Posts Tagged ‘community-based conservation’

Dec
06

The Houston Zoo is educating Painted Dog Conservation about bats

Posted by in Africa,Bats,community-based conservation,Conservation,Rachel and Cullen in Africa,Supporting Painted Dog Conservation

Cullen with bat that lives in the roof of the guest housing at Painted Dog Conservation

Cullen Gieslman is a Houston Zoo conservation board member.  She has been studying bats for quite some time and volunteered to accompany Conservation Programs Manager, Rachel Rommel to Painted Dog Conservation in Zimbabwe to educate staff there about bats.  Painted Dog Conservation’s (PDC) education program for the local communities focuses on the eco-system.  PDC was very eager to have Rachel  and Cullen contribute an amphibian and bat component to this program.   Enjoy Cullen’s bat update from PDC in Zimbabwe.

Cullen weighing bat

This is a brief bat update and photos that Rachel took of me and the bats living in our house. It’s really the only batting we have done besides wandering around with bat detectors. We’ll try to get more photos with the camp kids when we show them the bats next week. The housing for visiting scientists at Painted Dog Conservation in Zimbabwe shelters a large colony of bats that we hear squeaking and moving about day and night. To find out what species we are cohabitating with, we devised a plan to capture a few.

Rachel, Cullen and Greg Mist-netting for bats

We taped a very short mist net (2.6 meters long and about 2.6 meters high) to some poles and, once it got dark, we observed the direction the bats were taking as they flew out of their roost. We quickly positioned the net right in their path and, after intercepting four, swung the net out of their way because we would only need a few to confirm species. I gingerly extracted each from the net and placed it in its own cloth holding bag. I could tell from the shape of the face and ears and presence of a free tail extending beyond the tail membrane more than one-third of its length that we had captured a species of free-tailed bat in the family Molossidae.

Cullen measuring bat

I then consulted Bats of Southern and Central Africa to determine the species based first on forearm measurement and then on description. Our cohabitants turn out to be Mops midas, or Midas free-tailed bat, a large species (forearm = 61 mm, mass = 45 g) associated with hot, low-lying savanna and woodlands in southern Africa. We captured two lactating females, one pregnant female, and one scrotal male suggesting that our house is being used as a maternity roost and that the noise we hear during the night are mothers coming back to feed their young.

Adults of this species eat insects, mainly beetles, which are very abundant in the area. After measuring and weighing our captives, we released them to go about their nightly forays.

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Nov
30

The Houston Zoo Supporting Painted Dog Conservation with Social Media

Posted by in Africa,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Supporting Painted Dog Conservation

The Houston Zoo’s conservation department is always looking for practical ways to assist our wildlife conservation partners.  We strive to provide them with the tools they need to succeed in saving species. 

Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) is a very good community-based conservation project in Zimbabwe that hires over 60 locals to help run their various conservation programs.  Their efforts have had tremendous results, but they often struggled to promote and share the successes effectivley with their supporters.   To that end, last month we sent social media specialist Molly Feltner, communications officer for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, to PDC to help them with their external communications. During her time she was able to record audio interviews with all the project’s management staff, which will be used to rewrite text for the website and produce a multimedia video. Staff were taught how to edit photos for the web and how to make the best use of social media through Facebook.

Molly documented aspects of the project in order to create a complete hi-res photo archive for PDC staff to use in publicity.  She photographed the children’s education program(the Bush Camp), conservation club classes, the community projects funded by PDC (such as bore holes, community gardens, and projects with the health clinics), the captive painted dogs housed at the rehabilitation center and the wild packs living around the center.  She got footage of the anti-poaching unit activity and the Iganyana art center and artisans that create the snare wire sculptures. She also helped redesign the newsletter that is sent out to the PDC’s supporters on a monthly basis. 

We will continue to assist PDC with this effort, but we are happy to report that many of PDC’s staff are better equipped to share the good news coming from Zimbabwe!

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Nov
15

Update from Painted Dog Conservation: The Ukusutha Pack Take Another Big Step, By Peter Blinston, PDC

Posted by in Africa,Carnivores,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Painted Dog

The Houston Zoo is proud to partner with Painted Dog Conservation in Zimbabwe.  Enjoy another story about saving the endangered painted dog.  To enjoy previous updates go to Painted Dog Conservation’s website.

