2017 11 wp

November | 11

November 2017

From the editors desk Last Month’s Top Shot Winner Facebook Cover Shot Winner Volunteer Encounters Ranger’s Report

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Community Focus

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Photography Reflections Photography Focus

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Research Update Research Focus

Marvin Mechelse, Photography Volunteer, Germany

One of the most beautiful aspects about Dumela Lodge is that everybody here is passionate and enthusiastic about their job and role. However, one person took this to a whole new level, bringing a constant uplifting energy and fun spirit to any activity she was involved in – whether it was being on drive, ecology or education.

Angele Rouillard had been guiding for Dumela Lodge for almost two years and the impact she made not only on the volunteers she worked with, but also the staff, was absolutely undeniable. She was beyond passionate and excelled at every aspect of her role whilst seeking other challenges and then in turn, excelling at those too – art and photography being very notable.

Although it’s sad to see her move on, it’s always a great pleasure to watch those so close to our hearts take bigger and more daring steps down their chosen career path and we wish her nothing but the absolute best in what life can offer her.

Samuel Cox Photography Coordinator England Subscribe by mailing: warthogpost@africanimpact.com to keep yourself updated with the latest news!

Cover shot: Chase and Flight – Samuel Cox, Second Photographer, England

Research Volunteer Before coming to this project we didn’t know what to expect – there’s the fear of the unknown and the excitement to take new steps in our lives that few others have the chance to do.

For me, Alex, my friends were talking about going to college and it was intimidating that everyone had their own future plans sorted, whereas I was just going somewhere for an experience. However, now I feel like I’ve found what I truly want to do, which is simply doing whatever I wish to do without comparing to others. I’m proud of my decisions and I can’t imagine anyone telling me about a more incredible experience that they’ve had in school.

Before arriving here, I had no idea that I would be involved with the community. I was terrified. I’m not great with children by any means, or at least I had never felt that way.

Since being here I’ve found a completely new type of rewarding experience that not only benefits me but the children at the schools as well. One of my favorite memories was being given drawings with nice messages by the children. Community projects here were definitely a pleasant surprise for me.

And for me, Yann, I’m very satisfied to have discovered another aspect of this world, another way of life and a totally different environment. Some do not leave the classrooms, others can discover and learn for themselves with the school of life.

Background

The White Backed Vulture is rarer than previously believed. Its conservation status was reassessed from Least Concern to Near Threatened in the 2007 IUCN Red List.

In 2012 it was further up listed to Endangered.

In October 2015, its status was changed to Critically Endangered because the ongoing decline is more severe than previously thought

Research Volunteer

Background

Klaserie, one of the reserves in which we go on drive, is one of the most magnificent parts of the whole experience. Plunged in the middle of the nature, alongside wild animals and spending the night in a small magical camp. Every week we spent 24 hours completely cut off from the technological world; an experience literally without barriers‌ After 8 weeks, we can say that the highlight of this project is the variety of it all. Learning so much about things, big and small, and enjoying yourself so much that you do not even realize you’re learning. Gaining appreciation for the environment around us that we did not expect. It is certain that we will have plenty of anecdotes to tell and facts to teach to others. Not to mention creating such close friendships, which has made this experience even more enjoyable.

In conclusion, African Impact is giving and receiving, but above all delivered an enriching, mature and incredible experience. Thank you for everything!

Alex Langsam & Yann Kozel, Research Volunteers USA and Switzerland

The African pygmy kingfisher is distributed widely in Africa south of the Sahara, where it is a common resident and intra-African migrant. It is absent from much of the horn of Africa , and also the drier western regions of Southern Africa, It is found in woodland, savanna and coastal forest, it is not bound to water. It is usually found either singly or in pairs and is secretive and unobtrusive.

Sasekile Gardens

Q&A with:

Portia

Why did you join Sasekile Gardens?

Because I love agriculture and farming.

What is your favourite part about gardening?

Planting and seeing the plant growing.

What is your favourite crop to grow?

Beetroot because it grows fast.

What will you do with the harvests?

I plan to sell it.

One thing you have learnt from the project?

