Dear All

Sorry this is late. In fact, I have decided that the newsletter will come out when it comes out. The only news in the media is generally pretty bad. The NGOs in conservation are struggling to get enough money to protect their areas at the same time as poaching has increased because of hunger in the communities. The tour operators have no money because of no visitors and many staff have lost their jobs. It is fairly dire. Also, I have not asked for subscriptions this year because no-one has money to pay, so I am also on the breadline.

I know that some people who have a bit of money and are not working are actually travelling around their own countries and enjoying the sights and sounds of the bush which are normally crowded at this time of year. Good for them! There are some fantastic special offers available.

I am stuck at home but not unhappy. I have plenty to do and the birds are, as usual, very entertaining. This week was the first time I have had a woodpecker come down for a bath and a drink – special treat.

A feast for crocsConservation South Luangwa

A scout patrol team in the northern sector of the park reported that a large number of buffalo had died. A joint ground team from Department of National Parks & Wildlife, Zambian Carnivore Programme and CSL went to investigate and the plane also headed that way.

It was a ‘natural’ accident and rather than being caused by any illegal poaching activity, the buffalo had drowned. Occasionally this happens, when a herd stampedes. It’s possible the herd had been chased by lions, entered the river and a steep bank blocked their exit from the far side.

While it is always sad to see so many animals dead. Huge crocodiles were seen all around the carcasses and a feeding frenzy was going on in a true demonstration of the natural cycle of life and death.

Thanks to CSL Operations’s Manager Zambezi Grog for the photos.

G: This has happened a couple of times in Kafue around Musa River which comes into Lake Itezhi-Tezhi in the south.

ZAMBIA

Conservation South Luangwa

This female elephant was reported by Wildlife Camp, South Luangwa, Zambia in the late afternoon two days ago with a terrible cable snare tight around her chest. It had not caused an open wound yet indicating it was new, but it had started to cause some edema in the belly and she was in pain. Yesterday morning she was spotted again by Zambian Carnivore Programme and the team jumped in to action.

As she was in a herd of 10 elephants, we needed enough scouts and vehicles to support because we would have to immobilize the cow and then chase the rest of the herd away when she started to succumb to the drugs and go down. Elephants always try and help their family in distress, and will often try and lift them up or form a tight circle around the fallen one, understandably becoming increasingly defensive and aggressive towards us.

Luckily this herd was quite well behaved and once the dart was in and the elephant went down 10 minutes later, the herd came to protect her but we were able to push them off with skills we’ve learnt over many years of darting snared elephants in big herds.

While four scouts stood guard watching the elephants nearby who every now and then gave a little charge, the rest of the team under the leadership of Dr. Mwamba Sichande and Dr. Lengwe Bwalya got to work removing the thick cable, keeping her cool and monitoring her breathing.

The whole operation was done in 15 minutes and she was up on her feet and reunited with her family.

Liuwa Plain National Park

Exciting news! For the first time, the park has documented cheetah moving between Zambia and Angola!

Researchers from the Greater Liuwa Project - Department of National Parks & Wildlife, Zambian Carnivore Programme, and African Parks – have long suspected that these cheetah are transboundary with Angola, but this is the first evidence.

The Upper West Zambezi Game Management Area is of great importance to wildlife, which includes Africa’s second largest wildebeest populations’ migratory pathway. This cheetah movement further indicates the importance of the area as a wildlife corridor connecting Angola and Liuwa, and of conserving the broader landscape, and so delivering long-term benefits for local people and wildlife.

What’s more, two cheetah cubs have recently emerged from their den in the park, and are moving with their mother – this is the fifth litter she’ll be raising!

Photo credit: Anna Kusler and Daan SmitRangewide Conservation Program for Cheetah and Wild Dog WWF Zambia

G: This is fabulous news for Angola which has such a long way to go before it becomes part of the world-wide web of the tourism industry. From Botswana the Okavango Project is making inroads into the Kavango River basin and now this connection with Zambia is another milestone. The transfrontier conservation area (Liuwa Plains-Mussuma) has been on paper only for some years but now, it feels that the conservation area has come alive with this news.