Project Update July / Aug 2011:

“ Jealous and I watched the Ukusutha pack feeding on an impala, rather like proud parents watching their children achieve something special. This was the third kill the Ukusutha had made. Greg had enjoyed watching the first two kills and now this third kill provided evidence that they had, indeed, taken another huge step from being dependant on humans for their food. A fourth kill the following afternoon really sealed the deal! 

On the roller coaster of life of Painted Dog Conservation this was a high, a great moment to hold onto. We had made the decision two years ago to bring the dogs into our Rehab Facility, and with that decision came a lot of responsibility.  Raising them was never going to be the issue, as our resident dogs, Angela and Zenga, took up the role of foster parents. However, getting them back into the wild was always going to be challenging and witnessing them take such a huge step in that direction was tremendous. They are far from in the clear though. Life in the wild is never an easy ride and they still have much to learn. Their encounters with lions and hyenas on the reserve have so far gone well. Pack strength is working in their favour, allowing them to defend their kills from hyena and they have been seen chasing two lions away. We know there will be many more challenges for them though. 

As if to underline the struggle for life, my phone rang and brought me back to earth. Three dogs had been spotted and photographed by clients staying at The Hide Safari Camp. Closer examination of the photos revealed that one was carrying a snare around her neck. When we received the photos that afternoon we needed only a second to identify the dogs as the Kutanga females. Juliette had been snared and to make matters worse, Bullseye was missing. We needed to find the dogs and find them fast. I left Jealous in Vic Falls with Edward to watch over the Ukusutha and drove back to Hwange.  Foggie, PDC’s Assistant Manager is excellent in a crisis. During my two-hour drive from Vic Falls to PDC she had already organised a plane for the next day. 

I didn’t sleep well that night and got up early. After making coffee, I got into my Land Rover and drove into the bush. 

The signal from Juliette’s collar soon reached my ears— the familiar beep, beep beep, confirming she was close by. I frantically checked for the other collars. Alpha female Ester was there, as was the third female, named Shoulder Patch.  However, Alpha male Bullseye was still missing.  I followed the three females and managed to look at Juliette through my binoculours. I could see that the snare had not cut into her neck. She was lucky. She had a wound on the side of her mouth and another behind her left front leg. Neither looked too serious and my tension eased a little, but Bullseye was still missing and so the priority.   The plane arrived and after thirty minutes we had fixed the tracking equipment to the wing struts and were ready. A 20-minute flight was all it took to locate Bullseye, approximately 10 kilometres northeast of Ganda Lodge. The collars we fit onto the dogs have three signals: a moving, a resting and a mortality signal. The signal I was receiving from Bullseye’s collar suggested he was moving. We landed and quickly drove to the nearest point, picking up some anti- poaching scouts on the way. I was listening to the signal as we walked into the bush and it changed to a resting pulse. We hurried along and came across the brutal scenes of his death.  The remains of Bullseye’s body were still caught by the cruel snare. Vultures had been feeding on his carcass, creating the movement that had given rise to the false hope. I was devastated and dropped to my knees by his side. The snare, made from copper telephone wire, encircled his waist.   Witnessing these scenes does not get any easier no matter how many times you see it. The agony of his death is hard to imagine. My despair turned to anger as I surveyed the scene. We recovered 15 snares that had accounted for an elephant and an impala, as well as Bullseye.   Juliette was now the priority and two days of searching by Greg and me were frustratingly fruitless. Greg headed back out into the depths of Hwange NP, as we knew these females could and would cover 20 or more kilometres in a day. I concentrated on the local search. 

“MK” phoned me in the evening to report that the Kutanga females were at the rehab. I was more relaxed now, though determined as ever to help Juliette. I drove out at 5:00 am the next morning.  The dogs were still at the rehab but not in a position that would allow me to get close enough to dart Juliette. Happily they soon moved off and I followed, as they chased a small herd of sable with misplaced optimism rather than actual intent.  They soon came to a rest in the thick teak woodland and I had my chance to get close enough. I darted Juliette and she soon fell into a drug-induced sleep. With “MK” and Maria helping me, we soon cleaned up Juliette’s wounds, fitted her with a new GPS collar and returned her to her pack. A roller coaster ride one shared by all of you.

