OCTOBER 2018
NEWSLETTER
By Trevor Lane
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Our next newsletter will be for November and December combined, and will thus only be out in January of next year.
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We drilled another borehole at No 1 in the Chamabonda, as the current borehole cannot sustain under the pressure of seepage, evaporation and the wildlife drinking there. A big thanks to Ian Thomson of Botswana, and Ian Gloss of Liquorama for their funding of the drilling.
We will be equipping this borehole in November
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"there she blows" - the new borehole at No 1
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in mid-October, a big fire crossed into Zimbabwe from Botswana in the Matetsi/Kazungula area. This fire was contained from spreading eastwards towards the Zambezi National Park, but swept southwards through Panda Masuie and into Kazuma, burning the "badlands"and some of the Depression, before a shower of rain extinguished it. The burnt area greened up quickly, attracting tsessebe, reedbuck, wildebeest.
About 10 days later, another fire burnt into Kazuma - suspect from tsmouldering tree stumps from the first fire. This burnt around the eastern side of the Depression, linking up with the previous burn.
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Top: The first burn from 10 days previously - already greening up. Tssessebe loving it! Other : The fire sweeping towards Corner Pan on a wide front.
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The aftermath - a lone reedbuck in the fresh burn
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It appears about half of Kazuma has been burnt out. The Depression area was long overdue a burn, being very moribund, and fortunately the first burn only burnt half the Depression area, leaving cover and food in the other half, while the second burn happened once fresh grass shoots were already available. A very satisfactory result overall, and the plan is to put in a controlled burning program in future
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CHIZARIRA NATIONAL PARK
NATIONAL PARKS RESCUE (NPR)/BHEJANE TRUST PARTNERSHIP
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A quick update on progress in Chizarira, which has been remarkable, and already the effects are very noticeable!
At the park headquarters there’s a new Operations Room equipped with the latest law enforcement gadgetry and digital mapping; a Tuck Shop; a new Stores room, which will soon issue and maintain the rangers’ patrol equipment and rations; and a new Radio Room, which will soon house a park-wide digital radio system donated to NPR by Motorola.
Given the park’s critically low wildlife levels, the Ration Hunts have been replaced by a pioneering Community Ration Supply (CRS) scheme which, as well as feeding the rangers, is transforming the lives of the park’s low-income buffer communities who supply the meat and vegetables for the scheme. It’s hoped this scheme can be expanded to end the Ration Hunts in other parks, while enriching some of the country’s poorest people and reducing their incentive to poach.
To further aid morale, NPR have renovated the football pitch, introduced Movie Nights and purchased a satellite television and solar unit to allow rangers to watch the World Cup!
The Infrastructure Team have rebuilt around 100km of the park’s roads, impacting law enforcement response times and drastically improving the visitor experience. The team have also renovated various park buildings, transformed the water supply to buildings and have now begun creating new signage for the park.
The team have also built a tented camp for NPR staff. The camp’s sustainability credentials are remarkable and range from construction poles made from old water pipes to stone platforms filled with rubble and wildlife traps from the park. Bricks and labour have come from the local Tonga communities and even the beds, chairs and furniture was manufactured by Tonga people at the national park itself. Construction of the impressive site, which avoided the felling of a single tree, was overseen by the Infrastructure Manager, Mark Swannack, and visitors to the park should request a tour to see how sustainable, low budget building should be done!
The Law Enforcement team have been busy improving the patrolling and arrest systems and running an impressive training program using world-class trainers who empower rangers with skills including cybertracker training, ambush training, tracking training, fitness, weapons handling and more. At the end of each month we’ve created an award ceremony where rangers are rewarded and given training certificates, instilling pride.
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We installed a solar pump unit at Njekwa - this is a borehole in the very back area of Robins, which has not been pumped in over 20 years. We have a good flow, and the pan has already attracted elephant and eland, despite the late season installation. Thanks to the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Zimbabwe for the donation of the pump, and Forster Irrigation for the installation.
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The new system being installed at Njekwa - rather uninspiring pan!
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Game water
At this time of year we expect to be busy trying to cope with the demands and depredations of hundreds of thirsty elephants and I would normally be preparing to write about all the broken pipes and damaged pumps we have repaired. I’m delighted to say that October 2018 was not like that. We had a few problems to solve but on the whole the water situation has been excellent – there is even still some water in the big natural pans out around Tshompani and most of our pumped pans are looking good. Unfortunately the glaring exception to that is arguably the most important – Masuma Dam. On the 24thwe carried out one of our regular dry-season animal counts at Masuma and in the course of 24hours we counted one thousand and twenty-two elephants and over five hundred other mammals. The water level in the dam visibly dropped overnight and five of the nine hippo still in the dam vanished, presumably to Mandavu or Shumba. Even running the pump for twenty-four hours a day, we can’t cope with those numbers but we have mostly been running just the solar as Kapula Camp, who are supplying diesel for overnight pumping, has been unable to source the necessary fuel. I’m very glad to be able to report though, that Kapula managed to get diesel in the last few days of the month and has re- started overnight pumping.