I had a look on Google Earth … Gosh, it’s going to be a serious issue for people to get access to Mussuma from Liuwa Plains – it is floodplain throughout with very few roads. I did get some photographs from Google Earth:

West Zambezi GMA, Zambia Mussuma, Angola

North Luangwa Conservation Project

The newly opened community owned tourism venture, Samala Camp, is now open to welcome guests to explore the stunning Mukungule GMA. Based on the pristine banks of the winding Mwaleshi River, it offers guests furnished self-catering tents for only $25pp/pn.Visit www.northluangwa.org/samalacamp for more details or like the Samala Camp facebook page.

Game Rangers International

It’s a chilly day in Lusaka, but Mbila and Zongo stay toasty warm with their rugs and blankets as they browse with the rest of the Nursery Herd!

GRI - ZambiaCalling all Cyclists!

We are thrilled to launch the Elephant EPIC MTB Challenge 2020!

For the first time ever we are taking this event PHYSICAL and VIRTUAL, and we want YOU to join us for this ride of your life!

It is with huge thanks to our highly valued local partners, in particular BELL EQUIPMENT ZAMBIA LTD and Emergency Response Zambia, that we able to host the 9th Elephant Epic Challenge. This year all event profits will support wildlife through conservation partnersGame Rangers International and Conservation Lower Zambezi - CLZ.

For all event information, registration and motivation please see www.gamerangersinternational.org/elephantepic

So what are you waiting for, get ‘on yer bike’ and Ride for Wildlife!

N.B. for all physical entries covid-19 regulations will apply so please review this section carefully.

The Flora and Fungi of Zambia

Huge Rosewood logs coming out of NW Province. We saw about 6 trucks loaded with logs on road between Kambopo and Mwiniilunga. Apparently they are being harvested by Hinsa Timber Company. Is this legit?

Theft Of Railway Materials Hamper Train Operations On The Livingstone-Victoria Falls LineRailways Africa Earlier this week, Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) suspended train operations between Livingstone and Victoria Falls Town on the Zimbabwean side following a theft of 647 Pandrol Clips by unknown people.

Among the goods affected by the temporary closure of the line were 35 wagons of copper concentrates destined for South Africa as well as 26 wagons of wheat destined for Lusaka. …

G: This is a Pandrol Clip:

ZIMBABWE

BWgovernment PRESS RELEASE ANTI-POACHING AND BORDER PATROL INCIDENTS

The Botswana Defence Force (BDF) wishes to inform the public about two (2) separate incidents which occurred in a space of one (1) week, during the BDF Members anti-poaching and border patrol operations.

The First incident occurred at 0930hrs on the 5th July 2020, seven (7) km from Xhoromo around the Kwando II area in the Okavango Delta whereby a BDF anti-poaching team exchanged fire with poachers resulting in one poacher being killed, bringing the total number of poachers killed during the year 2020 to seventeen (17).

The second unrelated incident occurred this morning on the 10th July 2020 at 0800hrs around the Shalimpo area in the Eastern part of the country, where a BDF foot patrol team tried stopping 3 men who entered Botswana through an ungazetted point. Upon being warned to stop by the patrol team, the three (3) men fled and the BDF team fired rubber bullets resulting in one of the men being shot and all three (3) being apprehended. The shot man was rushed to a Medical Facility where he later this afternoon unfortunately passed on. The nationality of the three (3) men is unknown and police investigations into the matter are ongoing.

As a professional, prompt and decisive force, the BDF will continue to execute its mission of defending Botswana’s Territorial Integrity, Sovereignty and National Interests.

Thank you.

Tebo Kacho Dikole tdikole@gov.bw ColonelDIRECTOR, DIRECTORATE OF PROTOCOL AND PUBLIC AFFAIRSFor/ COMMANDER, BOTSWANA DEFENCE FORCE

MEDIA STATEMENT - UPDATE ON LABORATORY TESTING PROGRESS: ELEPHANT MORTALITY IN SERONGA

The Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism wishes to inform members of the public that, following the mysterious deaths of elephants in the areas around Seronga since March 2020, a joint aerial survey team comprising of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks and Eco-exist scientists have completed work in two sections of the survey area, NG 11, NG 12 and part of NG 13.

