Human-Wildlife Conflict

[Richprins]

[RogerFraser]

Basically ties in with my previous comment about Rhino Poaching in KZN being a reflection of the province as a whole .But there is also the factor that the fence is often damaged by the locals as they want to get employed to fix it or else they want to let their cattle graze inside the park ....

[Lisbeth]

There is a dire lack of civic education in SA On the other hand the population does not get much support from the state

[Lisbeth]

Angry community shuts Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park gate, sets alight guard hut after repeated wildlife escapes


A guard hut burns at the Cengeni entrance gate to the Hluhuwe-iMfolozi Park during a community sit-in protest on Saturday morning. (Photo: KZN Wildlife)

By Tony Carnie |14 Aug 2022

A guard hut was set alight and a park entrance gate shut to the public during a community protest at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi game reserve at the weekend, sparked by the recent escape of several lions and other dangerous wildlife species.
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Police were also called in to disperse protesters after a community sit-in protest at the park’s western Cengeni gate near Ulundi on Saturday. The park, established 145 years ago to protect a remnant population of white rhinos, is Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife’s flagship wildlife reserve.

According to Ezemvelo, community members stole cellphones, food and a piece of sophisticated rhino anti-poaching equipment from the nearby ranger accommodation quarters. A guard hut next to the Cengeni entrance gate was set alight and solar panels used to power an electrified fence were vandalised.

The protest was sparked by a series of recent escapes by dangerous animals, including lions, rhino, buffalo and elephant. In one incident last week, a 45 year-old woman was hospitalised after being knocked over by a white rhino outside her home near the park’s western boundary fence.


A guard hut burns at the Cengeni entrance gate to the Hluhuwe-iMfolozi Park during a community sit-in protest on Saturday morning. (Photo: KZN Wildlife)


One of the solar panels damaged during a community protest at the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park at the weekend. (Photo: KZN Wildlife)

A pride of five lions was shot and killed by Ezemvelo wildlife officers on 14 August after breaking out for the third time in a matter of weeks and killing several cattle.

Late last week, another two lions broke out and killed four more cattle. One of these predators was shot dead on Friday by wildlife staff, but anger in some communities was already high after two adult white rhinos broke out of the park and were seen close to residential areas.

Some members of the community were reported to have chased and fired several shots at the rhinos in the vicinity of a rural homestead, leading one of the animals to enter 45-year-old Zanele Mbhele’s yard. According to community members, Mbhele was lucky to have escaped death or serious injury after one of the animals charged towards her, ripping off her skirt with its horn.

In other recent incidents, elephants have also broken out of the park, prompting members of the Okhukho and Nqulwane community committee to lodge a complaint with the Public Protector and the board of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.

In a formal complaint, committee members Msizi Myaka and Similo Khanyile said the repeated escape of wild animals and the poor condition of large sections of fencing around the park posed a serious danger to the lives of surrounding communities, who had also suffered the loss of several livestock from both lions and hyenas.

They said a buffalo was seen outside the reserve recently and four elephants had escaped into the Masokaneni area earlier this month.

In a media statement, Ezemvelo spokesperson Musa Mntambo said the Cengeni gate (one of three main entrances to the park) had been closed due to community protests and would likely remain shut until 15 August.

He confirmed that another two lions escaped last week, apparently via a gully along the park fence. One of the lions was shot on Friday after killing four cows, but the whereabouts of the second lion was unclear.

Mntambo said the protest at the Cengeni gate came as a “surprise”, as Ezemvelo management believed it had reached agreement at a recent community meeting to allow the conservation agency two months to repair sections of damaged fencing.

A resolution had also been passed at the meeting to employ at least 115 local residents to help fix the fence, but so far only 21 had started work while Ezemvelo finalised a vetting process and waited for pre-employment medical reports.

“Some of the protesters broke into staff accommodation on 13 August and stole various items belonging to the field rangers like cellphones and staff food. They unfortunately stole a Cmore device which is used in the fight against rhino poaching and also burnt the security house next to the gate and damaged solar panels that power the fence.”


Senior Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife staff and community members inspect homestead fences damaged by two rhinos last week. (Photo: KZN Wildlife)


A lion lies dead outside the western section of the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. The predator was shot dead late last week by wildlife conservation staff after it broke out of the park and killed four cattle. (Photo: Supplied)

Meanwhile, Ezemvelo Acting CEO, Ntsikelelo Dlulane has appealed to community members to refrain from further protest.

