News Archives - 2009

Blue Cranes on Welgevonden
December 2009

The classical breeding habitat comprises stretches of shallow water, with cover present, surrounded by short grassland. The cranes then find or build an “island” on which the eggs are laid. In Welgevonden the birds also lay eggs on the bare ground in short grassy areas. While one bird incubates the eggs the other bird is usually some distance away and stands watch for any possible danger.

If any danger is seen an alarm call is given and the incubating bird leaves the nest and creeps away in the surrounding cover before standing up some distance away in order to mislead and predator as to the nest location. There are usually two eggs laid in a nest and these hatch within 30 days. Once the chicks hatch they accompany the parents into the short grass areas where they learn to feed. If they are disturbed here they will immediately lie flat or creep into the closest cover and move away before hiding.

The short grassland is chosen to give the chicks a chance to move around while small and it is more open for the parents to detect predators and or danger. It is also easier to find food which comprises primarily of insects but include small reptiles, grain, fish, etc. The adults and chicks often roost in shallow water in order to evade predators.

Between 3 and 5 pairs nest on Welgevonden with 3 to 4 chicks surviving to leave the reserve. Just before the chicks can fly an attempt is made to ring as many of them as possible as part of an EWT research and monitoring program which is trying to determine where these birds go and if Waterberg population is mixing with other blue crane populations. At present the Waterberg population is about 70 birds so it therefore very important to learn about the population dynamics. Any sightings of ringed blue cranes (or others) can be reported to the EWT crane working group or to André Burger (andre@welgevonden.org).

Blue Crane eggs on typical nest	Location of blue crane nest	Blue crane sub adult group
Flying blue cranes	Blue Cranes feeding	Releasing ringed blue crane chick

Botswana training course
December 2009

Rhino Bull Killed
November 2009

The bull’s carcass has subsequently been a magnet for all manner of predators and for the first few days the lions absolutely dominated proceedings. Since then, there have been regular sightings of brown hyena on the carcass and we suspect leopard and other smaller carnivores will have scavenged off the carcass as well. Lourens, our intrepid leopard researcher, has placed one of his trip cameras at the carcass to monitor scavenging activity and a sequence of pictures from this event will be published on the site next month.

These pictures are from a sighting of a brown hyena on the carcass during the middle of the day – a rare and privileged experience indeed!!!

2009 Annual Game Census Results
November 2009

The annual aerial census was completed in the last week of September. The census data from 1998 to 2009 are presented in the table below.

An aerial census is not designed to determine the total number of animals on a property but rather to monitor trends over time. As such, the purpose of conducting a census is not accuracy but rather precision. It is simply not possible to count all the animals on a property. Certain animals are easier to count than others simply due to habitat preferences (e.g. white rhino versus black rhino), time of activity (diurnal vs. nocturnal), size of animal (e.g. kudu vs. klipspringer), herd size (impala vs. bushbuck), choice of shelter (e.g. under a tree or underground) and various other factors. Hence, an aerial census is primarily designed to monitor trends in populations of medium to large diurnal herbivorous mammals. However, one cannot realistically expect to count all individuals in a population. As the day advances, animals seek shelter under trees and become increasingly difficult to spot. Animals also move from one census grid into another, leading to possible under or overcounting (it is assumed that these balance each other out).

If one looks at the differences between the 2008 and 2009 data, the biggest negative differences are for species that are notoriously difficult to count, i.e. warthog, waterbuck (prefer thick riverine habitat) and reedbuck (prefer long grass in marshy habitat).

In light of the above, management is of the view that the 2009 data are conservative for a number of reasons as follows:
a. The early green flush greatly reduced visibility, particularly along the rivers
b. The week of the census was continuously overcast, which not only affects animal behaviour but also reduces visibility due to shadows being less distinct
c. Hanno was replaced by an extremely enthusiastic but new and inexperienced observer

In addition, if one considers that the observed recruitment rate for the prey species on Welgevonden is approximately 15%, the net loss of animals due to predation since the 2008 September count, which took place after the 2008 game introductions, will have been in the region of 600 animals. Also, it is worth noting that our original predation models contemplated 10 killing leopards on the property whereas Lourens’ more recent data suggest that there are up to 30 leopards on the property, 20 of which can reasonably be assumed to be killing leopards. This is a clear demonstration of the importance of ongoing research and monitoring. Given the above considerations, the most important and encouraging aspect of the 2009 census is that the numbers are still progressing towards our medium-term goal of attaining 4000 head of game on the property.