On another note, our extremely successful Children’s Bush Camp has now hosted 5,000 children and continues to inspire the kids that are the hope for the future. The extension of this work into the communities via our Conservation Clubs continues to be ever- popular and in July we ran another Nature Corner competition with Lupote School, again claiming first place. It was great to see Hankano, one of the smaller schools, claim second place and the judges’ overall comments being tremendously encouraging.”

By Peter Blinston, Project Manager, PDC

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Sep
21

Snares in Exchange for Infrastructure Support to the Communities Around Hwange National Park -By John Huston, Houston Zoo Agriculture Associate

Posted by in Africa,Carnivores,community-based conservation,Endangered Species,Painted Dog,Peter's African Adventure '11,Supporting Painted Dog Conservation

John Huston is helping the Houston Zoo’s conservation department implement better livestock management for the communities that our partner’s, Painted Dog Conservation work with in Zimbabwe.  He has had experience assisting rural people in Africa with their livestock practises in the past, so we are very grateful for his help.

John with cattle in Zimbabwe

When Zoo employee Brandon arrived he went straight to work at the livestock dip tank.  He seems to be a natural at working without regard for straight edges and right angles.  We did manage to get the poles anchored down to the block wall and even had the roof on in no time.

 

We have been moving a bunch of dirt and doing it the old fashioned way.  It is hard work, especially in this intense Zimbabwean sun.  Members of the community work in shifts throughout the day.  Each day we get over 40 different people.  The hole is nearly 3 meters deep now and we are going to 4.  When the tank is done it will hold nearly 50,000 liters of water and the community will be able to keep clean water in their dip tank. 

Cattle Dip

Why is this important?  The dip tank is where they treat cattle for ticks.  Cattle are very important to the community.  They provide food through milk and meat, the serve as a bank account, and they provide the much needed draft power for cultivating fields and transporting goods.  The people loose valuable resources when the cattle are not healthy.  By helping the community to improve the health of their livestock we are providing a tremendous service. 

In exchange for our infrastructure support to the community they then supply us with 1,000 snare wires from the national forest and surrounding areas.  From a practical sense, we need the snare wire to reinforce the concrete that will be used in constructing the tank.  From an idealistic perspective, wire that is removed from the community reduces the opportunity for animals to be poached.  Approximately one third of the painted dog deaths recorded in this part of Zimbabwe over the past 5 years is from dogs that are actively hunting wildlife and are caught in snare wire. 

We know that we will not likely see an end to poaching but by working with the community through education and infrastructure support we can see the illegal activity reduced.  And that is a step in the right direction.

Written by John Huston

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Sep
20

Hwange Conservation Challenge – Wildlife/Human/Livestock Conflict -By John Huston, Houston Zoo Associate, Zimbabwe Part 2

Posted by in Africa,community-based conservation,Conservation,Elephant,Endangered Species,Painted Dog

Livestock movement through the national forest has served to familiarize predators to new prey opportunities.  Bells that are placed on livestock for the purpose of locating them also alert predators that food is in the area.  Some predators that prefer to hunt at night have learned to follow these animals home only to threaten them once they are secured in the corral for the night.  Unthrifty animals which are experiencing some level of disease, some structural problem, physical injury, or giving birth are likely to not remain with the group thus singling themselves out and creating an ideal opportunity for the predator to act instinctually. 
As the culture rises from the economic struggles of recent years, a greater portion of the community are actually able to find employment.  When cultural shifts occur that result in greater levels of disposable income the people of that culture have a tendency to move away from agriculture.  Herders who were once respected and admired were also the livestock owners.  Now, ownership is likely to be by individuals with outside employment and the herding duties have been passed on to children or whatever adults are available and who will work for very low wages.  These herders are not as concerned as if the animals were actually their own.  Because of this, some livestock does get left behind in the forest, some are caught in snares, and some become unthrifty for extended periods before their problems are addressed.  All of these situations can result in an increased likelihood for predation.

