Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 2 2017 i PRIVATE GAME | WILDLIFE RANCHING

Please also read an unsolicited article by Erich D. Graupner, A CASE FOR COLOUR VARIANTS ‒ A game rancher’s perspective, on page 154 . The first colour morph animal recorded in South African history was a golden oryx, which was shot in 1906. Golden wildebeest have been seen naturally in nature in southern Botswana for decades. Wildlife ranchers have responded to recent negative publicity in the media. The executive editorial committee decided to share this letter received from Gerhard Heyneke with our readers and industry stakeholders. The breeding of colour variations proves to be a thorn in the side for certain individuals and institutions. Once again, the year began with emotional, inaccurate and misconstrued statements in the popular media, creating false perceptions regarding the intensive breeding of colour variations…

As from this edition, the traditional CEO’s message will be replaced with an informative article by the CEO, giving our readers a glimpse of WRSA activities that took place during the immediate past two months. WRSA hit the ground running from the moment the WRSA offices opened its doors on 4 January after a well-deserved December holiday. Our administrative team at the offices is always ready to assist and support not only WRSA members, but anybody with an enquiry and/or interest in the wildlife industry. Adri Kitshoff-Botha – CEO Amelia Wassenaar – Secretariat Ankie Stroebel – Marketing & membership growth Desere Hamer – Financial Estel Theron – PA Wanda Coetzee – Administration A FIRST FOR WRSA… A WRSA Board resolution was taken during 2016 that WRSA should explore the value…

This article is following on the previous four NUTRITION 101 articles in this series published in Wildlife Ranching, ‘Full Circle of Thirds’, where the 1-2-3s of feeding were discussed, ‘Golden Rules’, where we visited Barry York’s family farm outside Alma in the Waterberg, ‘Science of Grazing’, where we visited Alan van Coller of Alden Buffalo, and ‘Winning Formula Nutrition’, where we visited Tony and Richard Morton from Tembani Wildlife near Thabazimbi in the Limpopo province. In this article, we are visiting Louis van Rensburg, the owner of Sherwood Buffalo Stud, situated in the town of George in the Southern Cape, close to the Fancourt Golf Estate. Louis and his family have been farming intensively with buffalo on the farm since 2009. They also farm with sable, roan, oryx, impala, springbuck,…

The proposed Norms and Standards state that the purpose of the Norms and Standards is to manage the hunting of leopard in order to reduce the impact of hunting on the stability of the leopard population and to ensure that such hunting is carried out in an ecologically sustainable manner. In our organisation’s comments to the proposed document, WRSA pointed out that science has shown that hunting in areas is not the main cause of leopard decline, but only a confounding factor because of other major impacts such as the illegal leopard-skin trade where skins are being used for cultural and ceremonial purposes. Illegal leopardskin trade is currently one of the biggest threats to leopards, not only in South Africa but southern Africa, and we believe that government’s enforcement of…

TYPICAL ROLLERS Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Coraciiformes Family: Coraciidae Genus: Coracias and Eurystomus The French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque introduced rollers as Coraciidae in 1815. They are better known as Old World birds. It is believed that rollers originated in Africa and that most of the species are found in Africa. They are stout-bodied like a crow and have large heads with short necks. Their size ranges from 24 to 33cm in length. They have beautiful colours and each species has different colours, varying from blue and green to purple, pink, brown and yellow. The juveniles don’t have the fully-grown rollers’ bright colours. There is little distinction between sexes. These birds have short legs and feet, and their outer toe is not connected…

“Not only is the Big Five present at Makalali, there are also a magnificent variety of bird species and most of the plains game species for guests and enthusiastic photographers to enjoy.” Travelling in the beautiful Lowveld, you’ll find the aha Makalali Private Game Reserve in the Harmony Block near Gravelotte. Makalali (meaning ‘place of rest’ in Shangaan) opened its doors for guests in 1996 and at the time was jointly owned by Charles Smith and the Conservation Corporation Africa. Not long after, Charles approached the Industrial Development Corporation, a government institution, to help him manage Makalali. During 1998 Makalali was sold to Three Cities, which managed the reserve and lodges, and in October 2007 Three Cities found a new home with the aha Hotel Group, a property management company…

It is estimated that leopards have disappeared from 37% of their historic African range. Established as a conservation working group in 2004, the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) explores the complex dynamics between leopards and landowners. According to a recent study, only 20% of South Africa is suitable leopard habitat of which only an estimated 32% is protected. “The number of leopards killed by farmers has been reduced considerably since our work began,” says Helen Turnbull, CEO of the CLT. “Our research has shown the Cape mountain leopard population in the Boland is relatively stable. In part the rocky mountainous habitat offers some protection. However, there is a seemingly increasing trend towards the use of wire snares for illegal hunting. This is an indiscriminate killing method that harms any animal in…