“We request people that have issues with Ezemvelo to engage us instead of protesting. I have ensured that most of the resolutions adopted during the community meeting attended by the former Environment MEC Ravi Pillay are implemented.

“The places where we have not started repairing the fence are remote areas that are not easily accessible by vehicles delivering the material. We have put a plan in place to attend to these areas and we appeal to the community to afford us some time. I also hope that those who took items belonging to our field rangers (including the Cmore device) will return them to us.”

On Saturday, Dlulane also visited some of the six community members whose fences were damaged last week by two fleeing rhinos.

“Ezemvelo has begun the process of repairing the damaged fence. Dlulane also met with the family of Zanele Mbhele, the lady injured when a rhino stamped on her, and facilitated that her family visit her in hospital yesterday. Ezemvelo will cover all costs related to this incident,” said Ezemvelo’s media statement.

Nevertheless, committee member Msizi Myaka said yesterday (14 August) that several residents believed Ezemvelo was not acting swiftly enough to repair the fence or to compensate them for livestock losses.

“We do not want to destroy the park, but we are talking about the safety of human lives. Guards must be placed day and night along weak spots in the fence and helicopters must be on standby to respond immediately if there are more breakouts,” said Myaka.

He blamed the destruction of the guard hut on “someone who was drunk, and set it alight”, denying that protesters were violent.

“We don’t encourage what happened (to the guard hut) on Saturday… Whoever did it must take the blame. At the same time, we worry that our homes are no longer a residential area when we find lions and other members of the Big Five roaming around us.” – DM/OBP

[Lisbeth]

The Park seems to be unable to organize anything Forget about vetting and medical controls, which can be done on the way, and get the job started

[Richprins]

[Lisbeth]

ANIMAL CRUELTY CASE

Uniondale farmer charged after allegedly leaving trapped leopard to die of thirst


A leopard trapped in a cage at a Uniondale farm in 2020. (Photo: Supplied)

By Tembile Sgqolana | 25 Aug 2022

André Barnard, a farmer from the Toorwater area in the Little Karoo, has been charged after he allegedly left a trapped and caged leopard to die of dehydration.
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André Barnard, a farmer from Toorwater, just north of Uniondale in the Western Cape, will appear in the Uniondale Regional Court on 15 September for allegedly killing a leopard.

Barnard has been charged with two counts of violating the Nature and Environment Conservation Ordinance. He also faces three charges under the Animal Protection Act after allegedly leaving a trapped leopard to die in a cage.

According to National Prosecuting Authority Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila, the charge sheet will be finalised once the regional court prosecutor has finished consulting and before the accused is asked to plead.

The Landmark Foundation’s Dr Bool Smuts said the case had been dragging on since March this year.

Smuts said that around August 2020, “the leopard was allegedly illegally captured in a cage trap (fall-door box trap) without the requisite permits.

“Knowing that it was captured, Bernard allegedly wished it dead but did not want to shoot it, nor would he call CapeNature or Landmark Foundation for assistance. Instead, he left it to die of dehydration in the cage.”

‘Cruellest death’

Smuts said it wasn’t known how long the leopard was left to suffer before it died.

“Thirst is the only urge a mammal cannot resist. Dying of dehydration, by deprivation of water, is the cruellest death any animal can be subjected to. The Landmark Foundation has agitated since March to get the NPA to fully prosecute the alleged crimes,” Smuts said.

He said initially the charges included only the illegal capture and killing of the leopard without due permits in terms of the 1974 Provincial Ordinance, and disregarded the ethics or cruel method with which the animal was allegedly intentionally killed.

“With our agitation, charges were added in respect of the Animal Protection Act. However, attempts by the accused and the NPA to get a plea deal agreement intervened. The Landmark Foundation asked for a watching brief in court and the right to address the Magistrates’ Court’s presiding officer in aggravation of sentencing,” said Smuts.

Smuts said they demanded that all the transgressions in law (the Conservation Ordinance and the Animal Protection Act) should have been prosecuted and charges filed accordingly.

Criminal justice system ‘shocking’

“We also believe that the farmworkers and Barnard’s son, who were allegedly involved in and/or had knowledge of the leopard capture and the circumstances of it being left to die in the cage, be charged as accomplices.”

Smuts said what was equally shocking is the attitude of the criminal justice system in its prosecution of the matter.

“The accused has been before court on at least six occasions where we have attended. He has still not been asked to plead. From one magistrate opining about the plight of farmers and how terrible leopards are — and the state not compensating farmers (even before the accused has pleaded) — to the brazen arrogance of the NPA in this matter, there seems little prospect of justice being served,” he said.

