January| 01
January 2018
From the editors desk Last Month’s Top Shot Winner Facebook Cover Shot Winner Volunteer Encounters Ranger’s Report
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Community Focus
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Photography Reflections Photography Focus
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Research Update Research Focus
Lee-ann Steele Photography Volunteer Canada
First of all: Happy new year to everyone! This Year started great for us, we already had great close up sightings of elephants and our photographers were even so lucky to see an aardvark on a night drive! On our camera traps we spotted honey badger and were lucky to get a great shot of a new leopard! A new year brings a lot of changes with it. Not just in terms of the season, but also in regards to our team here at Dumela. Sadly, we said goodbye to Emma, who made a great impact for over eighteen months with us. Not long after Emma's departure, we also said goodbye to our "Crazy American Chick", Taylor. She supported African Impact in so many countless ways over the years and her magnetic and energetic presence will be missed by all here, but we're beyond proud to see both her and Emma taking the next step in their respective lives and careers. We wish them nothing but the best for their future!
Lorena Peter Photography assistant Switzerland Subscribe by mailing: warthogpost@africanimpact.com to keep yourself updated with the latest news! Cover shot: Lorena Peter, Photography assistant, Switzerland
Research Volunteer I have always enjoyed to travel and experience new things, so that is why I wanted to take a gap year from school and see a completely different part of the world. I thought it would be interesting to do volunteering with animals so that is why I came to African Impact. I have already been in South Africa for 10 weeks now, not only with African Impact. My trip in South Africa started in Cape Town and from there I travelled along the coast, all the way to the Northern part of the country. I went to the garden route, the Wild coast, the Drakensberg and now the Greater Kruger area. After seeing all this I can say that this is the most beautiful country I have been to in my life. There is so much diversity in the landscape and the animals, and to learn about all the different cultures in this country is truly amazing because it is so different from what I am used to at home. The Research and Conservation project with African Impact is my third volunteering project. Before I came here I did a surfing volunteering project in Cape Town for where we were teaching at primary schools in the mornings, then in the afternoon we were surfing, skating and playing soccer with the local children who did well in school. It was amazing to give these children, who don’t have the opportunity to just play the sport they want, something else besides school and their day to day life in the townships. My second volunteering project was at Riverside, a monkey rehabilitation center close to Kruger. They have over 900 vervet monkeys and baboons.
Background
A hyena can live up to 20 years, the social structure is different to the most other animals. Not only is a female hyena larger than the male, she is also the leader of the clan. The lowest female is still higher than the highest male. Unlike other carnivores, hyena cubs are born with their eyes open. The female usually gives birth to two cubs.
There I helped out with preparing food for the animals, cleaning their cages, clinic and quarantine. This time of the year is baby season for the monkeys, so every night I would have a few baby monkeys in my room who I fed with their drinking bottle. Working hands on with these animals is a special experience that I won’t ever forget. I have been with African Impact for a week now and I have already seen so many amazing things. A lion 5 meter away from us, big herds of Elephants with babies walking next to the car, a hyena family playing very close to us, and a lot more. Besides all the beautiful things I have seen here already, it is also nice to do research on the animals because it is very useful and this way you learn so much more about the wildlife and nature around you. For me volunteering is a very good way to visit a different country because you get to do so many things that you would have never done if you were just travelling. All the people I have met so far during my volunteering projects are really amazing and I will always carry these great experiences with me.
Stan van Gisbergen, Big Five Research Volunteer Netherlands
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Every zebra is unique, the stripes are like our fingerprints, no one is the same. But the big question is, is a zebra white with black stripes or black with white stripes? There were a lot of theories about zebras and their stripes, until researcher's found out that a zebra embryo is at first total black. After some time the white stripes appear.
What about luck? For a photographer one of the most important things is to be in the right place at the right time. On a game drive, photographers always have to be prepared because you never know what’s around the next corner and the right moment can be over so fast! And then of course, pressing the shutter button at the right moment. With "just" luck, some great shots can be produced.