Consumers – people who buy goods and services – constitute the driving force of any industry, and wildlife ranching is no exception. Without willing buyers, the economic incentive to provide anything, whether hamburgers or pristine natural habitat, is significantly reduced if not eliminated, as producers typically turn to alternative ways to earn their livelihoods. In the realm of wildlife ranching, the range of consumers is potentially wide and more complex than many other industries. Understanding this range and complexity is essential to understanding the industry’s current challenges. Arguably the greatest contemporary challenge for wildlife ranchers is to recognise and manage the competing interests of different types of consumers. Regrettably, in this industry such competition also occasionally leads to conflict. This conflict tends to arise for two interrelated reasons. The first…

Nico, Sonette en Hertie Lerm se onderneming, Lasarus Game Farm, is op die plaas Buffelskraal in die Albertinia-Mosselbaai-distrik op die Tuinroete geleë. “Ek dink wat baie uniek is van die omgewing waarin ons hier boer, is dat ons in een dag drie seisoene kan hê.” Nico vertel hulle het vir so 15 of 16 jaar gejag en toe so vier jaar terug met intensiewe teling begin. “Ons het genetika van regoor die land gekoop om in te pas by ons teling.” Buffelskraal het rooigrond waarop goeie soetgras groei. Die plaas het ook ’n gedeelte wat Medics kry as hulle ’n goeie reënjaar het. “As ons afgaan in die kloof op die plaas, het ons renosterveld en soetdoringveld, wat goeie veld is. En onder die soetdoring kry ons so hier en…

“It follows that it is good practice to take out both public liability as well as employer’s liability insurance.” As a general rule, public liability insurance covers land and a business owner against claims for damages as a result of accidental death or bodily injury to or illness of any person, or accidental loss of or physical damage to property having occurred within the territorial limits under control of the land or business owner. Public liability insurance policies generally exclude liability for persons employed by the insured under a contract of service during the course of such employment. Employer’s liability insurance , on the other hand, provides cover for the death or injury to such person employed under a contract of service with the insured. It follows that it is…

“Whether the selection is for body size, horn length, coat colour and so on, the same rules for survivability apply to the desired selection within the constraints of habitat.” PREAMBLE The South African wildlife industry is currently grappling with a contentious issue that centres on the propagation of colour variants in a number of game species. In the popular press and even some ‘scientific’ papers, a perception has been created that the game-ranching industry is propagating cross-breeds of species they have created, using genetic manipulation to create these, and thus threatening biodiversity on their game ranches, where they breed animals in small enclosures. All this is ‘alleged’ to threaten wildlife ecosystems in South Africa. In some instances, this viewpoint has been communicated to people and organisations outside of South Africa,…

“Survival situations vary, as well as the tasks required of your survival firearms.” What makes a good survival rifle? It’s a cold, hard fact that a single perfect survival firearm doesn’t exist. There are too many unique survival scenarios to consider and each life-or-death situation is different. Whether you are prepping for an apocalypse or the aftermath of a hurricane, self-defence is an important aspect of surviving any disaster. Everyone has their preference as to what qualifies as the best survival weapon. The rifle is probably the best all-purpose firearm to face a variety of combat and self-defence scenarios. That being said, listing the ‘best survival rifles’ requires real compromises, but at the very least, the rifle should thrive in tough conditions and shoot ‘commonly available ammo’. Ammunition is a…

“The estimated demand from Europe for venison/game meat is in excess of 200 000 tons per annum.” The game meat industry in SA and predictions constructed on growing consumption realities At a recent Wildlife Economy Workshop, held by WRSA and Earthmind in Pretoria from 15-17 March 2017, Michael ’t Sas-Rolfes (Oxford University) reported on the growth of the wildlife economy in South Africa in recent years. Growth has been at 9.3%, while general economic growth has been below 1%. This supported the contention of Ernst Janovsky, head of Agribusiness ABSA, who stated on 15 June 2015 that the game industry adds R100bn from ecotourism, R7.5bn from hunting and R10bn from breeding to the South African economy. The contribution that game meat makes cannot be singled out or calculated, however, as…

Situated near the town that has become known as South Africa’s culinary capital, it goes without saying that the emphasis at Leopard’s Leap in the Franschhoek Valley falls primarily on enjoying its quality wines with food. Owned by Hein Koegelenberg, son-in-law of the late business magnate and conservationist Dr Anton Rupert, and his wife, Hannelie Rupert, Leopard’s Leap’s wine tasting and cellar door facilities were extremely cleverly conceptualised. Following its formidable success as a wine producer during the first decade of the century, it was decided in 2011 to create a home where visitors can get close to the values of the brand and experience its principal passions - wine, food, nature conservation and literature. Bordered by the Boland’s majestic mountains, this popular stop on the Franschhoek Wine Route is…

