The Zambezi Society Bulletin SEPT - NOV 2007
Source: The Zambezi Society
Date: 11 December 2007
Author: Anon
Newsletter of THE ZAMBEZI SOCIETY
RHINO CALF NAMED BY CHISI
The new rhino calf in the Matusadona National Park has been named Murume by the girls of Chisipite Junior School in Harare who, every year, raise substantial funds for The Zambezi Society’s black rhino conservation programme in the Matusadona National Park. Murume means “Man” in the Shona language and the name is particularly apt, not only because the calf is male, but also in honour of Mrs Jenny Mann, recently-retired Deputy Head Teacher of Chisipite Junior School who has spent the past 20 years inspiring a whole generation of pupils to raise money to protect endangered rhinos!
The calf’s name was chosen from a long list of suggestions put forward by the schoolgirls and announced at a special school Assembly held in September to say farewell to Mrs Mann. The Zambezi Society was invited to the event and we were able to thank Mrs Mann personally for her extraordinary commitment and efforts over the years. The Society also received funds amounting to the equivalent of an astonishing US$700 (£350) which the Grade 6 (eleven-year-old) girls were responsible for raising this year.
BAD NEWS: RHINO DEATHS AT IMIRE
The Zambezi Society joins with colleagues in wildlife conservation all over the world in expressing its shock and horror at the recent slaughter of three breeding black rhinos and an unborn calf at Imire Game Park near Harare in Zimbabwe. We are also deeply concerned about several recent rhino poaching incidents reported elsewhere in the country. The Matusadona National Park is home to eight of the offspring of Imire’s black rhino breeding programme, as well as two of the original breeding stock. These animals (including, Mvura, the mother of Murume) were translocated to the Matusadona from Imire in the 1990s, and, with assistance from The Zambezi Society, were hand-reared and gradually re-introduced to the wild. Now, more than ever, it is essential that these remaining descendants of the Imire rhinos, now being monitored by The Zambezi Society’s team of three trackers and a field co-ordinator in the Matusadona National Park, are given better protection.
SPECIAL APPEAL: PLEASE HELP ANTI-POACHING
Wildlife rangers are expected to risk their lives protecting wild animals in extremely challenging and dangerous conditions, with virtually no substantial funding. As a result, they lack morale and are under-motivated. The Zambezi Society has long been aware of this problem and, for many years, we have assisted as best we can with help from members and friends worldwide. This year, Society Director, Duncan Purchase, was an invited guest at the annual end-of-year celebration at Tashinga, headquarters of the Matusadona National Park. Apart from rewarding various rangers for exemplary effort in anti-poaching, he also handed out thirty raincoats for use by field staff (see picture). These were gratefully accepted given the imminent rainy season. It is assistance like this that goes a long way to improving morale in remote Zambezi valley stations like Tashinga.
But more help is needed.
Funding Partnership
The Zambezi Society is forming a fund-raising partnership with two of its tourism operator members: Rhino Island Safaris and Natureways to help monitor and protect the black rhinos in Matusadona National Park. This will help to reinforce The Society’s existing monitoring role within the park, carried out by its dedicated team of trackers, but it will also enable the Society to identify and support needs and solutions for more effective protection of these vulnerable animals.
Matusadona poachers nabbed
Not all the news is gloomy. In the last two months Rangers from Matusadona National Park have had two successful anti-poaching contacts. In the first contact, three poachers, three buyers and one gunner were caught in Gokwe. Three .303 weapons and forty-two rounds of ammunition were recovered as well as nine bags of dried meat. A vehicle was also impounded. More recently a contact at the back of the park resulted in one poacher being shot dead and two being captured. Matusadona National Park is still following up on information and hope to make some more arrests. The Parks Authority still operates on a shoot to kill policy when it comes to armed poachers. In both poaching incidents, the poachers were targeting elephant.
However, given the tragedy at Imire and the recent upsurge in interest in rhino poaching, The Zambezi Society urgently appeals to members, colleagues and friends to boost our support for the National Parks anti-poaching teams whose job it is to protect these animals. We are particularly concerned about the coming rainy season December – April.