2018 started really well for one of our community projects - Farmers of the Future. Farmers of the future is a 4-phase project that aims to improve the quality of life of community members through education and sustainable income generation. Our long-term goal is to breathe life into new business creating greater employment opportunities and help individuals independently generate sustainable income to grow and strengthen the local economy. Phase 1 (introduction to subsistence gardening) successfully ended at the end of 2017. The following phase (vegetable and seedling production) started with the encounter of Benica, a highly inspiring agri businessman from Acornhoek, the town where all the community projects are based. Benica’s passion for growing vegetables lead him 4 years ago to acquire 5ha of land. His willingness to develop himself further, his hard work and his knowledge are skills that could be transferred, through mentoring, to Portia, Taelo and Bhekimuzi; the Farmers of the Future ambassadors. For them, visiting Benica’s farm was an opportunity that strongly reinforced their motivation. They are now able to imagine themselves where Benica currently is. Since the visit, the ambassadors worked harder to prove themselves and their efforts can already be witnessed.
Vicky Simmons 21 years old UK . . . . . . . . . .. . Guide What drew you to want to work in South Africa? I have been interested in guiding for 2 years, it all started when I went to Shamwari in 2016 to do some conservation work and I knew this was what I wanted to be doing. What do you like most about your job?
Their crops are diversified with maize-millies growing together with beans or gem squash according to the method of companion planting, which is a way to bring compatible plants together for a more productive garden. They are also rotating the crops to different plots as it assists in preventing disease and reduces insect pests. It can also prevent the depletion of nutrients in the soil.
I love being able to make an impact from the research we do to making a difference in the local communities.
Both of these techniques are applied by Benica, who supports the theory the ambassadors have learnt during pre-planned lessons delivered by volunteers. Soon, however, it will be the turn of Portia, Bhekimuzi and Taelo to present and teach new gardening techniques to the volunteers who they could bring back in their home countries.
What makes you smile here? A Being able to take volunteers out on their first game drive & watching their reactions. Just being able to see their pure passion and the amazement in their eyes! J
The passion for growing vegetables and being self-sufficient can literally be spread around the world by the volunteers who can continue their impact in their own community.
Marine Servonnat Cmmunity Coordinator France Photo credit: Lorena Peter & Jordi Woerts & Marine Servonnat
Backgrounds Sean Ryan 23 years old UK . . . . . . . . . .. . Guide What drew you to want to work in South Africa? I’ve always had a passion for animals. This lead me to a degree in wildlife conservation. After this I wanted to put it to good use and going into guiding was perfect. What do you like most about your job? Not one day is the same & you are constantly around wild animals. Meet different people ? which I find and hear their stories fascinating. What makes you smile here? When the volunteers have their first encounter with one of Africa's iconic animals. Also seeing them absorb everyone's passion and becoming just as passionate themselves. J
I first got to Africa and African Impact in March 2017, I was a photography volunteer and when I got home I knew I belong to the bush. So I applied for the position of the photography assistant as soon as I got home. Now I’m here since two months, and I enjoy the bush to the fullest. During the last two months I told the Photography Volunteers a lot about patience, because I think its one of the most important things about photography. The patience to wait for a bird to fly, to wait for animals to appear, the patience to try again and again.. To enjoy a moment when you’re not able to take pictures because its too dark or because the animal is too close. With patience one of the greatest shots have been taken, just because the photographer got out there and tried again. The other thing is to never get bored about an animal. When you’re in the bush you will see a lot of impalas for example. But don’t forget to see the magic in this animals, they (and other animals of this kind) are pure beauties. And some of the most dramatic shots that I have taken are of impalas. And I can just tell you, when you’re back home, you will miss everything and every single impala.
