Thought this would be of interest to you all. (Mods, please merge into another thread if required).
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/vi ... ds.html#cr
Counter Poaching Efforts
New ad campaign against rhino poaching
Dewi
What is the good of having a nice house without a decent planet to put it on? (H D Thoreau)
What is the good of having a nice house without a decent planet to put it on? (H D Thoreau)
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Mel
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Re: New ad campaign against rhino poaching
More of those initiatives, please! 
God put me on earth to accomplish a certain amount of things. Right now I'm so far behind that I'll never die.
Re: Counter Poaching Efforts
Dancing choppers used in veld DNA hunt
KATHARINE CHILD | 20 Mai, 2013
Hovering above the treetops, a helicopter drops down, dancing in the air, towards a herd of rhino grazing in the Pilanesberg National Park.
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The rhino, frightened by the noise, scatter as the aircraft comes towards them.
They look clumsy as they run, the helicopter, loud and unrelenting, following.
On Friday, vets and rangers, working with a game-capture pilot, darted three rhino with a sedative in less than two hours, taking DNA samples and microchipping their horns.
The helicopter was used to separate rhino to be darted from those whose DNA had been taken. Notches on the ears help vets identify the sampled animals.
South Africa has an extensive DNA database of rhino from across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
The database, at the University of Pretoria's veterinary genetics laboratory at Onderstepoort, specifies the DNA of about 7000 rhino, including those from privately owned game farms, the Kruger National Park and game parks in Zimbabwe and Botswana.
The database, which has been in existence for two-and-a-half years, has been used in a number of cases in which suspects caught with rhino horn have been prosecuted for poaching.
On Friday, the SAB Boucher Conservation Fund paid for three rhino from the Pilanesberg National Park to be microchipped and have their DNA sampled, bringing the number of rhino profilings sponsored by the NGO to 101.
It is trying to raise funds for the DNA profiling of thousands of rhino across South Africa.
SAB's sustainable development head, Andre Fourie, said DNA taken from small pieces of rhino horn identified the animal so that rangers could monitor herds to prevent inbreeding.
As the rhino population dwindles, concerns about the viability of the rhino gene pool increase.
DNA signatures allow the police to link a horn seized from a suspect to a poached rhino, building a stronger case for the prosecution.
DNA profiles are also used to identify rhino for legal trade, including sales by game-farm owners.
Steve Dell, Pilanesberg National Park's head ranger, said the reserve's rangers had received training on gathering evidence from a rhino poaching scene to enable them to protect the chain of evidence. He said 30 rhino had been poached in the Pilanesberg National Park, near Rustenburg, in the past three years.
Two nearby private parks had removed their rhino after a wave of poaching in the area left them with only a handful of animals, he said.
In less than 15 minutes a micro-chip can be drilled into a sedated rhino's horn. Fragments of the horn are saved for DNA profiling. Vets cut squares into a rhino's ear to mark it as sampled.
After the antidote to the sedative is given, it takes about two minutes for the rhino to stagger to its feet.
The blindfold is removed and the rugby socks are taken from its ears before he walks off free.
The socks are used to muffle sound, to lessen the stress to which the partially sedate rhino is subjected.
KATHARINE CHILD | 20 Mai, 2013
Hovering above the treetops, a helicopter drops down, dancing in the air, towards a herd of rhino grazing in the Pilanesberg National Park.
Share Article:
The rhino, frightened by the noise, scatter as the aircraft comes towards them.
They look clumsy as they run, the helicopter, loud and unrelenting, following.
On Friday, vets and rangers, working with a game-capture pilot, darted three rhino with a sedative in less than two hours, taking DNA samples and microchipping their horns.
The helicopter was used to separate rhino to be darted from those whose DNA had been taken. Notches on the ears help vets identify the sampled animals.
South Africa has an extensive DNA database of rhino from across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
The database, at the University of Pretoria's veterinary genetics laboratory at Onderstepoort, specifies the DNA of about 7000 rhino, including those from privately owned game farms, the Kruger National Park and game parks in Zimbabwe and Botswana.
The database, which has been in existence for two-and-a-half years, has been used in a number of cases in which suspects caught with rhino horn have been prosecuted for poaching.
On Friday, the SAB Boucher Conservation Fund paid for three rhino from the Pilanesberg National Park to be microchipped and have their DNA sampled, bringing the number of rhino profilings sponsored by the NGO to 101.
It is trying to raise funds for the DNA profiling of thousands of rhino across South Africa.
SAB's sustainable development head, Andre Fourie, said DNA taken from small pieces of rhino horn identified the animal so that rangers could monitor herds to prevent inbreeding.
As the rhino population dwindles, concerns about the viability of the rhino gene pool increase.
DNA signatures allow the police to link a horn seized from a suspect to a poached rhino, building a stronger case for the prosecution.
DNA profiles are also used to identify rhino for legal trade, including sales by game-farm owners.