Naturally, when predation occurs, the predator is the blame.  In reality, poor management is the most often the culprit and the predator is simply being opportunistic and instinctual.  Unfortunately, when animals are kept as a form of status or simply as a bank account, minimal management seems to be the norm.  This concept holds true even in developed countries.  There are two scenarios which by improved livestock management practices are adopted.  One of these is when livestock ownership is viewed as a business.  In this case you will find record keeping, selection, and culling to complement the improved animal husbandry.  The other case is when successful herding improves ones social status such as the case with the Maasai people of East Africa.
Many efforts have been made to identify challenges for the subsistence farmers and a variety of resources have been utilized in attempting to transition those farmers into more sustainable practices.  For the most part, these efforts are destined to fail because the problems are identified by people from outside of the targeted area.  Imagine if a stranger from a strange land visited you in your home and told you that what you are doing is wrong and you should change your daily life to adopt some new idea.  You are likely to agree while resources are being passed about but once the handouts stop you will quickly return to your familiar ways.  It is a comfort zone aspect that most people do not realize.  Like a horse that returns to a burning barn, people will revert back to their habits unless the desire to change lies within themselves.


Improvements with animal husbandry take extended periods of time before advantages are realized.  Initially you have the production cycle which spans the variety of seasons.  You also have the generational interval.  In the case of cattle from these more traditional parts of the world, the cattle generational interval can span eight years.  If the average age of puberty for female cattle is 36 months and the range can be 48 months, it might be as long as 12 years before a heifer calf born under a new management approach is grown, reproduces a female offspring, and the heifer calf reaches reproductive age herself.  This is a long time to wait and see if a foreign concept is worthwhile.  Most likely, the ideas will be abandoned long before any change can impact the business model.
A novel idea for addressing the wildlife/human/livestock conflict that exists proximal to the Sikumi Forest outside of Hwenge National Park is to develop a social status associated with successful herding and improved animal husbandry.  Creating status among a community can be almost immediate.  Providing recognition among peers for quality work identifies individuals as role models that others may aspire towards.  In addition, recognition among peers can create an atmosphere of friendly competition.  An award system that targets vanity and modernization such as an iPod or a laptop computer will appeal to the majority of individuals. 
Other efforts such as providing a hat or item of clothing which identifies individuals as being members of a social organization such as a cattlemen’s association is an opportunity for recruitment.  Once recruited, the individuals form a captive audience that has some willingness to address change and entertain new ideas.  Once the captive audience has been created, the direction and prioritization can and should be established from a governing body that was developed within the group.  This association can then entertain a variety of presentations from local conservation groups so that a more symbiotic relationship can exist with wildlife.  This association can also establish a relationship with anti-poaching units and create a greater conservation presence. 

John with local kids

From a business perspective, the organized livestock owners will have purchasing power due to the quantity of use that they represent.  This purchasing power can be applied towards vaccinations, antibiotics, pest control, animal identification materials, etc.  Another business aspect is through improved marketing potential associated with the volume of livestock that the group represents.
There are no easy answers.  People will need to want change before any change can be made.  Ideas that are new will need to be introduced to the community.  This introduction will need to be enthusiastic and have a leadership presence.  Once introduced, all ideas must be flexible enough to adapt to the local culture.  Regardless of the potential benefit, the livestock owners themselves must believe and commit to the ideas if the potential is to be realized.

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Sep
19

Hwange Conservation Challenge – Wildlife/Human/Livestock Conflict -By John Huston, Houston Zoo Associate, Zimbabwe Part 1

Posted by in Africa,Carnivores,community-based conservation,Endangered Species,Painted Dog,Peter's African Adventure '11,Travel,Uncategorized

John with local community member

Conflict issues between wildlife, humans, and their livestock do exist in all parts of the world. You might suspect that the fact that this problem is not new, then maybe there would be some solutions. Unfortunately, the solutions are not easily found because the problem is highly dynamic and involves a variety of players. In this particular situation, the players include the wildlife, the farmers, the livestock, the enforcement infrastructure, and the land itself. The land includes a very large national park (Hwange National Park), a national forest (Sikumi National Forest), and a communal area that is inhabited by subsistence farmers.

