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@xsinet.co.za
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.
--- MEDIA RELEASE:News from Div deVilliers
Dear Friends
I’m back at the grindstone. Thanks for all the sms’s, phone calls, prayers, and kind wishes. As Jim says I now have a Michael Jackson nose, talk like Sylvester Stallone and have the brain power of George Bush… Nothing wrong with my length though.
In all seriousness, I really appreciate all your support. It’s been a tough few weeks, but something like this makes one take stock of life and you realize that your family and friends are more important than the petty things you sometimes spend time on.
They say my operation was a success. It’s amazing that it was an all woman team in the theatre in Cape Town, from the skull base surgeon to the anesthetist. I still told them they needed to get their BEE and gender representivity correct and they said that’s why I was there. Before I could respond they’d put a gas mask over my face and then they had their way with me, fiddling around with my brain – typical women.
Look forward to seeing you all soon
Regards
Div (deVilliers)
---
Hi
Here is a snippet that has only just come to light for the Cleft Stick.
Cheers,
Peter (Hitchens)
Obituary for Barry Shenton who passed away on the 21st of March 2007
John Barry Shenton was born on the 30th April 1929 in Eshowe Zululand. His father "Shen" had moved to South Africa from Leicester, UK as a baby with his grandparents in search of a new life in the gold reefs of Johannesburg in 1894 and Shen followed his father as a mining engineer up to the Great War. Captain John Lindsay Shenton "Shen" came back from Europe to a cattle/cotton farm. Barry's mother Pat was a strong-willed Scot of third generation in South Africa. By 1936 the cotton had done well but the cattle had been decimated by Nagana, the deadly tsetse disease and when Shen joined the Parks Board, the family moved to Hluhluwe game reserve that year until the time they trekked north to Zambia in 1948. The conflict between the three small game reserves in Zululand and the livestock escalated because of Nagana and at one time the game department were given orders to shoot all the wild animals to prevent further spread. Barry and his younger brother Bob became good hunters until Shen organized six Martins bombers to spray DDT up to the boundaries of the reserves and this stopped the tsetse conflict. Barry served for a couple of years in the Natal Parks Board before accompanying his parents to Northern Rhodesia where Pat farmed chickens for eggs while the two men opened up a virgin piece of land in Mazabuka. It is remarkable that the eggs were sent by train to the Copperbelt with the train guard, and the money and the boxes returned on the next train.
Times were tough with the first crop yielding 35 bags of maize, so Barry joined Bert Schultz as a professional hunter in the newly formed Northern Rhodesia Game Department in 1950 on the Government Controlled Hunting scheme in Luangwa Valley. Wealthy overseas clients would pay to hunt wildlife on Chief Nsefu's reserve and the profits were given to the chief to develop his area - a system not unlike today's Community Resource Boards. These early rangers became testers for Mr. Bata who would come out every year with shoes modified for the tough environment in Luangwa. Barry ended up with a cupboard full of shoes like Imelda Marcos- rope soles, tall mosquito boots, and many versions of the "veld skoens" that most bush people preferred in the end. These shoes were nick-named "brothel creepers". The first camp they built, Nsefu, survived the floods this year, for the 57th time while many other newer structures have been washed away over the years, a testimony to the quality of service offered by those early government workers.
Barry spent an exciting four years hunting in the dry season and controlling elephant in the wet season by shooting crop raiding bulls in the villages around eastern province. He had grown up fluent in Zulu and now learnt ChiNyanja. Over the next five years Barry was a full time ranger opening up the west bank of the Luangwa game reserve to tourism and also postings to Kabompo, Kasempa and Lundazi where he built the Nyika Lodge on the 8000ft plateau.
In late 1958, the council gave the game department just eleven months to open up Kafue National Park to tourism, failing which the area would lose its status and be re-settled. Norman Carr selected Barry and Johnny Uys to help him and over a very hectic year, they managed to open up 900km of road and build Ngoma Lodge and two bush camps under very challenging conditions. Roads were surveyed on foot and cleared behind by hand to then be smoothed with a railway line triangle pulled behind a Landrover. Bridges were built with rock and concrete around 44-gallon drum forms, all carted by an old three ton Morris truck via Namwala. The Morris chassis eventually broke, and it was repaired with a mopane pole wrapped with wet buffalo hide - good enough to finish the job. By the end of 1959, the game department had won its challenge, and Zambia's biggest National Park was open to visitors. Barry was a painfully shy man in those days but dedicated to duty, efficiency and discipline and was promoted to Warden of KNP in 1964, while his parents ran Ngoma Lodge.
