KAZA launch:Angola’s Hon. Pedro Mutindi, Minister of Hotels & Tourism; Botswana’s Hon. Kitso Mokaila, Minister of Environment, Wildlife & Tourism; Namibia’s Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Minister of Environment & Tourism; Zambia’s Hon. Given Lubinda Minister of Foreign Affairs & Tourism; and, Zimbabwe’s Hon. Francis Nhema Minister of Environment & Natural Resources

Elephants Without Borders is proud to have participated at the launch, however, even more so we are proud of how our research has helped this tremendous initiative come to fruition. It was over 10 years ago, I remember sitting on the banks of the Zambezi River when Dr. John Hanks showed me a map on his computer, as he explained a vision he was promoting to form this 5-country initiative. He further explained how he believed that the long-range movements and home-ranges of elephants would delineate the boundaries of this massive conservation area. He said if we could secure large tracts of habitat for elephants and promote the ideal that communities could mutually benefit living with wildlife, then we would be securing a healthy environment for all: elephants, wildlife and people. His vision helped us guide and focus our research in pursuit of its success.

What started as EWB Director and Founder, Mike Chase’s PhD study on northern Botswana’s elephant spatial ecology, soon expanded across the entire region of what would one day be known as KAZA. As the elephants expanded their ranges, so did our work. Luckily we attained permission to conduct our studies beyond Botswana into Zambia, Namibia and Angola. (http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/tracking.php)  We fitted satellite telemetry collars on elephants throughout the range and discovered that the elephant populations were more fluid than previously thought and that many of northern Botswana elephants were actually part of a much larger contiguous population between all the KAZA countries. Many of our monitored elephants travelled beyond human borders, traversing up to 4 countries in one season! Also, we learned from monitoring elephants, what areas were important corridors between the countries in which elephants and other wildlife need to flourish.

Some of EWB's cross-border elephant monitoring

To compliment the satellite-monitoring program, we wanted to attain information on seasonal distribution and abundance of the elephant populations, so aerial surveys were needed. We took these opportunities, considering to be most conservation productive with cost and time efficiency, to count all large herbivores during our surveys throughout our study area: including buffalo, zebra, giraffe, lechwe, impala, hippo, eland, wildebeest, etc. Through community areas, we also felt it pertinent to attain cattle numbers.(http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/surveys.php) Again, with proper permission and support by the governments, we were able to fly what we knew to be the “elephant range” of northern Botswana, Namibia’s Caprivi Strip, southeast Angola and Southwest Zambia. We were lucky enough to gain enough support that we were able to fly subsequent surveys every other year to monitor trends within the population.

Collaring a bull in Zambia

As a result of these studies, many publications, papers and reports have been produced and submitted to the governing authorities, as well as, the KAZA secretariat and key stakeholders to help guide effective management programs and policies.  Such as: “Elephants caught in the middle: impacts of war, fences and people on elephant distribution and abundance in the Caprivi Strip, Namibia”, “Elephants of Southeast Angola in War and Peace: Their Decline, Re- colonization and Current Status”, “Seasonal Abundance and Distribution of Elephants in Sioma Ngwezi National Park, southwest Zambia” (Chase & Griffin) and, “Elephants and fencing conflicts in the GLTFCA and KAZA TFCA” (Chase & Ferguson) (Many of these can be found and downloaded on EWB’s website, under the Information tab, Downloads http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/downloads.php)

KAZA has been engaging technical expertise to guide the activities and management of KAZA through the formation of working groups and technical committees. Dr. Mike Chase, now holding a Postdoctoral position with the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, is also now a participant of KAZA’s Conservation Working Group, attending KAZA joint management committee meetings. And, EWB has been invited as a key stakeholder to participate and comment to help strategize on Botswana’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for the Botswana KAZA component.

In addition to KAZA and EWB’s ongoing and expanding projects, this work seems to be only the beginning for us, and of course, as our work continues, we only discover more questions that need to be addressed. However it is on landmark occasions as the KAZA-TFCA launch that we recognize that the years of hard work, diligence, co-operation, support received and by being pro-active from the ground up, we can make a difference and move towards positive conservation success. There is still so much work to be done, in fact it is only the beginning, however we see progress.