To start your own business

Four months after the start of Sasekile Gardens, the hard work of everyone has paid off! The gardeners have harvested 68kg of beetroots, green peppers, onions, tomatoes and spinach which were either sold to the community or to Dumela lodge. A lot of vegetables are still growing and will be harvested in the coming months allowing them to then calculate how much income they earnt.

In order to be able to mentor new gardeners, Portia, Bheki, Remember and Taelo have started to develop leading skills. They are guiding the volunteers through their own plots and explain how to take care of the different vegetables. This exercise will build up their confidence and will help us assess how much they learnt and their progress.

Reading Club Reading tests have started in both primary schools were Reading Club is conducted. It is highly rewarding to see how the students progressed - compared to the previous tests - and are more and more confident in their reading abilities. The couple of comprehension tests done are also encouraging, showing that the great work and implication of all the volunteers is an essential component of the children’s success. As a physical reward, certificates are handed over to the students to encourage them reading books. Some of them have already read more than 30 books, something that would have not been possible without Reading Club.

The Greater Kruger region of South Africa experiences severe unemployment, with 15-24 year olds making up 70% of all those unemployed in Mpumalanga. The cycle of poor education, poverty and health issues create an environment in which communities struggle to escape.

Even if the youth in the area receive an education they are often without the skills to be able to get jobs and create a stable income. This further contributes to the unemployment in the area and an increase in poverty levels. Our goal is to equip young adults to theoretically and practically apply their skills to a career and identify and establish entrepreneurial opportunities. We will create a community garden to help local community members sustain themselves and their families and increase income generation.

To help out, visit www.happyafricafoundation. org/ donate

Environmental Club During Environmental Club, we covered the first theme – ‘what is the environment’. The children could express themselves by creating a mind map of their environment. They also used their energy to play a game that required team work and cooperation to build up the healthiest environment.

The volunteers participated as well and had to keep up with the children’s speed, which wasn’t always easy! During another session, to help them consider other point of view and how their actions can affect others (humans or animals), they learnt a song. It was great seeing them building up confidence step by step and being able to tackle the stress to sing in front of everyone.

Marine Servonnat Community Coordinator France

We started our successful Pub Quizzes again! The Happy Africa Foundation is crucial to the success of our projects here in Kruger through supporting the projects with the necessary financial funds. The money for it is mainly coming from generous donors and former volunteers who would like to make an even bigger impact than they already made through volunteering with African Impact.

But there is also another source that is raising money for our projects and facilitating our job on the ground, which is event planning. One of these events is our monthly Pub Quiz, held in the Bush Pub & Inn on Timbavati Road. Due to a lack of time and human resources it was not possible to plan these Pub Quizzes earlier this year, but now we are back! On October 6th we kicked-off our first Pub Quiz for this year and it was a great success! It was a fun evening for all the participants, including some very tricky questions and the chance to receive a rolling cash price for the winning team!

All profits from the evening went directly to one of our projects, this time we raised money for our Leopard Conservation Project. Our next Bush Pub Quiz is going to take place on November 3rd in order to support our Sasekile Garden Project and our Farmers of the Future!

Melanie Frauenlob, THAF Intern, Austria

Backgrounds

Embracing the Night Don’t Be Discouraged Getting fantastic results with any form of experimental photography can take a long time – it very rarely happens straight away.

However, don’t let the frustrations get the better of you and keep practising – use each failure as a ? to learn stepping stone from the mistakes and move forward.

You can get some incredible imagery by thinking outside the box and pushing your camera and yourself; so keep at it!

Night drives are a fascinating and exciting experience. Being enshrouded in darkness with only a spotlight floating from side to side as a guiding visual keeps you on the edge of your seat; you never know what’s round the corner.

Being out on drive at night is essential if we’re to get sightings of nocturnal animals and predators, which are more active at night. Porcupines, aardvarks, honey badgers – these things are next to impossible to see in daylight, so being out at night greatly increases our chances.

However, it can also be a frustrating experience. A complete lack of light makes photography dramatically more challenging and an incredible sighting doesn’t mean incredible photographs.