In the table below, species highlighted in red are those species whose numbers should not/cannot be controlled by management as they should be self-regulating. The species highlighted in blue (gemsbok and tsessebe) are those species that can be controlled by management but which management have opted not to control due to poor adaptation to the environment (tsessebe, which is also an extremely expensive animal to buy) or due to their historical range not encompassing the Waterberg (gemsbok). The species highlighted in green are those that can be controlled by management but which are either of a lower priority at this point in time (bushbuck, nyala, giraffe) or are doing fine (reedbuck, rhino, waterbuck) or are too expensive to readily manipulate (buffalo). The species highlighted in yellow are those species which have been prioritized by management in terms of the establishment of the self-perpetuating grazing lawns and/or predation. Elephant management has been prioritised as the elephant is a keystone species with the potential to change its environment.
 

Elephant Contraception
November 2009

Although only 104 individuals were counted during the recent census, the elephant population on Welgevonden currently stands at 121. The contraception programme, which has been running since 2006, has been enormously successful so far with no new calves being born in the last two years. As a result of this remarkable success, management took a decision to allow 6 of the breeding cows to breed so as to maintain the social integrity of the herds. Hence, these 6 cows were not inoculated during the 2009 contraception event, which was conducted during the week of the census.

Injured lion
November 2009

Those members and visitors who have encountered the southern pride males may have noticed that one of the males has a drooping lower lip. When this was first observed, we were concerned that perhaps his jaw had been broken.

However, he was darted recently so that the injury could be checked by a vet and it was found that his jaw is fine but that his lower teeth have been knocked out and that his lip has been torn off the jaw. The vet termed this “de-gloving”.

Given that his teeth are also missing, we suspect that he sustained these injuries by being at the receiving end of a zebra’s kick. The final analysis is that he will be fine, although he now has features only a mother could love.

Birding Big Day
November 2009

Welgevonden has, for the first time, officially entered a team for the 2009 annual Birding Big Day. Gerhardt Lorist, our resident “twitcher” extraordinaire, will be leading the team of four plus observers around the reserve from dawn until after dark. There is still one place available on the team and if you would like to come along as an observer, please contact the Welgevonden office.

Brood Parasites
November 2009
By Gerhardt Lorist

	Crested Barbet
	Greater Honeyguide

A bird that lays its eggs in the nest(s) of other (foster or host) species, e.g. Honeyguides, Cuckoos, Indigobirds (widowfinch) and Whydahs. (ref: Roberts Birds of Southern Africa)

We all know that Cuckoos do not raise their own young but lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, but not many people know of the other brood parasites like Honeyguides, Indigobirds (widowfinch) and Whydahs. These birds have a variety of hosts they use and one specific brood parasite might have a few different host species that they parasitize.

The behaviour of the different brood parasites and their offspring also vary, the most common behaviour is that the egg is laid and the chick grows faster than that of the host species and thus take all the food and space in the nest. The host chicks normally die resulting in the host parent only feeding the parasite chick. In some cases, like  Levailant's Cuckoo (Striped cuckoo), the chick is raised gregariously with the chicks of the host parent which in this case is Arrow-marked Babblers.

There are other more aggressive behaviours where the hosts eggs or chicks are removed from the nest by the parasite adult or, in some cases, even by the hatchlings. The most aggressive form of brood parasitism is that of the Honeyguides. The parent will often peck at the chick or eggs in the nest and, when the parasite nestling is hatched, it will also attack and kill the host chicks with bill hooks (the bill hooks normally falls off about 14 days after hatching)

In the case we have at the Main gate, we think that the Crested Barbet nest is parasitized by a Greater Honeyguide. (Although Lesser Honeyguides also parasitize Crested Barbets, they normally prefer Black-collared Barbets.)

Honeyguides only parasitize hole nesting birds like Barbets, Bee-eaters and Kingfishers. Greater Honeyguides prefer Green Woodhoopoe, African Hoopoe, Little bee-eaters and Crested Barbets.

We will only know which species has parasitized the barbet nest once the chick is out of the nest, the host will normally still feed the young around the nest side for about 10 days. I will monitor the nest and photograph the young once it is out of the nest.
 

