News Archives - 2006

Collaring the Northern Male
December 2006

The elusive northern male lion was eventually collared! After avoiding darting for a couple of weeks, we finally manage to get him onto a bait and dart him successfully.

During a previous attempt we managed to lure him onto the bait, but he ripped the impala carcass in two and ran away into the mountain with his half. And as everyone’s best friend Murphy will have it, it would be the half that was not spiked with drugs.

But everything is well that ends well. The new collar will give us some idea of the area he uses and where he disappears to during those periods that he is not seen. It will also provide some insight on his reactions to the introduction of new males, which will happen sometime this year.

Controlled Burn
December 2006

A controlled burn was done on the plains in front of Pitse Lodge in the south of the reserve. Although the current fire policy on Welgevonden is to let the veld burn naturally through lightning fires, a controlled burn policy is also still in place for the plains, which is largely old lands. This is done to remove the build-up of moribund grass which build up quickly in the tall-grassland of the southern plains. At the same time it also makes new nutritious, short grass available to grazers who cannot utilize the tall grass.

The conditions were perfect for a controlled burn, and late afternoon saw the wind settle down. The burn was completed later the evening without any complications. Inspection the following morning saw several game species on the burnt area already, as well as 3 blue cranes that would otherwise not have been able to feed in the tall grassland. Some rain has fallen on the burnt area within a couple of days after the burn, and two weeks later the area was beautiful green with new grass. Large numbers of grazers, especially rhino, eland, zebra, hartebeest, blue wildebeest and warthog are attracted and can be seen on the new green flush.

Young Lions Move to Makalali
December 2006

Two young male lions from Welgevonden have found a new home at Makalali Game Reserve. They were kept in the boma on Welgevonden until the necessary permits and arrangements could be done. On the morning of the 17th of November they were darted, put into the transport crates, and on their way to Makalali. They arrived their safe and sound at about 22:30. Apparently they are doing well and have settled in their new home already. We wish them a happy stay.

New Addition to Bird List
November 2006

We can add a new bird to the bird list! Dave Powrie spotted a Great crested Grebe on Sterkfontein dam. It is not an uncommon bird on Sterkfontein, but has slipped the bird list because it has not been officially reported.

We appeal to all visitors and guides to report any sightings of birds that are not currently on the bird list.

We are glad to amend and expand the bird list as more new birds get seen.

Baby Elephant Drowns
November 2006

Late in October we got a radio message from a field guide, telling us about a baby elephant that they found in a dam. When we arrived there, only a little bit of his backside was sticking out, so we were not able to see how big the elephant was. Closer inspection revealed that is was a very young calf, and instead of having to drag it out of the dam with cables, it was possible to pull it out by hand. It was only a youngster, probably not more than a couple of weeks old.

How it happened that he drowned could not be established with surety, but it appears that he slipped on the dam wall and fell into the dam. It was too deep for him to stand, and because of his young age he would have been unable to lift his trunk above the water level. What is strange however is that his mother didn’t help him out of the water. Maybe he disappeared under the water so quickly that she didn’t even realize that he was gone? Nature is cruel, but the fittest have to survive!

Basic Fire-fighting Course Held at WelTrac Training Centre
September 2006

Due to legislation that has come into effect, as part of the training and development of staff and for occupational safety reasons most of the Welgevonden LOA staff attended and completed a two day Basic Fire Fighters course towards the end of August. The course was held at the WelTrac training facility near the West Gate and presented by Working-on-Fire. This is a government initiative to train unemployed persons and teach them work and life skills. The people that are part of the program work for a period of 3 years and are then able to use the skills and knowledge required to start their own businesses.

The course covered topics such as causes of fire, factors influencing fire, strategies for suppressing fires, potentially dangerous situations and warning signs for these, safety procedures, aerial assault and role of ground teams, procedures for use when fighting fires, practical techniques – demonstration and practice thereof, explanation of how to utilize the various equipment available effectively. Unfortunately the weather prevented us from safely lighting and suppressing a veld fire but a simulation of the action required was carried out.

Although most of the staff have been involved in fighting fires for many years, everyone learnt new things and got to see how other organizations fight different types of fires under different conditions. The Working-on-Fire instructors, Nicholas and Steven, have to be thanked and complimented for their dedication, self discipline, knowledge and passion for the tasks they carry out. It was a pleasure making use of their services. A fire-fighting course aimed more at the lodge environment is being planned for later in the year.

