Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 5 2016 i PRIVATE GAME | WILDLIFE RANCHING

Even as a schoolboy I considered myself a nature-lover and a tree-hugger, although maybe not a bunny-hugger and probably not, at the time, a conservationist, as the concept of conservation was not yet something I understood well. All this resulted in me qualifying as a zoologist/entomologist and later as a veterinarian. In 1994, my wife and I spent our meagre savings on a small cattle and maize farm in the Waterberg with the view of developing our own game ranch. Not that we had any real idea of what this entailed. We just knew we wanted to enjoy nature and conserve it. Almost a decade later we learnt about WRSA, about how others became successful game ranchers and about the scope, size and impact of game ranching and the massive…

“To most people the sky is the limit. For those who love aviation the sky is Home...” Dit is met groot hartseer dat ons van Benjamin afskeid moet neem en 'n huldeblyk publiseer. As 'n passievolle bydraer van 'n hele paar artikels vir Wildlife Ranching, was hy deel van ons tydskriffamilie. Gaan jy terug na die artikels wat hy vir ons geskryf het, weet jy dat hierdie jong man sy praat geleef het, en dat hy nie net 'n groot diereliefhebber nie, maar ook 'n mensemens was. In een so 'n artikel beskryf hy hoe hy, op pad na Niassa, Mosambiek, waar hy pro-aktief by die bekamping van olifantstroping betrokke was, 'n oproep gekry het en toe eers by die Nasionale Krugerwildtuin 'n babarenoster opgetel het ná 'n noodlottige…

’n Nuwe seisoen het aangebreek; winter is verby en die lente is hier… Of is dit? Die oorgang het so vinnig gebeur, dit voel behoorlik asof Moeder Natuur vanjaar lente oorgeslaan het en ons direk in die somer gedompel het! Vir die eerste keer in jare het ons op die 1ste September hier in Gauteng 'n lieflike warm lentedag beleef, wat energievlakke sommer 'n hupstootjie gegee het. Ons het die afgelope paar maande 'n paar uitdagings in die WRSA-kantoor beleef, wat ek seker maar as ons spreekwoordelike ‘winter' kan beskryf. Ek glo die grootste hiervan was die inbraak einde Augustus. Ek het onlangs iemand hoor sê hy wil graag eendag vir mnr. Murphy van Murphy’s Law ontmoet, want hy het 'n paar dringende vrae wat hy die man wil vra.…

“The York family’s main focus is breeding and selling stud golden wildebeest.” Following on the previous article, ‘Full Circle of Thirds', where the 1, 2 and 3's basics of feeding were discussed, we showcase Barry York's family farm in the Alma district of the Waterberg to show how they feed their feed ration in their feeding system (camps). I've had the privilege of assisting the farm with feed recipes and feeding advice over the last four years. The York family's main focus is breeding and selling stud golden wildebeest. They also breed rhino, golden oryx, blesbuck, sable and nyala. With a background in cattle and game farming, the York family have successfully used many aspects of cattle farming as tools to make their game farming enterprise work. From humble beginnings,…

“The term ‘high-powered’ will cover those fairly efficient, non-magnum cartridges bracketed between the.223 and the .308 – the workhorses of the wildlife industry.” Way back in 1902, a guy named Hiram Percy Maxim invented a noise-control device and called it the Maxim Silencer. So technically speaking, it is more correct using the word ‘silencer' when referring to a firearm sound suppressor. However, the industry latched onto the term ‘suppressor' for many years – maybe because it was more descriptive and probably more politically correct. It should be stated at the outset that the term ‘high-powered' will cover those fairly efficient, non-magnum cartridges bracketed between the .223 and the .308 – the workhorses of the wildlife industry and military community. If you're going to suppress a sniper rifle, that rifle should…

The first African buffalo calf produced through in vitro fertilisation, Pumelelo, was born on 28 June 2016 on the farm of Frans Stapelberg from the Lekkerleef Buffalo Ranch near Marble Hall, Limpopo. The birth marks the first time the species has ever been reproduced through IVF. Pumelelo was introduced to the media on 22 September 2016. The Embryo Plus team, led by Dr Morné de la Rey, BVSc., is working to develop techniques that can be used to save critically endangered species. “This success is hugely important for the prospective breeding of endangered species, and is why we are undertaking this work.” “This breakthrough is of great significance as it is the first of its kind in the world and holds great promise for the continued survival of endangered species.”…