One of the visitors in the dry season of 1961 was a pretty Swedish nurse who had settled at a mission hospital in eastern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and escorted her visiting parents to KNP in an old Morris they had bought for the journey. The car developed a problem and Barry took four days to fix it, by which time he had proposed her for marriage and in 1963, their first son Rolf was born. Marianne loved the bush and moved to KNP to become his lifelong partner, bearing three sons and a favourite daughter, Allison who lives in Livingstone. Marianne, always a socialist, a nurse and a great traveller, mellowed Barry's colonial past and shyness and he adapted positively to the new Zambia when droves of Europeans left.
By 1970, Zambians were ready to take over the Game Department, and Barry retired to manage brother Bob's farm in Mazabuka. He attacked this job with the same vigour and determination as always and within two years produced the first crop of tomatoes on top of seed maize and cotton. The first half of the crop was given away in the Mazabuka market as no-one had the taste for this new fruit. Suddenly the taste caught on and Barry couldn't produce enough for the next few years. He also introduced potatoes to Mazabuka's growing list of produce and used to sell them off the back of the truck in Lusaka's city market. Barry was always up- to-date with new ideas and bought a new diesel Mercedes from Germany in 1969 foreseeing the fuel crisis. This car is still driving around Lusaka.
In 1982, Barry finally managed to buy his own farm in Mkushi and again adjusted quickly to the new environment. He proved, at 53, that one is never too old to start a new life and became one of Zambia's biggest seed growers, both in soya and maize. Barry diversified whenever opportunities arose, and ran a borehole drilling rig, contract harvested maize, and built Kaingo Safari Lodge in South Luangwa National Park in 1992 with his son, Derek. In 1994, when the Great North Road was almost impassable, he began his last major project: The Forest Inn. Friends and family advised him that it was a bad time to build with all the uncertainty, but as usual he responded by saying he might not have the energy to start later and that the road would be fixed sooner or later, and so he did it anyway! The well-appointed, peaceful Forest Inn has become the place to stay for almost all visitors to Mkushi with all creeds and colours welcome for business or leisure.
Barry slipped quietly away on the 21st of March in his bed surrounded by his wife and children, surely a satisfied man, having beaten all his life's challenges, including a first cancer fifteen years ago. Youngest son, Clive will continue managing the farm and the Forest Inn. His children and grandchildren have continued his sense of nation building, social conscience and sustainable resource management.
--- Carbon Trading - Burying CO2 could pay for itself by 2030
By: Reuters
Published: 22 Sept 08
Trapping and burying carbon dioxide from power plants could become viable without public funding by 2030, helping nations reduce their dependence on energy imports and meet climate goals, a report said on Monday.
But that could happen only if obstacles to the technology are removed and polluters are forced to pay more to emit CO2 in cap and trade schemes, it added.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is seen by industry as a potential silver bullet to curb emissions from coal-fired power plants, which are multiplying rapidly in India and China, threatening to heat the atmosphere to dangerous levels.
Companies are working on cutting-edge technology to trap CO2 and pump it into empty gas fields and deep underground caverns, but utilities are reluctant to use the process as it adds about 1 billion Euro to the cost of each power plant.
The European Union wants up to 12 demonstration plants by 2015 in the hope they will find ways of cutting future costs. EU sources say the bloc is close to agreeing billions of Euro of public funding to kick-start the pilot projects.
Once it has built momentum and been properly developed, the cost of burying CO2 could fall to 30-45 Euro per tonne by 2030, said the report by consultancy McKinsey and Co.
"Costs at these levels would make CCS installations economically self-sustaining at a carbon price of 30-48 Euro per tonne," it added, referring to the price of permits to emit CO2 under the EU's flagship Emission Trading Scheme (ETS).
The ETS caps how much CO2 industries may emit and establishes a system for trading in emissions permits.
The price of carbon being traded in the scheme on Monday was around 25 Euro, for December delivery, but the report cited five studies by financial institutions that forecast prices would rise significantly by 2030.
"On the one hand, (CCS) could provide greater energy security by making the burning of Europe's abundant coal more environmentally acceptable, and so reducing the dependency on imported natural gas," the report said.
"On the other, it could potentially improve the environmental impact of new energy forms such as electric cars and hydrogen, which could be produced with CCS-based electricity," it added.