Steve Dell, Pilanesberg National Park's head ranger, said the reserve's rangers had received training on gathering evidence from a rhino poaching scene to enable them to protect the chain of evidence. He said 30 rhino had been poached in the Pilanesberg National Park, near Rustenburg, in the past three years.
Two nearby private parks had removed their rhino after a wave of poaching in the area left them with only a handful of animals, he said.
In less than 15 minutes a micro-chip can be drilled into a sedated rhino's horn. Fragments of the horn are saved for DNA profiling. Vets cut squares into a rhino's ear to mark it as sampled.
After the antidote to the sedative is given, it takes about two minutes for the rhino to stagger to its feet.
The blindfold is removed and the rugby socks are taken from its ears before he walks off free.
The socks are used to muffle sound, to lessen the stress to which the partially sedate rhino is subjected.
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Richprins
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Re: Counter Poaching Efforts
Well done!
And thanks, Toko!
And thanks, Toko!
Please check Needs Attention pre-booking: https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=322&t=596
Re: Anti-Poaching Campaigns & Initiatives
No fly zones over KZN rhino
Empangeni - Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is considering making KwaZulu-Natal's game reserves no fly zones for private aircraft to help curb rhino poaching, CEO Bandile Mkhize said on Wednesday.
Poachers had resorted to sophisticated tactics, such as using silencers on their guns and helicopters at night, Mkhize told a two-day summit on rhino poaching at the University of Zululand near Empangeni.
"This war [against rhino poaching] is a serious war. We should be detecting who flies."
He said the difficulty was that poachers, even if they filed a flight plan with aviation authorities, did not reveal their real intention.
He did not provide details, or elaborate about a specific incident involving the use of helicopters for poaching, and said only that the imposition of no-fly zones was "a great possibility".
The organisation was improving its equipment in the fight against rhino poaching.
Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini said communities needed to expose those behind rhino poaching.
"Why don't you tell us? Who are these people who are doing such a horrible thing?" he asked.
Communities could not say there was no one in their midst who was involved in poaching.
Historically, hunting in the Zulu kingdom was controlled by the king, and this hunting was for the purposes of livelihood and not for profit, he said.
"We beg you to stop this nonsense."
Hurts deeply
He said the authorities had to bring rural communities into the fight against rhino poaching.
"It hurts me deeply every time I see a report of another rhino killed."
Rhino poachers and those who drove the rhino horn trade needed to be seen as "enemies of Africa".
Mkhize said 11 rhino had been killed in the province in the past week.
Since February, 128 rhino had been killed in South Africa, according to environmental affairs department figures quoted on the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA's website.
Last year, 668 rhino were killed, 66 of them in KwaZulu-Natal.
Too ghastly
Mkhize said he was still in favour of the legalised sale of rhino horn from stock-piles of horns collected by the authorities, from the carcasses of rhino which had died naturally in the environment.
He said he believed this would help cut demand for illegal horns and would be an important measure in the fight to preserve rhino populations.
"If the rhino disappears, it's not only us in conservation that will suffer," he said.
He said the rhino was just one part in the economic chain, and a drop in the number of tourists as a result of their demise would affect others' livelihoods.
"The loss of rhino would be too ghastly to contemplate," he said.
Rhino horns are used as dagger handles in the Middle Eastern country of Yemen, while in the Far East the horn is prized for its medicinal purposes. South Africa has the largest rhino population in the world.
- SAPA
Empangeni - Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is considering making KwaZulu-Natal's game reserves no fly zones for private aircraft to help curb rhino poaching, CEO Bandile Mkhize said on Wednesday.
Poachers had resorted to sophisticated tactics, such as using silencers on their guns and helicopters at night, Mkhize told a two-day summit on rhino poaching at the University of Zululand near Empangeni.
"This war [against rhino poaching] is a serious war. We should be detecting who flies."
He said the difficulty was that poachers, even if they filed a flight plan with aviation authorities, did not reveal their real intention.
He did not provide details, or elaborate about a specific incident involving the use of helicopters for poaching, and said only that the imposition of no-fly zones was "a great possibility".
The organisation was improving its equipment in the fight against rhino poaching.
Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini said communities needed to expose those behind rhino poaching.
"Why don't you tell us? Who are these people who are doing such a horrible thing?" he asked.
Communities could not say there was no one in their midst who was involved in poaching.
Historically, hunting in the Zulu kingdom was controlled by the king, and this hunting was for the purposes of livelihood and not for profit, he said.
"We beg you to stop this nonsense."
Hurts deeply
He said the authorities had to bring rural communities into the fight against rhino poaching.
"It hurts me deeply every time I see a report of another rhino killed."
Rhino poachers and those who drove the rhino horn trade needed to be seen as "enemies of Africa".
Mkhize said 11 rhino had been killed in the province in the past week.
Since February, 128 rhino had been killed in South Africa, according to environmental affairs department figures quoted on the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA's website.