Jumbo Vasectomies
August 2006

Welgevonden became the first reserve where a completely successful laparoscopic vasectomy on an elephant bull was performed. Although it was performed before on elephants elsewhere, it was previously only done on one side, or other complications were encountered. A research team from the USA did 4 successful vasectomies on 4 different bulls in 4 days on Welgevonden!

This was done as part of a research program on laparoscopic vasectomies on elephant bulls in an attempt to find alternative population control measures for small populations of elephants on small reserves.

The research is a joint program run and funded by Disney’s Wildlife Conservation Fund and the Zoological Society of San Diego. The research is still very much in an experimental phase, and techniques are still being developed, but the progress made on Welgevonden will be very valuable in the future. However, the research promises to offer a good alternative tool in the toolbox of elephant management actions in the future.

Elephant Collaring and Contraception
August 2006

The immuno-contraception treatment of the elephant cows for this year was done in the first week of July. Because this was the second year that the contraception was administered, only a single treatment was necessary, compared to last year when three treatments had to be administered.

The contraception does not make pregnant cows abort, so the cows that were pregnant at the time of contraception will still have calves normally. However, we expect that from next year onwards no new calves will be born until the contraception programme is stopped.

Together with the contraception, the radio collars that were fitted last year were replaced. They unfortunately stopped working soon after they were fitted. A new supplier was found and we hope that the new collars will now do the job for the next 2 years. Two cows were fitted with GPS/GSM collars, while a further four were fitted with VHF collars.

A big thank you to the Jennings family from Lengau Lodge for their very generous donation of the 2 GPS/GSM collars. They will provide us with valuable data on the movements and habitat selection of the 2 herds.

Elephant capture
August 2006

Part of Welgevonden’s elephant management plan is to continuously look for potential translocation opportunities for elephant.

A contraception programme is in place to slow down the breeding of the population, but it does not assist in decreasing the numbers. Relocation opportunities for elephant are extremely limited, but we managed to find a new home for six of our elephant in the shape of Lalibela Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape.

A very successful operation in July saw the capture of 2 cows, 2 subadults and 2 calves, which were the first elephants ever to be translocated from Welgevonden to another reserve. And hopefully not the last!

The capture operation went without any glitches, and within 2 hours the elephants were captured, loaded and on their way to Lalibela. News from Lalibela is that they arrived relaxed and healthy, and after a short stay in a boma they were released into their new home.

Thank you to Makweti Safari Lodge for their huge gesture in sponsoring part of the capture and relocation costs. Without their financial support this would not have been possible.

Keeping up with Fashion
July 2006

We had previously reported on a lioness that was fitted with a GPS/GSM collar sponsored by Trisha Wilson from Izingwe Lodge. Unfortunately this collar stopped working some time ago due to an unknown malfunction. The manufacturer of the collar agreed to replace the collar free of charge. This meant that the lioness had to be darted again to remove the old collar and to replace it with a brand new collar. In gratitude of Trhisha’s sponsorship, we waited until her next visit to the reserve before an attempt was made to catch the lioness.

The presence of the big male lion gave us some headaches initially, and definitely some excitement, but in the end the lioness was darted successfully. She now sports the lastest fashion trend in modern collar design, but whether she is the envy of the other lionesses is doubtful. The new collar is working well, and finding her is now a lot easier.

A Dream Come True
June 2006

From the 28th to the 31st of May the dream of a young boy with cystic fybrosis came true. The Reach-for-a-Dream Foundation contacted Welgevonden and told us about this young boy, whose dream and passion is to be out in the bush and with wildlife. After originally planning to take him to the Kruger National Park, the Foundation decided that a smaller game reserve might be a better choice. The WLOA contacted several lodges on Welgevonden with their request, and Paperbark Lodge said that they would love to host him and his family at the lodge.

Drian Scheepers was diagnosed with Cystic fibrosis shortly after birth. Drian is now six years old and is crazy about wildlife, as his mother Judy and father Hannes will attest. He has a box full of toy animals and a vast knowledge of wildlife. Drian shared this experience not just with his parents, who are both keen on nature too, but also with his sister Natasha who loves music, his brother Juandrie who is crazy about rugby and plays for his school’s first team, and Brian, his other brother who loves action heroes with unpronounceable names. The lodge managers, Gunter and Lizel, and guide Mac, took great care of them at the luxurious lodge.