---
ART OF LIVING FOUNDATION, UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMME AND UNITED NATIONS MILLENIUM CAMPAIGN
MISSION GREEN EARTH STAND UP
TAKE ACTION 08
A Call for a Green Generation and to Make Poverty History
Mass Action Campaign To Counter Global Warming – A Global Call to Action
The path: participation of a 100 million people globally
South Africans: To involve, inspire and challenge the whole country to wake up and respond to Global Warming, Poverty and Millennium Development Goals
For more information contact - Art of Living Foundation South Africa Tel: + 27 11 781 7687; Fax: + 27 86 513 2815, Email: nationaloffice@artofliving.org.za Website: http://www.artofliving.org, NPO registration No: 035 – 041
--- Call for Applications
Ecological Niche Modeling Workshop, 17 - 21 November 2008
Deadline for Applications: 27 October 2008
The development of analytical tools allows for the use of primary biodiversity data to
generate predictive models of species distribution. This stimulates novel and exciting
uses of biodiversity data amalgamated from various sources and thus allows for broader
opportunities and scenarios under which biodiversity data can be used. Ecological Niche
Modeling (ENM) is proving to be a very valuable tool for decision-making in many fields:
from predicting impacts of global climate change on biodiversity, assessing the
geographic potential of invasive alien species, tracking the spread of diseases and risk
of disease transmission, identifying areas requiring formal protection, and assessing the
likelihood of finding rare/endemic species, etc. Ecological niche modeling uses primary
species occurrence data, such as those served via the Global Biodiversity Information
Facility (GBIF) Portal (http://data.gbif.org), and relates them to ecological and
environmental data.
Workshop Information
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility
(GBIF) will be organising a hands-on Ecological Niche Modeling Workshop. The course
will be held at the University of Pretoria from 17 – 21 November 2008. The course will be
conducted in English. (Please see draft agenda attached).
The workshop is based on a standard ENM course developed by GBIF and will be
presented by Brenda Daly and Kirsten Oliver from the EWT, Willem Coetzer from the
South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) and Mark Robertson from the
Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria.
For logistical reasons, the workshop will be limited to 15 participants. Participants are
expected to have background/experience in both biology/biodiversity, and the use of GIS
tools (specifically ArcView or ArcGIS). This workshop is targeted at scientists,
conservation planners, academics and decision makers who work directly with
biodiversity data.
DesktopGARP and MAXENT are the two inferential algorithms that will be presented at
the workshop along with case studies on birds, fish and mammal species.
2
Minimum requirements for participants:
1. Academic degree in natural or earth science such as biology, botany, zoology,
forestry, geography, or a related field of biodiversity informatics or Geographic
Information Systems (GIS).
2. Participants are expected to have significant background/experience in both
biology/biodiversity, and the use of GIS tools (particularly ESRI tools, such as
ArcView or ArcGIS).
3. Participants are required to bring their own data (dataset) for analysis and
exploration (this includes both specimen/observation data and environmental
layers).
Call for applications:
1. Deadline to submit applications: 27 October 2008
2. The application form should be submitted to Brenda Daly, email:
brendad@ewt.org.za or fax: 011 486 1506.
3. Applications should not exceed 2 pages (the CV counts as 2 extra pages).
4. Participants will be notified if their application has been successful by 31 October
2008.
Workshop Cost
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) has contributed towards the cost of
the workshop. No registration fee will be charged for the course and lunch will be
provided to participants at the venue. Your accommodation and transport to and from
the venue is however for your own account.
The workshop will be held in the computer room in the Geography Department at the
University of Pretoria (a detailed map with directions to the venue will be provided to
successful candidates).
For any queries please contact Brenda Daly at the EWT or send a message to
brendad@ewt.org.za, telephone: (011) 4861102
RENCOR The 1st Aid People
Rencor catolog items, www.rencorfirstaid.co.za
P O Box 123, Rosetta, 3301, Ph 082 337 7727
Two Tray Kit
Size: 500mm x 350mm x 50mm per tray (total depth 100mm)
Contents complies with the Occupational Health & Safety Act 85 of 1993. The compact design utilises all available space to the optimum. All items are clearly visible and easily accessible. Each item is held in place by elastic loops and is identified by a label. The bag is made from durable highly visible nylon and PVC. Bag can be wall mounted or carried by the handles, Shoulder straps or as a backpack. Zips have two sliders which can be ‘locked’ with a colour coded pull-tite seal.
Bag R375.00, Reg 3 R152.50
Addendum R150.50, Bag, Reg3 & Add R675.00
Directional Sign R 17.50
Hi Risk Business Kit
Regulation 3, Gunshot, Trauma and Burns
Contents complies with Occupational Health &Safety Act 85 of 1993. The compact design utilises all available space to the optimum. All items are clearly visible and are easily accessible. The bag is made from durable high visibility nylon and PVC. The bag face is clearly screened with a white cross on a green background and First Aid- Reg 3, Gunshot, Trauma and Burns in red. Bag can be wall mounted, carried either by handles, shoulder straps or as a back pack. Each item is held in place with an elastic loop and identified by a label. Zips have two slides which can be ‘locked’ with colour coded pull-tite seal.
