManager@aegpublishinggroup.com
Strategic Book Group
845 Third Avenue, 6th floor-6016 – New York, NY 10022
http://www.Strategicbookpublishing.com - http://www.EloquentBooks.com - http://www.StrategicBookMarketing.com
http://www.Strategicbookgroup.com
1-888-808-6190 - Corporate Office
POSITION(s) Wanted
A Member, Looking for a job
Conservation student starting with his B-Tech in 2010, looking for job in any conservation direction.
Looking for a job in Africa
My contact details are: Cell. 0848000479, E-MAIL address. machielpri@24.com
Tailpiece
A woman goes to the doctor, beaten black and blue. . . . .
Doctor: "What happened?"
Woman:" Doctor, I don't know what to do. Every time my husband comes home drunk he beats me to a pulp...."
Doctor: "I have a real good medicine against that: When your husband comes home drunk, just take a glass of chamomile tea and start gargling with it. Just gargle and gargle".
2 weeks later she comes back to the doctor and looks reborn and fresh again.
Woman:" Doc, that was a brilliant idea! Every time my husband came home drunk I gargled repeatedly with chamomile tea and he never touched me.
Doctor:" you see how keeping your mouth shut helps!!!"