Last year, 668 rhino were killed, 66 of them in KwaZulu-Natal.
Too ghastly
Mkhize said he was still in favour of the legalised sale of rhino horn from stock-piles of horns collected by the authorities, from the carcasses of rhino which had died naturally in the environment.
He said he believed this would help cut demand for illegal horns and would be an important measure in the fight to preserve rhino populations.
"If the rhino disappears, it's not only us in conservation that will suffer," he said.
He said the rhino was just one part in the economic chain, and a drop in the number of tourists as a result of their demise would affect others' livelihoods.
"The loss of rhino would be too ghastly to contemplate," he said.
Rhino horns are used as dagger handles in the Middle Eastern country of Yemen, while in the Far East the horn is prized for its medicinal purposes. South Africa has the largest rhino population in the world.
- SAPA
Re: Counter Poaching Efforts
&Beyond celebrates milestones in fight against Rhino poaching
As the survival of the rhino continues to be threatened by the scourge of poaching in South Africa, luxury experiential travel company &Beyond is celebrating the success of a number of initiatives designed to help save the species.
In the culmination of a groundbreaking project, six white rhino donated by &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve and translocated to neighbouring Botswana were released in the wild last week.
As rhino poaching reaches an all-time high in South Africa, with two to three rhino killed every day, &Beyond decided to move the six rhino to Botswana. With a strong security and monitoring framework in place, the country’s Department of Wildlife Anti-Poaching Unit and the Botswana Defence Force help to protect the species.
Arriving from South Africa under the tightest security, the six rhino were held in an acclimatisation boma before being released last week. All six rhino are now roaming free and doing well.
In a surprise development that delighted &Beyond’s translocation team, it has also been confirmed that one of the three female rhino is pregnant and is expected to deliver a calf in five to six months’ time.
All six rhino have been collared and microchipped for research and monitoring purposes and will be tracked daily by &Beyond’s research team. The information gathered will help guide and secure future translocations. Guests visiting &Beyond’s lodges in Botswana will also be able to enjoy guided walks with the company’s expert guides to view these endangered animals in their new home.
&Beyond remains proud of its overall security initiatives in South Africa. A joint operation by the Phinda Anti-Poaching Unit (Nyathi APU Security), the SAPS Empangeni Canine Unit, EKZN Wildlife and the SAPS Durban Organised Crime Unit recently resulted in the arrest of three suspected poachers in the town of Jozini in northern KwaZulu-Natal. This joint collaboration is proving effective in fighting the war against rhino poaching and these arrests will serve as a further blow to poaching syndicates operating in our country.
Committed to the protection of rhino and other endangered species over the past 22 years, &Beyond attributes its success in such initiatives to its strong conservation model, as well as its positive relationships with the communities surrounding its game reserves.
ISSUED BY: media@andBeyond.com
T +27 11 809 4300 | F +27 11 809 4511
http://www.andBeyond.com
As the survival of the rhino continues to be threatened by the scourge of poaching in South Africa, luxury experiential travel company &Beyond is celebrating the success of a number of initiatives designed to help save the species.
In the culmination of a groundbreaking project, six white rhino donated by &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve and translocated to neighbouring Botswana were released in the wild last week.
As rhino poaching reaches an all-time high in South Africa, with two to three rhino killed every day, &Beyond decided to move the six rhino to Botswana. With a strong security and monitoring framework in place, the country’s Department of Wildlife Anti-Poaching Unit and the Botswana Defence Force help to protect the species.
Arriving from South Africa under the tightest security, the six rhino were held in an acclimatisation boma before being released last week. All six rhino are now roaming free and doing well.
In a surprise development that delighted &Beyond’s translocation team, it has also been confirmed that one of the three female rhino is pregnant and is expected to deliver a calf in five to six months’ time.
All six rhino have been collared and microchipped for research and monitoring purposes and will be tracked daily by &Beyond’s research team. The information gathered will help guide and secure future translocations. Guests visiting &Beyond’s lodges in Botswana will also be able to enjoy guided walks with the company’s expert guides to view these endangered animals in their new home.
&Beyond remains proud of its overall security initiatives in South Africa. A joint operation by the Phinda Anti-Poaching Unit (Nyathi APU Security), the SAPS Empangeni Canine Unit, EKZN Wildlife and the SAPS Durban Organised Crime Unit recently resulted in the arrest of three suspected poachers in the town of Jozini in northern KwaZulu-Natal. This joint collaboration is proving effective in fighting the war against rhino poaching and these arrests will serve as a further blow to poaching syndicates operating in our country.
Committed to the protection of rhino and other endangered species over the past 22 years, &Beyond attributes its success in such initiatives to its strong conservation model, as well as its positive relationships with the communities surrounding its game reserves.
ISSUED BY: media@andBeyond.com
T +27 11 809 4300 | F +27 11 809 4511
http://www.andBeyond.com