Dr. John Hanks & Dr. Mike Chase

There are so many people, institutions and organizations that have helped us achieve our goals through the years. One can attest the fact by reading the long acknowledgment lists on each of our papers. To everyone that has helped, we are truly grateful. However, as we sat at the launch, there was one man that came specifically to mind and thus, we would like to express our gratitude and thanks to our friend and colleague, Dr. John Hanks, for his encouragement and support to help initiate our work and his aspiring vision of the KAZA-TFCA.

EWB's aerial survey/wildlife count transects in KAZA-TFCA

The orange morning fog filled the trees, as the EWB team took to the skies

So, what is the current population status of wildlife in the forest reserves and adjoining habitats?  Elephants Without Borders has set out and is determined to provide new and robust data to answer this question. To do this we received support from Forest Conservation Botswana (FCB), a company mandated to manage the USA’s Tropical Forest Conservation Fund (TFCF) in Botswana, directed by the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism on behalf of the Governments of Botswana and the United States of America. The main aim of the TFCF is to support communities, institutions/organizations in the conservation, maintenance and restoration of forest areas through activities consistent with the Botswana Forest Act & policy and the Tropical Forest Conservation Act.

The Forest Reserves are critical habitat for majestic Eland!

In 2010 EWB, with support from the Dept. of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) conducted an aerial survey over northern Botswana, including the Chobe FRs. (learn more about our surveys at http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/surveys.php) However to compliment this survey, it was decided we needed to conduct both wet and dry season aerial surveys, at an even higher sampling intensity to collect a cyclical data-set to determine how important these reserves are seasonally for wildlife. Using all the data from these surveys, in combination with our wildlife telemetry studies, will add valuable information to infer wildlife population trends, and dispersal patterns within the reserves. In Sep. 2011, we flew the dry-season survey and now, March 2012, we have just completed the wet-season survey. Some of our preliminary observations conclude that the forest reserves are strongholds for Botswana’s populations of sable, eland and roan. Giraffe were noted in strong abundance.

A surprising sight was a line of 52 giraffe! (not all in photo)

Many of the elephant herds that frequent the Chobe river front system disperse within the forests, utilizing the rain-filled pans and abundant vegetation the reserves provide. And importantly, along the Botswana/Zimbabwe border there are specific important corridor areas, allowing herds of zebra, eland, elephants and buffalo to access needed habitat. Also observed were tracks of young, healthy Baobab trees that looked undisturbed by the abundance of elephants and large tracks of Mongongo trees. However, some of our favored sights were seeing a line of 52 giraffe on a trek, one morning three lioness were stalking a herd of buffalo and didn’t flinch from position when we flew overhead, hundreds of elephants grazing on the high grasses in Kazuma before retreating to shade in the forest and the largest herd of eland we’ve ever seen numbering 134 individuals!

The analysis is nearly complete and a report encompassing information from both surveys is being developed. After submission to FCB, the appropriate government departments, and decision-making authorities, it will be available and posted.

To learn more, visit our website at http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/index.php

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In this photo 66 elephants, one herd amongst many, graze in Kazuma

Popular Bemwo was frequently sighted along the river

In December, his collar suddenly stopped transmitting GPS locations, but losing a signal is not that uncommon, as it often happens when the satellite unit on the collar is caked with mud, is flipped, or even fallen off the elephant. Sometimes for whatever reason, the problem rectifies itself it and we receive transmission again. Unfortunately, in Bemwo’s case this did not happen and the last signal received was from a remote area, difficult to get to in the wet season.
Two weeks ago, while having a discussion regarding elephant movements in the region, with officials at Kasane’s anti-poaching office, I mentioned that one of our bull elephant’s collar had stopped transmitting. They asked for the co-ordinates and quickly responding, the next morning they flew to the point I had given them. Much to our despair, that afternoon, we received a call that they found 3 bull elephants that had been shot with their tusks missing; at the exact location we had given them. No collar was found and the anti-poaching team believed that the collar was buried in the vicinity of the carcasses. The patrol unit believed that the poachers may have still been in the area and were in pursuit following fresh human tracks.