Bag R385.00, Contents R500.00, Bag & Contents R885.00
Two Tray Multi Sports Kit
Size: 500mm x 350mm x 100mm. A high visibility orange reinforced P.V.C bag in which all items are held in position with elastic loops. All items are clearly visible and accessible. Contents comprise of those most used sports-related injuries. The compact design utilises all available space to the optimum. Bag can be wall mounted (mounting brackets optional extra), and carried either by handles, shoulder straps or as a back pack. Bag can be manufactured in vertical or horizontal mode. Available colours: Orange, Kahki or blue.
2 Tray Bag + Stock + Directional Sign R742.00
Recommended Stock R402.50, Empty Multi Sports Bag R345.00
Vehicle / Wall Mounting Bracket R17.50
Soft Vehicle Kit
Size: 500mm x 350mm x 100mm. A high visibility orange reinforced P.V.C bag in which all items are held in position with elastic loops. All items are clearly visible and accessible. Contents comprise of those most used sports-related injuries. The compact design utilises all available space to the optimum. Bag can be wall mounted (mounting brackets optional extra), and carried either by handles, shoulder straps or as a back pack. Bag can be manufactured in vertical or horizontal mode. Available colours: Orange, Kahki or blue.
Bag R120.00, Contents R265.00
Bag & Contents R385.00 excl
Hip Pouch
Size: 170mm x 100mm x 100mm.This kit is made from orange high-visibility P.V.C reinforced nylon. It comes with both belts straps as well as a nylon strap which clips around your waist.
Bag R 85.00, Contents R115.00
Bag & Contents R 200.00
F.A.S.T Kit, (First Aid Survival Traveller) , Size: 250mm x 160mm x 80mm.
This kit is made kaki, Blue, Green, Black. P.V.C reinforced nylon. It comes with belt straps to attach it to your belt.
---
POSITION(s) AVAILABLE
Friedkin Conservation Fund (FCF) looking for Microlight pilot
Full time Microlight pilot wanted for position in Tanzania working in conservation. Pilot will live and work in a remote game reserve, doing anti-poaching patrol flights daily. Requirements: Must be passionate about conservation, enjoy bush and bush life, competent to carry out maintenance on his Microlight.
Contact: Keith Roberts; keith.roberts@tgts.com
Paul Ferguson; paul.ferguson@tgts.com
http://www.friedkinfund.org/
--- Job Opportunity with WildCRU, in secondment to the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme
University of Oxford, Department of Zoology
Field Coordinator (Ethiopia)
Applications are invited for the post of Field Coordinator within the University of Oxford Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Department of Zoology. This is a fixed term contract of two years with an extension depending on funding - starting Spring 2009.
We are seeking an experienced conservation biologist (with at least 5 years experience in Africa and a proven field record) to fill the position of Field Coordinator in Ethiopia.
Further particulars can be downloaded from
http://www.ethiopianwolf.org/at08046.pdf or http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/jobs/adverts/at08046.pdf. Alternatively available from the Personnel Office, Department of Zoology, Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, E-mail: recruit@zoo.ox.ac.uk. Applications, consisting of a full curriculum vitae, covering letter and contact details of two referees, should be sent to the above address, quoting reference number AT 08046. The closing date for applications is noon on 17 October 2008.
For more information on the EWCP see www.ethiopianwolf.org
--- Dear Andre, We are looking for a Game Ranger with certified qualifications, importantly they must have FGASA level 1 and a Code 10 driver's licence. If they have a field guide level 1 that will also be efficient.
If anyone is interested in working at this beautiful Reserve nestled between the Brandwacht Mountains, please fax through a copy of your CV to 023 34 72176.
Thank you Andre, it is much appreciated.
Kind Regards,
Yolandi Eksteen
Fairy Glen Game Reserve & Conference Centre, enquiries@fairyglen.co.za
www.capebig5safaris.co.za, Tel: 023 34 78933, Fax: 023 34 72176
--- Research Assistant, Asian Elephant Conservation
An exciting conservation project that uses multidisciplinary approaches to manage conflicts between elephants and people in Assam (India) is seeking a Research Assistant to assist with project management and scientific research.
The Assam Haathi Project for mitigating human-elephant conflicts is run by the North of England Zoological Society (Chester Zoo) and EcoSystems-India, and is funded by the Darwin Initiative.