Ek het myself op skool reeds as 'n natuurliefhebber en tree-hugger beskou, hoewel miskien nie 'n bunny-hugger en seker nie in daardie stadium 'n bewaringsbewuste nie, aangesien bewaring 'n konsep is wat ek tog nog nie behoorlik verstaan het nie. Dit alles het daartoe gelei dat ek gekwalifiseer het as soöloog/entomoloog en later as veearts. In 1994 het ek en my vrou ons karige spaargeld gebruik en 'n klein vee-en-mielieplaas in die Waterberg gekoop met die oog op die ontwikkeling van ons eie wildplaas. Nie dat ons eintlik 'n idee gehad het van wat dit alles behels nie. Ons het net geweet ons wil die natuur geniet en bewaar. Byna 'n dekade later het ons gehoor van WRSA, van hoe ander mense suksesvolle wildboere geword het en van die omvang,…

Efficiency and effectiveness can work together or work against one another. Relationships between efficiency and effectiveness are key factors in growth, profitability and sustainability. Southern Africa is richly endowed with natural resources, which include its biodiversity and ecosystems. The conservation, protection and enhancement of environmental assets and natural resources through sustainable utilisation, while promoting justifiable economic and social development, were under the spotlight at two key international wildlife conferences hosted in southern Africa during the month of September 2016. The theme of the 2016 International Wildlife Ranching Symposium (IWRS) hosted in Windhoek, Namibia, was: Wildlife ranching, the key to prosperity for rural communities. ”Wildlife holds significant benefits for Namibia such as creating employment, supporting livelihoods and producing game meat, which can potentially be a future export product,” said the Minister…

“A great visionary and proponent of the South African wildlife and hunting industry.” It was with great sadness that we received the news that the legendary Jan van der Walt of Wild & Jag/Game & Hunt had passed away on 14 September 2016. A pillar of the wildlife industry, Oom Jan, as everyone knew him, understood the industry so well, a man with a vision, an active role player and an excellent publisher. Wiaan van der Linde, president of WRSA, passed on some interesting facts we would like to share in honour of a great man: • At the age of 63, Oom Jan decided to start publishing a new magazine, despite the politics of the day. He was so serious about being independent; he declined offers from big…

The South African game ranching industry has received a significant boost with the declaration that 12 wildlife species are to be classified as landrace indigenous animals of South Africa in terms of the Animal Improvement Act (No. 62 of 1998) administered by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF). The species concerned – black wildebeest, blue wildebeest, gemsbok, oribi, roan, sable, springbok, blue duiker, bontebok, impala, red hartebeest and tsessebe – underwent a change of status on 10 June 2016 when the Department of Agriculture gazetted its amendment to the regulations of the Act. For close to a decade, Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA) has been keen to see ranching, considered an agricultural activity by the then Department of Agricultural Development in 1987, regulated by the Department of Agriculture…

A new season has arrived; winter is over and spring is here… Or is it? The transition was so quick, it feels as if Mother Nature skipped spring this year and dropped us straight into summer! For the first time in years we had a lovely warm spring day on the 1st of September here in Gauteng, which boosted the energy levels. Because of a few challenges we had to deal with in the WRSA office, I can describe the past few months as our ‘winter'. I believe the biggest one was the burglary at the end of August. I recently heard someone say he'd like to meet Murphy's Law's Mr Murphy because he's got a few urgent questions for the man. We at the WRSA office also have a…

“Inefficiencies and the delaying of the issuing of permits have been a favourite pastime of government employees.” Is efficiency the missing link to many game breeders and game farmers? Operational efficiency is the capability to deliver products or services to customers in the most cost-effective manner possible while still ensuring a high quality. If you’ve identified and streamlined your company’s core competencies you can effectively respond to continually changing market forces in a cost-effective manner. In the wake of the municipal elections efficiency seems to be the buzzword for newly elected leadership and our National Government. The focus is shifted to minimise redundancy and waste and actually using the available resources to optimise the workforce and business processes. It deserves no debate that operational efficiency achieves higher profit margins in…

South Africa's vast wealth of biodiversity is constantly under pressure and often calls for some form of protection and preservation, and from time to time even intervention. This is a massive responsibility that we trust conservation agencies with, expecting them to ‘get it done'. This task can have huge practical limitations that the state conservation bodies may find difficult, if not impossible, to deal with on their own. To avoid these limitations on functional conservation, there is a very real need for sectors to work together. A perfect case is the Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra), a subspecies that was saved from extinction through this type of collaboration. The zebra is known to most as the generic black-and-white-striped horse-like donkey that is usually found grazing with wildebeest and impala.…