Poaching has been on the rise all over Africa, which has captured the public’s attention for more to be done to combat this recent wave of illegal hunting. DWNP and the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) have vigilant anti-poaching units, but they face mammoth challenges. Despite recent intensified patrols both on foot and aerial reconnaissance with helicopters, the task is difficult due to a vast and often inaccessible region, which is close to international borders. Not only are the strategies being refined everyday; there is now also cross-border cooperation by law enforcement agencies among neighbouring countries. Positive news is that the anti-poaching efforts are now beginning to pay off, as a number of encounters and arrests have been made.
According to a recent article, Mobile Bolele, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism told the Botswana newspaper, the Sunday Standard “Two months ago, three suspected Zambian poachers were shot dead by the anti-poaching unit, but one of them managed to escape… while twelve elephant tusks were recovered from the dead poachers.” Bolele stated, that this month “in the Sibuyu Forest Reserve, a law enforcement patrol encountered a group of about six poachers. On being challenged, the suspected poachers started shooting and the law enforcement personnel fired back, resulting in one poacher being killed, one injured (and captured) and four escaping.” She said, “the patrol recovered some items used during poaching, such as skinning knives, 377 live ammunition for AK47 rifles, AK47 magazine, multi-purpose oil and weighing scale. She pointed out that Botswana will do everything to protect their natural resources.“

We are uncertain that it was these particular poachers that had killed Bemwo and the bulls he was with, but, if one considers the placement and timing of the recent incident, it is likely that the culprits have met their fate. We are saddened by the tragic loss of Bemwo and the unfortunate situation that poaching persists, however perhaps these recent encounters may have curbed activities in this area for a while. EWB express its gratitude to both DWNP and the BDF anti-poaching units for their quick response and unrelenting efforts to combat these illegal killings.

Bemwo's fate is tragic and he'll be missed on the Chobe riverfront

Mthondo wearing his failing collar approached us

At present, eight elephants have been released from Abu camp, all with the cooperation and full endorsement of the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks. Two elephants were recently released in August 2010, Gika and her 8 year old female calf who are now being carefully monitored by Elephants Without Borders. All the released elephants are fitted with collars and are tracked by satellite, enabling researchers to pinpoint their exact locations. The satellite data is backed by monitoring the elephants on-the-ground to attain visual observations of their behaviour while they adjust to their new surroundings.

After spotting him, the team discuss the plan

Mthondo’s satellite signal had failed and the VHF component of his collar unit was transmitting intermittent signals, which means that the batteries in the unit were about to fail. So, there was an urgency to find him and replace his old collar. Over the past two weeks, we received reports that Mthondo had been sighted in Abu’s neighboring concessions near Pom Pom Camp and Xaranna Camp. With our permits from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the EWB team was finally able to assemble this week and went out to find him.

Upon landing we were met by Pom Pom Camp’s guides who had been keeping a watchful eye on Mthondo. However, he had not been sighted in two days, so we had to track him from a small plane and get a visual sighting of his exact location. Within a few minutes, we picked-up his emergency double beeping VHF signal and Mthondo was spotted an hour’s drive from the airstrip. Our Pom Pom guide, Rams, is very familiar with the terrain and was able to drive us to his exact location rather quickly, before Mthondo moved too far.

Okavango on-lookers

We were lucky, the conditions were perfect, and we managed to re-collar him from the ground in an open floodplain. The early morning temperature was cool and the air carried a slight breeze. We parked under a shady leadwood tree and watched Mthondo, who was accompanied by another large wild bull. He slowly walked across the grassy floodplain until they were within 20 meters of our vehicle. This provided Dr. Rob Jackson, our vet, with the perfect opportunity to dart him. When the dart hit him, he did not react in the slightest, but slowly walked for about one kilometer before resting where the drugs took effect and he fell asleep. We quickly changed his collar and had him back on his feet within a short time.  Afterwards, we watched him for about an hour, until he wandered off and we decided to drive away.

pulling a belt under a sleeping elephant is no easy task!

