IWR-CWR Donates GPS Units to Parks and Wildlife Department

IWR-CWR Donates GPS Units to Parks and Wildlife Department

Due to vast area that we have to patrol and the significant amount of mortalities due to the lack of water. IWR-Chobe Wildlife Rescue donated 10 GPS Garmin Etrex units.

This will assist us in pinpointing location of wounded or sick wildlife and also mortalities so that we can quickly and efficiently arrive on scene once they are located by officers on foot or vehicle patrols. This saves a lot of time wasted looking in an area animal was seen so response is effective.

Mudholes Drought Elephant and Buffalo Rescued

Mudholes Drought Elephant and Buffalo Rescued

Always something new every day. It's the height of the dry season. There is no food near the river and animals have to come in every day to drink. It’s a twist of fate that these 2 unfortunates should have to get caught in the few mud puddles that are found near the river bank. It's where animals love to wallow and have mud baths to cool themselves off, and coat their skin so that external parasites are removed when the mud dries and falls off. Natures dip.

The buffalo had been in the mud hole for over 2 days before we were informed. It took intensive treatment with 8 litres of fluids, antibiotics and Antiinflamatories and the final bottle of calcium Borogluconate which did the trick. It was cooled off with water and left to recuperate.

A second call, 80 kilometres away, found this poor elephant almost totally immersed in a mud hole. Its trunk was fortunately not buried yet. After much effort and breaking 4 tow ropes we managed to pull him out. Antibiotics and Anti-inflamatories were injected and he drank over 100 litres of water, that we gave him by hand. We rolled him over, after he gave me a nasty whack with his tusk and bruising my leg.

In a few hours both animals stood up and survived to live another day. Blood samples were taken from both for our ever growing database. Many thanks to my park team and the Botswana Defence Force which responded to assist with the elephant.

At 43 degrees centigrade we all went home for a well deserved bath and rehydration.

Please let the rains come.

Anthrax and waterholes

Anthrax and waterholes

Busy days in the park attending cases. This time of year it is so dry that the elephants have to sometimes walk 20 to 50 kilometres a day away from theChobe riverfront, the only source of water, to feed and then back to drink. Every day... This is also the time of the year that the soil is eroded by the thousands of animals coming to drink that the dreaded disease of Anthrax which remains in the soil in its encapsulated state can become a problem. Many animals just suddenly drop dead from this deadly bacterium. This year there have been the usual mortalities. All carcasses when found are immediately burned to destroy the possibility of Anthrax being spread. Needles to say our extremely efficient parks and Wildlife department spends most of their time collecting firewood in the tedious job which is nonstop during this very dry season. We all pray for rain to soak the parched ground and bring new growth of foliage for animals to eat and greatly reduce the incidence of this deadly disease. Oddly enough all carcases tested to date have been negative for anthrax. So there has not been one confirmed case. One starts to look for other causes now. I believe it may be the extreme heat dehydrating these individuals and the possibility of another disease. Blood samples are sent to the state laboratory and I always do blood smears in house after letting the sample sit for 5 days so spores can form and be visible under the microscope. Today I noticed small inclusions in the red blood cells that are very similar to anaplasmosis in cattle. This is a tick borne disease that is prevalent in the area and we will be doing investigations into this being the possibility for these acute deaths.

One is to congratulate the efforts of the Parks department in building several artificially pumped water points at strategic points in the park. Animals are now frequenting these and not having to travel all the way to the river. Kudos to all personnel involved in the wonderful step that have undertaken in the management of the Chobe Park

Wounded leopard Kavimba

Wounded leopard Kavimba

Trip to CH1 (250km round trip over bad roads) to relocate leopard. Report came in that there was a leopard in one of the tents. Mr Gadimang and crew drove out there. There was a leopard in tent but was not active. I darted it with Zoletil and dragged it out of tent. It had been shot by camp staff as it was going in to the food tent. They did not go in and finish it off so leopard suffered for 2 days. I’m happy camp staff could not get to their food for that time. They should have told the truth of what happened before we responded