Bangweulu - where the Water meets the Sky

BANGWEULU –

where the Water meets the Sky [ WRITER: Sarah Kingdom ] [ PHOTOS: Linde Meintjes, Patrick Bentley ]

We wake to the cry of a fish eagle, and I’m reminded of what explorer and missionary David Livingstone is said to have remarked in Bangweulu almost 150 years ago… “it is as though the large black and white predator were calling to someone in another world.” This was shortly before, exhausted by a gruelling eight-month trek through the swamps, searching for the source of the Nile, he knelt beside his bed to pray and died. Livingstone’s heart was buried, beneath a mpundu tree, near the edge of the Bangweulu Swamps, his body was carried to the coast and sent back to England where it was ultimately buried in Westminster Abbey.

We are in Shoebill Island Camp, nestled in a grove of quinine trees, on a tiny island in the Bangweulu Wetlands. We’ve woken early, to paddle from the camp to the floodplains, to see the endemic black lechwe, who call this unique wetland home. We reach the floodplains just as the sun peeks over the horizon, turning the sky from grey to pink. As we stand on the causeway that runs through the middle of the floodplains, there are thousands of lechwe, as far as the eye can see, barely visible in the early morning mist. Having come into the water overnight for safety, the lechwe are now heading slowly back towards the tree line, grazing on nutrient rich semiaquatic grasses as they go. We’ve come to the Bangweulu Wetlands, in north-eastern Zambia, specifically to see the black lechwe, as well as the wetland’s two other flagship species, the shoebill and wattled crane.

Black lechwe are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and their numbers have sadly plummeted drastically. Fifty years ago, more than half a million black lechwe could be found in Bangweulu. An aerial census in 1983 estimated the population had plummeted to 35,000. Fortunately, in 2008 African Parks began working in Bangweulu, and since then black lechwe numbers have steadily increased, currently standing at over 50,000.

The Bangweulu Wetlands spreads across 6,000km2. This is an extraordinary, communityowned, protected wetland, with a diverse ecosystem of floodplains, seasonally flooded grasslands, miombo woodlands and permanent swamps; making it one of Africa’s most important wetlands. The area is home to both wildlife and up to about 50,000 people. Bangweulu is unique in terms of wildlife conservation, in that it is made up of Game Management Areas, where community members are permitted to sustainably harvest natural resources. ‘Sustainability’ has not always been the case though. Relentless poaching had exterminated several large mammal species, not only decimating the black lechwe population, but also leaving only a tiny remnant of once healthy populations of buffalo, elephant and hartebeest. Over population, overfishing, and unsustainable pressure on wildlife, ultimately led local Community Resource Boards and the Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife, to enter into a long-term agreement with African Parks, to sustainably manage and protect the area’s natural resources.

The Bangweulu Wetlands are home to an abundance of birds, including 400 of globally significant migratory and resident birds. But the ‘jewel in the crown’ is definitely the shoebill. We spend our first afternoon on a shoebill ‘hunt’. Cheating a little, we head for a rescued shoebill who, having become habituated to humans, is usually fairly easy to find near a local fishing village. On the way to find it we hear a little of the bird’s history. Poachers had taken the baby chick from its nest and, removing it from the swamps, were actively trying to sell it when they were apprehended. The chick was confiscated and returned to the wetlands, where it is being nurtured by rangers until ready for release back into the wild.

Heading to where the rescued bird had last been seen, our guide stands at the front of the canoe, long pole in hand, propelling us through the narrow channels in the thick reeds and papyrus. With large numbers of people living seasonally in the swamps, we pass numerous small settlements. Music blares, children laugh and play, men talk, and women do the ‘chores’, which can’t be easy, given the very basic living conditions, and being permanently surrounded by water on all sides.

When we find it, the shoebill is lying on top of an ant-hill on the outskirts of a fishing settlement. We anchor the canoe at the edge of the channel and we climb overboard, wading through the knee deep water to get a little closer. We don’t get too close, though I think if we had wanted to, it would have just about let us walk up and pat it on the head! Seeing us, the shoebill stands up, preens a little, flaps his wings experimentally, and displays some fancy footwork, all before lying down again and apparently falling asleep. We splash back to the canoe and head back to camp. Shoebills are endangered, the IUCN estimates global populations of these amazing bird to numbers somewhere between 3,300 and 5,300, and these numbers are decreasing. The area of the Bangweulu Wetlands currently protected by African Parks is home to somewhere between 300 and 500 of these birds, and we were very fortunate to see not only this rescued shoebill, but several more during our visit.

As we sit by the fire after dinner that night, millions of stars sparkle overhead and countless fire flies flit in the shadows outside the circle of

firelight. We can hear hyenas in the distance. We can also hear music and chatter from a nearby fishing village.

The next morning we head out again. First spending time with another shoebill, this one barely 20 minutes from camp. He stands and watches us for a while and then, with his large, splotchy, sharp edged bill, he forages in a channel opened up by local fishermen. A teenage boy arrives to repair some fishing nets that have been damaged by a hippo the previous evening. The shoebill stands watching the boy too. Only once the boy has finished repairs, and starts walking a little closer, does the shoebill, with a powerful leap and a few heavy wing beats, take to the air and fly away. We carry on paddling, and around a few more bends we find several wattled cranes and stop to watch. Wattled cranes are the rarest of Africa’s crane species and numbers are in decline. The future of wattled cranes in Africa may well depend on Zambia. With large breeding and flocking grounds in the Bangweulu Wetlands (and also in Kafue Flats, Busanga Plains and Liuwa Plains) Zambia is home to more than half of the global population of these incredible birds. Bangweulu itself holds 10% of the world’s wattled crane population. The future looks a little bleak for these cranes, though this was easy to forget as we saw pair after pair of the long legged, bare faced, black capped birds, with their distinctive long white necks and white wattles dangling at their throats.

Having had such success with our shoebill hunt and wattled crane watching, we paddle back to camp for lunch. As we eat, we looked up and see yet another shoebill soaring overhead, his long legs and distinctive large bill silhouetted against the bright blue sky. Bangweulu Wetlands is a successful model of community driven conservation. A project designed to ensure both people and wildlife equally benefit from the area’s incredible natural resources. When Africa Parks began working here overpopulation was a colossal problem. With approximately 50,000 people living legally within its boundaries, and 100,000 more living in the surrounding areas, poaching, over fishing and the cutting of trees for charcoal was a big problem. The entry of African Parks saw the implementation of wildlife education, reproductive health and beekeeping programmes. Rangers were employed to patrol, remove snares, and confiscate illegally caught fish and poached game meat. Africa Parks has also successfully translocated large numbers of animals into Bangweulu, including zebra, impala, buffalo and, in 2020, cheetah were released back into the area, with more due later this year. Tourism has been a focus, with two community camps (Nkondo and Nsobe) being opened, as well as the fabulous Shoebill Island Camp (under the management of Remote Africa Safaris).

The long-term sustainability of Bangweulu, one of Africa’s most extraordinary and important wetlands, will depend on continuing to build, and maintain, successful partnerships with the local communities. This is without a doubt a place worth conserving and visiting.

For bookings at Shoebill Island Camp contact www.remoteafrica.com/camp/shoebill-islandcamp/ and for enquiries and accommodation through African Parks contact www.africanparks.org/the-parks/bangweulu.