News Archives - 2008

Lion Kill
December 2008

Click here for an amazing sequence of photos captured by a guest at Makweti Safari Lodge,
of a lion killing a baboon..

Lion Cubs
October 2008

Two lionesses in the southern parts of the reserve gave birth to new lion cubs during August. They were the cubs of one of the young males from the coalition of 3 which originated in the north of the reserve, but which has made the southern parts their territory.

However, a month ago, the two males that were introduced to the reserve from the Kalahari last year staged a successful coup and ousted the 3 young males from the southern parts. When new males take over, the cubs of the loosing males are often killed. It appears that was the case in this instance as the cubs of one of the lionesses  disappeared very soon after the takeover, while one cub of the second lioness was seen killed and her other cubs have now also disappeared.

The two new males immediately stamped their authority by mating with the females again to reproduce as quickly as possible so that their genes can continue in the population. Although it is always sad when young cubs are killed by older males, it is a way of nature ensuring that the strongest genes survive. It is also a natural population control measure, and in the case of small reserves like Welgevonden, any natural population control is welcomed. In any event, as mating has occurred, it should not be too long before new cubs are born again.

Annual aerial census and contraception
October 2008

Welgevonden’s annual aerial census was completed towards the end of September. Apart from the general game species, some interesting sightings during the census included blue cranes, leopard, a cheetah, porcupine and a lioness with young cubs.

Although the overall figures were similar to what was expected, there was an increase in especially the smaller antelope species which is encouraging. The results of the census are given in the table below.

Note that the numbers for the smaller antelope species are not given as they are often difficult to see and their numbers would be an under representation of what occurs on the reserve. This includes duiker, steenbok, bushbuck, mountain reedbuck, klipspringer and nyala. Therefore only the numbers for the larger animals are given. The white rhino numbers are also not given for security reasons

The elephant contraception for this year was also done during the census. The drug (pZp) is an immuno-contraceptive that needs to be applied annually by means of a single dart fired from a dart gun out of the helicopter. As far as possible all adult cows that are within the breeding age are currently contracepted. Since August 2007 no new calves were born on the reserve.

Fire season is upon us
September 2008

The high temperatures, strong winds and dry vegetation prevalent at this time of year represent the ideal conditions for large bush fires. Not surprisingly, therefore, there have been several large fires in the vicinity of Welgevonden over the course of the last two weeks. Welgevonden staff assisted in controlling a huge fire that burnt all the way from Alma to the Bakkerspas Road and another in the Thabazimbi district. Since conditions are unlikely to change in the immediate future, further large fires are anticipated and all members are urged to take the necessary precautions around their lodges, particularly in anticipation of the imminent arrival of dry lightning storms.
 

Road upgrades
September 2008

Following the floods in January this year, the road team has been extremely busy undertaking repairs to the roads on the reserve. The long-awaited upgrade to Jackal Road, an important link between the northern and eastern sections of the reserve, has been completed. We have allowed the numerous new concrete bridges on this road to dry and set thoroughly and the necessary earthworks will be completed shortly. The West Gate bridge, which subsided badly after the floods, is in the process of being repaired. This is a large job that necessitated the removal of the old bridge and the construction of an entirely new, low-level crossing. These repairs will be completed prior to the onset of the coming rainy season. We also intend to undertake the repairs and upgrades to Phiri Valley Road before the onset of the rainy season, but this may not be possible if we get rain as early as we did last year.
 

Successful lion management workshop held at Ekuthuleni Lodge
September 2008

The primary management objective of Welgevonden is to facilitate acceptable short-term game viewing without compromising long-term biodiversity. To achieve this objective, it has been necessary for Welgevonden management to embark on a lion control programme to remove lions in order to reduce predation pressure on the prey population as well as to enable the introduction of new genes.

Despite lion management being a requirement on small reserves in general and despite confidence in the approach adopted, it was decided to host an informal workshop to subject the Welgevonden approach to scientific and management peer review and to interrogate options and the risk and benefits associated with each of these. Furthermore, since lion management on confined reserves is a ubiquitous problem, it was felt that such a workshop would be a valuable mechanism to share and collate knowledge and experience, to open channels of communication and perhaps provide some pointers towards alternative solutions with application across the entire industry.