Different cameras and lenses dictate different low light capabilities, but just because it’s a challenge doesn’t mean we should shy away from it. We should aim to embrace it, take on the challenge and only that way will we not only improve our night photography but also put ourselves into the positions to get rare sightings.

The important tip, however, is not to let yourself get frustrated. This is a very tricky type of photography and it’s more important to enjoy and appreciate any given sighting than let technology get the better of us.

Samuel Cox Photography Coordinator England

Backgrounds We, Mark and I (Ruth) have different backgrounds concerning the macro photography. So we decided that both of us would write some information from our different points of view.

Ruth’s experience: Thanks to the Photography Project of African Impact, I had the opportunity to learn more about macro photography and an absolutely amazing new world opened up. You see details of flowers and small animals you would never discover otherwise.

The colours, forms and details are really astonishing, even a spider looks interesting through the camera!

The tips and tricks of the professional photographers were really very helpful and I made substantial progress.

This kind of photography forces you to open your eyes and look closer to the small things in this world.

I will surely buy a new “toy” when I arrive back home: a macro lens. You don't have to go far away to take interesting macro photographs. My own garden or the one of my neighbours will be perfect places for taking pictures with my new macro lens.

The water monitor is one of the most striking members of the Reptile family and is second in size only to the Nile crocodile. Including the tail, large adults can reach lengths of up to nearly 2.5 meters. Its body is adorned with beautiful yellow patterning, aiding it to be well camouflaged in its preferred habitat close to bodies of water and reed beds. Although usually found close to water, these monitors are not water dependent and will actively forage for food on land, travelling large distances from water if need be.

Animal of the Month: White Tailed Mongoose

Mark’s experience: I’m now continuing to discover and respect the “little world” more and more and my macro lens helps me to do that. Whilst here on the photography project, I also found myself continuing this genre of wildlife photography in my own time.

The largest of all mongooses, the white-tailed mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda) is a slender and long-legged carnivore that takes its name from its white-tipped, bushy, tapering tail (which can be black tipped in west Africa).

Other than its black legs, the white-tailed mongoose is largely mottled grey in colour, with light-coloured, woolly underfur mixed with longer, black, coarse guard hairs.

The white-tailed mongoose has a distinct humped appearance, due to the hind legs being longer than the front legs.

I like the beautiful colors of flowers and all the small insects that move in nature. That most people have no interest or even any respect for this “little world” is sucha shame as you discover a lot of new and vibrant colors and creatures that you’ve simply never seen before.

It’s possible to do it everywhere; in your garden, even in?your house or in a local park, …..

During my time here with African Impact, I had a the possibilities to practice and refine my macro photography and with some tips and tricks from professional photographer, Sam, was this a great experience.

We, Ruth and Mark, like the macro photography and we will develop it further when we are at home again. Ruth will buy a new macro lens. I’ve planned already a trip to a local forest to take pictures of different mushrooms. Let’s continue with practicing!

Ruth Bachmann & Mark Mertens, Volunteer Photographers

Photography Volunteer

The

Under-exposing Don’t underestimate the power of Lightroom and how under / over-exposing your images can give extra leeway to your pictures.

Under-exposing a landscape, for example, will give you much more detail and atmosphere to your cloudy skies.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve fantasized about coming to Africa - back then ‘Africa’ was apparently one big country in my mind - of seeing the big, fascinating animals that you ever only saw in movies. That dream has stayed with me, alongside with a growing passion for photography. So when I found the African Impact Wildlife Photography course in South Africa, it was the perfect opportunity to combine my passion for capturing unique moments with a lifelong dream. And boy, did my dream come true! Not only did I get to go to the fantasy land of my dreams, but I also experienced way more of the South African vibe that I could ever have dreamed of.

My African adventure long gone overdid my childhood dream. And on top of watching more animals than I could ever have imagined, gaining so much photography knowledge and putting it into practice in the most spectacular surroundings, I got the chance to meet amazing people from all over the world, who each gave something special to the full experience.

