Help mitigate Human Wildlife Conflict in Zimbabwe

There has been a lot of new activity during the period by this report. Mitigation measures we have so far put in place continue to help the communities surrounding Chizarira National Park and prove to be very succesful and we have now expanded our focus areas from just the communities surrounding Chizarira National Park to Communities in Victoria Falls aswell.

The mobile livestock holding pens that we have deployed in various villages continue to be very successful in deterring spotted hyaena and lions from attacking cattle and goats kept in this facility.  Where these structures are not in place, villages continue to suffer from livestock deaths by predators coming from the Park. Communities where we have depolyed these predator proof bomas to have gone onto their third year without any attacks on their livestock.
The holding pens are made of opaque plastic that wildlife cannot see through.  The plastic sheeting is strung between poles and the livestock contained within. We have also deployed our first predator proof Boma in Victoria Falls.

Apart from our usual stratergies, we have deployed two new and effective stratergies, focusing on Victoria Falls, but soon implenting the same stratergies in Chizarira Communities.

One such statergy is using LED Flashing lights to deter predators from around areas where livestock is being kept. These lights are fixed to trees and posts around the livestock. One version of the lights constantly flash throughout the night and the flashing lights scare the animals away. Another verison of the light is motion sensored and turns on and off when movement is detected. This sudden light scares predators away. This has been very effective and has proven succesful to date.

Another very new initiative that we have dubbed the "iCow" initiative, is a process based off of detering markings on moths. Predator species always attack from behind, as that is the vulnerable part of an animal. Whenever a predatory species assumes it has been seen by its prey it often aborts the hunt. We have taken this and has painted eyes on the rumps of livestock.

Therefor when a predator approaches they get the impression that the animal has seen them and aborts the hunt. This is a new technique and is very cost effective for the communities. We have introduced this into two communities and have had a high success rate to date, with now livestock that have been painted being preyed upon.

We are able to keep human-wildlife conflict to a minimum through other work we are doing namely collaring lions and elephants.  Whilst these projects are looking at various research and monitoring aspects, we are able to pre-warn villagers of elephants or lions approaching their villages (by monitoring the GPS locations given by the collars) thus giving the villagers time to put in place traditional mitigation measures such as fires around holding pens and crops, banging pots and drums, having dogs nearby etc.

Dear Friends and supporters,

Our project to help Mitigate Human-Wildlife conflict in areas adjacent to the 1,910km² Chizarira National Park took place after we had met with the Chief and elders of the area as well as having public meetings. Through the chief we called public meetings and at that time expressed the need to conserve the wildlife and habitat of the Park which is essentially their natural heritage.

We put in place mobile predator-proof livestock holding pens (kraals), as well as sharing ideas of how to improve on the traditional kraals to make them more predator-proof.  We have also shared with the community non-lethal methods to keep elephants away from crops with good results.  There are other NGO`s (non-government organizations) working in adjacent areas and together we support the communities that may suffer the depredations of wildlife from the park.

As lions and elephants are the main conflict animals, our lion and elephant research projects are able to greatly assist in dealing proactively with potential threats.  The GPS satellite collars that we have placed on an individual in different herds and prides have a Geofence function which alerts us of a collared animal that is moving towards the boundary of the park into the adjacent community land. We then alert the leaders in the area to be vigilant and take precautions.

Recently we noted that two of our lions were on the boundary of the park and subsequently heading into the communal land.  We alerted the community and together with the National Park staff, the team went into the area and was able to chase the lions back into the park.

As well as protecting the community and their livestock, this proactive mitigation method protects the lions which could be poisoned by farmers who have lost livestock to lions and hyenas.  Sadly, when poisoning takes place a whole pride of lions or clan of hyena may be killed.

We will continue to put in place more mobile kraals to assist farmers in protecting their livestock at night.  To date not one attack has been made on this type of kraal.  Once farmers in the surrounding communities realize that we are assisting them and understand their problems, we find that the community is a lot more tolerant of wildlife.

There has not been a lot of new activity during the period covered by this report due to logistical problems.  However the mitigation measure we have so far put in place continue to help the communities surrounding Chizarira National Park.

The mobile livestock holding pens that we have deployed in various villages continue to be very successful in deterring spotted hyaena and lions from attacking cattle and goats kept in this facility.  Where these structures are not in place, villages continue to suffer from livestock deaths by predators coming from the Park.

The holding pens are made of opaque plastic that wildlife cannot see through.  The plastic sheeting is strung between poles and the livestock contained within.  To date no attacks against livestock have taken place where villagers are supplied with the mobile pens.

We have managed to purchase another mobile pen and the deployment of this in a village chosen by the Chief has been delayed due to transport limitations.

We are able to keep human-wildlife conflict to a minimum through other work we are doing namely collaring lions and elephants.  Whilst these projects are looking at various research and monitoring aspects, we are able to pre-warn villagers of elephants or lions approaching their villages (by monitoring the GPS locations given by the collars) thus giving the villagers time to put in place traditional mitigation measures such as fires around holding pens and crops, banging pots and drums, having dogs nearby etc.

In the next period before our next report, we hope to have at least two more villages set up with the mobile pens.

Due to the rapid human population growth and the encroachment of people along the boundaries of Protected Areas - and frequently into a protected area, human-wildlife conflicts are occurring more frequently. T

he African Lion and Environmental Research Trust (ALERT) has various mitigation measures in place in the communities surrounding the parks where we work. Whilst these measures (for example mobile predator proof livestock holding pens, flashing LED lights around traditional livestock pens) are definitely assisting in protecting livestock, our resources are limited and we can only help a small segment of the rural population.

Just recently the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority requested ALERT to assist them in dealing with lions that were killing cattle in the Mbelele villages south of the park. We set off with calling up equipment with the hopes that we could call up the lions causing the problem and dart them and translocate them back into the park. Although we stayed in the area (moving camp several times to where the latest lion footprints were seen) and did call-ups of cattle in distress in the hopes that the lions would come up, we were not successful.

We left a team behind when we had to head back to the park to continue to assess the situation. Fortunately, it appears that the lions have gone back into the park much to our relief. Often when lions kill livestock, they are destroyed through poisoning or are shot. We are pleased that the villagers and the Parks Authority considered using us to carry out non-lethal mitigation methods but we are mindful of the fact that more livestock holding pen and flashing lights around traditional pens will really be the long-term solution, coupled with the good will of the villagers who are affected.

ALERT has two major sites in Zimbabwe where we are carrying out human-wildlife conflict mitigation projects: one near Victoria Falls in an area known as Matetsi, and the other in the Communal lands north of Chizarira National Park. In both areas the villagers live a subsistence lifestyle and livestock plays a large role in the financial status of the communities.  Cattle and goats are looked at as potential funds for school fees, extra food, clothes etc., so killing of livestock by predators (lions and spotted hyaena primarily) are a major setback and in many cases is followed by retaliatory action which often results in the death of the predator.

Recently an extra predator-proof livestock holding pen was been set up in the Mucheni Ward just outside of the northern boundary of Chizarira National Park, whilst the flashing light system around holding kraals is being maintained in the Matetsi area. Both methods work well and has meant that the villagers see tangible efforts to mitigate potential predator problems.

Whilst it may be difficult for people in the west to appreciate just how local people here suffer by living alongside Protected Areas, with wildlife, we are very aware that by helping combat wildlife-human instances, we assist both the community and the wildlife. Thank you for your support.