Tag Archives: South Africa

Save South African frogs

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Pickersgill's reed frog

From SAPA news agency in South Africa:

South Africa: Endangered Frogs Get Luxury Suite At Pretoria Zoo

17 May 2013

Johannesburg — The Pretoria zoo is going to start a breeding programme with 10 critically endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frogs to help save them from extinction, Beeld reported on Friday.

A special “frog room” had been equipped for the six-month project, the zoo’s reptile expert Mike Adams told the newspaper.

According to Beeld, the small, yellow-green frogs, are smaller than a man’s thumb and are endemic to South Africa, but are found in only 18 small habitats.

“Because they are so small, conservation has been difficult,” the newspaper quoted Adams as saying.

The Johannesburg Zoo had caught 40 of the frogs, of which 10 had been moved to Pretoria.

“No one knows at this point how to breed the frogs, so with these 10 we hope to write a breeding manual so that the programme can be replicated elsewhere,” Adams said.

Pretoria zoo spokeswoman Angeline Schwan told Beeld amphibians were among the most endangered species on earth.

“There are about 7000 species, of which 3900 are threatened and 170 are apparently already extinct,” she said.

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Serval back in South Africa

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This video is called Wild African Serval.

From Wildlife Extra:

Re-introducing serval to the Eastern Cape

One of Africa’s ten indigenous wild cats roaming again in South Africa’s Eastern Cape

April 2013. Although widely distributed south of the Sahara, the serval became extinct in the Cape provinces of South Africa over the last century mainly due to habitat loss, hunting and poaching. Recently however private game reserves in the Eastern Cape have begun re-introducing the species in the hopes of contributing to the eventual re-establishment of these wild cats in the region.

10 indigenous wild cats in Africa

The serval is one of ten indigenous wild cats found in Africa. Only three other small wild cats are found in South Africa, namely the caracal, African wild cat, and the black-footed cat. The other three species, the sand cat, golden cat and jungle cat are found in limited areas in north and central Africa. The remaining big cats of Africa, lion, leopard and cheetah, receive much more attention than their smaller cousins.

The serval is a medium sized cat that can weigh up to 20kg. They have particularly long legs that help them to jump up to three metres and they have been seen to catch birds in flight. They also have large ears giving them excellent hearing and enabling them to detect prey moving underground.

Land use changes good for wild cats and predators

The Eastern Cape area was once dominated by stock farming, but recent decades have seen an increase in private game reserves. This is good news for predators such as jackal, caracal and even leopard, which are hunted and killed for the threat they pose to livestock. In the case of the serval, it was wiped completely from the area, but as private game reserves grow so does their capacity to re-introduce indigenous wildlife to the area.

Servals at Kariega Game Reserve

Kariega Game Reserve is one of the private game reserves in the region that recently released four servals – two male, two female. The Kariega servals were bred by the Cat Conservation Trust, an organisation specialising in the conservation of South Africa’s four small wild cat species – serval, caracal, black-footed cat and wild African cat. Before release on Kariega, the young servals were transferred to a boma enclosure in order to allow them to adapt to their new surroundings; they were also fitted with tracking collars for effective monitoring. The two males have since been released and the females will soon follow when they are big and old enough.

Reintroducing servals to game parks across the Eastern Cape

A number of other private game reserves in the Eastern Cape have also implemented serval reintroduction programs, including Shamwari Game Reserve and the Great Fish River Reserve. Research shows that the Eastern Cape is still a suitable habitat for the serval, and with the co-operation of neighbouring farms, land and game reserve owners, there is no reason why re-introduction won’t be successful. Shamwari has even reported that although it is difficult to tell exact numbers, guests on safari have occasionally spotted kittens.

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Lions released into South African park

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This video is called Male Cheetah in Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa.

From Wildlife Extra:

Lions released into Mountain Zebra National Park

Lions back in Mountain Zebra National Park after 130 year absence

April 2013. Three lions have released into South Africa’s Mountain Zebra National Park outside Cradock in the Eastern Cape, becoming the first free-roaming lions in the area after an absence of over 130 years.

One lioness and two lions

The lone lioness was sourced from Karoo National Park outside Beaufort West, while the two males were brought in from Welgevonden Game Reserve in Limpopo. The female has been resident in the Park’s boma since February, while the two males arrived earlier this month – allowing them to acclimatise to their new surroundings, and each other, before their release.

Park Manager, Megan Taplin, says the decision to introduce lion into the Park was mainly for biodiversity reasons. “Lions would have occurred here historically and it is SANParks policy to reintroduce the wildlife species which would have occurred in an area before hunting or habitat loss forced them to local extinction in earlier centuries. They will also occupy the niche of large predator in the ecosystem, keeping the numbers of larger herbivores in the Park in check,” said Taplin.