Kelly soothes him as Rob Jackson prepares the antidote

when the antidote is given, you better move!

This morning, we received an email from Rams, reporting Mthondo was sighted having a mud wallow, along with three other large wild bulls, close to Pom Pom Camp again.

We’d like to express our appreciation to Pom Pom Camp and Xaranna Camp for their kind assistance. Special thanks to all the guides that have been reporting and watching Mthondo, especially Rams and Chocks for their help during this exercise. Elephants Without Borders is privileged to be associated with Abu Camp’s ambitious vision to release previously captive elephants back into one of Africa’s great wildlife refuges, the Okavango Delta.

To learn more about EWB’s endeavors: http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/

Please support our conservation efforts, to do so logon to: http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/donate.php

Mthondo with his new satellite monitoring collar

Warona stood in minutes after her birth

Reaching up to her mother, Warona suckled properly for the first time at 07.00 the next morning, 10 hours after the birth, and now takes short naps of 5-10 minutes. Closely watched over by her doting big brother, Abu Junior, the new-born calf is already showing signs of playfulness. Both Warona and Shireni are doing well, along with the other elephants that form the Abu herd. This new member brings the number of the Abu herd to seven elephants.

Proud mother, Shireni

Shireni was brought to Abu Camp as part of the original ‘Brat Pack Girls’ of young elephants saved from a culling operation in the ‘Sirheni’ area of Kruger National Park. The father is believed to be a wild bull or Mthondo, one of several elephants successfully reintroduced from the Abu herd into the elephant paradise of the Okavango Delta. Earlier this year, the Camp released Gika and her eight-year-old calf Naya together; being monitored by Elephants Without Borders, they are adapting well to their natural home, roaming and mingling with wild elephants and another previously released elephant, Nandipa, who now has two calves of her own. A total of nine elephants have been released from the Abu herd, under the full support of the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

Abu Camp takes its name from the Arabic word meaning ‘all things to do with elephants’. The birth of Shireni’s calf ends off a thrilling 2011, which saw the opening of the newly refurbished camp, together with exciting new initiatives within Abu Camp’s elephant programme. The elephant experience is being supervised by San Diego Zoo Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Mike Chase, together with the support of Wild Horizons, a company with a strong history in high quality elephant interaction activities.

The elephant programme is complemented by the reputation of Wilderness Safaris, Africa’s leading ecotourism operator that now manages the camp through its brand, the Wilderness Collection. The cornerstone of this new initiative involves Elephants Without Borders establishing a field research station in the Abu Concession. This happy moment overlaps with an ambitious new programme which is devoted to the highest standards in elephant welfare, scientific research and meaningful guest experiences.

The new calf will provide hours of fascination and enjoyment to visitors of Abu Camp, allowing them the rare opportunity to interact with a family group of elephants in one of Africa’s best wilderness areas: the Okavango Delta.

Mike Chase is presently at the Camp and will be giving us all an update and new photos to share of Warona, Shireni and the Abu elephant herd soon!

photos courtesy of Rob Moffett and Wilderness Safaris

]]> http://elephantswithoutborders.org/blog/?feed=rss2&p=1041 2 http://elephantswithoutborders.org/blog/?p=988 http://elephantswithoutborders.org/blog/?p=988#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2011 14:02:59 +0000 Kelly http://elephantswithoutborders.org/blog/?p=988 Friday, June 17th, Elephants Without Borders was proud to give a presentation on “The Current Status of Elephants and Wildlife in Northern Botswana: Results of a Dry Season Aerial Survey” to guests that were invited by The Honourable Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Onkokame Kitso Mokaila, hosted by the Botswana Tourism Organization at the new Maun Lodge conference facility. Esteem guests included Permanent Secretary S. Rathedi, Deputy Permanent Secretary E. Moabi, Coordinator of Research D. Malepa, acting Director of the Dept. of Wildlife & Tourism N. Nagafela, BTO CEO Myra Sekgororoane, other DWNP officials, the Kgosis (Chief’s) of Chobe, Ngamiland and the Okavango, and other key stakeholders, researchers and media. This event was to be the first presentation given in a line of others, as EWB disseminates the survey and analysis results publicly in order to provide vital information on trends of wildlife populations and the issues which have influenced their trends both negatively and positively. (Learn more about the importance of aerial surveys at http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/surveys.php)