Smuts said they believed an appropriate sentence should be imposed on all parties found guilty.

“We have succeeded in elevating the matter from the District to the Regional Magistrates’ Court. The initial plea deal presented by the accused has been rejected,” he said.

Lack of interest in prosecutions

Smuts said the tragedy of errors in the State’s case continues, and is now laced by “arrogance” from senior NPA staff trying to cover up the incompetence, lack of interest in the killing of a protected species and the cruelty involved.

“This is not the first instance — in fact, it’s the fifth example in our experience — of disinterest with respect to prosecutions involving the death of leopards at the hands of landowners. With such disinterest and lack of prosecutorial rigour, these animals have little hope,” he said.

Smuts said there were reasonable alternatives available to the farmer that could have spared the leopard from a barbaric and cruel death — from potentially translocating the animal, to collaring and releasing it back on site as part of a compensation scheme to the farmer. Instead, the farmer allegedly chose to leave the caged leopard to die of dehydration.

Ntabazalila said “the matter was postponed to 15 September 2022 to afford the new legal representative of the accused an opportunity to consult properly with his client. The state is ready to proceed with the case”.

He said every matter the NPA dealt with was taken seriously.

“We are committed in the prosecution of crime without fear, favour or prejudice. I cannot comment on the merits of the case further as the matter is still sub judice,” he said. DM/OBP

[Lisbeth]

Lions target particular types of cows – research



Human-wildlife conflict is one of the gravest threats facing wildlife conservation and local communities in Africa. One primary source of this conflict is the loss of livestock , such as cattle, to wild predators. Understanding when and how these predators, such as lions, select their prey is vital in generating mitigation strategies.

Research from the University of Pretoria unravels some characteristics that make cattle more vulnerable to hunting lions. The scientists found that specific situations and cattle attributes such as mottled coat colours, small horns, youth, and social behaviour placed certain herd members at greater risk.

The study was conducted in Botswana’s eastern Panhandle region of the Okavango Delta. The fringe of the Delta is a known conflict hotspot where free-ranging livestock and wildlife coexist, and livestock losses are common. During the two-year study period, 197 cattle were killed in 143 different incidents. The vast majority (82.7%) were killed by lions, while African painted wolves (wild dogs), spotted hyenas, and leopards accounted for the remainder.

As might be expected, the scientists found that 87.1% of the incidents occurred between dusk and dawn, and all attacks on cattle in an enclosure took place exclusively at night. Though the lions killed only one cow on average, there were ten incidents where more than two cows were killed in one incident. These occurred in non-predator-proof enclosures, indicating that inadequate cattle pens may exacerbate livestock losses during single incidents. However, free-ranging cattle still accounted for the most losses during the study.

During the incidents involving enclosed cattle, the lions targeted young and inexperienced calves, prone to panic and stampeding when attacked without an escape route. Conversely, calves were avoided in incidents involving free-ranging cattle. Interestingly, lions seem to avoid heifers and adult cows in both contexts (enclosed and free-ranging), suggesting that the inherent sociality of the females reduced their risk. Instead, free-ranging bulls and oxen – more likely to be solitary than the cows – were the preferred prey.


Livestock losses are common along the Delta fringe, where free-ranging livestock and wildlife coexist

Given their size and morphological similarity to buffalo, lion predation on cattle is inevitable. However, the authors point out that the process of domestication has removed many of the wild attributes – size, horns, aggression – that would have helped cattle discourage predation attempts. Thus, it was easy to understand why more polled (hornless) or small-horned cattle were killed while long-horned cattle were avoided. However, the discovery that lions preferred mottled cows over those with a solid colour coat was somewhat harder to explain. Lions have better night vision than humans, but this has come at a cost in terms of colour and detail vision, so they tend to respond more readily to movement. The scientists theorise that “the mixed pelage pattern helps identify movement” and draw the lions’ attention more frequently than solid-coloured cows.

Though it is an entirely understandable response, the research also suggests that chasing the lions off a cattle carcass may increase attacks. The data shows that early disturbance at a kill reduced carcass consumption by 40%, the equivalent of 30kg per carcass per lion. As lions need at least an average of 6kg of food per day to maintain condition (though they do not need to feed every day and usually consume more than this in one sitting), disrupting their feeding could force them to kill more frequently in “hit and run” attacks.