From my time with African Impact in ZA, I will bring back so much. Not only have I learned that South Africa is just one of many African countries, I have also gained a lot of knowledge in general about a completely different part of the world. I have been blessed with the chance to live a totally different life for four amazing weeks, where I have learned a lot, of which I will do my very best to implement in my daily life back home.

Backgrounds

The photography project has only served to further wet my appetite. Not only for wildlife photography, but for photography in general and getting out there, and taking pictures of our amazing world. The cherry on the cake, and an invaluable asset, was all the people I met. It’s amazing to get the chance to meet people from all over the world and I feel so lucky to have met all of these outstanding individuals. So, I don’t just go back with cool pictures, a nice tan, and a bad ass stamp in my passport, but with and unforgettable experience filled with so much laughter, smiles and a genuine feeling of pure happiness.

Joining African Impact at Dumela Lodge in South Africa has without a doubt been one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had. My childhood dream has come true and way more, and I can only recommend you to pack your bags, grab your camera gear, positive attitude and a big smile and book your trip to Dumela Lodge in ZA. I know I will be coming back.

The yellow-billed kite is the Afrotropic counterpart of the black kite, of which it is most often considered a subspecies.

Anne Poulsen Volunteer Photographer, Denmark

However, recent DNA studies suggest that the yellow-billed kite differs significantly from black kites in the Eurasian clade, and should be considered as a separate, allopatric] species.

Character Defining

As an animal enthusiast, I was very excited to participate in the Big 5 Research program.

Shockingly, after my first week I’d already seen four out of the famous Big 5, so by the time week 2 came around I was really hoping to catch the fifth: the elusive leopard. Alas, they are as aloof as they are known to be, but the saving grace to my second Klaserie trip was the sighting of a lifetime something even few of the most experienced guides and researchers have seen before - a new-born elephant.

We came across a herd of 28 elephants, big and small, spread out in the dense bush, feeding and resting and doing elephant things. At this point we had identified a number of females who were gathered in a cluster, when the tiniest little elephant peeked out from behind its kneeling mother.

Whilst our hearts simultaneously melted at the incredible sighting, our guide pointed out the dried blood caked on its ears and back, as well as the blood stains on its mother’s hind legs and trunk.

With all of the dried blood and the exhausted female who remained on the ground despite our presence, our knowledgeable guide concluded that she had given birth to the infant within the last 24 hours.

Keep an eye out for smaller details and behaviours which are unique and can define certain animals.

For example, the ways buffalo grind their bottom jaw from side to side, can lead to some odd and somewhat comical images, especially when you consider how that contrasts against their angsty disposition.

A lot of animals carry these characteristics and features, so be on the look out for anything that make your photo stand out.

To properly understand population densities and distributions of leopards we must conduct camera trap surveys, record spoor and signs of predator presence.

Ultimately, this focused research is vital to the development of sustainable conservation solutions that will protect the future of this iconic apex predator.

Sign up for regular giving or a one – off donation below to help support the protection and better understanding of leopards in Southern Africa. https://www.globalgiving.org/p rojects/leopard-research/

The infant elephant, incapable of even walking properly, stuck close to its mother while experimenting with its trunk and attempted to feed. Just as we realized what a rare and precious moment we had witnessed, the mother picked up the placenta that was laying on the ground with her trunk and started whipping it back and forth, before eventually placing it on her forehead.

No one knew what exactly she was doing, but it’s definitely something none of us had ever seen before.

THE PROBLEM OF RHINO POACHING

The infant was obviously intrigued by the ten monkey-like creatures holding shiny black tubes and making clicking noises towards it, so it began stumbling around the rest of its family, trying to get a better look at us. The herd, including its mother who had been lying on the ground this whole time, immediately tensed up and surrounded the infant to protect it. They stood in a circle with every member facing outwards and enclosed the vulnerable young within their wall of defense. The new mother stood directly in front of us and stared with threatening eyes; she was going to protect her baby no matter how tired she was. Without a doubt, this was our cue to leave the herd. Not enough time in the world would’ve been enough to observe this amazing group dynamic, but we know that the infant will grow up and continue to learn in a nurturing environment with the help from its tightknit family.

