Rescued Serval on the Mend
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November 30, 2007 |
 Thanks to the dedication of Ellen and Lisa at the Tikki Hywood Trust and vets Lisa and Keith (as pictured), Frodo the serval is improving daily. After a major operation to save his leg in early October it is a miracle he is still with us - see October 14 post for details. He has moved to new lodgings near the vets' house and is enjoying his rest and relaxation. Labels: Serval, Tikki Hywood Trust, Zimbabwe |
posted by Miriam @ 1:43 PM  |
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Genet Orphans Received at Tikki Hywood Trust
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November 29, 2007 |
  In early November two orphaned genets were found on a farm and delivered to the Tikki Hywood Trust in Harare. Both the male and the female were dehydrated and had streaks of blood on their fur from birth. They each weighed less than 100g and were not more than a few days old. They were put onto a glucose solution immediately to boost their energy levels and to rehydrate them. All the genets the Trust receives are to be named after perfume houses. The tiny orphan feeding is 'Coco'. Pictured right are 'Coco' feeding and 'Dior' on the 29 November, almost a month after being orphaned.
Labels: Genet, Tikki Hywood Trust, Zimbabwe |
| posted by Miriam @ 9:38 PM |
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Carla Orphaned Rhino in Zimbabwe
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November 28, 2007 |
  
An update on Carla from the November 10 post below. She is doing well and has the most wonderful nature. As the plan stands today, as of Wednesday, I will be helping with her care and another orphaned youngster with a nasty leg wound. Many thanks to the Save Foundation of Australia for funding the food for these darlings for without your support it wouldn't be possible. Thank you. Labels: Rhino, Zimbabwe |
| posted by Miriam @ 8:17 AM |
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Poachers Kill Three Black Rhino at Imire in Zimbabwe
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November 12, 2007 |
 Wednesday 7 November.
Alive in May, Dehorned in July, Dead in November. Poachers armed with AK47 rifles shot dead three black rhinoceroses - a species listed as the most highly endangered large mammal on Earth - on a private conservancy . Owner John Travers said the poachers evaded the armed guards surrounding the rhino at the Imire game park about 100km east of Harare and shot dead two females and a male, but left a four-week-old calf unharmed. One of the cows was two weeks away from giving birth. He said the three animals had had their horns sawn off by wildlife veterinarians a few months ago, a tactic used with some success to deter poachers. The decision to dehorn them was taken when poachers attacked another conservancy outside Harare and shot dead three white rhino. "My assumption is that these guys were after the horns but it was dark and they couldn't see that they didn't have horns," he said.  The three were among the hundreds of black rhino rescued from the Zambezi Valley during "Operation Stronghold", a semi-military operation to fight off the poachers, and came to Imire in 1985, where they became the stock for a scientific breeding programme to build up their numbers again. Zimbabwe in the 1980s had the largest population in Africa of black rhino, about 7 500, but a wave of poaching all over Africa - driven by demand for the horn in the Far East as a cure for fevers and a sexual stimulant and in Yemen where it was used for dagger handles - decimated the population, including Zimbabwe's. According to biologists the horn is composed of tightly compacted hair fibres, and has no other pharmacological properties. About 1 500 of the surviving population were captured in the Zambezi Valley on Zimbabwe's northern border and taken to apparent safety in national game parks and conservancies in the interior of the country. About 500 are still left, according to wildlife experts, but they have come under increasing pressure this year. This is an edited version from The Mail & Guardian (SA), 9 November 2007 Labels: Poaching, Rhino, Zimbabwe |
| posted by Miriam @ 9:46 AM |
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Black Rhino Calf Rescued After Mother Shot
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November 10, 2007 |
 
Meet Carla, a black rhino calf orphaned on September 1, 2007, when her mother was shot dead by poachers for her horn. Carla was shot high through the shoulders by poachers who then tried to cut off her tiny horn while she was still alive but luckily she escaped. The six-month-old calf was found by Chiredzi River Conservancy staff who treated her injuries and are now caring for her. Labels: Poaching, Rhino, Zimbabwe |
| posted by Miriam @ 3:53 PM |
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Albert Schweitzer on Compassion for Animals
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November 7, 2007 |
"We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace." Albert Schweitzer, The Philosophy of Civilization Labels: Animal Quotes |
| posted by Miriam @ 2:35 PM |
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Rescue Mission for African Painted Dogs
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November 6, 2007 |
 Rehabilitation Coordinator and Vice-Chairman of Painted Dog Conservation Inc John Lemon (also Acting Curator of Australian Fauna at Perth Zoo) and Perth Zoo Visitor Services Officer Jon Keates spent four weeks in Zimbabwe and South Africa as part of a rescue mission for 16 endangered African Painted Dogs.
John Lemon tells his story.
Photos by John Lemon and Jon Keates.
May 2006 turned into one of those months we will never forget with the
successful translocation of 16 African Painted Dogs from South Africa to the Painted Dog Conservation Inc rehabilitation facility in Hwange, Zimbabwe. The exhausting four-day operation was the culmination of many months of negotiations and frustrations.Labels: African Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, Wild Dog |
| posted by kingsblogger @ 5:34 PM |
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African Painted Dogs Rescue Gets Go Ahead
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 In August 2005, Painted Dog Conservation Inc received a letter from the South African North West Parks Board asking if we were interested in receiving a pack of dogs from Pilansberg National Park, which were ‘surplus to requirements’.