The only other major problem we had in October was at Baobab Pan where the pipe into the borehole detached from the well head. We try to check all the pumps regularly but with diesel supplies for our vehicles being a major problem, Baobab was not pumping for around eight days before we went out there and found out, by which time the water level in the pan had dropped alarmingly. Tshuma repaired the fault immediately but we can’t catch up the lost pumping days and the pan still looks low and muddy. That’s really just a problem of aesthetics as the trough is full of clean water and no animals will die of thirst in the Baobab area, which is surely our main aim.
We made some improvements to our game water infrastructure in October by installing an electric fence around the wind pump at Tshompani. October has been windy this year and the wind pumps have been out-performing most of our solars (even the Sinamatella wind pump which is on a very low yield borehole averaged over 19,000 litres per day for most of the month) but the Tshompani pump is very vulnerable to damage by elephants so I’ve been worried that we might lose it – and if it is knocked down, even ‘making a plan’ won’t get it up and running again. Hwange Conservation Society sourced a fence energiser for us and John Gillon brought it with him from the UK when he visited Hwange in October. I went out to Tshompani with our October group of volunteers and we installed the fence in the course of one long, hot day. Many thanks to all those volunteers (who are far more used to air-conditioned offices and computers than they are to building fences in Zimbabwe’s October heat) for their determination and hard work. Special thanks to Laurent for testing the completed fence – albeit not deliberately!
Wildlife.
Our on-going giraffe population survey was very busy in October. There seemed to be giraffe everywhere we went, so Sue and the volunteers have been busy for hours matching new photos against the database. I was starting to think that we were reaching the point of saying that we have now seen the vast majority of the ‘local’ giraffe but there seems to have been an influx of new ones in October and our known population, south of the Smiths Mine Hills now stands at two hundred and seven. Along with the new giraffe we have been seeing some old friends on a regular basis and we’ve also seen a couple of giraffe that we first knew as juveniles but are now starting to look grown up. These are the lucky ones if the mortality figures for young giraffe (between 50% and 70% in their first year) quoted in the literature are valid for Sinamatella.
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F147 in 2016 and in 2018
As you would expect at the end of the dry season, game viewing in October was pretty good, with the animals gathering close to the water points and spending a great deal of time just hanging around in the shade trying to keep cool. Temperatures regularly hit the high thirties and it was common to find elephants, giraffe, kudu impala or warthogs just standing under bushes or trees looking hot, tired and thirsty. We often saw elephants of all sizes, lying down asleep in the shade in the middle of the day. In the small hours of the morning at Masuma, this tree mouse found a good way of dealing with its thirst as it helped itself to a drink from Sue’s cup of tea.
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Really it is hunger rather than thirst that is the problem for most of the animals at this time of year and there isn’t much we can do to help, we just have to hope the rains come soon. Miraculously, some of the trees seem to have anticipated that and are starting to come into leaf in spite of the heat and dryness but most of the bush looks as if it has been blasted by fire. It is easy under these circumstances to come away from a trip out into the Park with the feeling that the much discussed ‘elephant problem’ is responsible for wholesale destruction of the trees but I was fascinated to have proof that this is at least partly a false impression. In 2014 we took a series of fixed point photographs around Sinamatella. Our fixed points were the large, solid concrete road signs and at each one we took four photos, facing the four compass points. The aim was to compare these photos with a new set, to be taken at some time in the future and this year I decided it was time to find out if there was any difference to be seen yet. With our October volunteer group we repeated some of the photo series around the Salt Spring loop/Mandavu area and I expected to find that there had been big changes. In fact, as the photos here illustrate, not much change can be seen at all. Based on this small trial run, we will repeat the whole set of fixed points next year and make a proper comparison.
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Last month I wrote about a hyena joining me on the veranda one evening while I was deep in reading ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’. This month I have been reading Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” but sadly no bats came to visit. If the rains are good, perhaps I’ll try “Moby Dick” next month.
Miscellaneous
Not much to report in this section. Our vehicles are still the only suitable ones running at Sinamatella so they, and those of us that drive them, have been under pressure keeping everything on the move. I’ve been trying to use ‘Granny’ the Land Cruiser as little as possible now that the huge price rises we have been experiencing have made her engine oil habit almost unsustainable. Diesel has also been a problem so we are very grateful to Makomo and Zambezi gas who both supplied us with fuel in spite of the difficulties they must be facing themselves. Makomo are obviously also facing difficulties with materials for their refurbishment of the lodges they now lease at Sinamatella, and progress was slow throughout October so we have seen very few tourists in camp. They have been missing out…….
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RHINO MONITORING & PROTECTION UNIT
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Report by Nicholas Long
The month of October lived up to its reputation as "suicide month", with many uncomfortably hot days. As we did last month we concentrated on the rhino as this is the best time to find their signs due to the dryness and lack of water in the bush. There was plenty of activity found throughout the month and the team was finally rewarded with a rhino sighting towards the end of the month. They managed to find the dominant bull, 251 at last. He hasn’t been present for some time in the areas where all the other rhinos are seen. I also managed to take our ecologist to see the rhino which was a first for him.