Michelle Huang, Research Volunteer, China

Backgrounds The rains are here! We have had a deluge of rain which has brought the bush back to life. From my favorite, the dung beetles to the slinky millipedes and snakes, everything has come out to celebrate the impending springtime.

Not only do our projects focus on the Big 5 but on the diversity of life in the wild. From birds of prey to giraffes, we monitor a wide range of ecologically important species which allows us to understand more about the environment around us.

The leopard is the smallest of the four Big Cats, but is probably the most powerful pound-for-pound.

They have amazingly strong necks and shoulders, and are able to carry prey often heavier than themselves (up to twice their weight), high up into the branches of trees where other predators can't reach. The leopard's climbing ability sets it apart from the other big cats and has made it the most successful of the group as far as its numbers in the wild.

Through projects like the African Raptor Databank we record raptor sightings on many endangered species like the white-backed vulture, throughout the Greater Kruger area.

The ARDB aims to ascertain the conservation status of raptors and their habitats across Africa, and to help build the local expertise needed to monitor these indicator species in the future and implement a sound strategy for their effective safeguarding. We recorded 149 sightings this month to assist with their efforts through recording nest, counts, locations, sex and age breakdowns to better understand the areas most needed for these essential species.

GCF or the Giraffe Conservation Foundation is the sole NGO to focus only on giraffe conservation and management.

Their goal is to raise awareness on the continued decline in the giraffe populations throughout Africa. Surprisingly we know very little about this iconic species which is why we have decided to support this wonderful organization through research on group dynamics of fenced giraffe populations. We have been hard at work creating ID kits on our giraffe to determine the interactions between different individuals. With the 73 IDs created to date we hope to look into the group structures of these misunderstood creatures.

Taylor Bates, Research Manager USA

“Let’s Talk About Poo…” The

Have you ever noticed the amount of animal dung scattered about in the bush? It may seem unsanitary (it isn’t, as most animals don’t defecate where they eat), however if you know what you are looking for, animal faeces can tell you a lot!

Dung (herbivores) and scat (carnivores), tells a story about the animal that left it behind. Colour, shape, consistency and even the smell can help you identify the species, when the animals came through the area, and even the position of the poo in relation to the location can tell you why. But more importantly, dung plays a number of important roles within the greater ecosystem, as not only does it produce rich fertiliser containing essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that enrich the soil, but also facilitates seed dispersal and germination. Furthermore, faeces play a vital role in intraspecies communication, facilitating the ability to convey the sex, relative age, health, sexual status and territorial boundaries to each other over time and distance (an animal’s equivalent of Facebook!).

Copraphagia (the consumption of faecal matter) is practiced by a number of animals for various reasons. Young herbivores, such as white Rhino’s, will eat their mother’s faeces in order to gain the bacterial cultures that pass through the digestive tract, to help them digest fibrous material. Scrub hare’s have short digestive tracts, therefore do not absorb all the nutrients from their food so will eat their own faeces to maximise their nutrient intake. The Leopard Tortoise will eat Spotted Hyena scat to obtain the calcium and phosphorous missing from their diet. Dung beetles rely solely on dung for all their dietary needs through all stages of their life cycle (hence their name).

The

Humans have found ways to use animal faeces to their advantage over the centuries. For example; the African Elephant only digests approximately 45% of their food, the waste product is mostly fibre and is often used to make paper. One elephant can generate enough dung to make 115 pages of paper a day. Dried Bat guano (faeces) consists mainly of saltpetre (potassium nitrate) which is material used in gunpowder and explosives. Up until World War 1 bat caves were an essential resource for the materials.

Crocodile dung was recommended by the ancient Egyptians as a spermicide (birth control method).

Next time you are in the bush see if you can identify the different species by their dung, some interesting poo to look out for may include the Spotted Hyena, Black and White Rhino’s, Impala, Elephants and Jackals to name a small few. And who can forget the tradition of Impala poo spitting? Ask your Guide about that one the next time you are out on drive‌

Katie Adams, Guide England

November | 11

November 2017

Just uploaded to our stock site

Mark Mertens, Photography Volunteer, Belgium

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