Lorena Peter Photography assistant Switzerland
Thijs Desot 30 years old Belgium . . . . . . . . . .. . Guide
What drew you to want to work in South Africa? I’ve been interested in guiding since I did the AI photography course in 2016. What do you like most about your job? What I like about my job is the variation. So many different things to do. Which makes it so much more interesting. What makes you smile here? Most is seeing the new volunteers during their first experience in the bush. Also teaching them about other animals which aren’t in the big 5 J
My favorite sighting was definitely when we spotted the Hyena family in late afternoon. We’ve seen a couple Hyenas at night, but weren’t able to take good pictures so we really wanted to see them in bright daylight. We were driving along the dirt road hoping to see a good sighting after a quite morning. After almost giving up hope we suddenly spotted an adult Hyena in the far distance. We stopped the vehicle immediately next to a tree when we saw the female Hyena walking towards us. Taking lots of pictures while she was walking. It was a perfect photography setting with the sun in our neck and shining directly in the Hyenas face. Eventually she stopped right in front of the tree where we were standing with the vehicle. She laid down and posed a little bit so we could take a couple of pictures. You could see mud all over her face and body, lovely to see. After a couple of minutes another Hyena approached the tree and we were ecstatic! After a while the Hyena started to growl and suddenly three Hyena cubs appeared underneath the tree. The Hyenas greeted each other and the cubs started cuddling mom. That’s the moment when everybody started to go crazy!
Animal of the Month: Impala
Impalas are one of the most seen animals in Africa. A herd can easily contain 100 animals. Impalas run up to 60km/h, they can jump 10m in length and 3m in high! With those jumps they show their health to predators to avoid to be chased. They have to drink every day and they know that predators like lions wait around the waterholes, which is why they drink during the hottest time of the day. If the weather is harsh, the water rare a female Impala can delay giving birth for one month. Male Impalas are twice as often born as females. The males stay often together in a bachelor herd until the mating season. A bachelor herd holds up to 60 rams.
I Think everybody took around 250 pictures each. At the same time, I tried to maneuver myself in a better position for some pictures and accidently hit the horn... Luckily the Hyenas didn’t care and proceed playing with the cubs. After a short play mom laid down again surrounded by her cups. The setting for taking pictures was quite hard. The Hyenas laid in the shadow underneath the tree and right behind them there was bright sunshine. So we had to find a balance: not too bright for the background and not too dark otherwise we’re losing detail of the Hyenas. We enjoyed forty-five minutes with these beautiful animals, just watching them quite listening to the sounds they make. Hyenas are one of my favorite animals in the Greater Kruger Area. Extremely powerful, smart and beautiful at the same time. Even their roar is one of a kind, listening to it at night is one of the best noises you will hear while you are at the Dumela Lodge. And please don’t tell me hyenas are ugly, the pictures tell you different J
Jordi Woerts Volunteer Photographers The Nederland's
Photography Volunteer
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Low light One of the biggest challenges on a game drive is low light - especially when on a night drive. All you have is the spotlight and if the animals are not close enough you will suffer in terms of quality. The ISO has to be high for this, and the shutter speed slow. But the higher you are with the ISO, the noisier your picture will get. In the end the most important thing is to capture the moment, and it's better to have a 'noisier' picture than nothing at all!
After working 17 years in the same company, they decided to close doors and fire everyone to reduce costs. After thinking about what I could do next, I decided it was time to take a break and do something that I really like. When I found on the web, the project "Photography" of African Impact in South Africa, I knew immediately that this is what I wanted to do. Take photography classes, protect wildlife and improve my English. So I bought a new camera and I started packing my bag. The night I arrived at African Impact, the entire team of staffs and other volunteers introduced themselves, and we named each our favorite animal. I soon knew everyone. From the first days, I made my first drive to the Klaserie. I was not disappointed with all that I experienced there. We saw some giraffes, dozens of zebras, hundreds of impalas. We saw a leopard running in the bush during 30 seconds but I could only take one picture of his behind. Then, trying to get more closer to a horde of elephants, our vehicle fell into a termite mound. It was lying on the ground and we couldn’t move. Two elephant cows arrived at 5 meters from us, their ears folded forward and the trunk in the air, with barring hard enough to make us understand that they wanted that we move away. As we can’t move, we waited and, after two minutes, they moved away. We were all a little scared, but it's a moment we'll never forget. There were 6 photographers in the vehicle but no one took a photo of this time.
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With the Photographers Sam, Lorena and Diana, we learned to use our camera properly by doing macro, slow motion effects, high speed animal or, photos with very little light. We also learned how to use the Lightroom software to helo make out photos more beautiful. After each class, we go in the middle of the wildlife to practice what we have learned. We learned also, how to do a good photo report, and immediately after that we were on Sasekile garden’s, a community garden that African Impact is putting in place with the local community and we made our first photo report.