One of Drian’s dreams was to be close to elephants, and Dave Powrie, our elephant researcher, was asked to take the family with him one afternoon while he was doing his research. Dave took them on a walk, and managed to show them some elephants. Read this month’s elephant diary for Dave’s accounts of this experience. It was something Dave really enjoyed as well. Welgevonden is glad that it could have played a small role in making this boy’s dream come true. We would like to thank Paperbark Lodge and their staff for the generous gesture, as well as Dave for the effort he put into this. And we wish the Scheepers family, and Drian in particular, all the best for the future, and may all his dreams come true as this one did.

River Biota Follow-up Study
June 2006

During May scientists from the Limpopo Department of Environmental Affairs visited Welgevonden to do follow-up monitoring of the biota in selected streams on Welgevonden, as well as various other streams and rivers in the area. They first visited the reserve a few years ago when an in-depth survey of the rivers were done for the State of the Rivers Report for Limpopo in 2003. At that time Welgevonden’s rivers were very healthy. Their recent visit was to a follow-up survey for the new State of the Rivers Report due to be released soon.

The results of the follow-up survey will be compared to that of the initial survey to see if, and how, the health of the rivers has changed over the last few years. Fish and insect larvae were collected, counted and returned back into the river. The presence of certain indicator species serve as a good indication of the health of the riverine system, as well as the condition of the water.

People generally under-estimate the importance of the river biota on the terrestrial ecology of the whole area, not only on the ecology of the rivers. Several types of insects, like dragonflies and various others need the river water for the larvae to develop. It is therefore very important to look after the health of the rivers. Welgevonden’s rivers play an important role as feeder rivers to the Mogol river, and eventually the Limpopo, and it is important for the whole catchment that Welgevonden’s rivers are healthy.

New Giraffe
June 2006

Welgevonden’s giraffe population was given a boost with the introduction of six new giraffe cows in April and May.

The Welgevonden giraffe population experienced a decrease in numbers during the last couple of years, and it seems as though female numbers have dropped especially. Before the introduction the percentage of females in the population were far smaller than the percentage of bulls in the population.

The cows were therefore introduced not only to increase the giraffe numbers on the reserve, but also to increase the percentage of females in the population. This will hopefully increase the number of calves born on the reserve and stabilise the giraffe population.

During recent years few calves were born on the reserve, but other factors like nutrient shortages might also play a role. A study to investigate this will be launched soon.

Update - New Game
May 2006

As reported in last month's update, game are being reintroduced into the reserve. More game was delivered during the last month, and this will probably continue into next month. Some of the newly released game can already be seen on some of the plains, like in this photo of blesbok in the Matriekstraat area. Unfortunately some of the new game has already fallen prey to lion, as can be expected from animals that are not used to the presence of lion.

However, their vigilance should soon increase and hopefully not too many of them will be killed before this happens. We expect that the last of the game will be delivered in the next month.

Introduction of New Game
April 2006

The first truckloads with the long-awaited new game arrived on Welgevonden in the first week of March. Small groups of impala, wildebeest, zebra, eland and blesbok were delivered to Welgevonden, and the process will probably continue for the next couple of weeks. Due to the road damage caused by heavy rain, access by truck to some parts of the reserve were limited and all the game were offloaded in the Sekgwa Plains area.

They were released into the veld immediately and were not kept in a boma. The plan is to introduce 280 impala, 220 blesbok, 100 zebra, 80 wildebeest, 50 eland and 6 giraffe. The new introductions became necessary after a decline in the game population over the last couple of years due to a combination of high predation rates and a couple of very dry seasons.

The current lower lion numbers and good rains will hopefully help the new arrivals to adapt quickly to their new environment. The new introductions will hopefully go a long way to improve the game viewing experience of owners and guests.

Rain, Rain, Rain!
March 2006

February saw plenty of rain all over the Nothern part of the country, and Welgevonden was no exception. We had several days of almost continuous rain, converting the Waterberg into exactly what its name suggest, a mountain full of water. The rivers and springs started flowing, and dams that haven't had water for two years filled up. Water streams and fountains flowed from mountain sides in unexpected places. The average rainfall for February across the reserve was 218mm, some areas had as much as 300mm, which brought back memories of the 2000 season.

However, the rain also caused some problems as vehicles were unable to cross low-level bridges, and muddy patches made it impossible to drive on some roads. One vehicle had to be retrieved from a low water bridge after it got water in the engine, and on another occasion management had to retrieve guests at a lodge after they couldn’t cross a bridge.