The national park has a well established wildlife population of herbivores and predators. Many wildlife species experience the scenario of dispersal. As they reproduce, their young grow and eventually strike out on their own. With already established home ranges and some overlap already existing; these dispersal animals must move around and develop their own territory. This process results in many animals leaving the park and residing in the national forest. The success of wildlife species within the national park has been enhanced by pumping of water into ponds for increasing the availability to the animals. This program has eliminated water as the limiting nutrient of the area. One unfortunate result of this effort has been an inflation of the carrying capacity within the park. With a larger and healthier wildlife population within the park, an even larger volume of dispersal animals are now competing to establish new territories and are being pushed from the park at a more rapid rate. The national forest is an ideal habitat and creates what many refer to as a buffer zone between the national park and communal areas. Over time, this buffer zone has evolved into a conflict zone. In the early 1990’s the region suffered a severe drought and an agreement was made to allow members of the community to graze livestock within the boundaries of the national forest. The drought has long since been over, yet the community continues to graze their animals there. The local government and enforcement infrastructure face a variety of challenges and are not successful in returning to the original forest use policy. The members of the community prefer to utilize the national forest for grazing opportunities during the rainy season as a way of keeping the livestock away from their crops. During the dry season, after the crops have been harvested, cattle are grazed closer to home and utilize crop fodder in addition to grasses and browse. As members of the local community are becoming increasingly familiar with the national forest there has been a steady increase in poaching of wildlife through the use of snares. The poaching and use of snares are also difficult to control because local resources and enforcement are spread quite thin. Some wildlife species, particularly elephants, raid crops and destroy private property on a consistent basis. Other more fragile species such as the endangered African Painted Dog are also leaving the park but for other reasons. Larger predators such as the lion and hyena are opportunistic in their behavior and put considerable pressure on the painted dog. Lions often raid the prey of the painted dogs as a source of an easy meal and the hyenas often raid the den sites to kill the offspring and remove competition. As a result, painted dogs leave the protection of the park to hunt for antelope in the marginal lands outside of the park. This effort for survival actually proves quite risky. Over time, greater numbers of painted dogs are being killed by vehicle traffic on public roads and are being found dead in the snares of poachers.

Peter Riger and John Huston at a Painted dog road sign in Zimbabwe

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Sep
16

Kutunga Painted Dog Pack Update from Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, Africa

Posted by in Africa,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Painted Dog,Peter's African Adventure '11,Uncategorized

John Huston, our Agriculture consultant, is still in Zimbabwe finishing the projects he and Peter started for the communities surrounding Hwange National Park.  During their visit they have been able to observe this Kutunga pack.  Unfortunately, they lost their Alpha male to a snare a few weeks ago.  Painted Dog Conservation staff worried that the pack would suffer from this loss, but they were pleased to observe the females hunting successfully. 

John Huston just sent word that they observed a pack of 6 (alpha male, alpha female, 4 young dogs) new dogs following the Kutunga pack of 3 females the other night.  This pack of 6 has been observed before, but not recently.  PDC biologist, Dr. Ester Van Der Meer darted the alpha male of the visitor pack yesterday and the alpha female today.  She fitted them both with GPS collars.  It is great news that this pack of 6 seems to want the Kutunga 3 females to join them.

 

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Sep
15

Out with the Antipoaching team in Zimbabwe -By Brandon Patterson

Posted by in Africa,Carnivores,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Painted Dog,Peter's African Adventure '11

Antipoaching unit with snare wire from the park

The Houston Zoo’s, Brandon Patterson is still in Zimbabwe helping our wildlife conservation partner, Painted Dog Conservation (PDC).  Enjoy his story of working with one of PDC’s anti- poaching units.