Daggar-Boys – Daggar is the Zulu word for mud. When the buffalos get older they get kicked out of the herd and are usually alone or in small groups.
With the staff and the research volunteers, we are one good team of 15 people, we all work and eat together. In the evening, we hang out, watch a movie, play ping pong or listen to music. The atmosphere is excellent.
Buffalos live up to 23 years and they usually leave the heard after about 10 years.
For me, this experience is for everyone who likes photography, wildlife and group work. The days starts early, which sometimes is a little difficult because, we get up from time to time at 4:30 to see animals at dawn but, once we saw a hyena with his 3 little babies, we couldn’t ask for more. In addition, because we immediately put into practice what we have learned, I know now, very well my camera. After 3 weeks, I’ve taken 4000 photos. I recommend it to all professionals who want to photograph wildlife, very closely and to all beginners who could become semi professional at the end of 4 weeks of course. Happy to see you there.
Benoit Groux Volunteer Photographer, Belgium
Because of their numbers, those bulls are often attacked from lions. Combined with sexual frustration and age those “mud-boys” get extremely temperamental and dangerous.
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Baboons are very intelligent, The young are born and during the first five weeks they clinging to their mothers belly. Game count, a drive that sounds like a game, like it might not be important, but let us think about its usefulness... During 4 hours, each month, with two different cars, we drive across all the roads on Buffaloland and count each species that we see. We try our best to determine the age and sex of each group of animals, trying to have the least amount of unknowns. During my stay with African Impact, I had the opportunity to participate in two game counts. What is the goal of this activity? It is more important than just knowing the evolution of the population of each species throughout the months. Each reserve can choose the number of predators it wish to host. However, the number of predators than can live on reserve is dependent on the number of herbivores, which is itself dependent on the amount of vegetation available.
Like humans, they grow slow, and as they grow they learn. From their mothers belly, they watch the others, what they eat, where they find food and water. Young males leave their troop usually after puppetry. They will join another troop where they don’t have a genetic ties.
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Dwarf Mongoose are extremely social, the group is dominated by a alpha pair. The pair is responsible for defence and breeding. The other members of the group have different duties – from guarding, grooming, babysitting, warming and raising the young. If one mongoose gets sick, the other take care of it.
The predators manage the ecosystem and biodiversity of a reserve – what we call top-down control. If the quantity of herbivores is high, there will not be enough food for them so the health of the ecosystem decreases. On the contrary, if the quantity of herbivores is low, the vegetation (primary producer) will increase and this might result in an unbalanced ecosystem. It is therefore important for a reserve to know how many herbivores are present and what biomass they represent. The biomass is the total weight of every single animal in one special area. By knowing that and how much biomass a predator eats per day (e.g. lioness eats on average 4,3kg of meat per day), the reserve have a better idea of how many predators it can host and how the predators will affect the herbivores biomass and thereafter the vegetation.
THE PROBLEM OF RHINO POACHING
Now that I understand fully the implication of game counts, I have a real satisfaction at the end of it, as I can see the bigger picture and have a better representation of the dynamic inside a reserve. I also have a better idea of the predator-prey relationship existing in an ecosystem as well as how essential it is to preserve this fragile equilibrium.
Charline Robert-Tissot, Research Volunteer, Switzerland
Never in a million years would I have guessed that my life journey would take me half way around the world to work in one of the most beautiful places on earth. From the moment I touched down in South Africa I felt something special. A few weeks after living in the African Bush somebody asked me if I had “caught the bug”. Being in Africa my mind whirled with all sorts or weird insects and rare diseases, but as I looked at him, with great concern on my face, he said to me “Have you caught the African bug? It seeps into your heart and doesn’t let go.” And indeed it had, whole heartedly! From my first moment staring up into the inquisitive eyes of the towering Giraffes, to the hair raising experience of a male lion looking you square in the eyes, Africa captured both my heart and my mind. Through the years working with African Impact I have gotten to witness not only incredible animal behavior but have met some of the most dedicated and passionate people from around the world, who have come together through a collective bond to preserve and protect our threatened species and ecosystems. Through the research conducted here we work to enhance management strategies and gain a greater understanding of the magnificent wildlife all around us, from the mighty Elephant to the tiniest dung beetle. With respect for wildlife and a reverence for the precious balance in which it exists, we work towards a better and brighter future for not only us humans but as a world needing each other to coexist. The Leopard especially captured my heart with both the beauty and its adaptability in the face of adversity. Through the last 100 years most megafauna in South Africa have been relegated behind the fences of the many reserves that dot the landscape, except for the leopard. This species, with its agile climbing ability, adaptable diet and impeccable camouflage has been able to continue its elusive life in the shadows. So to study these big cats we had to take just as sneaky of an approach.