We spoke to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA), who immediately supported the proposal and issued the relevant paperwork within a week. Then we waited—and waited— for the go-ahead from South Africa.
Months went by, during which time we heard there were some suggestions in South Africa of euthanasing the ‘surplus’ pack! This strengthened our resolve and we remained determined. The translocation now became a rescue mission in our hearts and minds.
The Pilansberg management clearly wanted to find the dogs a new home in Zimbabwe and the communication channels remained open. Euthanasia was not an option to them either.
In May 2006, we finally received confirmation that the translocation had been approved and, with the paperwork sorted, Jon Keates and I set off to Zimbabwe to undertake the translocation and various other activities.Labels: African Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, Wild Dog |
| posted by Miriam @ 5:30 PM |
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Rescue begins for African Painted Dogs
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 On the morning of Tuesday 30 May we began a 15-hour drive from Hwange to Pilansberg. On the way, we collected a truck which had been specially modified with a cage on the back suitable for holding the dogs. The drive was a harrowing experience - delays at the border and busy traffic on the narrow, unlit roads at night. We decided that it was not safe to continue and found a hotel room for the night.
Upon reaching South Africa on the Wednesday afternoon, we made further modifications to the truck to ensure that the dogs would be as safe and comfortable as possible.
Another frustrating day of waiting followed as the ZPWMA representatives who were travelling with us had to wade their way through even more red tape. It would have been easy for them to give up but they were as determined as we were and eventually met up with us on the Thursday evening.
Early Friday morning saw us driving to the facility where the dogs were being held. The South African vet and his team prepared their equipment as we prepared ours. We wanted to fit protective collars to each dog at this stage so that we would not have to put the dogs through the stress of a further immobilisation prior to their release in Zimbabwe.Labels: African Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, Wild Dog |
| posted by Miriam @ 5:20 PM |
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African Painted Dogs Rescue Mission Successful
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 The vet darted each dog and we then fitted each animal with a collar. The collars protect the dogs in a number of ways.
First, the telemetry equipment held within allows the dogs to be radiotracked and thus monitored.
Secondly, the collars are covered in a reflective tape to allow motor vehicles to see them at night. Thirdly, the tough aluminium anti-snare plate on the collars helps combat the lethal snares they may encounter in their home range and allow them to break the snare free or protect their necks until we can rescue them.
Identification photos were taken of each dog and then they were placed in the back of the truck. After approximately two hours we had the 16 dogs in the truck and the vet gave them the reversal injection to wake them up.
Now we were ready to set off on the arduous drive back to Hwange. We knew that we could not rest up in a hotel this time around. For the dogs’ benefit, we had to keep driving because they relax and sleep together if the vehicle keeps moving. Once it stops, they often wake up and can become distressed at being in a relatively confined space.
We reached the border at 10pm and after three hours of queues, more red tape and more queues, we were back in Zimbabwe, with only another eight hours to go. A quick refuelling stop in Bulawayo, a cup of coffee and we continued as the sun rose behind us.
We arrived exhausted in Hwange at 9.30am. However, the remarkable reception committee immediately revitalised us. The Zimbabwe Minister of Environment, ZPWMA officials from Head Office in Harare and Hwange Main Camp, and the national media were all there to greet us.Labels: African Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, Wild Dog |
| posted by Miriam @ 5:10 PM |
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Painted Dog Rehabilitation Centre Zimbabwe
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 Many people are quick to criticise Zimbabwe, however, this exercise alone shows the level of commitment towards conservation which exists within the country and with many of its officials. The dogs have settled in well and will be held in the rehabilitation facility for two or three months to acclimatise before being released into the wilds of Hwange National Park. While in Zimbabwe there was other Painted Dog Conservation Inc work for us to do. We undertook pack formations of existing un-related dogs already held in the rehabilitation facility for later release and tracked resident packs in Hwange National Park. We continued community development work by visiting communal area schools and joining in activities with visiting schools to our Bush Camp Facility. We also carried out maintenance work on the rehabilitation facility itself. This large enclosure is over 30 hectares in size—or almost twice the size of Perth Zoo— without including the intensive care clinic and rehabilitation enclosure, so we were kept more than busy. Perth Zoo supports the non-profit organisation Painted Dog Conservation Inc (PDC Inc) in its work with wild populations of Painted Dogs. PDC Inc aims to conserve and increase painteddog numbers in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa. There are believed to be fewer than 2,500 Painted Dogs left in the wild. Their decline is due to habitat loss, road kill, snaring, persecution and domestic dog diseases. PDC Inc has established anti-poaching teams and local education programs in Africa which have seen a significant reduction in the number of snared Painted Dogs. African Painted Dogs still need your support. If you would like to help protect them in the wild, consider becoming a member of PDC Inc and visit their website at http://www.painteddogconservation.iinet.net.au/. This story featured in ‘Spring 2006 edition of News Paws, Perth Zoo’s Official Magazine’ Labels: African Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, Wild Dog |
| posted by Miriam @ 5:00 PM |
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