Increasing numbers of herbivores

The three were released from the Park’s boma on 25th April, as the third predator species in the Park – after the introduction of cheetah in 2007 and brown hyena in 2008. “SANParks took the decision to allow cheetah to first establish themselves in the Park before introducing lion which may compete with the cheetah for food. The numbers of large herbivores such as black wildebeest, red hartebeest, eland and gemsbok have now reached levels deemed sufficient to support lion,” Taplin said.

Collared

The lion are collared so that Park Management can monitor them in the first few months or years after release and so that rangers and researchers can observe what habitats they use and which species they prey on. Taplin says this will enable them to measure the lions’ impact on prey species and determine if more should be introduced in future.

Lion often explore the extent of the Park soon after release before establishing themselves in the areas where they have the most success in hunting. “On release into a new area, lion often prey on a variety of species before settling down. However, we predict that they will prey mostly on species such as black wildebeest and kudu,” said Taplin.

Predator proof fencing

Cheetah tracking and guided walks will continue, led by the Park’s knowledgeable guides who are trained to walk in Big Five areas. The fencing of the two picnic sites inside the game viewing area was completed in preparation for the lions’ arrival. The Park is already enclosed with predator-proof fencing, which was erected prior to the release of cheetah in 2007.

Apart from their biodiversity value, the introduction of the lion will add to Mountain Zebra‘s tourism value – offering visitors a new species to look out for in the Park. “I think it will be wonderful to hear lion roaring at night.

Mountain Zebra National Park

Situated near Cradock in the malaria-free Eastern Cape, this national park was originally proclaimed in 1937 to save the dwindling Cape mountain zebra population. Now, at over 28 000 hectares, the park boasts a conservation success story, protecting over 700 zebra as well as wildlife such as endangered black rhino and cheetah.

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Good South African sea bird news

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This video is about Marion island, one of South Africa’s Prince Edward Islands.

This video says about itself:

King Penguins and Fur Seals – BBC Planet Earth

Between South Africa and the South Pole on Marion Island, returning king penguins bring food for their young. However, in order to reach them, they must brave repeated attacks from angry fur seals. In an ongoing battle of face-offs both the seals and the penguins know the dangers of the fight.

From BirdLife:

Massive Marine Protected Area announced in the Southern Indian Ocean

Thu, Apr 18, 2013

Using Marine Protected Areas (MPA) is a core strategy that national governments can employ for protecting the oceans and ensuring sustainable use within territorial waters. BirdLife South Africa applauds the Department of Environmental Affairs for their announcement that South Africa’s sub-Antarctic territory, the Prince Edward Islands, has had an enormous MPA declared. BirdLife congratulates both departmental officials, independent scientists and others who were involved in the work to define and declare this MPA. At around 18 million ha, it’s a gigantic protected area and one of the largest MPAs in the world.

“Many of the world’s most important areas for seabirds remain unprotected, so the news of the Prince Edward Islands MPA is very welcome as it will safeguard one of the “crown jewels” for seabirds in the southern oceans. The MPA includes many of the critical feeding areas for the vast seabird colonies the island supports”, said Ben Lascelles, BirdLife’s Marine IBA Programme Officer.

“The site had been identified as a priority for seabird conservation in BirdLife’s new marine e-atlas. The e-Atlas has been designed to give governments the data they need to make these momentous decisions. Protection of the sites within the e-atlas will help them to achieve the target of protecting 10% of marine and coastal areas by 2020 that was agreed to through the Convention on Biological Diversity”.

The islands are internationally renowned for their important seabird colonies, including holding nearly half of the global population of Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans, 13% of the world’s King Penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus, and one of the highest numbers of breeding seabird species (26) of any island in the world. BirdLife International lists the islands as an Important Bird Area in recognition of its irreplaceable biodiversity value. BirdLife is also working at identifying marine Important Bird Areas across the world’s oceans, and the new MPA overlaps with several proposed marine IBAs. The establishment of the multi-zoned MPA will afford protection for many of the breeding seabirds (and other marine life).

For example, the establishment of a 12 nautical mile no-take zone around both islands will help to ensure that seabird species such as Gentoo Penguins Pygoscelis papua and the Crozet Island subspecies of Imperial Shag Phalacrocorax (atriceps) purpurascens, which feed exclusively within this area and which have suffered large decreases in recent times, will not face additional pressures from new activities in their feeding ranges.

Dr Ross Wanless, Seabird Division Manager at BirdLife South Africa, commented “This declaration represents the culmination of a lot of work by many dedicated scientists and conservationists over many years. Marine Protected Areas have great potential to protect seabirds and other marine biodiversity, and the scale and nature of the Prince Edward Islands MPA is impressive.”

See also here.