2009 Annual Game Census
October 2009

The 2009 annual game census was successfully completed over the period 27th to 30th September. We were a little concerned that the early green flush of the trees would impede our ability to see animals and preliminary results suggest that this may indeed have been the case. Hence, next year’s count will definitely be done earlier in September.

We are still collating the data from this year’s count and the results will be published in due course. With Hanno’s departure, Gerhardt Lorist assisted with the count and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, getting to witness the beauty of Welgevonden’s wilderness from the air. Some interesting observations included a lot of Denham’s Bustard, plenty of bushpig on the southern plains and a leopard near Bee-eater pass.

Two male lions from the air	Blue cranes from the air	Denham’s bustard on a nest

Annual Elephant Contraception
October 2009

Each year, whilst conducting the annual game census, a half day is set aside to contracept the elephant population. The breeding cows are simply darted from the chopper using a drop-out dart to administer the non-hormonal vaccine.

At least one cow in each of the 7 breeding herds is collared so as to enable the herds to be located efficiently and as a result, the process is quick and highly cost-effective. 38 cows were darted this year and 5 were left to breed so as to ensure that the social structure of the population continues to include young calves.

The contraception programme using the PZP vaccine has been enormously successful, with no births being recorded over the last two years. The population growth rate is now firmly under management’s control and close monitoring of the population has revealed no aberrant social behaviour.

An obstreperous giraffe!
October 2009

As part of Welgevonden’s ongoing game introduction programme for 2009, a solitary female giraffe was recently delivered to the Welgevonden main gate.

It took a considerable amount of coaxing to get her to leave the comfort of the crate, after which the very clearly irritated giraffe made no bones about her mood. She initially charged the driver of the delivery truck and then repeatedly charged the truck itself. This was certainly a first for all involved and it became very clear to see how lions can get themselves into trouble when tackling these seemingly benign creatures.

Interestingly, the giraffe used its front legs as its main weapon, stamping down hard on the ground. A blow from one of these would almost certainly be lethal and a giraffe in a bad mood is very definitely an animal to avoid!

Sibu delivers talk to the Constitutional Court:
October 2009

Please read our Motivational Talks page to find out how your lodge can benefit from this extraordinary young man's knowledge.

First Rains
October 2009

September heralded the onset of the rainy season with the Main Gate receiving a total of 52 mm during the month. These first rains were very gratefully received as it has settled the dust and breathed new life into the bush. The rivers and dams are still very full from the preceding two years’ good rains so it won’t take much to get the rivers flowing strongly again.

Spring has sprung!!!
September 2009

After what has been an unusually cold bush winter, I feel I can speak on behalf of all the occupants of Welgevonden, warm and cold blooded, in welcoming back some warmer weather. The Dombeyas (Wild Pear) and Erythrinas (Coral Tree) are already in full flower and it won’t be long before the other trees start to produce new shoots in anticipation of the coming rainy season.

The sight of the dry, dusty, winter Waterberg bushveld shedding its drab coat to be replaced by a verdant paradise of flowing streams and lush green vegetation is truly something to behold and we await the reserve’s summer finery with baited breath! This is also the time the migrant birds start returning to breed, livening up the bushveld with their song. The old hands in the area are speaking of another wet season and although one should never look a gift horse in the mouth, we hope that the rains are little more spread out this year so as to give our road infrastructure at least a fighting chance

Fire Season
September 2009

The arrival of spring also heralds the onset of the fire season when dry lightning storms prevail and can cause widespread fires. We therefore urge all lodges to get their firebreaks into a state of adequate readiness as from an ecological perspective, we hope that around 10% to 15% of the reserve will burn as a result of lightning strikes over the next couple of months.

Fire on old Eastern Airstrip
September 2009

In preparation for the coming rainy season, we are intervening on the old eastern airstrip near the East Gate to improve the palatability and productivity of the grass layer. The initial treatment required that the tall grass on the old airstrip be slashed to promote the growth of Cynodon dactylon.

While slashing the strip, the blades of the slasher sparked against a small rock, igniting the extremely dry and fibrous veld. Fortunately the team was on hand to combat the fire, preventing it from spreading or causing any damage to infrastructure. Many thanks to the lodge staff who assisted with this. The net result is that the entire area has now been very effectively “slashed” and we expect an influx of game onto the area as soon as it produces a green flush.