Om 'n wildboerdery te begin is net so kompleks en riskant as om die regte huweliksmaat te kies. Wildboerdery verg begrip en spesialis-kennis van: •  Die werking van natuurlike ekostelsels• Omgewingswetenskap• Grondkunde• Klimatologie• Ekologie• Evolusionêre ontwikkeling, diereverspreiding en geografiese aspekte• Spesiespesiasie van wild• Plantegroeidinamika• Wildkunde• Wild-populasiedinamika• Wild-diereproduksie• Wild-dieregesondheid• Wild-dieregedrag• Genetika• Diereprestasie Wild het ontstaan as vrylopend en met vrye keuse van besluit (Furstenburg, 2015 d & e), wat die wilde dier se daaglikse gedrag, aktiwiteite en beweging bepaal en beïnvloed. Vandag word hulle in omheinde reservate, plase en kampe aangehou, onder meer vir boerderyproduksie en om geld te maak. Omheinings en drade beperk die wild se natuurlike beweging en instinktiewe keuse van besluit. Wildproduksie en finansiële inkomste kan deur kunsmatige bestuur verhoog word, maar slegs: • as die kampe korrek uitgelê word volgens die natuurlike ekologiese beperkinge van die land en omgewing. • daar…

One of the most discussed and possibly misunderstood aspects of digital photography is what to do after you have taken the shot – the post-processing. This is where you enhance (edit) your images to create the final product. Like selecting, understanding and learning the controls of your equipment, you have to decide which post-processing software to use and then spend time mastering it. Nature photographers tend to fall into the trap of doing too much or too little. With all the tools the various software programs offer, it's easy to get carried away and ruin a good image by aggressive or sloppy post-processing. Like most things in life, you want to create a balance that will add value and enhance your image and in the process develop your own style…

Read More  Authors: Stephanie Dyer, Barry James and Danielle James “Game ranchers will be interested to find that they are custodians of a large portion of the woodlands in the country, savanna woodland occupying 39 million hectares and Albany thicket 1.9 million hectares.” Publisher: Briza - www.briza.co.za ISBN: 978-1-920217-58-7 (English) 978-1-920217-59-4 (Afrikaans) Format: 280 x 210mm | Hardcover Extent: 336 The latest book release from local publishing company Briza is both a visual feast and a valuable publication that will be of interest to a wide group of readers, including conservationists, woodworkers, designers and wood-lovers. It is the first work of its kind on the characteristics and suitability of the wood of the 134 indigenous species of trees in southern Africa. The authors include Barry James, a conservationist and ecological…

SOLD R168 million ‘Inala', sold by Thaba Tholo. Thaba Tholo Auction 2016, Thaba Tholo: Buffalo, 16 September 2016, Thaba Tholo, Thabazimbi, Limpopo. SOLD R18 million ‘Lebombo', sold by Nyumbu Game. 11th Stud Game Breeders® Auction 2016, 3 September 2016, Zebula Golf Estate, Bela-Bela, Limpopo. SOLD R 92 million ‘Vincimus', sold by Chimoyo Wildlife. Benchmark Game Breeders Auction 2016, 26 August 2016, Castle de Wildt, Modimolle, Limpopo. Wildlife Ranching was invited to the past few auctions and we got to experience that familiar hold-your-breath excitement as bidders pushed up amounts to acquire that very special animal! And again, buffalo are doing it. Many pessimists are negative about auction outcomes, but after observing recent auctions, interesting facts become crystal clear – and by no means is this a revelation, but rather a…

“Cape mountain zebra ( Equus zebra zebra ). A great South African conservation success story! The unanimous decision at CITES CoP17 to downlist the Cape mountain zebra from CITES Appendix I to Appendix II was the culmination of extraordinary efforts to conserve and indeed grow the Cape mountain zebra population.” “For those engaged in wildlife ranching, efficiency is also a sensible goal, given that ranchers need to operate under all sorts of resource constraints, such as limited land, water and finances as well as within the laws of nature.” Efficiency is a concept of great interest to economists. For many, it is the Holy Grail of economic policy, as a seemingly non-controversial social objective. If resources are scarce, then allocating and using them efficiently makes sense, as…

WHY EFFICIENCY IS NOT YET LINKED TO CURRENT GAME-MEAT PRODUCTION Why are we not yet efficient when it comes to game-meat production? Who is to blame? Is it the Department of Agriculture (DAFF), the mouthpiece of the game ranchers, namely Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA), the Ministry of Finance, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), or perhaps local professional hunters and outfitters? The Meat Safety Act 40 of 2000, with its five proposed regulations on red meat, poultry, ostriches, crocodiles and game, was promulgated in 2000. Today, 16 years later, the game industry still does not have an approved legal guideline. A game-meat slaughter facility (if a formal structure) is thus forced to register under Red Meat Regulations that are as incompatible as…