So, what are the implications of this research? The authors acknowledge that selective breeding for more “wild” characteristics like longer horns and aggression is an unlikely solution, as this would only make the cattle more challenging and even dangerous to handle. Regardless, the preferences displayed by the lions were subtle. The obvious upshot is that the antipredator activities fall to the humans that care for the cattle. The most productive action would be to confine the cattle at night, but this needs to be done in suitable, predator-proof enclosures to avoid the possibility of lions developing a preference for “easy, confined prey”. This is particularly necessary during the dry season when the cattle are more likely to travel greater distances for food and water.

[Lisbeth]

Media Release: Update on Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team progress
21 September 2022

Following the roundtable discussions on baboon management within the Cape Peninsula on 7 June 2022, the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team, consisting of representatives from South African National Parks (SANParks), the City of Cape Town (CoCT) and CapeNature, deliberated on its terms of reference and work plan to deliver on a draft Memorandum of Agreement and a Strategic Management Plan of Chacma Baboons in the Cape Peninsula.

SANParks' Managing Executive of Conservation Services, Dr Luthando Dziba, confirmed that since the roundtable discussion hosted by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy on 7 June 2022, the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team has held a number of meetings to discuss a Memorandum of Agreement between the three parties, and is in the process of preparing for public engagement on the draft Strategic Baboon Management Plan. The public engagement will take place as soon as a draft plan is available, currently planned for November 2022.

"To date, a Joint Task Team Terms of Reference (ToR) has been agreed by the parties. The aim is to finalise the Memorandum of Agreement between the three parties for approval by the end of October 2022. The parties will also ensure the engagement of other parties such as the South African Navy, National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, DFFE, Cape of Good Hope SPCA, and as well as other major property owners for example, the Western Cape Government," continues Dziba.

Since mid-August 2022 to date, the City has hosted seven online meetings with residents and businesses from baboon-affected areas to discuss a suite of more sustainable proposals. These areas are Kommetjie; Scarborough and Misty Cliffs; Constantia south of Constantia Nek, Tokai, Zwaanswyk; Da Gama, Welcome Glen, Glencairn; Simon's Town South and Murdock Valley; Sunnydale, Capri, Imhoff's Gift, Heron Park, Ocean View; and Simon's Town main. The eighth meeting with Constantia residents north of Constantia Nek will follow on 22 September 2022.

"I am very pleased to say that all of these meetings were well attended and the engagements positive and constructive. Residents, interested parties and ratepayers' associations across the board contributed with comments and proposals and also raised some concerns. We have been collating the feedback from the meetings and this will be presented to the Joint Task Team for consideration in the development of the draft Strategic Management Plan. I want to thank Minister Creecy, SANParks and CapeNature, for their leadership and guidance, and all of the officials for the spirit of cooperation. It is encouraging to note that the task team is making progress and that the draft Strategic Baboon Management Plan may be published for the public's input before the end of the year," said the City's Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.

CapeNature's Executive Director, Conservation Operations, Dr Ernst Baard, added "CapeNature remains committed to be part of, and contribute to, the work of the Joint Task Team, including the drafting and finalisation of the Memorandum of Agreement and the Strategic Baboon Management Plan in partnership with SANParks and the City of Cape Town. The sustainable management of baboons is important to ensure baboons continue to form an integral part of the biodiversity of the Cape Peninsula, including the Table Mountain National Park."

The Joint Task Team encourages all stakeholders, including residents, businesses and interested and affected parties, to use the opportunity to make contributions to the draft Strategic Management Plan once the public participation process commences.

Media Enquiries:
Lauren Howard Clayton
SANParks Regional Communications Manager: Cape Region
Email: lauren.clayton@sanparks.org; Cell: 071 115 5843

Letitia Mathieson
Executive Support Officer to the City of Cape Town's Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment
Tel: 021 400 4836 or Cell: 084 437 7249, Email: Letitia.Mathieson@capetown.gov.za (Please always copy media.account@capetown.gov.za)

Petro van Rhyn
General Manager: Advocacy, CapeNature

[Lisbeth]

Pioneering conflict-avoidance study asks elephants what works for them


According to Dr Lucy King, head of the Human-Elephant Co-existence Programme for Save the Elephants, we are running out of time to protect both the future of elephants and the safety of communities living side by side with them. (Photo: Audrey Delsink, Humane Society International Africa)

By Don Pinnock | 14 Feb 2023

Elephants created Africa’s first highways and still remember them. It’s when we block them that trouble with humans begins.
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Elephants are long-distance hikers, moving with the rains and seeking out greener pastures. Pathfinders among them communicate the best routes to follow, irrespective of national borders, fences or farms which try to block them. Because we’re not aware of this, says a study just released, it results in human-elephant conflict – often with tragic results on both sides.