“We went out with the painted dog anti -poaching team this morning. We were dropped off in the bush in Hwange National Park and walked for 3 kilometers. We found an old snare that was in the bush. We removed it and kept walking. It’s amazing how a simple piece of wire can cause so much damage or kill an animal. Were had to run a little because of an elephant that was a little too close. It was so cool. The guys with the anti-poaching unit took very good care of us and made sure we were out of harms way. They are a great group of guys and very dedicated to their job. It was quite the experience. We are about to head out to work on the livestock dip tank and village health clinic.”

Written by Brandon Patterson

The snare wire sculptures you will find in the conservation marketplace in the Houston Zoo’s main gift shop is made with the wire that this and two other PDC anti-poaching units collect from Hwange National Park.

Snare Wire Sculptures for sale in the gift shop

 

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Sep
13

Houston Zoo facilities staff assisting Painted Dog Conservation in Zimbabwe

Posted by in Africa,Endangered Species,Field Research,Painted Dog,Peter's African Adventure '11

Dought and Brandon

 

Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) has doubled the population of Painted dogs in the past ten years by improving the livelihoods of the local rual communities in Zimbabwe and we have decided to help them with their efforts. The Houston Zoo’s Facilities staff member, Brandon Patterson worked closely with PDC staff member, Dought Nkomo, when he visited the zoo in April.  Dought is the head of the building team at PDC in Zimbabwe, and he learned a lot of valuable skills from Brandon while he was here.  Brandon is now in Zimbabwe assisting Painted Dog Conservation with building water catchment systems and upgrading livestock parasite treatment for the rural communities around Hwange National park.   

Enjoy this note from Brandon in Zimbabwe.   

“I had a smooth trip and finally found my ride to PDC. I came out of the Victoria Falls airport with a group of people and it took a little while to find the Painted Dog Conservation vehicle.   But, it was no big deal and we were on our way. I tried to get in the truck on the right side and found it was actually the driver side. The whole driving on the left side of the road  is weird and I kept feeling like I should be driving. The country is beautiful and I noticed a lot of wild fires. They said it is common this time of year.

We made it to PDC and I was welcomed with open arms.  I was very excited to see Dought, and I finally got to meet John Huston the Agricultural specialist helping us with these projects.  

There is so much to see and it is very exciting. On the first night I found that the bats in the ceiling of the building we sleep in helped me go to sleep.  I love how they heat the water with fire here.  We have seen wild elephants, impala, kudu, eland, zebra and monkeys so far. 

Brandon working with Dought On the dip tank

We worked on the dip tank and got the roof on, but are short a couple of pieces of metal roof. The rest of the material should be here today and we will return tomorrow to complete the roof. The material is coming in this evening for the health clinic roof. This is just an awesome experience and can’t type enough to express everything.”

By Brandon Patterson

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Sep
10

If you plan it, they will come to build it! By Peter Riger -reporting from Zimbabwe

Posted by in Africa,community-based conservation,Doubt and Xmas,Endangered Species,Peter's African Adventure '11

September 7th.

That’s all for my part of the project as I am looking forward to my two hour flight, 4 hour layover, then 16 hour flight, another 3 hour layover, and two hour flight back home – plus a 7 hour time change. Add that up and I should land in Houston back in August. Our colleague John Huston will stay on another two weeks and Houston Zoo facilities team member, Brandon Patterson hits the ground in Zimbabwe on Wednesday to lend another pair of hands.

Lupote Health Clinic

Tuesday, we met the community at the Lupote Health Clinic to explain our plan and over 100 people (and 5 babies) attended. This was a great turnout as every one of them either walked or rode a bike to meet us there from many mikes away. After a one hour meeting it was  “when do we start?” so, John and Painted Dog Conservation staff, Dought Nkomo put together a materials list for a 20,000 liter underground water tank and new roof on the maternity ward ( the old one blew off 6 years ago).

From there it was back to Mable to check on the progress of there 32,000 liter tank there as the hole gets deeper and we are almost ready for the roof which will funnel the water to the tank. We still need bricks for this project and will buy them from a secondary school who fired bricks earlier in the year as a fundraiser for the school.

A few more elephants last night, another Springhare which is not actually a hare by the way.  A Cape Hare which is a hare, but not a rabbit – you better check our old Easter blogs to make some sense of all this – and that is it for me from Zimbabwe.

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