Unfortunately access to the reserve is limited due to the Bakkerspas road being closed after serious water damage when a dam broke in the area, preventing access to the reserve via South Gate.

It is also not advisable to use the road to East Gate, as damage to a low level bridge could cause it to collapse if a car is driven over it. Access via West Gate was also limited due to damage to the Schoongelegen road, but after some work on the road it is now passable.

The road team packed rocks in some of the worse places, but except for that there is not much more that can be done at the moment. Some of the heavy machines have got stuck already when they tried to move some soil to fix washed away areas. They will just have to wait until the reserve dries up somewhat before the maintenance programme can be resumed. Despite all the extra work the rain brought, everybody welcomed it with open arms and brought smiles on the faces of most after three very dry years.

Satellite-gallery of the Waterberg Gallery of Fine Arts
March 2006

The Welgevonden Office building is now serving as a satellite gallery for the Waterberg Gallery of Fine Arts, owned by Clive Walker. Pictures from the gallery will be exhibited in the office, but unfortunately due to limited space only a selected view can be exhibited at one time. However, the pictures will be changed from time to time. Clive Walker is well known in conservation circles, especially for conservation in the Waterberg, and was one of the founders of the Lapalala Game Reserve, as well as the Waterberg Rhino Museum.

Clive is himself one of the artists who is contributing to the exhibition, and his works are well known. All the works on exhibition are also for sale and we encourage owners and guests to visit the exhibition, it is well worth it!

Elephant Collaring
February 2006

As part of the elephant contraception program, a monitoring project was launched to test if contraception of females had any effect on social behaviour, herd structures, bull associations or movements. We do not expect to see any effects, as no effects were previously observed in other reserves that have been doing contraception for a number of years now. In order to make the monitoring program as efficient as possible and to get the maximum amount of sightings, it was necessary to collar some elephants.

One cow in each of the herds was collared, except for one herd which couldn’t be found on the day of the collaring. Two cows were fitted with GPS/ cellular collars, but unfortunately it appears as if the cell phone coverage on the reserve is not sufficient to get regular data from the collars. That leaves us with two options; the collars will either have to be replaced with normal VHF collars, or cellular collars with stronger receivers.

Dr. Douw Grobler and JJ van Altema from Catchco carried out the darting of the cows. The conditions on the day of collaring were perfect, and even the elephants cooperated by being in areas that were easily accessible by vehicle. The elephants were darted from a helicopter, and once they were down a ground crew moved in to put the collar on.

The helicopter stayed in the area to make sure the other elephant didn't return and, once it was safe, moved away to search for the other herds. Once the collars were securely fitted, the antidote was administered, and the cows joined their herds within a couple of hours.

Lion Release
February 2006

To the great joy of a number of field guides, the lions that were held in the boma for contraception and pride formation (2 females and 6 young lions of various ages) were released on the 24th of January 2006.

A wildebeest carcass was used to bait them into the small camp after which the main boma gate was opened. The lions showed no immediate interest in their potential freedom and kept feeding undisturbed.

The animals were left alone and at around midday they left the boma, moved to Middle Dam, had a drink and then rested a while. They then moved towards Gierenhof lodge, down towards Koedoespoort and on towards Manuel Gate, Metsi Lodge, along the Krommellenboog boundary, Hanno-se-pad and ended up a week later at Thaba Metsi in the Platbos Valley.

All eight animals have remained together, which is promising, and at this early stage it appears as if the experiment of bonding them has worked. However, only the future will bear witness to the long-term success of this project. One of the lionesses is fitted with a GPS collar for follow-up monitoring.

Appointment of Research Assistant
January 2006

There is a new member on the WLOA staff! Dave Powrie was appointed as research assistant and he started his duties on the 1st of January. However, Dave is not a new face on the reserve and was previously a Field Guide at two of the lodges on Welgevonden. The recent contraception of the elephants created the need for a focused monitoring project on movements, interaction and behaviour of the Welgevonden elephant population.

The establishment of this project enticed him to follow his passion into a new direction in conservation and away from the hospitality industry. Dave’s new duties will primarily be to monitor the elephants, but he will also assist in all research efforts on the reserve. He is currently completing his B.Tech in Nature Conservation and has vast experience in the bush. His experience will serve him handy when following and monitoring the elephants on foot. We want to welcome Dave in his new position and hope he has many happy days watching elephants!