Welgevonden Game Introductions
September 2009

One of the aims of Welgevonden management is to re-establish a balance between the predator and prey populations. Due to the historically high lion numbers on Welgevonden the prey population had dropped into what is known as a “predator pit”. This is when the annual recruitment into the prey population is less than the amount of prey animals being eaten. This not only relates to lion but all the other predators who do have an impact e.g. leopard, caracal, jackal, cheetah and possibly brown hyeana. However these other populations are difficult to monitor and the assumption is and can be made that these animals would very likely be self regulating depending initially on social parameters and later on prey density parameters.

In order for management to achieve this aim an active lion reduction program was initiated with the aim of reducing the lion population to between 10 and 12 adult animals. At the same time a prey re-introduction program was launched 3 years ago with the aim of raising the game population to around 4000 (counted) head of game. As part of this program 300 impala, 250 wildebeest, 80 zebra, 50 eland, 50 red hartebeest and 4 giraffe were planned for introduction during 2009. As of the end of August all 300 impala have been introduced, 235 wildebeest, 39 zebra, 16 eland, 26 red hartebeest and 2 giraffe. The introductions have been split between the area around Tshimondi and on the southern plains. The remainder of the game should be introduced by mid October.

The young male hippo that was introduced into the dam at site 58 has settled well and the challenge is to now find him a mate as soon as possible (every self-respecting hippopotamister needs a hippopotamiss).

The sightings of general game has and will continue to improve and hopefully remain constant for years to come.

Repairs to Jackal Road
September 2009

The three bridges on Jackal Road that were washed away in the floods in January have been replaced with free flow rock bridges in an effort to enable year-round access in the event of heavy rain and floods. This has necessitated some extensive excavation along certain of the drainage lines so please do not be alarmed when you see some raw earth patches when you next drive along the road. The banks of certain channels have been shaped and a drainage ditch has been dug to drain water away from a particularly marshy area. We expect the free flow rock bridges will be more resilient, albeit a little more bumpy to cross. The excavated areas will rehabilitate naturally with the onset of the coming rainy season as they have all been dressed with top soil from the area. We apologise for any inconvenience in the interim and trust that you understand the requirement for this work to enable reliable year-round access as Jackal Road is an important link between the Eastern and Northern parts of the reserve.

Volunteer Programme
August 2009

Welgevonden, in conjunction with Wildlife and Ecological Investments (WEI), has launched a volunteer research programme to promote research output on the reserve.

WEI is a voluntary, non-profit organisation with a mission to support government, conservation agencies, national parks and private land owners with capital, human resources and intellectual investments in areas of ecological importance within Southern Africa.

Through WEI, Welgevonden will host volunteer and graduate students to supplement the reserve’s existing research efforts and advance our management objectives. WEI has appointed a full-time facilitator to oversee their activities on the reserve and to ensure close cooperation with the WLOA management.

To this end, we would like to welcome Gerhardt Lorist and his family to Welgevonden and regular visitors to the reserve will soon get to know Gerhardt as an integral member of the management team.

WEI also has a close association with with international partner organisations and universities whereby graduate students from leading universities around the world will spend time on Welgevonden to target key management questions. The first university students arrived in June and have been furiously busy collecting data on bird distribution and diversity as an indicator of biodiversity and on vegetation composition and structure. We are confident that the partnership with WEI will greatly enhance Welgevonden’s research and management capacity and we anticipate especially valuable output from this relationship.

For the twitchers...
Those members and visitors who are mad keen birders will be pleased to know that Gerhardt Lorist is a twitcher extraordinaire. Gerhardt is a BirdLife South Africa guide and recently obtained his FGASA SKS birding qualification and is truly knowledgeable about all things avian. This is extremely useful given that WEI are using bird distributions and diversity as an indicator for biodiversity but we also hope that Gerhardt and his merry students will unearth several hitherto unknown bird species on Welgevonden. No pressure, Gerhardt...

Sibusiso Vilane
August 2009

Welgevonden is extremely proud to have as a member of its staff, albeit on a temporary basis, the intrepid mountaineer, explorer, motivational speaker and patron of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Conservation Leadership Group, Sibusiso Vilane.

