Zimbabwe Wild Dogs

Category: Other wildlife, Uncategorized, Wild Dogs, poaching, zimbabwe | Date: May 01 2009 | By: zimbabwewilddogs

Hi folks,

Zimbabwe’s wildlife needs some help…  Those of you who are regular readers of this blog will know that poaching - especially snaring - in the remainder of Zimbabwe’s wildlife areas is posing a severe threat to the viability of our wildlife populations.  I recently got back to the Savé Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe’s south-east lowveld from a couple of weeks away in South Africa.  Informally chatting to people back in the conservancy, the scale of the poaching problem facing our wildlife struck me forcibly once again:

“… unfortunately we lost a giraffe to a snare last week”

“… if you see those tracks of the elephant calf dragging the snare, let us know”

“… yesterday we saw a badly injured wildebeest dragging a snare, with a log attached to it; I wish there was something we could do”

“…I found a zebra with a snare round its neck, and told the manager who came to shoot it” (report from one of my scouts)

The desperate situation in the country is one cause of this enormous upsurge of wildlife poaching.  However, whilst some of this is genuinely ‘subsistence hunting’ to feed families, many people have taken advantage of the chaos and lack of law enforcement to turn to commercial poaching.  The scale of this is extortionate and un-sustainable. 

A recent article published in the Times  highlights the problem for the rhino population.  This article is well worth reading. 

The aftermath of rhino poaching

In this blog, I have frequently highlighted the problem for the wild dogs. 

But it is not just these key species which are suffering.  Snaring (the main form of poaching used in this area) is an indiscriminate, cruel and wasteful method of killing.  In my post of 2^nd April, I gave some facts and figures about this, and just want to reiterate the main ones:

In a seven year period, conservancy scouts have removed over 75,000 snares and found over 6,000 animals dead (these included rhinos, leopards, wild dogs, sable, nyala, cheetah etc).  And the wastage, as mentioned, is horrific. Of the 1,421 animals killed in snares during August 2005-November 2008, 60% were found rotten or scavenged, and only 14% were extracted by illegal hunters. 

This  magnificent leopard was caught in a snare in Feburary this year

However, it is by no means all doom and gloom and the good news is that there are a lot of dedicated people trying to help.  Progress is being made at all levels.  Here are some examples of things that are being done:

- The establishment of a project with EU funding to provide a legal supply of bushmeat to the surrounding communities to alleviate some of the poaching pressure

- A creation of awareness amongst the local politicians and at government level, as well as internationally

- Anti-poaching teams on all ranches and efforts to establish a ‘crack-unit’ of highly trained and armed scouts to operate throughout the conservancy

- Efforts by trained and licensed biologists to rescue wildlife trapped in snares and to immobilise and treat injured individuals carrying snares

We at the African Wildlife Conservation Fund are instrumental in helping to achieve all these goals. However, it is to help us achieve the last goal that we need your help.  I recently received training and a license to immobilise all wildlife species within the conservancy for the purposes of desnaring and treatment.  There are two other people in the conservancy who are also now licensed to do this, and between us we hope to be able to help the wildlife. 

Snared wild dog immobilised for treatment

Unfortunately, as mentioned in the post of 2^nd April, the cost of the drugs required is very high.  For example for enough drugs to immobilise 10 wild dogs (including the knock-down drug, the sedative and the reversal) would cost US$500, i.e. $50 per dog.  For herbivores however, the drugs are much more expensive.  One vial of the main knock-down drug (5ml) and its reversal costs US$600.  Depending on the species, this would immobilise between 5 to 10 animals, assuming no darts miss.  However, in addition to this drug, you need a sedative drug which costs US$106 per vial, and at least 2 vials of the human antidote (because this drugs is life-threatening to humans) which cost US$200 per vial.  So in order to be ready to help treat wounded wildlife, we need to buy at least US$1500 worth of drugs (and that’s only a start…).

We are also supporting the conservancy anti-poaching efforts by trying to raise money for incentives for the game scouts, and also for radios and uniforms for them.  Any donations to either of these causes would be extremely appreciated, and we can assure you every cent goes directly to the wildlife or the scouts.

Many thanks in advance,

Rosemary

Tags: poaching, snaring, Wild Dogs, Zimbabwe's wildlife