The team which started working over a week ago, is expected to complete the aerial survey by 30 July 2020. To date, there have not been any new mortalities observed during the survey.

Earth tremor recorded in Karibib areaNamibian

The Ministry of Mines and Energy says an earth tremor was recorded about 85 kilometers south of Karibib in the early hours of Thursday.

The quake at 01h46 was recorded at six seismic stations of the Namibian Seismology Network, namely Windhoek, Kamanjab, Opuwo, Karibib, Aus and Ariamsvlei.

According to the deputy executive director of the Geological Survey of Namibia, Gloria Simubali, the tremor was shallow at a depth of less than 10 kilometres.

BOTSWANA

NAMIBIA

Oryx poachers in court – bail deniedNamib Times

Three people were arrested for the alleged poaching of Oryx in the Namib Naukluft Park east of Walvis Bay the previous weekend.

The three suspects made a first appearance in the Walvis Bay magistrate’s court on Wednesday and bail was denied. The suspects are: Penrich Gonteb (29); Elvis Anamab (37) and Gerson Derrick Mbahuma (49). They return to court on 2 July, if the magistrate’s court in Walvis Bay has opened by that time [the magistrate’s office is closed after a staffer tested positive for the Coronavirus].

Game wardens came upon two abandoned vehicles laden with Oryx carcasses and illegal hunting gear last Saturday. It transpired the trio fled the scene when they realised there were game wardens approaching. Soon the Police was also on the scene.It transpired the vehicle used for the alleged poaching broke down. A second vehicle was fetched to retrieve the broken down vehicle and the Oryx carcasses. Both vehicles ended up being abandoned as the poachers fled.With the vehicles impounded it was only a matter of time before the Police were led to the culprits.

Namibia gets N$272m for conservation, tourismNamibian

NAMIBIA has received N$272 million to protect biodiversity, secure ongoing activities in the conservation and tourism sector, as well as to maintain jobs in conservancies and rural areas.

Moreover, the funds are meant to strengthen the Namibian Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) to improve participation of conservancies in the design and implementation of CBNRM policies and programmes in Namibia.

The German government and a delegation of the European Union (EU) provided the country with these funds on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Germany provided the bulk of the funds, which is N$250 million (€ 13 million), and the EU made N$22 million available (€ 1,17 million).

Minister of environment, forestry and tourism (MEFT) Pohamba Shifeta said the funds form part of the Conservation Relief, Recovery and Resilient Facility to address the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking at the German grant handover yesterday, the minister said The Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (Kaza TFCA) neighbours (Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe) are experiencing a similar impact.“In the Kaza region, communities/conservancies are experiencing hardship through the non-existence of wildlife and hunting tourism. National parks in the region are in need of management and operations support to maintain proper natural resource management,” he said.

Ellen Gölz, charge d’affaires at the German embassy, said the current global decline in tourism is hitting Namibia hard, with the effect felt acutely by nature-based tourism companies and members of conservancies.

“The MEFT and the government as a whole have already undertaken efforts to mitigate the negative impacts and help secure jobs and conservation successes. One of our focal areas of cooperation is the support of ‘sustainable management of natural resources’,” Gölz said.

From the N$250 million, N$96 million is earmarked to mitigate the economic losses of the conservation and tourism sector, N$77 million to aid national parks and protected areas to minimise the detrimental ecological and economic impact of Covid-19, and another N$77 million is due to Kaza TFCA.