Sibusiso’s list of achievements, from summiting Mount Everest (twice) to trekking unaided to the South Pole, is truly remarkable and is testimony to the potential of the human spirit. Sibusiso also boasts 11 years experience working in the conservation sector and he is assisting Welgevonden with the implementation of the WEI programme and with furthering the local Waterberg Rural EcoWarrior Programme, which is a joint Welgevonden/EWT initiative.

Sibusiso joined Welgevonden in June and has contributed enormously to the seamless and successful launch of the WEI programme. Now that the WEI programme is largely established, Sibusiso will be spending time with Theko Tlailana, EWT’s local Rural EcoWarrior to promote and support Theko’s efforts in the local community. We encourage members and visitors to the reserve to take time to speak to Sibusiso if you see him on the reserve as he has some exceptionally interesting experiences to share.

Death of young rhino calf
August 2009

After receiving a report of a dead rhino calf in the south, management responded with extreme concern. The calf was found lying under a tree with its mother milling around not far off.

Initially, it was suspected that a large bull in the area may have acted aggressively towards the calf, killing it, but an autopsy confirmed that the young animal had in fact died of pneumonia with the likely cause being the extremely cold weather combined with the strong winds on the southern plains.  A close inspection of the other rhino in the area revealed no problems, although an extremely close inspection of a sleeping calf necessitated a somewhat rapid retreat in the face of a ton and a half of maternal concern.

Bush school...
August 2009

On their way to a set of habitats in the southern plains,  Gerhardt Lorist (WEI facilitator) and some university students encountered this awesome sighting of the southern pride interacting with a rhino cow and her calf. The two lion cubs were practicing their stalking skill on the rhinos, while the lionesses who were were not interested, only looked in from time to time to make sure the cubs didn't get too close. The Rhino cow gave a few short charges towards the cubs but never moved more than few meters from her calf. As the lions started moving off, they treated the visitors with a set of roars that made an even more memorable experience for the foreign students.

NB: Enlargements of these photos can be seen in the latest photo gallery.

Occupational Health & Safety Training
August 2009

In an effort to promote safety within the Welgevonden workplace, all WLOA staff and management attended a health and safety training workshop hosted by the Agricultural Employers Union on the 4th August.

A lot of what was discussed could be considered common sense, but then again, common sense is not always that common. The training was gratefully received by the staff who were all encouraged to be more aware of potential risks in the workplace. The 4 elected health and safety representatives received additional training to enable them to more effectively identify and pre-empt potential problems.

Late summer burns
June 2009

Conventional, or rather dogmatic, conservation practise dictates that management burns should be restricted to the end of winter just prior to the onset of the rainy season. Although natural lightning strikes are responsible for a lot of natural fires at this time, the exclusion of fire throughout the rest of the year does not necessarily make good conservation sense. If the purpose of conservation management is to maintain the natural functioning of ecosystems, then one has to take cognisance of the processes that were instrumental in shaping the landscape. Geology and climate are considered to be the key determinants of savanna ecosystems at very broad spatial and temporal scales. At finer scales, however, herbivory and fire are considered to be the key determinants, with fire playing an important role as a disturbance process in maintaining the grass/tree mix that characterises savannas.

Historically, fires in savannas would have been started by lightning strikes at the onset of the rainy season, but there is also a lot of evidence to suggest that anthropogenic fires, or fires started by people, played a critical role in shaping savanna vegetation structure. The numerous and widespread pastoralist communities that inhabited the savannas of Africa set fires to supplement the nutrition of domestic stock during the dry season and hunters set fires to attract game. These fires would have occurred randomly throughout the dry season and would not have been restricted to the short period at the end of winter prior to the onset of the rainy season. The exclusion of these anthropogenic fires has therefore been questioned and as a result, conservation managers are increasingly applying fires throughout the year in an effort to simulate the historical influence of anthropogenic fires.

The Waterberg represents a moist infertile savanna dominated by broadleaf deciduous trees and tall, unpalatable perennial grasses. The accumulation of fuel in moist savannas suggests a fire return interval of between one to three years. However, it is reasonable to assume that large tracts of the Waterberg burnt annually prior to anthropogenic landscape fragmentation. This can be assumed from the high levels of primary production and thus fuel accumulation combined with low levels of grass consumption by herbivores and high incidence of lightning strikes. Given the low grazing value of the Waterberg during the dry season, it is reasonable to expect that the area was not directly subject to anthropogenic fires but may well have burnt as a result of anthropogenic fires moving into the mountains from the surrounding plains.