On 25 September 2015, the 194 countries of the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Development Agenda titled Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A successful sustainable development agenda requires partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society. When the Wildlife Ranching editorial committee commenced content planning for our 2017 issues, all agreed on the importance of securing regular interviews with Dr Edna Molewa, South Africa’s Minister of Environmental Affairs, to ensure the achievement of specific Sustainable Development Goals in South Africa in collaboration with government. We were delighted when our first interview was confirmed for Saturday, 1 April 2017. During our conversation, we discussed the successful hosting of CITES CoP17 by South Africa in 2016. Minister Edna Molewa emphasised that the Ministerial meeting that sat…

Almal sien elke jaar met groot afwagting uit na die Piet du Toit-veiling, sekerlik een van die grootste veilings op die wildboer se kalender. Vanjaar het dit reeds op 11 Februarie by Wildswinkel se veilingslokaal op Bela-Bela plaasgevind. En wat ’n opkoms was dit nie! Met meer as 2 000 besoekers en 585 geregistreerde kopers was die opwinding tasbaar. Die veiling is voorafgegaan deur ’n funksie die vorige aand by Zebula Lodge. ’n Heerlik ontspanne weersiens van vriende ná die 2016-feesseisoen het bygedra om dit ’n onvergeetlike geselligheid te maak. Piet du Toit het gaste tydens sy verwelkomingstoespraak voorgestel aan ’n nuwe toetreder tot die groep, Jaco Botma van Robedi Game Breeders. Ander lede van die Piet du Toit-groep sluit in Stephan Naudé van Sihencha Wildboerdery, Beyers Gerber van Gerber…

Randy Westraadt, eienaar van Choice Africa Safaris by Boshof in die Vrystaat, vertel hy het in Port Elizabeth in die Oos-Kaap grootgeword. Sy oom het op Cradock geboer en het hom van kleins af plaas toe gevat en ’n liefde vir jag geleer. In 2000 het hy die geleentheid gekry om van sy pensioengeld te gebruik om grond buite Bloemfontein te koop. Sewe jaar gelede het hy in die Kimberleyomgewing op die plaas Montagu Private Natuurreservaat afgekom. Dit is ’n geproklameerde private natuurreservaat. “As ek as ekoloog moet praat, is die korrekte benaming vir die habitat hier Kalahari-doringveld.” Hulle bied verskillende verblyfopsies vir jagters. Daar is luukse eenhede wat meestal vir die buitelandse jagters is, maar plaaslike jagters is natuurlik ook meer as welkom. Die leeu is hul vlagskipspesie en…

Born in Zimbabwe, where he worked as a guide, Clemence had the good fortune of being invited to work at Letlapa Pula after making an impression when he took his visitors on a guided walk. “They really liked me – and after some telephonic and email exchanges, I was asked to come to the farm, where I have been since 2004,” he recalls. “In 2012, when I finished my studies, I was given the opportunity to become the farm manager on a trial basis. I guess I made a good impression and after a few months my position became official!” As a Level 3 FGASA guide, Clemence’s knowledge and experience are put to good use. “My mentors, Ekofocus, have taught me a lot,” he says modestly. “I am now the…

“D it is vir my ’n absolute genade, uitdaging en totale belewenis om elke dag met die diere en die natuur te werk.” Só gesels Christiaan Wessels, bestuurder van Thakadu Safaris & Game Breeders. Christo is die afgelope tien jaar hoofsaaklik betrokke by die teel van skaarswild en die afgelope ses jaar bestuurder van Thakadu. Die plaas, waarvan die eienaars Johan Jonker, Barry Barnard en Richard Butler is, is 45 km uit op die Lephalale-pad geleë is. Hulle boer met buffels, swartwitpense, bastergemsbokke, goue koningswildebeeste, njalas, Livingstone-elande, swart rooibokke, vier soorte hartswaterspringbokke en saalrugblesbokke. Met van die skaarswild word intensief in ’n wisselweidingkampstelsel geboer, wat bestuur en parasietbeheer vergemaklik. “Jag is ’n integrale deel van ons bedryf en ons jag jaarliks van Maart tot Oktober, meestal met plaaslike korporatiewe groepe…

A6 000ha game-breeding farm in the Karoo, Outpost Game Breeders specialises in breeding trophy-quality animals. “I ended up here because I saw an ad for a farm for sale – and here we are in the Karoo!” says Andrew. “We have approximately 30 species in total, some of which we breed intensively, like sable, roan and springbuck; then we have free-range buffalo, bontebok, nyala, springbuck, lechwe…” A firm advocate for strict DNA tracking, Andrew believes the farm has a reputation for being one of the most trusted and reliable. One of the unique features of Outpost Game Breeders is its bow-hunting operation, which caters to overseas clients. “Bow-hunting is my passion,” Andrew explains. “We host a very limited number of hunters every year, giving them the opportunity to hunt a…

