Thursday 15 October 2015

Rhino Wars

Absolutely fantastic little report on the current crisis affecting rhinos in Kruger, and indeed all over Africa. It is heartbreaking, and indeed at times hard to watch. But these are the things we must take note of and push the issue into peoples minds and really make people aware of the severity of the situation. To see them disappear really would be a crime against humanity. 

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Dog tracks poachers used in court case! http://africageographic.com/blog/poachers-found-guilty-thanks-to-kruger-tracking-dog/

Fantastic article that highlights the effectiveness of dogs in tackling the heinous crime that is rhino poaching. Thanks to this formidable team, two rhino poachers (responsible for at least 3 white rhino murders) were caught red handed (literally) in Kruger Nayional park.  They are awaiting scetencing in South Africa.  

A South African court took the testimony of Killers (the dogs) handler as solid evidence of their guilt and used it as such to build a case against the two poachers who will hopefully feel the full force of the law. Just like in the battle against narcotics and terrorism, the use of dogs is crucial to the war on poaching and rangers ability to intersect and track poachers who may still be in the scene. 

Well done, Killer! 


Monday 21 September 2015

An Encounter of a Close Kind- Curios Khumbula

There are many things about Africa that I will never forget, for as long as I live. Many things beautiful, mesmerising and a few absolutely bewildering!

However, of all the things in Africa, there is one individual in particular that stands out in my mind. This individual makes me long for the windswept floodplains and dense thicket of Pongola more than any other thing in Africa.

He is staggeringly beautiful, and gargantuan in size. His thick grey skin tinged with copper orange soil and wrinkles that crossed his entire body like deep fjords. His eyes are something I will remember always, sparkling and wise, like a great amber sapphires. A tell tail sign was his wonky left tusk that protruded inwards towards his long serpent like trunk. There has never been a more aptly named creature to grace this earth…Khumbula, Zulu for ‘Remember’. If elephants had second names, his would definitely be Ungakhohlwa…‘Never forget’.

One day in particular was truly amazing. There was not a cloud in the sky and a light breeze that made the leaves sway gently as it passed. One of the things that surprised me most was how easily these two tone animals could hide in the thicket, and how easily they can disappear into it like a shadow in the night. Often, you heard the elephants before you saw them, the snapping of branches and crunching of leafs as the elephants amble through the forest.

On this day we first herd another elephant, Asiphephe, as he sent a 4m Tree Wisteria crashing to the ground so he could feed on the succulent roots that were formally locked tight below in the moisture starved soil.  As we watched, it was then that Khumbula reviled himself as he slowly strolled out of the thicket showing off his characteristic trudging gait.

 After browsing near his travel companion for a short while, he was drawn closer to the car by a smell that seemed to endlessly entice his curiosity. Heike, the elephant whisper (although her modesty will not permit her to enjoy that title), checked the proximity was okay with everyone. However, something told me Khumbula would have paid no mind to our preferences.

He sauntered over to the car edging closer and surveying the strange new people that had invaded is home. It wasn’t long before some form of scent on the front of the car had him transfixed. A smell he could just not fathom. He stretched his long, slender grey trunk out again and again, sniffing like he was going to suck all the air from the earth as he tried to decipher the scent that masked the front of our truck. Occasionally he would reverse back, with the grace and delicacy most people could not muster in their lives before venturing forward to within 2m of our vehicle. He would twist the trunk under itself, pointing its tip towards the car as he attempted to disguise his interest- this gave it the nickname a ‘sneaky sniff’, something he would do many times in our later encounters. Gradually, his interest dwindled and he vanished into the thicket as easily as a leopard disappears into a tree.

I would see this astounding individual many times while I was in Africa, every-time the hope of finding any elephants had faded he would appear by the road side as we drove back to the Loose Mongoose Camp. As if he sensed our disappointment or craved the limelight. He was always relaxed, absurdly photogenic and unfailingly curious.

How photogenic can you get?

One thing that Khumbula, and the other elephants of Pongola made me realise was that nothing on the television can get across to you how utterly amazing these creatures are until you see them for yourself. They are loyal to a fault, which shows through their sense of family and kinship. At times their dedication to one another made me wonder if what I was witnessing was in fact true altruism.
Khumbula left me with no doubt in my mind that these animals are true natural wonders. With that they have the intrinsic right to exist in their natural habitat, safe from the heinous persecution that is decimating their global population and that is being driven solely by human greed and vanity.

I cannot begin to even imagine the extent to which the poaching crisis will effect elephants, not only in terms of population, but in terms of their social groups, behaviour and mental well-being. The elephants of Pongola are luckily safe and prosperous (some people even think they’re too prosperous), for the time being. It would be a crime if we were to allow the thousands of elephants, just like Khumbula, to become a distant echo of the past as they have done across much of their historic range.


I will always remember Khumbula, and his charming and lovable personality. I will always remember how he, and the other elephants of Pongola, taught me how  important their survival is not only for their own sake, but for the sake of humanity. My trip has left me with even more fire in my belly and a renewed determination to protect and conserve elephants so all of Africa can be as safe and prosperous for them as Pongola Reserve.