Protecting the Big 5 in South Africa

Dear Supporters,

With the recent quarter two Global Domestic Product (GDP) announcements shared from the Statistics South Africa website, the effects of this tumultuous pandemic have now been officially put onto paper, and labelled a “severe punch in the gut” for South Africa’s economy. Recreation and culture, as well as restaurants and hotels took massive hits, with expenditure declines of 86% and 99.9% respectively. The government now warns that this pandemic could cost the jobs of 400,000 workers in the tourism industry alone.

The funds generated by tourism, which go on to support some 23 million livelihoods all but dried up during the harsh COVID-19 lockdown period. Wildlife-based ecotourism was estimated to be worth approximately R323 billion annually to South Africa’s GDP (2013), much of which contributed directly towards the management of protected areas. Many people think the lockdown and restriction of human movement around the world would benefit nature and be a step in the right direction. The unfortunate reality is that without international revenue being directly injected into South Africa’s conservation sectors through ecotourism, the biodiversity of our wildlife and the protection of their habitats is at serious risk. With lower conservation capacities and increased threats to wildlife and ecosystems, any positive outcomes that may have arisen during the lockdown will all be for nothing. 

GVI Limpopo have also felt the negative consequences of this pandemic, as our base here on Karongwe was unfortunately put into an inevitable hibernation period and all operations since March have all but come to a standstill. Just because we have no participants joining us on our daily monitoring and reserve work projects doesn’t mean the work has stopped though. Anti-poaching patrols have almost doubled since the lockdown, requiring additional funds to keep their vehicles on the road, which our Saving the South African Rhino fund has assisted with. We are also still in close communication with reserve management in regards to sharing wildlife information and reporting on the reserve, and assisting with locating our focus species where possible. Sadly we also had to hit the pause button on our camera trap project, delaying our hyena identification project across the reserve. From here, we hope that soon South Africa will lift the ban on international travel, of course with a high priority on health and safety protocols, so that we can once again welcome participants through our doors and begin our monitoring operations.

In the meantime, we are still continuing our fundraising efforts to finalise the purchase of the Wild Dog satellite collar, as they are due to be released onto the reserve any day now. From the 14th - 18th of September, the Little by Little Campaign is a five-day crowdfunding campaign designed to help all partners of GlobalGiving around the world cultivate a robust network of small-dollar donors. All eligible donations up to $50 per unique donor per organization will be matched at 50% during the campaign, and funds will not run out! Although it may seem insignificant, numerous contributions at lower amounts during this time could help us quickly reach our goal, so we appeal to our donors once more to help our cause and contribute directly towards the protection and monitoring of this endangered species.

Once again, from the bottom of our hearts we would like to thank all our sponsors and readers for following our conservation journey in the heart of the South African savanna. We hope wherever you are around the world that you are safe and well, and we look forward to reporting on more positive impact stories in the months to come!

Love, 

The GVI Karongwe Team

Dear Supporters,

As we’re progressively making our way through the crazy year that is 2020 so far, it’s important that we remember to reflect on the things that we can control – like still being able to make a positive impact in our small corner of the world. 

We are so excited to update our donors and readers on the great work we’ve been able to do in the field with the help of the GVI Trust, as well as our ongoing efforts to try and safely monitor the latest and greatest additions to the reserve!

Camera Trap Protection

An amazing effort was made by a previous participant of ours, Kendra Carano, who helped us raise over US$1000 over a short period of time in order to purchase seven missing camera trap cases so that all 52 of our camera traps in the field could be properly set up and protected! As you may recall, back in March 2019 our biggest sponsorship to date by René Koopman – owner of Imvubu Lodge on Karongwe, saw the purchase of over 40 camera traps to add to our surveying arsenal. 

Karongwe Hyena Report

Thanks to our primary camera trap study, which included 26 traps located in both the northern and southern areas of the reserve, our fantastic Science Officer Kayla was able to put together a progress report on what we’d discovered so far about our spotted elusive friends. So far, we have been able to identify five individuals by their spot patterns, including one new cub and some new additions to the Karongwe clan, as well as their favourite hang-out spots and some interesting behaviour at the dens. What’s more exciting is we managed to even capture images of a brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea) on the reserve!After sharing our report with partners and stakeholders in February, and the purchase of the missing camera trap cases, Kayla began the exciting first step into starting the pilot study of our spotted hyena camera trapping project by placing camera traps within a pre-set grid in the field, as well as at known hyena hot spots and old den sites. The results we obtained before we sadly had to push the pause button on our project already showed some very promising data, and we look forward to getting straight back into it once our program can open its doors once more.

Satellite Collar Fundraiser

The newest edition to GVI’s track-able animals consists of a small pack of Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) soon to be released on the reserve from the safety of a boma. GVI are responsible for tracking our focus species on the reserve, twice a day every day - namely the male lion, the cheetah brother coalition, as well as the female cheetah. The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), who GVI already work quite closely with in conjunction with the cheetah metapopulation project, have recommended the use of satellite collars, rather than VHF radio collars. This is especially important when you are tracking elusive species such as the Wild Dog, who can be fast-moving and cover large distances quickly! With the help of the GVI Trust, we are fundraising to purchase the much-needed satellite collar, something you can imagine does not come cheap - but is a crucial piece of equipment which will ensure the safety and protection of this endangered species. Our target includes the collar itself, as well as the servicing fee for 12 months with 3 hourly readings a day!

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help us reach our target and contribute back towards the conservation and monitoring of species that desperately need our help.

Once again, from the bottom of our hearts we would like to thank all our sponsors and readers following our conservation journey in the heart of the South African savanna. Without your help we would not be able to conduct effective research and monitoring of our endangered and vulnerable species on the reserve.

Love, 

The GVI Karongwe Team