The welcoming remarks were given by Mr. Edmont Moabi, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife & Tourism, followed by Dr. Mike Chase’s presentation. Following the presentation, DWNP Chief Wildlife Officer Cyril Taolo and Act. Director of DWNP Nelson Nagefelo spoke on the importance of EWB’s thorough and comprehensive survey results and the need to continue with further, focused and intensive research. The audience was given the opportunity to express their thoughts, questions, add comment  and concerns regarding the survey results. The Honourable Minister of Environment & Tourism Kitso Mokaila closed the evening with congratulating Dr. Chase and EWB on their seminal work, admitting that Botswana has a problem with the decline of particular species in key areas, however, he vowed to support positive conservation efforts in halting and reversing any further negative declines.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Minister Mokaila, the Minsitry of Environment, Wildlife & Tourism, Myra Sekgororoane and the Botswana Tourism Organization for extending their keen interest and support to EWB by hosting the evening event!

To read further articles and papers on Elephants Without Border’s conservation projects and research, log on to EWB’s downloads page at http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/downloads.php EWB will soon be posting articles and feedback on the survey results, as well as an easy to download, comprehensible version of the final 2010 aerial survey results on the status of elephants and wildlife in northern Botswana. Sign up for our newsletters to receive regular postings and notifications: http://elephantswithoutborders.org/phplist/?p=subscribe

Help support Elephants Without Borders online at http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/donate.php

All photos below were kindly provided by the Dept. of Wildlife & National Parks (thank you!) Click on photo to view each fully:

The four of us are undergraduate students from the University of Puget Sound (http://www.pugetsound.edu/) in Tacoma, Washington. We were given the opportunity to travel to Botswana and Namibia with Professor Rachel DeMotts, as a part of a newly established field school that aims to complement our classroom learning, in affiliation with the Environmental Policy and Decision-Making Department (http://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/departments-and-programs/undergraduate/environmental-policy/) We had the incredible fortune of spending one component of the field school with Kelly Landen, of EWB, assessing elephant herd structure and recruitment rate in Chobe National Park. This task consisted of long days driving through the park, and stopping to record the elephant herds as we encountered them on their journeys to and from the water. Our data collection included determining the ages and sexes of the individuals that comprised each group as well as recording the location and any unique features of specific elephants. This information will later be compared with the results of an aerial rapid elephant population assessment (REPAS) in order to determine the accuracy of ground assessments, which are more accessible to local communities. Additionally, data on age and sex ratios in herds will aid EWB’s ability to better comprehend elephant recruitment rates.

Newborn calves rest under the protection of their family in A1 herd

Despite classroom discussions and studies about elephants in the context of Northern Botswana and Namibia’s Caprivi region, we were surprised and pleasantly overwhelmed by the abundance of elephants and other species within Chobe. Though films and documentaries of Chobe and the surrounding areas often shape people’s perceptions of this environment abroad, they cannot do justice to the richness of the region’s biodiversity, in terms of both landscape and wildlife. It immediately became evident to us that elephants are an integral part of this ecosystem. Our brief experience with the elephants allowed us to truly appreciate the phrase “charismatic megafauna,” although it was clear that Kelly’s superior knowledge and understanding of their behavior was something that could only be achieved through time and dedication. Kelly’s intuition enhanced our experience in an invaluable way, allowing us to admire and interact with the elephants safely and unobtrusively, granting us a distinctive perspective.