There is a solution. The research by the NGO Elephants Alive says that by understanding these elephant highways and the sorts of food that attract or deflect them, indigenous farmers can avoid trouble and increase tolerance of their seasonal migrations.

For 25 years the NGO has been tracking pathfinding elephants across southern Africa, trying to understand why they take the routes they do. It found that they trek along ancient pathways which take them through human-dominated landscapes. These journeys can cover huge distances, often through several countries.


Human-elephant conflict occurs when humans overlap with traditional elephant highways. (Photo: Maurice Schutgens for Elephants Alive)

Thirty years ago, southern African states had just more than 20% of Africa’s continental elephant population. Because of excessive poaching in Central and East Africa, these southern states have now become their last stronghold, with more than half of the continental population. Of the remaining elephants, 76% are found in populations moving over more than one national border.

Keystone species

Because elephants are keystone species – meaning they enable other species’ survival within the ecosystem – principal researcher Dr Michelle Henley writes that it’s imperative that these corridors are maintained.

“Failure to curb human-wildlife conflict where both humans and elephants intersect – if left unaddressed – may result in the linkages being closed off completely.”

Conflict is rapidly increasing as elephants are compressed within their natural range alongside burgeoning human populations, resulting in damage, economic losses, injuries and death of people and elephants.

Crop raiding by elephants represents a common form of conflict and could be driven by a lack of microminerals that are not available in the protected areas within which they are expected to remain. This is a problem that poses serious challenges to wildlife managers, local communities and the elephants themselves.

Understanding elephant movements along these wildlife corridors shows where connectivity between protected areas is most needed and where human-elephant conflict mitigation would be most effective across a large landscape.

Connecting protected areas across political borders while building more sustainable rural economies around corridors chosen by elephant movements is of prime importance, say the researchers.


The transboundary movements of elephants between South Africa, Mozambique, Eswatini and Zimbabwe (1998-2022). (Source: Elephants Alive)

These highways are remembered by what Henley calls pathfinding elephants which were collared and watched using satellite technology over many years. Using this information, highway “maps” have been drawn over time. Their movements can cover about 3,000km across the Greater Limpopo and Lebombo Transfrontier Conservation Areas and include South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Eswatini.

Having discovered the migration routes, the researchers set about trying to figure out what to do to reduce conflict. One strategy involved providing habituated elephants with a “cafeteria” of plant types to find out what foods they preferred or avoided.

The researchers worked out which plants with the potential food, essential oil, medicine and/or bee-fodder value were avoided by elephants. Propagating these as soft barriers around food crops, they say, would ward off marauding elephants, provide new economic opportunities and increase food security.


Beehive fences are effective because elephants are terrified of bees. (Photo: Elephants Alive)

Another solution was using “beehive fences” (elephants are terrified of bees) with suspended hives and tripwires that shook them, causing the bees to buzz angrily. This works better than hard barriers such as electric fencing which often threaten connected landscapes if not strategically placed around local cluster crops. They’re expensive and ineffective if not maintained once elephants learn to breach them.

Rapid response units

Another strategy was the deployment of rapid response units to scare away crop-raiding elephants before they could do any damage. This was trialled by the Mozambique Wildlife Alliance under Dr Carlos Lopes Pereira, with great success.

It soon got the support of communities using non-lethal, low-disturbance methods and a basic understanding of elephant behaviour. “This is a community-based response that can be replicated in many places, resulting in increased tolerance [and] less damage to crops and people’s livelihoods,” said Pereira.

According to the study, elephants moving along corridors across human-dominated landscapes depend on tree cover where they can hide during the day. Creating these vegetation “stepping stones”, says the study, could be monetised as carbon credits.

“If elephants are to survive,” said Henley, “we must invest in scientific knowledge to deepen our understanding of their movements and spatial requirements in combination with understanding the socioeconomic needs of the people that share the landscape with them”.

According to Dr Lucy King, head of the Human-Elephant Co-existence Programme for Save the Elephants, we are running out of time to protect both the future of elephants and the safety of communities living side-by-side with them. “By investigating novel crops that are unpalatable to elephants as well as being bee-friendly by providing sustenance to bees living in protective beehive fences, the researchers have taken an important step towards seeking human-elephant coexistence.”

The study is a pioneer in including elephants in the “conversation” about their own future. DM/OBP