The workshop was attended by several scientists and managers from other reserves, as well as representatives from SANParks and Northwest Parks. The outcome of the workshop can be summarized as follows:

• The management actions taken on Welgevonden up to now are not inappropriate and comply with best industry practice;
• Lions on small reserves contribute very little to lion conservation and their purpose is primarily to satisfy tourism requirements;
• A laissez-faire approach to lion management is not an option for small, confined reserves, and intervention is unavoidable to prevent heavy impacts on prey as well as to prevent inbreeding;
• There is no place for sentiment when it comes to lion management, especially not towards specific individuals;
• The management objectives for small reserves need to be clearly stated and then targeted;
• Management strategies to optimize habitat conditions for prey species should be implemented.
• Reducing lion numbers on Welgevonden is a priority to attempt to get the prey population out of the predator pit;

The workshop was a huge success and several people attending expressed their interest in making it an annual workshop to discuss new ideas. A huge thank you to Ekuthuleni and Tswene Lodges for hosting the workshop and making accommodation available free of charge.
 

Last elephant diary
September 2008

It is with regret that we announce that the Elephant Diary of July 2008 was the last one for the time being. Unfortunately Dave Powrie, our elephant researcher decided to leave Welgevonden and he, and his wife Loma, who was also an employee on the reserve, are pursuing a new life in the UK. They will be missed by everybody on the reserve. More so, the regular visitors to this website will miss Dave’s passionate description of some of the amazing encounters he had and things he observed while monitoring the elephants. We wish both of them a wonderful future with the new direction their life is taking.

Visit to Odzala National Park - a time for reflection.
August 2008
By Andrew Parker

As the world grapples with the proverbial chickens of rampant industrialization and consumerism coming home to roost in the form of climate change, places such as Odzala National Park stand out as beacons of all that is left that is worth fighting for.

The rainforests of Africa are of global significance in the fight against climate change, yet even in the face of an immediate threat to our very own existence as a species, we continue to parasitize that which supports our own survival in the quest to own a hardwood coffee table. It is tantamount to cutting out our own lungs to own a pulmonary lampshade. One cannot comprehend such stupidity. The consequences of our actions are, however, seemingly lost amidst the economic and political hum-drum that dominates our day-to-day lives. In a society dominated by the quest for instant gratification, we have lost touch with the natural world and have therefore lost sight of our dependence on it.

We inherited a world of immense beauty, a tapestry of splendour, but only shreds of the original masterpiece remain. One of the most beautiful and substantial of these shreds is Odzala National Park in the Republic of Congo (not to be confused with the DRC). At 1.4 million hectares, it is an immense wilderness of pristine African rainforest and an increasingly rare example of a more or less intact ecosystem. The difficult access to and extremely limited development within and around the Park further amplify its wilderness qualities, offering a rare glimpse into a world last seen hundreds of years ago.

With the support of the Welgevonden Board, I had the privilege of visiting Odzala during July as a member of the Leadership for Conservation in Africa team that was invited by the Congolese Government to explore opportunities for ecotourism development within the country’s protected areas as a mechanism to fund conservation and to create employment for local communities. Effective management of Odzala is currently heavily reliant on funding from the European Union, but this obviously cannot be viewed as a long-term solution. This precarious situation is further exacerbated by Congo’s current reliance on oil for foreign exchange earnings. Once the oil reserves have been depleted, it is reasonable to expect that indigenous timber will once again become the primary export commodity and this will undoubtedly result in increased pressure on protected areas. The time for diversification is now if future dependence on non-renewable natural resources is to be alleviated. However, since there is a need to develop and capacitate the entire tourism supply chain, the challenges associated with developing the Congo as an ecotourism destination are therefore substantial. However, the recent emergence of Costa Rica as an ecotourism destination strongly demonstrates that there is a lot of interest in rainforest tourism, and boy oh boy does Congo have a compelling rainforest product.
 

Elephant cow loses a bit of ivory
August 2008

This is a wonderful sighting as described by Ulrich Schutte, guide at Shibula lodge, in his own words.

Date: 19 July 2008
Time: 17h00
Location: Sterkstroom valley, “Weaver city”

It started off as most elephant sightings do, calm and relaxed. There were large bulls, young bulls, breeding herds with youngsters, in total about 30 animals, and the interaction was relaxed and friendly. Some of the cows and calves were swimming in the pools in the river and taking a mud bath. The interaction between the elephants was amazing, but little did we know that the harmony was short lived.