Previously, Welgevonden management adopted a laissez-faire approach to fire management in that naturally occurring lightning fires were permitted to burn provided they did not threaten infrastructure or threaten to escape onto neighbouring properties. However, the presence of numerous artificial barriers in the landscape (such as roads, firebreaks, fencelines etc) greatly restricts the spread of natural lightning fires across the landscape and the laissez-faire approach is not sufficient to replicate the historical influence of fire. Consequently, management has taken the decision to implement a more pro-active burning regime which entails burning up to 10% of the reserve each year at the end of summer. This is to replicate the presumed influence of anthropogenic fires and we expect that the green flush resulting from these late summer fires will provide valuable grazing into the long dry season and as such will improve the fecundity of the large herbivore populations.

This year, a large block of around 3500 hectares in the central-north section of the reserve has been burnt and the late rains received at the beginning of May have contributed to the rapid emergence of a vigorous green flush that is being greatly appreciated by the grazing herbivore populations.

August Update:
Approximately 3600 hectares were burnt using lodges in the block as point ignition sites so as to create a secure firebreak around the lodges. The purpose of the late summer burning programme is to mimic the historical influence of pastoralists on the landscape and to re-establish fire as an important disturbance process in maintaining ecosystem function. Shortly after the burn, the reserve received several days of good rainfall and this has contributed to the emergence of a vigorous post-burn green flush which is being greatly appreciated by the populations of grazing herbivores. We anticipate that the green flush will provide good grazing for an extended period into the dry season and in doing so we hope that it will promote herbivore recruitment through the provision of nutritious grazing during the mating season. 

Cheetah release
May 2009

In March we reported that two cheetah females were introduced into the boma at Welgevonden, before they would be released on the reserve. On the 5th of May they were finally released and are now freely roaming on the reserve.

A carcass was used to entice them to move into a smaller side boma and the gate behind them was closed. The gate to the outside world was then opened, but they stayed on the carcass for another 45 minutes. With some encouragement they exited the smaller boma, but settled down in the drainage line about 50 metres from the boma. The leftovers of the carcass was removed and put down close to where they were lying down. After a few moments they came out of the long grass and dragged the carcass into the drainage line, where they finished their last free meal.

From now on they are on their own, and will have to work for their food. Everyone is excited about the two new occupants on the reserve, and hope that they will settle down successfully in their new home.

Broken Bridge Repaired
May 2009

The so-called Broken Bridge in the Sterkstroom Valley got its name in 1995 after the original structure failed a year after being built. Oom Hennie and his team then effected the running repairs that, with the odd patch here and there, lasted nigh on 15 years. These however finally failed during the last rainy season and Broken Bridge was once more well and truly broken.

The primary concern when considering options concerning the repair of the bridge was to prevent further erosion of the northern bank. After lengthy deliberation, the original plan was to remove the remaining portion of the original concrete structure and erect a low-level flow-through rock bridge. This would offer minimal resistance under normal flow conditions and would allow flood waters to flow down the main channel away from the northern bank. The idea was, however, promptly abandoned when the 18-ton excavator nearly tipped on its nose trying to remove the remaining concrete portion which we discovered comprises solid concrete and which we now expect will remain steadfastly and resolutely in place until the next millennium.

Plan B was adopted. This likewise entailed a flow-through rock bridge, but rather than a low-level structure, it was necessary to raise the level of the rock portion above that of the remaining concrete structure so as to divert flood waters over the concrete section and away from the northern bank. We now await the next floods with bated breath.

African Leadership Academy
April 2009

On the 2nd of April, 9 students from the newly established African Leadership Academy arrived at Welgevonden. The African Leadership Academy recruits top performing, high school age students from all over Africa between the ages of 15-20yrs for a 2 year program that teaches leadership and entrepreneurship.

One of Welgevonden’s members, Jon Cummings from Site 23, is on the Board of the Academy and arranged for the students to visit the reserve. The WLOA’s chief executive, Andrew Parker, presented a talk to the students at the lodge on the importance of diversity and change for maintaining the flow of energy in natural systems at optimum levels. Dr Hector Magome from SANParks was also present and a detailed discussion ensued on the challenges facing conservation in both the private and public sector.