“No matter what you are spending most of your time on, there will always be that one thing you believe you should be doing.” When you ask any successful person how it came about that he or she decided to venture into a specific business or industry, you almost always get the same answer: “I have always dreamed about …” or “I have always wanted to …” And so, no matter what you are spending most of your time on, there will always be that one thing you believe you should be doing. Unless of course you are lucky enough to already be spending your time on your dream. Wildlife Ranching magazine was invited to visit Voorwaarts Game Breeders to share their story in the hope that it would encourage…

“The primary tool utilised for weather and climate forecasting is Numerical Weather Prediction models.” Weather information, specifically forecasts and warnings, has a big impact on the South African economy and is critical for the protection of life and property. The South African Weather Service (SAWS) as the authoritative source of weather information providing routine public, aviation and marine forecasts makes use of a number of meteorological ‘tools’ to provide the aforementioned services. Weather and climate observations are a critical part of the forecast process but the primary tool utilised for weather and climate forecasting is Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models. WEATHER VERSUS CLIMATE PREDICTION Weather and climate predictions using complex dynamical forecast models are based on the fundamental physical principles of nature: Newton’s laws of motion and the laws of…

TIGER TOURISM IN INDIA Introduction The tiger (Panthera tigris), the largest of all cats, is indigenous to the forests of Asia. Three of the nine subspecies are now extinct while the other six are endangered, according to the IUCN. Tiger numbers decreased dramatically from an estimated 100 000 to 2 000 by the 1970s due to hunting and conflict with humans, poaching and the continuing loss of their forest habitat, estimated to have decreased by 93%. They now occur as isolated populations, for example those of the Bengal tiger on the Indian subcontinent, which now has roughly 50% of the world’s tiger population. Various reserves and sanctuaries in India cater effectively and comfortably for tiger tourism. The flame of the forest The Bengal tiger is not the largest subspecies (males…

Game farm owners must place an emphasis and give the assurance that hunters will have significant opportunities to hunt game for meat purposes in their marketing materials. THE IMPACT OF AGE ON THE BILTONG HUNTER’S BEHAVIOUR Previous research conducted by TREES regarding the profile and spending of biltong hunters in South Africa indicated that biltong hunters’ frequency of hunting trips are decreasing. Two reasons can be provided for this – first the current economic downturn in South Africa and secondly, it is becoming too expensive for biltong hunters to hunt. Farmers and product owners of hunting establishments are therefore finding it challenging to compete for the same market (biltong hunters). One way to position game farm owners better in the hunting market is through well-developed marketing strategies. Market segmentation can…

Recently diagnosed and reported cases of Brucella melitensis in sable have raised issues about the relevance and importance of this infection in wild animal species in South Africa. Based on the epidemiology of Brucella spp., important issues to be considered are the potential for causing human (zoonotic) infection, deleterious effects on production and the importance of the livestock/ wildlife interface. In addition, the statutory requirements by the South African veterinary authorities may have serious economic implications for game ranchers and other wildlife owners if these matters are not addressed proactively. BRUCELLA MELITENSIS INFECTION IN LIVESTOCK Brucella melitensis occurs mostly in small domestic ruminants, namely sheep and goats, in which it causes abortion, retained placenta and reduced milk production, inflammation of the genital tract of males and arthritis in…

Authors: Dirk Botes, Pieter Smit & Gerhard Swan Publisher: Litera Publications ISBN: 978-1-920188-39-9 Format: Paperback, revised edition. Retail price: R395 HUNTING AFRICA: A PRACTICAL GUIDE Fine old books, fine old guns and good dogs: these are things that have warmed the hearts of the sport-hunting fraternity for generations now. So, when Peter Oberem, president of WRSA, handed me a copy of the new revised edition of Hunting Africa – a practical guide, I was reluctant to ‘get into’ this very shiny new book! After all, it seems that with all the regulations, proclamations and contestations we’re so busy with in the greater hunting and wildlife sector, there’s a never-ending amount of reading to do… My reluctance went away, however, when I read Dirk Botes’ tribute to his late co-authors and…

The Minister of Environmental Affairs, Dr Edna Molewa, tells Wildlife Ranching about the future of the wildlife industry, the possibility of a controlled domestic rhino-horn trade – and why being in nature is better than a spa visit. WR South Africa hosted CITES CoP17 in 206. Tell us a little bit about progress made at CITES. Did you feel southern Africa’s unique needs were acknowledged? Minister Edna Molewa: I believe that the Southern African community’s message was heard, yes. Many countries, including South Africa, were vociferous about the policy of the sustainable utilisation of our natural resources, which is enshrined in our Constitution, and even though we see things differently to some of the other countries on the continent, there was engagement. We are starting to see more countries on…