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Great white sharks scavenging on dead whales

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This video says about itself:

Jonathan Bird’s Blue World: Great White Sharks

May 8, 2012

Perhaps best known for its role as the antagonist in the film Jaws, the Great White shark is probably the world’s most feared animal, and easily the most fearsome of the sharks. Jonathan travels to Mexico to meet a Great White up close and personal. Nothing can prepare him for the sheer size and strength of a fully grown Great White shark! He learns how white sharks are being studied and how they react to both people and sea lions.

From the University of Miami in the USA:

Great white sharks

New eco study looks at Great white shark behavior

MIAMI –April 9, 2013 – Many terrestrial animals are frequently observed scavenging on other animals– whether it is a hyena stealing a lion kill in the Serengeti or a buzzard swooping down on a dead animal. However, documenting this sort of activity in the oceans is especially difficult, and often overlooked in marine food web studies.

In a new study published in PLOS ONE titled, “White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) scavenging on whales and its potential role in further shaping the ecology of an apex predator,” Captain Chris Fallows from Apex Expeditions collaborated with University of Miami (UM) scientists Dr. Neil Hammerschlag and Austin Gallagher, to explore the behaviors of Great white sharks scavenging on dead whales in South Africa. The team documented as many as 40 different sharks scavenging on a carcass over the course of a single day, revealing unique social interactions among sharks.

The study summarized observations based on four scavenging events opportunistically observed over a 10 year period. In each multi-day observation, the team recorded daily evidence of social, aggregative and feeding behaviors observed in the waters off South Africa. They suggest that although the occurrence of coming upon a whale carcass may be sporadic, the shark populations are likely prepared to scavenge on them, and may even rely on their scavenging activities to supplement their regular feeding activities.

“Although rarely seen, we suspect that as white sharks mature, scavenging on whales becomes more prevalent and significant to these species than previously thought,” said Hammerschlag, who is director of the R.J. Dunlap Marine Conservation Program at UM.

The team found that sharks showed a clear preference for scavenging on the blubber, probably because these high calorie meals can sustain the sharks for longer periods of time. Interestingly, though, the study also found that sharks showed an initial preference for feeding on the whale’s fluke before moving on to feed on the rest of the carcass. The team also found that while scavenging on whales, they ceased hunting and feeding on seals, one of their primary natural prey.

“While scavenging on the whale, the sharks clearly showed a size-based pecking order,” said Fallows. “The biggest sharks came right in, targeting areas of highest blubber content, while smaller sharks fed on areas with less blubber or kept their distance from the whale, mostly scavenging on pieces of blubber that drifted away from the carcass.”

The paper reveals how the social and size structure of sharks at the carcass appeared to be influenced by environmental patterns. “The cues, such as the oils, emanating from this pulse of food are likely attracting much larger sharks over 4.5 meters from long distances to scavenge,” said Gallagher. “These data provide some credence to the hypothesis that large white sharks may be swimming known ocean corridors looking for dead, dying, or vulnerable whales.”

“By attracting many large white sharks together to scavenge, we suspect that the appearance of a whale carcass can play a role in shaping the behaviors, movements, and the ecosystem impacts of white sharks” said Hammerschlag. “These patterns may shed some light into the ecology of this often studied – yet still highly enigmatic – marine predator.”

Sharks dive deeper during a full moon: here.

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Namibian desert circles by termites, not aliens

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This video is called “Fairy Circle” Mystery Possibly Solved in Africa.

Some people believed that aliens from outer space caused these circles.

From Scientific American:

Mysterious Desert “Fairy Circles” Caused by Termites

The Namib Desert‘s strange circular patches of grass with bare centers are the result of termites establishing reservoirs. Sophie Bushwick reports

In southwestern Africa’s Namib desert, the lack of rainfall keeps grass sparse. But in some areas, mysterious rings of grass with bare centers appear and thrive. Now scientists have discovered these so-called fairy circles are indeed created by wee little creatures—termites. The work is in the journal Science. [Norbert Juergens, The Biological Underpinnings of Namib Desert Fairy Circles]

Many organisms live in and around fairy circles, which range from one to 50 meters in diameter and persist for decades. But scientists found only one species consistently inhabiting even the youngest fairy circles. The sand termite Psammotermes allocerus is thus the most likely culprit behind the rings.

How do termites make fairy circles? Living grass sucks up rainfall and loses the liquid to evaporation. But when termites cluster together, feeding on and destroying vegetation, they leave a roughly circular bare patch that stores more water than the surrounding soil. The fairy circle thus acts as a water reservoir for the sand termites, the grasses around the edge and other thirsty organisms.

So maybe we should start calling these rings “termite circles.” Nah—sounds a bit wooden.

See also here. And here. And here.

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