Please consider making an online donation to our Rhino Conservation Fund at www.zamsoc.org/html/activities.html
British Embassy responds
We are extremely grateful to the British Embassy in Harare who have risen to the occasion and are actively supporting our anti-poaching appeal with their limited funding budget to enable us to purchase essential anti-poaching equipment for Park rangers in the field, including fuel, raingear, mosquito nets and ammunition chest webbing. We are most grateful for their commitment and support.
SIR RANULPH FIENNES’ FUNDS
The Society is pleased to report that the substantial funds raised in Harare at a dinner/auction event in honour of explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes earlier this year have been put to good use in purchasing fuel for and undertaking major repairs to the field Land-Rover used by our rhino monitoring team in the Matusadona National Park.
We are most grateful to have been able to do this, as our operations in this rugged and remote Park are dependant on this sturdy vehicle remaining reliable.
ZAMBEZI BASIN CARNIVORE REVIEW
The review of the status and distribution of carnivores in the Zambezi Basin undertaken by Dr Netty Purchase on behalf of The Zambezi Society with funding from Fauna and Flora International is now complete. Copies on CD-ROM will shortly be available from The Zambezi Society’s Harare and Bulawayo offices. Please e-mail or give us a ring if you are interested. This report provides a starting point for further investigations and research and is a very good reference document for anyone working with carnivores in the region. It highlights important areas for carnivore conservation; areas where international cross border management may be required, and areas where action will need to be taken to mitigate human-carnivore conflict.
AGM REPORT
Sadly, difficulties with fuel and other logistics brought about by the prevailing economic circumstances in Zimbabwe prevented The Zambezi Society from holding its 25th Anniversary AGM at RIFA camp near Chirundu, on the Zambezi River this year as planned. The venue was changed to the Mukuvisi Environment Centre in Harare and the meeting and a small celebration successfully took place on Friday 2nd November. After the formalities, former Society Director, and now Vice-Chairman, Dick Pitman, outlined the triumphs, changes and challenges that the Society has faced during its 25 years of operation and gave a captivating multi-media slide show paying tribute to the magnificence of the Zambezi River’s wildlife and wildernesses that first inspired The Society’s creation and continues to inspire its members and supporters today. Director, Duncan Purchase followed with an interesting, illustrated presentation about The Zambezi Society’s August 2007 black rhino count in the mountains of the Matusadona National Park and the results of this inspired much discussion among members present.
REPORT-BACK FROM RHINO COUNT
The inaugural Waterhole count in the Matusadona National Park was a resounding success on many levels. The event provided an opportunity for Society Members to become actively involved with this important survey. The National Parks educational institute, Mushandike College, also seized upon the opportunity to give 26 students field experience. The most important success was that ten spoor sightings were made, although one sighting was on the valley floor section of the park that was being monitored because of its proximity to the escarpment. During analysis, some of the sightings were assumed to be of the same animal, which reduced our number of possible sightings down to six. We are now looking at follow-up procedures to investigate further.
A number of lessons were learnt, an important one being the need to follow river lines as well as monitor water points. There were conceivably other unmonitored water sources that rhino could have visited without our knowledge. However, given the success and volume of information that we managed to provide to the station (27 different animals were sighted during the exercise), there are encouraging developments that could see the event becoming an annual exercise. The Zambezi Society would like to thank the 50 volunteer members who took part in the event.
ZAMBEZI SOCIETY GIFTS
Please don't forget our limited, but exclusive range of Zambezi Society gifts available online at http://www.zamsoc.org/html/shop.html
THE ZAMBEZI SOCIETY WISHES YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY AND PEACEFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!
The Zambezi Society - Harare
P O Box HG774, Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe
Tel: +263 (0)4 747002-5
E-mail: zambezi@mweb.co.zw
The Zambezi Society - Bulawayo
P O Box FM 441, Famona, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Tel: +263 (0)9 68910
E-mail: projects@zamsoc.org
Website: http://www.zamsoc.org