NamibRand Nature Reserve

(LT) On Monday, the 20th July, the NRNR team in the North found a Lappet Faced Vulture behaving strangely at a water point. The bird was displaying symptoms of possible poisoning - a stumbling attempt to move away from them, falling backwards and feet that were curled into fists rather than open as is normal. The field rangers managed to catch it, without hurting themselves or the bird and brought it to Keerweder. In cases like these, we immediately dose the bird with activated charcoal dissolved in some water. The charcoal helps absorb toxins and germs. Dosing a vulture with charcoal is not a straight forward process. The beaks these birds have are strong and fierce, they need to be in order to allow birds to tear carrion and meat. It is not necessarily somewhere you want to put your fingers without protection. The back of the bakkie was turned into a makeshift Avian Emergency room. While some birds come in exhausted, dehydrated and weak, others like this one come in still fighting and reasonably strong (this is the better of the two as there is a higher chance of recovery). Murray ‘íntuabted’ the bird - a clear pipe, past the breathing tube and as far down as it can go, while Willem held the bird steady and I pushed charcoal water down the tube. There is a balance in doing this - too little and it may not be enough, too much and the bird simply regurgitates the liquid and any ‘goodness’ you’ve put down it. We immediately contacted Liz Komen, from NARREC in Windhoek for advice and remote assistance. As ever, she was immediately on board and offering help, practical advice and solutions. As of today, the LPV is strong and doing well. This is a long-ish process and we are still at the beginning of it, but seeing the light and hopeful it will make a full recovery. I will do an update as we go along. The plight of Vultures and the persecution of this species is an ongoing fight, that ebbs and flows. Vultures Namibia does wonderful work to raise awareness and to fight this battle on behalf of the Vultures. We are crossing our fingers and toes that this bird makes it through the full recovery process.

Malawi: Wildlife crime syndicate members jailed for total of 56.5 years – kingpin due up laterEnvironmental Investigation Agency

Nine members of one of Southern Africa’s most prolific wildlife trafficking gangs were today (20 July) sentenced by a Malawi court to a total of 56.5 years’ prison time.

The convicted were members of the Lin-Zhang syndicate and each was found guilty of at least one wildlife trafficking offence of a listed or protected species – pangolins, rhino horn, ivory or hippo teeth.

Among them was Mrs Quinhua Zhang, who was convicted of possession of rhino horn and an illegal firearm following her arrest as part of a series of coordinated raids in May last year.

Zhang is the wife of Yunhua Lin, the alleged kingpin of the syndicate, who was arrested in August last year following a three-month manhunt. He is due to appear in court on Wednesday (22 July) charged with possession of rhino horn, conspiracy and money-laundering ...

MALAWI

Peace Parks Foundation

The movements of this elephant Bull, collared in Banhine National Park and tracked since July 2019, clearly shows again why transfrontier conservation and opening of wildlife corridors are essential. He is thoroughly enjoying the wide-open spaces of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA).

Peace Parks Foundation has been supporting the development of Great Limpopo since 1998. The TFCA is managed as an integrated unit across the three international borders led by a joint management board and various joint management committees with representatives from all three countries that focus on matters such as harmonisation and integration of policies and joint operations protocols, protection, conservation management, tourism development, community benefits, communication and fundraising.

OR Tambo customs officials seize rhino horns worth R117mNews 24

Officials at OR Tambo International Airport said on Tuesday that they had seized dozens of rhino horn pieces disguised as art - and valued at about $7 million (about R117 332 250).

They “discovered 41 pieces of rhino horn in a consignment declared as fine art”, the customs authorities said in a statement.

The cargo, which was destined for Kuala Lumpur via Doha, was detected during a routine inspection of warehouses at the country’s largest airport. …

SOUTH AFRICA

OTHER STUFFCOVID-19 Stats as at 7 July (WHO)

Country Total con-firmed cases

Total con-firmed new cases

Total deaths

Total new deaths

Zambia 1,632 0 30 0Zimbabwe 734 18 9 1Botswana 314 39 1 0Namibia 350 57 0 0Mozambique 1,012 25 8 0Malawi 1,818 76 19 0Angola 328 13 18 1Tanzania 509 0 21 0DRC 7,431 21 181 0South Africa 205,721 8,971 3,310 111

Country Total con-firmed cases

Total con-firmed new cases

Total deaths

Total new deaths

Zambia 4,552 71 140 1Zimbabwe 2,704 192 36 2Botswana 739 53 2 1Namibia 1,842 68 8 0Mozambique 1,701 32 11 0Malawi 3,709 45 103 4Angola 328 13 18 1TanzaniaDRC 8,843 13 207 4South Africa 452,530 7,097 7,067 298

COVID-19 Stats as at 28 July (WHO)

EXCHANGE RATESUS$1 K18.45

P11.42Nam$16.45Zim$72-96

WEATHERMin Temp Max Temp

10°C (50) 27°C (81)

Have a safe maybe-two weeks

Gill

SMILE

And, it’s still cold.