By Leah Brown | Program Manager
Dear Supporters
Breathe in, breathe out. Where did the last three months go? We have been a busy bunch here at GVI Limpopo. We recently introduced a female cheetah to the reserve and we have kickstarted our large-scale camera trapping project.
The new girl on the block
Just one week ago, a new female cheetah was released on Karongwe. The species overall are in decline across the world, with the IUCN Red List reporting a staggering 7100 remaining. Fortunately reserves such as Karongwe have joined forces with local conservation bodies and will not watch this species dip into further decline. The successful release of this female and subsequent mating with our resident males will add valuable new genetics to the South African population.
GVI will continue to monitor this female long after her release to gain valuable information about how she utilises the reserve, the first meeting with the male cheetah coalition and down the line, the success or failure of her litters.
Camera trapping the spotties
We have received almost half of our sponsored camera traps, with the remainder on their way from the United States. Since their arrival the team have been busy programming and testing them on the reserve, ready for the real deal. Our incredibly clever Science Officer, Kayla, has also created a grid to cover the entire reserve, which details exactly where we need to place each trap in order to avoid bias and to collect accurate data.
Once the remainder of the traps have arrived, we will deploy 42 cameras out to the reserve within our grid. These traps will be checked weekly in small groups to ensure the project is manageable. We are incredibly excited to start capturing images of the more secretive species, especially our spotted and brown hyena. Ideally, we will soon be able to locate den sites of our hyena, which will be monitored personally by GVI staff and volunteers to collect further behavioural and ecological data.
Your support of this fund ensures that the GVI Limpopo team is able to continue to be an active presence within this natural space. Thank you, thank you, we are looking forward to bringing you further updates from the field.
With Love,
The Karongwe team
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