ZIMBABWE CONSERVATION TASK FORCE
18th December 2008
We would like to thank everybody who has supported and assisted us in preserving the wildlife in Zimbabwe this year. With your help, we have been able to make numerous trips to South Africa and buy supplies for the survival of orphaned black rhinos. We have also been able to import 12 vials of M99 and thanks to this, many animals have been relieved of the agony of wire snares embedded in their flesh. Some animals' lives have been saved like Oliver, the Mana Pools elephant.
Yvonne Edwards went to Mana Pools last weekend to check on Oliver's progress after his leg wound was treated a few weeks ago by Chris Foggin and Norman Monks. She reported that Oliver is happy and relaxed and has regained full use of his injured leg.
7 of the 12 vials of M99 have already been distributed to the areas where the snaring problem is particularly bad. The difficulty with removing snares is that when an animal is spotted with a snare, by the time the M99 and the vet arrive, the animal is nowhere to be found. By leaving the drug with a qualified person in each area, it is now close at hand and there is a much better chance of helping more animals.
Geoff Blythe and Steve Kok in Kariba have been doing a sterling job of tracking down snared animals. In October this year, Geoff called in veterinary surgeon Roger Parry to remove snares from 2 young elephant bulls, one of which had already lost his trunk due to a snare wound. He succeeded in removing the snare from the trunkless elephant and during the same trip, removed a wire snare that was deeply embedded around a zebra's neck.
More recently, an elephant was spotted in Kariba with a snare wound on his leg. Geoff called in Norman Monks who darted the elephant with M99, only to find, upon close inspection that it was an old snare wound that had left a scar.
Norman administered the reversal drug and the elephant went about his business as usual.
Due to the increasing numbers of animals being caught in snares, our supply of M99 is going down very quickly and we are going to have to start making arrangements to import another batch soon. One vial of M99 plus the reversal drug costs USD300. If anybody can assist us in replenishing our stocks, we would be most grateful. Our contact details are at the end of this report.
BALLY VAUGHAN WILDLIFE ORPHANAGE
Last Sunday we paid a visit to Sarah Carter at Bally Vaughan. Sarah is doing an amazing job with the animals there and she relies entirely on donations and gate takings to feed the animals. It costs her USD3 000 per month to keep the place running and we are appealing to people to please go out there and support her. Bally Vaughan is about 40km from Harare on the Shamva Road and at $5.00 per adult and $2.00 per child, it is well worth the visit. There is also an outdoor refreshment area where you can order a light lunch and drinks.
Sarah takes in orphaned or injured animals and wherever possible, releases them back into the wild when they are ready to go.
In the Bally Vaughan newsletter, Sarah often relates some hilarious anecdotes about the 3 caracals, Harry, Arthur and Twala who live in her cottage with her. She has hand reared them since they were babies and as far as they are concerned, she is their mother. We had never seen them before so she took us to her cottage to meet them.
We were taken aback when we looked through her bedroom window and saw 3 large caracals sleeping on her bed. They don't leave much room for Sarah to sleep when her bedtime comes.
Sarah woke Harry up so we could get a better idea of his size but he was not amused at being disturbed in this fashion. She carried him out onto the verandah and as soon as she put him down, he climbed back through the bedroom window.
GAVIN BEST
It was with sadness and regret that we recently heard of the tragic death of Gavin Best of Wild Horizons. Gavin's passing is a great loss to the animal world and we would like to offer our sincere condolences to his wife and family.
Johnny Rodrigues
Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force
Landline: 263 4 336710
Landline/Fax: 263 4 339065
Mobile: 263 11 603 213
Email: galorand@mweb.co.zw
Website: www.zctf.mweb.co.zw
Website: www.zimbabwe-art.com