At the end of our three days in Chobe, we had identified just under 450 elephants among over 40 herds. As we compiled the data we reflected upon the impressions we had garnered during our time spent with EWB. Our close and intimate proximity to the animals cemented our belief that wildlife conservation is an important prerogative, and one that we will continue to pursue. Moreover, Kelly’s intentional methodology and persistent respect for the elephants’ space taught us to prioritize the comfort of wildlife over data collection in the course of research. We cannot express our gratitude for what has truly been an inspirational and life-altering opportunity. Thank you to Professor DeMotts (http://www.pugetsound.edu/faculty-pages/rdemotts/) for making this all possible and especially to Kelly and EWB for taking the time to share your work with us!

Susin Olszewski, Sarah Webb, Alyssa Bruhn & Mikaela Freeman

Learn more about Elephants Without Borders at http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/

Prof DeMotts & Univ of Puget Sound team along the Chobe river

"Nathan"

The drive took us 10 hours, plenty of it through thick sand, pushing the packed-to-the-brim Landrover  in second gear, ensuring to not get ourselves stuck. I was thankful that Mike was driving because if it was up to me, we would’ve been buried deep within the first few hours. Our goal was to get from Kasane to the Selinda Spillway in one day, avoiding to overnight en route. The distance was only approx. 230 kilometers, but with an average speed of 25 km, we were lucky to have made it before sundown. Dry, dusty and dirty we pitched up camp, as the sunset with a sudden gust of wind followed by a light shower. We could’ve used more rain. Not to say there isn’t plenty of water in the area. In fact, with the Savuti river flowing and the spillway full, we actually had to deter from our original plan to base ourselves near the Kwara airstrip, just on the northeast fringe of the Okavango Delta. Instead, we opted for and was granted permission to use the Selinda strip within the Selinda Reserve and hoped to collar an elephant within the Kwando concession, across the spillway.

Jen enjoyed the heli over the delta

The mission of this trip was unique, to collar an elephant bull within an area we found a gap in our elephant movement data. However, what really made it particularly special is that the funding for the event was donated by over 60 friends & family of Nathan Jamieson who collectively pitched in through the Nathan Jamieson Memorial Fund. http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/Nathan_Jamieson_Memorial_Fund.php The collaring team was joined by Jennifer Conaghan who flew all the way from Australia to be with us for it. The elephant collared was to be named in honor of Nathan’s memory and provide a legacy for his passion and commitment towards elephant conservation.

It had been some time since we were in that area and being unsure of the water and elephants, we had arranged to have Mike Holding in his fixed-wing plane meet us in the field, so that we could assess the situation. Considering costs, we thought it ideal to track some of our other collared elephants in the neighboring Linyanti/Savuti river system, as well. This also gave us an opportunity to demonstrate to Jennifer how we track the elephants to get visuals of them from the air. We were met with success and were able to find both CH46 “Scout” and CH48 “Atticus” quite easily. Recently Atticus’s home range had diminished quite substantially and we wanted to find out why. However, when we found him he seemed content, browsing with 3 other bulls near a pan. Turning westward, we looked over the north side of the spillway in the Kwando concession, in hopes to find where elephants may have gathered. At first, it seemed bleak, but as we conducted transects across the spillway, we found the area we had hoped for and spotted many herds and bulls. And again, quite lucky for us, the elephants were only 20 km from our campsite. However, due to the vast amount of water we knew it would be impossible to reach them on the ground. It was time to switch vehicles. (EWB’s monitoring projects, click here)

We flew into Maun to meet up with Pete and the helicopter and to pick up wildlife vet, Larry Patterson. Our cameras were continually clicking at the beautiful spectacle of the Okavango Delta below us, en route back to camp. Everyone says it, but until you actually witness the beauty of the delta, one can never imagine or appreciate how special it truly is. Whenever we touch ground from such a flight, I’m in awe and disappointed that it had to end. The night was closing in so we enjoyed a sundowner, watching a breeding herd relish the tall grasses in the spillway’s cool waters. (watch how us fitting a satellite collar, click here)

We didn’t feel the need to hurry in the morning, as we knew we would have better luck finding the bull we wanted if we were to be patient and wait until the day heated up when the elephants would come out from the mopane woodlands to head towards the water. The long, thick stretches of mopane shrub are impossible to get through and the helicopter would have nowhere to land.