Backgrounds Using many surveying techniques, like our camera trap survey, we have been piecing together the movements of our leopards in unprotected areas, in hopes to ascertain exactly where these mysterious cats traverse. Using this information, we can work with fellow conservation organizations to better manage the strategies surrounding the conservation of this species and others like it. Steenbok are one of the shyest animals you can see during a game drive. Most of the time they run as soon as they see you. When they run, the white underparts get visible. While running, the white part shows where the antelope runs into. When the Steenbok stops, it get invisible, because the white part disappears. It blends in with its grassy surrounding and predator can’t see it anymore.
When out on research drives, be it collecting social dynamic data on lion behaviors, to creating ID kits for the Elephant Identification database, to analyzing population dynamics throughout reserves, working in the conservation field with African Impact has been a life changing experience and one I hope that many more people will believe they too can achieve. I cannot thank African Impact enough for the incredible experience these past 2 years have brought me and I leave with a heavy heart but knowing that I have made my (African) Impact. Because I believed I could make a small difference I was able to achieve something, just a few years ago, I believed to be impossible. One of my favorite quotes is by the great conservationist Jane Goodall, “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” So how will you choose to make your impact on the world?
Taylor Bates, Research Manager USA
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Early bird gets the worm? There are 11 vulture species in Africa and they clean up 70% of Africa’s’ carrion but sadly, most are now endangered. To put this into perspective, West Africa has lost 90% of its white- backed vultures! Over the last 30 years vultures have declined on average 62% and their biggest threat…humans. Farmers, although illegal, do sometimes lace the carcasses of their dead livestock with poison intended to kill any predator that feed on it. Due to cultural beliefs, people will often lay out poisoned meat to kill vultures to use for cultural and medicinal beliefs, such as giving people physical powers or using their bones for ceremonies and talons to treat fevers. Ever seen a vulture try to take off? Due to vulture’s sheer size they struggle to get airborne, this is why you don’t see them out circling the sky before the sun is up and the conditions are favourable for them. In the mornings they sit and wait for the first air currents to launch themselves into the sky, but on a still day, because of this, you may not see vultures flying at all! Vultures have special muscle arrangements to allow them to keep their wings extended in the soaring position for long periods of time. The amount of energy a vulture would use to flap its wings all the time to keep airborne due to its size would mean that their foraging range would be about 40 Km but, with this specially adapted muscle arrangement, they can soar for around 150 km.
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Did you know vultures are scavengers? This means they feed mainly on the carrion of fresh carcasses. When you see vultures circling and dropping to the ground at a fast rate this means they have spotted a kill which, as a guide, is very helpful as you can be sure there is a kill and potentially a predator in that area. On a larger kill you may see multiple species of vultures feeding on the animal. The lappet face and white backed vultures have a powerful large beak and will open up the carcass which the smaller hooded vulture cannot do, because of this they try to get to the kill first to feed on the softer parts of the animal before the larger vultures come in and kick them out. They normally then go and sit on the lower branches of a tree waiting for bits and pieces of meat to be flung outside that they can quickly fly in to steal. Disease control in the bush? By eating, carrion vultures are actually protecting species by preventing the spread of disease from carcasses. Vultures have very strong stomach acid which allows them to feed on carcasses infected with diseases such as anthrax and rabies which are lethal to other scavengers like hyenas. So the next time you’re on a drive and see a vulture circling in the sky be sure to ask your guide about it.
Photo credit: Lorena Peter & Jordi Woerts
Vicky Simmons, Guide, UK
January| 01
January 2018
Just uploaded to our stock site Anneliese Eijkelkamp Photography Volunteer, The Nederland's
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