The 9th International Wildlife Ranching Symposium was held in Namibia from 12-16 September, the theme being ‘Wildlife – The Key to Prosperity for Rural Communities'. This was the first time that the global conference was held in Namibia, where wildlife ranching is growing apace (Wildlife Ranching Namibia (WRN) was officially formed in 2014 and the strides it has made were acknowledged). The 2nd African Buffalo Symposium was hosted simultaneously, under the auspices of the Antelope Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of IUCN and the African Buffalo Interest Group (AfBiG). In his opening address at the conference, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, outlined some of Namibia's conservation successes. “Namibia has one of the scarcest commodities in the world – space!” he said, indicating that the country…

Annually, international wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and to include hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens. The trade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast array of wildlife products derived from them, including food products, exotic leather goods, wooden musical instruments, timber, tourist curios and medicines. Levels of exploitation of some animal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together with other factors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily depleting their populations and even bringing some species to extinction. “Regulations must ensure trade of rhinos for example, or wild ginger is in a way that ensures future generations continue to benefit from them, and that they do not become extinct. The existence of an…

“South Africa is prone to severe weather disasters.” The South African Weather Service has developed its Severe Weather Warning System (SWWS) in order to warn communities of severe or hazardous weather. This is done to reduce the risk to lives, welfare and property caused by severe weather events as South Africa is prone to severe weather disasters. According to Ezekiel Sebego, chief forecaster at SAWS, these alerts can be sent up to five days before the hazard is expected. The alerts are distributed to disaster management authorities of different government departments/structures and the media. They are also displayed on the SAWS website: www.weathersa.co.za SEVERE WEATHER ALERTS LEVELS “At SAWS, severe weather alerts are produced in different levels ranging from advisory to watch and warning,” says Sebego. This is done in…

“It dawns on me that we have just applied the first of four good governance criteria – we all participated, considered each other’s view with the same importance, and reached a consensus of where we will walk.” It is already deep into September. The winter is gone. Waves of golden grass tufts sway in the mountain breeze, welcoming the first days of the hot, dry season. The Nyika Plateau stands like a bastion high above the chasm of the Great Rift Valley filled with lakes and rivers. Winter may be gone, but it is chilly when the sun sets. The sedated elephant cow lies awkwardly on her chest. She breathes normally, even though the slope challenges the fitters of a satellite collar. They work fast. Then, a crash as the…

Genet Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Viverridae Genus: Genetta DESCRIPTION The etymological origin of the word ‘genet' is uncertain; it might originate from the Greek prefix gen meaning ‘bear' and the New Latin suffix etta meaning ‘small' – or it may be a derivation of the Arab name Djarnet. A genet is a member of the genus Genetta, which comprises 14 to 17 species of small African carnivorans. We are going to distinguish between two species, the small spotted genet (Genetta genetta) – also known as the common genet – and the Cape genet (Genetta tigrina) – also known as the large spotted genet. Genets are slender cat-like animals with a long body, long ringed tail, large ears, a pointed nuzzle and partly…

“The main wild vectors are mongooses and wild canids, in particular jackals and bat-eared foxes..” Rabies is a virus disease that can potentially infect all mammals, including humans. There are two main variants or biotypes of the rabies virus in SA – the canid biotype, which is adapted to wild and domestic dogs, and the viverrid or mongoose biotype. Although these species are the main hosts of the virus, other domestic and wild species can become accidentally infected. The main wild vectors are mongooses and wild canids, in particular jackals and bat-eared foxes. Occasionally outbreaks have occurred in wild antelope such as kudu under certain conditions. Domestic dogs are the cause of ‘urban rabies', which is the main source of human infections, especially in areas such as KZN and the…

STARTING WITH MOZZIES AND OTHER GOGGAS Dr John Ledger began his career as a medical entomologist at the South African Medical Institute for Research (SAIMR) in Johannesburg, where his research focused on insects of medical importance. He also lectured in the Tropical Pathology department to candidates for the postgraduate Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Diploma in Tropic Medicine and Public Health. John became the head of the Department of Medical Entomology and revised the well-known book written by S.H. Skaife, African Insect Life. Even in those days John's concern for conservation ruffled some academic feathers when he suggested (possibly tongue in cheek) that mosquito control was eradicating some harmless non-malaria transmitting mosquito species. Later in his career he proposed that instead of poisoning locust swarms to control the damage they…