We went in on foot, while the heli landed

Getting anxious, we jumped in the helicopter around 11am and flew towards the area we gps’d the previous day. The day was already warming and we enjoyed watching the breeding herds moving towards the floodplains. Then, we spotted a magnificent, tall lone bull in the shrubs. With a quick conversation amongst the team, it was agreed, he would be the one. Pete dropped Mike and I off with the extra equipment, collar and our coolbox near a pan, to lighten the load, enabling the helicopter to have better maneuverability for darting.

After a few minutes Pete radioed to us that the dart was in. Ten minutes later, as the helicopter hovered, he directed us a path to move in on foot. We found the bull still standing in an open area near a pan, but the drug had already taken effect. He was fighting it.

Larry & Mike move in quickly

The helicopter landed and Larry walked over to the massive bull in front of him and clapped. The bull sat down and we rushed in to fit the collar as quickly as possible. His neck was the thickest of any bull we had to fit a collar on and managed to attach the counter weight onto the last possible loophole of the belt! Unfortunately, the position he was sitting in did not give us sufficient opportunity to make a proper measurement of his shoulder height. However, photo identification was very easy to attain. Larry administered the antidote, within 2 minutes his ears were flapping, and “Nathan” slowly rose to his feet. We were all very surprised and admired how tall he was. Luckily, puddles of water were in close vicinity and he was able to splash himself off to cool before he moved into the shade of trees, only 30 meters away from where we stood at the door of the helicopter. He watched us through the leaves, and slowly dozed off to sleep while standing. He didn’t move and we didn’t leave. The exercise had taken a slight toll on all of us, so we sat, enjoying his presence, while he rested for more than an hour. Then slowly and calmly, he walked away. We caught our last good look for the day at “Nathan” from the helicopter, giving us a nod and head shake, while moving towards the river.

We look forward to monitoring his movements and sharing his adventures and stories, while he is providing us with vital data to help conserve the largest contiguous elephant population and their habitat in Africa.

EWB team of Pete, Kelly, Mike & Larry

EWB would like to express our sincere appreciation to Jennifer and the Jamieson family for entrusting EWB with managing the Nathan Jamieson Memorial Fund and gratitude to all the supporters of this fund for your generosity. We are grateful for the continued support from Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks. And we would like to Thank the managers of both the Selinda Reserve and Kwando Safari concession areas for your kind support and permission to conduct this work in the area.

If you would like to support Elephants Without Borders conservation efforts: http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/donate.php

Beautiful waters of the Selinda spillway

de Havilland Tiger Moths journeying across Africa

These last few weeks in southern Africa, recently Maun, and over the weekend in Kasane, many were lucky to watch a fleet of original, vintage de Havilland biplanes soaring overhead in formation. The planes are on a journey over parts of southern Africa called the Great Tiger Moth Botswana Safari 2011. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for onlookers, but also for the owners and pilots of such rare antiquities. Some of the participants came from as far as the U.K. France and Australia to participate and fly over Botswana’s pristene wilderness.

Flight speed shown on the wing strut

The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until 1952 when many of the surplus aircraft entered civil operation. Many other nations used the Tiger Moth in both military and civil applications, and it remains in use as a recreational aircraft. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Tiger_Moth)

This weekend the expedition team landed in Kasane to enjoy Chobe National park and surrounding areas of Victoria Falls and Livingstone before heading south again. Mr. Brett Warren, who is a friend and continuous supporter of EWB, is one of the expedition participants. Lucky for us, Mike and I were given an exhilarating rare treat to fly over Chobe National Park in true “Out of Africa” safari style. EWB often “takes to the air” on routine tracking or conducting aerial survey wildlife counts, however a flight in a Tiger Moth is a nostalgic thrill of note. (read about these endeavors at http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/surveys.php)

On the participants last evening in Kasane, we were proud to be invited to join the group for an informal presentation and dinner to talk about our work, elephants and wildlife conservation. (see http://tigermothbotswanasafari.yolasite.com/blog—vic-falls-to-polekwane.php)

Aerial view of the flooded Chobe river

We would like to sincerely Thank Brett for his continued generosity towards Elephants Without Borders conservation endeavors and for the wonderful experience he has shared with us! We wish you, Stan and all the participants a wonderful, safe continuation of your Botswana journey! We hope to see all of you again on another expedition.