Just as we were about to leave the sighting a few young bulls came down the river towards one of the cows. Her initial behaviour was normal with her trunk up and smelling the air. One of the young bulls seemed like he was in musth. As he came closer to her she started shaking her head with aggression but the young bull did not back up. She mock charged a few steps but the bull was either brave or unaware of what was to come. In a matter of a seconds her mock charge changed into a full on charge.

Lion workshop on Welgevonden
August 2008

The overarching management objective for Welgevonden Private Game Reserve, as informed by the Articles of Association and the needs and expectations of the owners, is to facilitate acceptable short-term game viewing without compromising long-term biodiversity. To this end, the management of Welgevonden has embarked on a lion control programme as motivated by an observed trajectory of change towards the total loss of prey species and by the presence of highly inbred individuals within the Welgevonden lion population. This programme has entailed the removal of lions to reduce predation pressure on prey species and to enable the introduction of new genetic material. Although lion management in confined reserves is a widespread problem and even though the above approach is consistent with industry norms and standards an informal one-day workshop was held on Welgevonden to subject the Welgevonden approach to scientific and management peer review and to interrogate any other available options and the risks, benefits and constraints associated with these. The workshop, held at Ekuthuleni Lodge on Welgevonden, was a huge success. It was attended by 15 scientists and managers of other parks and reserves, bringing together a wealth of experience and knowledge. Lively discussions were at the order of the day, and some very good ideas were thrown around. Several of the issues that were discussed are also experienced in other small reserves and we hoped that by bringing together some scientists and managers of other reserves that had faced similar issues previously, that it would stir some debate and new thoughts for lion management in the future.
 

Welgevonden Rhino Sold on Auction for Record Price.
July 2008

A white rhino bull from Welgevonden was sold in May at a public game auction in Vaalwater for a new record price of R720 000! This was way above expectations and everybody was surprised by the prices rhino were fetching at the auction.

The rhino market has seen unprecedented growth in the last couple of months and although this was a bull, all rhinos, including females, are fetching high prices on auctions everywhere. The bull was sold to reduce the number of bulls on the reserve and to prevent conflict between animals.

Although he was still a relatively young animal, the reason for his record price was his impressive front horn which measured just short of 29 inches and a base circumference of just over 29 inches.

Farewell to an Old Friend
July 2008

The month of June 2008 bore witness to the end of an era. In 1997, two young male lions were introduced onto Welgevonden together with three young lionesses. Shortly after being released, the two male lions parted ways and occupied different sections of the reserve. Consequently, they became known as the western and southern males respectively.

Over the years, although preferring to operate independently from each other, these males would occasionally meet up on amicable terms. Several years ago, however, the western male moved into the southern section of the reserve where he joined up permanently with the southern male. Although their relationship was not always a picture of perfect harmony, these two old boys dominated proceedings in the south up until the beginning of this year when three young males from the northern part of the reserve moved south in an effort to establish their own territory.

Originally, the two old boys were more than a match for the young upstarts, but when challenged again recently, the two older lions, which were rapidly approaching the ripe old age of 12, could no longer resist the inevitable. After fierce fighting, the two old males were usurped as the dominant pride males.

This is perfectly natural and in keeping with normal lion dynamics whereby younger and stronger males replace those that are old and weak and that have outlived their usefulness to the pride. It is nature’s way of ensuring genetic diversity and of controlling population growth as new males kill any young cubs in the pride to bring the females into estrus to ensure that their energy is expended raising their own offspring and not that of another male.

In the fighting, the western male was badly injured and eventually could no longer keep up with his companion, the southern male. The western male had never been an accomplished hunter and without the support of the pride or his companion, his condition deteriorated quickly. He disappeared early in June and was suspected dead until he was observed by the fence patrollers in a remote corner of the reserve. He was in extremely poor condition and was clearly suffering, a mere shadow of his former glory. The attached picture was taken three weeks before he died, and as can be seen, he was already in a very weak condition.

As he could barely walk anymore, a decision was taken to end his suffering. A sad day indeed for all who had enjoyed his regal presence on Welgevonden over the years. Farewell, old friend, rest in peace.