The role of the Research Assistant consists of three task areas:
1) Research: carry out literature reviews, data collection (including some field work), data analysis, and assist with the production of scientific publications
2) Promotion: draft press releases and articles and maintain the project website
3) Project Management: assist with general project management tasks, including finance and reporting and the coordination of sub-initiatives
Candidates should have completed a Masters degree in Conservation or a closely related subject and be able to demonstrate experience of working or carrying out research in a conservation field. The ideal candidate will have excellent writing skills, be highly organized and have proven skills in researching and summarizing information and writing scientific papers. Preferred additional skills and experience include: GIS, website maintenance, familiarity with the topics of elephants and/or human-wildlife conflict, and experience with field work and/or social surveys.
The candidate should be willing to travel within the UK, to India, and possibly elsewhere in Asia. This is a 9-month full-time position based at Chester Zoo, to start in early December 2008. Salary is £16,216 per annum pro rata.
To apply please contact Chester Zoo’s recruitment line on 01244 389477 or email recruitment@chesterzoo.org for an application form. Your application will need to include this form, a covering letter, your curriculum vitae, and a short sample of your own written work (e.g. an article, essay, or excerpt from a dissertation).
The deadline for applications is 24 October 2008.
Carnivore Conservation Group:
Short-term Contract: Badger-Friendly Honey Labelling Programme Assessor
NPO 015502/PBO 930 001 777
The Endangered Wildlife Trust, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, has grown over the past thirty-five years into one of the major nongovernmental conservation organisations operating throughout southern Africa.
The Endangered Wildlife Trust seeks to appoint a researcher within its Carnivore Conservation Group (EWT-CCG) to conduct a critical re-assessment of the Badger-Friendly Honey Labelling Programme (BFHP), 5 years after its initiation.
Beehive damage by Honey Badgers is a significant threat to beekeeping productivity, particularly in indigenous vegetation near protected areas, and this places Honey Badgers in direct conflict with honey producers. The BFHP, which is part of a broader extension programme to improve the conservation status of Honey Badgers, aims to provide incentives for “badger-friendly” beekeeping through consumer demands for badger friendly products. The programme is a collaborative project between conservation organisations, beekeeping associations and nature conservation authorities, through creating consumer awareness and retailer support for badger-friendly practices.
The EWT is undertaking a review of the BFHP which will entail producing a comprehensive report of the
critical re-assessment of the Badger-Friendly Labelling Programme, that examines conservation outcomes,
costs and financial benefits of conflict mitigation, and recommendations for the future of the BFHP, and other green-labelling initiatives as appropriate.
The preferred candidate will have a minimum of an undergraduate degree in environmental economics,
the biological sciences, or a relevant conservation field. Previous experience in assessing projects, and an understanding of cost-benefit analyses is essential.
The candidate is expected to have appropriate project planning and management experience, good datacollection and record-keeping skills, experience in database management and analysis, and excellent
writing skills.
A self-driven, professional individual capable of working on their own is required.
Proficiency in the use of major MS Office programmes is essential and basic knowledge of Geographic Information Management Systems will be an advantage. The candidate must hold a valid code 8 driver’s license; with a minimum of 2 years driving experience and have their own transport.
Applicants must demonstrate a passion for conservation and the environment, and an understanding of and/or
willingness to work in a well-established nongovernmental organisation.
The successful applicants will be based in Western Cape.
This is a short-term 6-month contract appointment, position effective from 1 November 2008. All applications
will be treated in the strictest confidence.
The Endangered Wildlife Trust is an equal opportunity employer.
Applicants are to submit a comprehensive CV which includes e-mail addresses for references, as well as a
motivation as to how they see their role in this post.
Candidates who have not been contacted within 14 days of the closing date must please assume that their
applications were not successful. The EWT reserves the right not to make an appointment.
Closing date for applications: 4 October 2008
To apply please e-mail your CV to alisonj@ewt.org.za
Or post to “Human Resource Manager”, Private Bag X11, Parkview, 2122. Or fax to +27 (11) 486 1506
--- Tailpiece
Mmmm!!
-A little girl asks her mum, "Mum, can I take the dog for a walk around the block?"
Her mum replies "No, because she is on heat."
"What does that mean?" asked the child.
"Go and ask your father. I think he's in the garage."
The little girl goes out to the garage and says, "Dad, can I take Lulu for a walk around the block? I asked Mum, but she said the dog was on the heat, and to come ask you."
He took a rag, soaked it in petrol, and scrubbed the dog's rear end with it to disguise the scent, and said "Ok, you can go now, but keep Lulu on the leash and only go one time around the block."
The little girl left and returned a few minutes later with no dog on the leash.
Surprised, Dad asked, "Where's Lulu?"
The little girl said, "She ran out of petrol about halfway round the block, so another dog is pushing her home."