The level of understanding demonstrated by the children was truly remarkable. The WLOA is proud to have an association with the Academy and we look forward to many more interesting encounters.

Library Construction
April 2009

Welgevonden is involved with the construction of the library at Mokolo Primary School in Vaalwater through the Rural EcoWarrior Programme (REW) it initiated.

The new library is funded by the Khutso Foundation and from donations received from the Welgevonden membership. It will serve as an office for our Rural EcoWarrior, Theko, and a base for the environmental club he has started.

The building is being constructed largely from environmentally friendly and biodegradable materials. Many thanks to the Welgevonden members who contributed to this exciting development, it can only help to benefit the local kids and enhance awareness of the importance of the environment.

Two new female cheetah
March 2009

Over the last couple of years there has been at least one male cheetah resident on the reserve, while a few other younger males are seen from time to time, probably moving in and out of the reserve. However, no female was ever seen and it was decided to introduce some females and try to establish a breeding population on the reserve.

This would not only make the males happy, but would also bolster the cheetah population in the Waterberg as well as adding another attraction for guests to view. So at the end of February Welgevonden got two new residents and two female cheetah were introduced into the bomas at Welgevonden. We went to pick up the cheetah from Phinda Game Reserve in Maputaland, where they were free-roaming until the time of their capture. They were kept in a boma for a short while after their capture early on the morning of the 27^th February.

After some blood tests, they were each loaded in their separate crates for the long trip to their new home. After 9 hours on the road they arrived at Welgevonden and were released into a boma just after sunset. They will be kept in the boma for about 6 weeks so that they can settle down and adapt to their new environment before they will be released on the reserve. As they are still young animals,  we anticipate that it will be easier for them to adapt to their new environment and hopefully find some boyfriends soon.

Incorporation of Kromellemboog into Welgevonden
March 2009

In 2004, the WLOA signed an agreement with the owners of an adjoining property, Kromellemboog, to incorporate this 2000ha property into Welgevonden.

In accordance with the terms of the agreement, the owner was required to subdivide the property, construct various roads and erect a suitable electrified perimeter fence. These improvements have been completed, the necessary documents have been submitted to the deeds office and the fence between Welgevonden and Kromellemboog is now in the process of being removed. The property, which is situated in the north-western corner of the reserve and which comprises steep hills, rocky kloofs and mountain streams, is an exciting addition to Welgevonden and we are certain our members and their guests will enjoy exploring it.

Due to the steep terrain, the road network, which still needs to be linked to the Welgevonden road network, is limited. However, the property offers wonderful opportunities for walking under the supervision and guidance of a suitably qualified and armed field guide. The property also boasts a very scenic dam and many beautiful aloes, and we recommend that you enjoy the latter as much as possible before the elephants find them.

Record rainfall on Welgevonden
February 2009

Like most of the northern parts of South Africa, Welgevonden has seen an exceptionally wet month in January. All this rain has transformed the reserve into a water paradise, with streams of water flowing out of the mountains, causing cascading waterfalls everywhere. The vegetation turned a lush green as a result. I overheard somebody saying “it is so green, it almost hurts ones eyes”! Sights like these are always special to see, even if it feels like the rain is never going to stop.

It was the highest rainfall recorded during January since the start of the reserve. The mean rainfall measured across the reserve was 391mm for January alone, with the highest recorded figure of 560mm in the centre of the reserve! To put this into perspective, the long term seasonal mean for Welgevonden is 620mm, thus almost the entire average season’s rain in one month! By the end of January the soil was so waterlogged that even a small shower of rain resulted in a rise in the river water levels.

However, although beautiful all this rain and water unfortunately also result in some problems. Several of the bridges were under water, which made driving through the reserve impossible in certain areas. One vehicle was surprised with a flash-flood while crossing a bridge in the Sterkstroom river and was partly washed of a bridge. Luckily it could be recovered without too much damage. The high water levels of the rivers also resulted in some damage to the fence crossings, and the fence team had to be on their toes to keep the fence working properly.