Brett & Mike discuss the flight

Wonderful photos and stories of the expedition are posted on their website.  If you would like to learn more about the Great Tiger Moth Botswana Safari 2011, log on to their website at http://tigermothbotswanasafari.yolasite.com/

If you would like to support EWB’s conservation projects: http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/donate.php

Take Off!

The mourner’s customary minute of silence was replaced with sixty seconds of noise when it came to remembering the life and times of former Dubbo zoo keeper Nathan Jamieson. Not to mention more than $9000 being raised on Friday night when over a 100 people turned out for the Nathan Jamieson Memorial fundraiser at Dubbo’s Western Star Hotel. It was “a really fun night, with good atmosphere and a few old stories”, his girlfriend Jennifer Conaghan said yesterday.

Auctioneer Greg Kirk and keeper Heidi Quine during the memorial fundraiser for Nathan

The elephant conservationist died last year after being struck by one of the animals in Botswana where he was working at the time. He met Ms Conaghan almost six years before his death when they both worked at Taronga Western Plains Zoo. Mr Jamieson finished up his post at the zoo in March 2010.

Despite his death his devotion to elephants lives on with the money raised on Friday going to a fund named in his honour at Elephants Without Borders (EWB).

“At first we thought we were only going to raise $2000 to $3000,” Ms Conaghan said. She admitted to being “shocked” at the final tally. “ There was a good vibe and everyone was laughing. We were going to have a minute’s silence but decided to have a minute’s noise instead. Nathan was the ‘life of the party’ kind of guy,” she said.

The Botswana based EWB runs programs to secure safe wilderness habitats on an often war torn continent. Mr Jamieson became a strong advocate for EWB after working alongside its founder and director, elephant ecologist, Dr Mike Chase. Money raised on Friday night will go to EWB’s Nathan Jamieson Memorial fund. The money will fund a unique collaring program which monitors the movement of wild bull elephants in and around Botswana. Ms Conaghan plans to travel to the African nation next month to visit the project, a trip she admitted would be hard without her partner. “We usually travelled a lot. It will be difficult travelling by myself for the first time,” she said.

Ms Conaghan thanked Dubbo businesses which donated more than 50 auctions items along with Annemaree Hillermann and Greg Kirk who helped organise the night. To learn more about the Nathan Jamieson Memorial Fund or you would like to donate, please logon to http://www.elephantswithoutborders.org/Nathan_Jamieson_Memorial_Fund.php

Sincere appreciation to all the sponsors for the evening’s event:

All About You Beauty
Andrew O’Brien
Annemarie Hillerman
Mr & Mrs Hillerman
Awakening
Bakhitas cafe TWPZ
Commercial hotel
Dare Wheeler Cycles
Dominos
Don Crosby vet surgeons
Dubbo Meat & seafood Centre
Dubbo RSL club
Dubbo Ten Pin Bowling
Ducan McGuiness vet surgery
Escape Beauty
Furneys
Greig Tonkins
In Visible – men only
Jane Burgess
Javo Hairdressers
Jen Conaghan
Paul & Judy Conaghan
Janet Jackson
Jodie Milton
Karen Ellis
Mel Friedman
Jackie Stuart
Bec Jones
Mon Counihan
Midwest Foods
Milestone hotel
Mitre 10
Oz Ark Cultural hertiage P/L
Pastoral bar & Grill
Phil Cameron
Readings Cinemas
Red Earth Healing Centre
Roger Brogan
Sids Bottle shop
Smasht Handmade glassware jewellery
South Dubbo Tavern
Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo
Sticks & stones woodfire pizza
Tamara Keeley
Tamworth Street Bottle shop
Village Hot bake
West Dubbo Bottle Shop
West Dubbo Bowling Club