For a few days the team also joined the Painted dog anti-poaching team for a few patrols. Nothing much was found except for a few old unset snares. This makes us wonder whether there is no snare poaching (which I doubt) or the poachers are just very good at being secretive.Unfortunately we don’t do these patrols very often at the moment as we are busy looking for rhino so we don’t get much coverage of these areas, which might explain the lack of poaching activity found.
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The Zambian poacher we shot last month is still recovering in Mpilo Hospital, and will face charges once he is discharged from hospital.
Parks Investigations have had a busy month with Pangolin cases. In the Hwange Regional sort, one poacher was convicted of having Pangolin scales and sentenced to nine years. Another four were remanded in custody pending conviction for possessing a pangolin skin.
Again in Hwange court, two poachers, including a fairly senior official, were sentenced to nine years each for possession of Pangolin scales.
In Binga Court, three poachers were sentenced to nine years each for having two Pangolin skins
Again in Hwange court, three poachers from Gwayi, who were arrested last month, were convicted and got nine years each
Two poachers were arrested in Gokwe with a pangolin skin, and await conviction.
Parks Investigations also arrested three poachers from Harare hunting elephant, and recovered a rifle, plus impounded the vehicle they ere using. The trial is pending.
The worrying trend of Pangolin poaching continues, fuelled by the dire economic situation.
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We have had an amazing period of support from all our friends, new and old, out there, and we really appreciate all this support.However, we have received some donations into our account with no record of who it came from and we would like to be notified so we can at least acknowledge the support! Our heartfelt thanks to:
Ian Thomson and Ian Gloss for financing the drilling of a new borehole in the Chamabonda
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for the donation of two solar units, still to be installed
he RMPU had a welcome boost when Andre Cilliers from Thabazimbi, together with Anton Barnard of AB Labour Services, Terrance Hall of ACS (Jhbg) and Frik du Preez of JY Motors, Orkney, arrived at Deteema Dam with a whole lot of kit for the unit - embroided shirts, rucksacks, boots, mats, etc. Much appreciated
Michel Buenerd of Le Pic Vert, and Le Pal Nature Foundation, for funding what will be their 6th borehole and pump in Sinamatella!
Deb Chusid of New York for a great personal effort to raise funds to assist us
Piet and Anthea Erasmus for yet another generous donation - much appreciated
Nick Price and the PGA Tour for two generous donations.
Dr Mark Bristow and Hunters and Guides for the financing of our Rhino Monitoring and Protection Unit
Patrick Jacquemin for his support
Mark Unwin and the Clarkson Family Trust, for yet another generous donation.
Wildlife & Environmental Society of Zimbabwe (WEZ), Matabeleland Branch. Thanks to Pete Kendall, Colin Gillies, and Stuart Johnson for their continuing support, and the donation of a solar unit for Njekwa
Nicholas Duncan and the SAVE The African Rhino Foundation of Australia – a staunch supporter.
RAM Petroleum
Ricky Forster and Forster Irrigation of Bulawayo
Makomo Mine – donation of diesel
JR Goddard - donation of diesel
Ian & Sue Thomson –
Ian Gloss and Victoria Falls Liquorama
Dave Carson and Camp Hwange for helping fund our Sinamatella Rhino Monitoring Unit and game water supplies.
John Karasellos of Hisspan Motors for his continuing assistance and support.
Mike Karasellos for the grading the roads in the Chamabonda.
A big thanks to Ministry and Parks Staff :
The Hon Minister - Ms Priscah Mupfumira
The Director General - Mr Fulton Mangwanya
The Chief Conservator - Mt Arthur Musakwa
The Regional Manager, - Matabeleland - Mr Samson Chibaya,
Area Manager - Zambezi --Mrs Constance Gurure
Area Manager, - Robins and Sinamatella - Mr Hardwork Chikumba
Area Manager - Sinamatella - Mr Marvellous Mbikiyana
Area manager - Chizarira - Mr Brighton Joroma
and all their guys on the ground for all their support and assistance.
To my wife Liz for her continual support in all my comings and goings!!
And a big thanks to the Minister of Environment, Climate and Water
Apologies if we have inadvertently left anyone out!! Your help is much appreciated
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Bhejane Trust relies on donations to continue it’s operations, which includes our daily operating costs, as well as specific projects.
PLEASE HELP!!
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Donate to help us save our wildlife heritage - any donations would be gratefully accepted . Donations can be through our “PayNow” button on our website “bhejanetrust.org” or direct to our bank account:
Bank details :
Bhejane Trust,
FBC Bank,
Galleria Building, Parkway
Victoria Falls
Zimbabwe
Branch Code : 8512
Swift Code : FBCPZWHA
Account No : 6145093780178
Bhejane Trust office address:
231 Sopers Crescent,
P.O.Box 210
Victoria Falls,
Zimbabwe
Note - we do not have postal codes in Zimbabwe (00)
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CONTACT DETAILS
Trevor Lane : trevor@bhejanetrust.org +263 777 057 024
Stephen Long : stephen@bhejanetrust.org
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