Several roads suffered some erosion damage, and one concrete river crossing was washed away after a rainstorm when 100mm fell in about 20 minutes. However, overall the roads on the reserve held up remarkably well considering all the rain. There was more damage to the gravel roads outside and leading to the reserve than inside the reserve itself. Unfortunately it resulted in some entrance gates being inaccessible.

Inside the reserve a few muddy patches developed, leading to vehicles getting stuck. One of the road maintenance team’s trucks was stuck for almost a week before they manage to get it out of the mud. The main road into the reserve also had to be closed towards the end of January, but luckily an alternative road was accessible through which light vehicle traffic could be diverted. The main road has been repaired in the mean time after some welcome sunshine early in February and is now fully functional again.
 

Battle with Pom-Pom weed
February 2009

The control of the pom-pom weed is a difficult task in that the emergence of the aerial parts of the plant from underground rootstock depends on the amount of rain and the temperature. Once these aerial parts emerge a flower is produced very rapidly and the associated seed production starts. Due to the short time from emergence to seed production it is essential to spray the plants as soon as possible after emergence. However if spraying is done too early plants that emerged and germinated later require a follow up spraying which doubles the cost and effort needed. To get the timing right is relatively easy on small areas but on larger areas you cannot get to spray all of the plants during the ideal “window”. The only way to overcome this is to have more logistic resources and above all manpower. Despite this any plant that is sprayed while it is actively growing is potentially killed which eliminates the rootstock and reduces the strong emergence in the following year.

The second problem is the control of single plants and small stands of plants as these are spread out throughout the reserve and lead to the development of large infestations. A single plant that emerges from rootstock and flowers will have accompanying seedlings for a few meters around it obviously from the previous season’s seeds.

This season the fight started in early December, 2008,  and was tackled on a number of fronts. The Welgevonden conservation team sprayed large infested areas of the southern plains with tractor mounted sprays in the areas that are tractor accessible. The less accessible areas are sprayed using knapsack sprayers. This approach managed to control a large proportion of the plants before their mass flowering and associated seed development.

The second line of attack was with the assistance of the Working for Water Program. This was the first time Working for Water have got involved with controlling pom-pom weed in this area so it was a learning process for all involved. This team concentrated on the infestation in the Sterkstroom Valley and the associated tributaries later moving onto other smaller localized infestations. The scope of this program was a great help especially from the manpower perspective. The manpower displayed a strong dedicated work ethic, where well organized and trained and went about getting the work done as quickly as possible.

The third line of attack was a small control team that constantly moved around the reserve finding and spraying all located plants especially concentrating on the valleys and vlei areas spraying individual plants with a knapsack spray.

Estianne Retief from the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) approached Welgevonden do carry out some trials on a rust fungus (Puccinia eupatorii) to evaluate its impact on the growth and survival of pompom weed. It is expected that it will definitely reduce the growth and reproduction rate of the plants. By attacking the stems and leaves the rust also depletes the nutrients that the rootstock needs for surviving the winter. Hopefully over a couple of seasons an visible impact will be noticed.

The rust was collected in Argentina and tested under quarantine conditions in a laboratory on over 30 plants from the Asteraceae family (pom-pom family), various crops, morphologically similar plants and indigenous plants. It was proved without a doubt that Puccinia eupatorii is 100% specific to pompom weed and will not attack any of the SA indigenous plants.

A rust fungus found on pom-pom weed near Pretoria was also identified as Puccinia eupatorii, until recently there had been no record of this specific rust in South Africa. ARC do not know how this rust came into South Africa, but rust fungi produces so many tiny spores that it can stick to basically anything and survive for a couple of months, without a host, so it could certainly have traveled with somebody from overseas.

Initial results from the trials show that the rust fungus is definitely having an effect on the pom-pom weed. During the chemical control of the pom-pom weed the rust fungus was seen to be present in most areas where the pom-pom weed occurred as long as there was enough moisture present. Attempts to isolate the rust fungus and identify it will be done next year.

All the efforts to control the pom-pom weed over the last few years are definitely paying dividends. The badly infested areas are showing less infestation although more isolated pockets were observed. These should be countered by the multi-pronged approach. The results of this seasons work are difficult to judge as we will have to wait until the next season. With the experience gained this year Working for Water have indicated they would like to increase the number of teams working on Welgevonden in order to complete spraying here sooner so as to be able to assist other landowners around Welgevonden who have requested their assistance.