New K9 Unit in KZN locates poisoned vulture carcasses within first month of operation

A new K9 unit, established by Project Rhino to stop wildlife crime, has immediately been put to work effectively in the Zululand district of KwaZulu-Natal, locating a number of carcasses of critically endangered white-backed vultures. Vultures are regularly poisoned for illegal use in the traditional medicine market, with population numbers plummeting in recent years. The carcasses were located near the town of Hluhluwe, an area at the centre of the wildlife conservation efforts in the province.

Project Rhino, an association of like-minded organisations established in 2011 that facilitates vital rhino conservation interventions, has launched a specialised wildlife crime dog unit to support KwaZulu-Natal game reserves. In just 3 weeks, the Project Rhino K9 Unit has been present at SAPS road blocks, reserve vehicle checks and night patrols.

“Dogs have proved to be an essential tool to fight wildlife crime by tracking down poachers, detecting wildlife products and recovering illegal weapons and ammunition. Project Rhino has been working towards implementing a dog unit that will service the needs of reserves, functioning effectively within the unique Zululand landscape. We hope to grow the team, using trained and certified tracking dogs to assist in tracking and locating suspects as well as gathering important intelligence.” says Chris Galliers, the Project Rhino coordinator.

The province has, to date, lost over 200 rhino this year, compared to 162 rhino in 2016. Poaching methods are always changing, and so counter-poaching interventions need to adapt. Project Rhino recently responded with the development and implementation of The Project Rhino K9 Unit which aims to assist Zululand member rhino reserves, which includes private, state and community owned reserves, with an additional law enforcement tool. This vital unit will need approximately R1,200,000 in funding to run over the next year.

Mali, a three year old Malinois (Belgian Shepard), is the certified detection dog who works with his qualified handler who has over 26 years experience in conservation law enforcement. Together, they are highly effective in searching suspects, crime scenes, buildings, vehicles and outdoor locations.

“In my experience, dogs are very useful, especially in areas where people cannot see tracks from poachers. Dogs at the gates are also very helpful for detecting ammunition and rhino horn.” Musa Mbatha, assistant reserve manager at Phinda Private Game Reserve.

Under the Project Rhino K9 Unit in partnership with Dunadventures Africa and WESSA Lowveld, operating exclusively in Hluhluwe/iMfolozi Park, is another dog unit. This unit, consisting of five dogs, each performing a specific function, has had some significant successes in the past year.

Project Rhino K9 Unit aims to provide a positive image for conservation law enforcement efforts in the region, and hopes its presence will assist greatly in deterring those involved in illegal wildlife activities.

If you would like to contribute to the funding of this project, or would like to assist with veterinary supplies or dog food – please visit this link or contact us: https://www.generosity.com/animal-pet-fundraising/project-rhino-k9-unit/x/17822919

To find out more information on the K9 Unit as well as various projects with Project Rhino – visit http://www.projectrhinokzn.org/.

WATCH this short clip to find out more about the K9 Unit:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7keUCZDsv4&feature=youtu.be

Contact: admin@projectrhinokzn.org

Photos attached: Photo credit Chris Galliers.

BLUE ARMY MOBILISES TO NURDLE DISASTER

On the 19th of October 2017, during a particularly intense storm, 2 ships collided in Durban Harbour and at least 49 tons of plastic nurdles were lost into the Port from the MSC Susanna and subsequently into the ocean. This is the largest plastic pollution event in South Africa’s history, with over 2 000 000 000 plastic pellets being released. The initial response to this event was very slow. Authorities focused on recovering the ships that had broken loose in the harbour, clearing debris and restoring Port operations. Within a few days, the SAAMBR team (South African Association for Marine Biological Research), who are based close to the Port, started noticing significant volumes of nurdle pellets washing up on the local beaches. They also began receiving calls from concerned residents, querying the sudden appearance of thousands of plastic pellets on the beaches, estuaries and in the surf zone. The SAAMBR team then launched an awareness and action campaign that has galvanized one of the largest plastic clean-up efforts in South Africa’s history.

“It was so encouraging to see the response of local people. From pre-school teachers to surfers, dog walkers to the media, many people responded to our call for help,” said Dr Judy Mann-Lang, Conservation Strategist at SAAMBR. “The response showed us the incredible power of collective action, and that this action can be galvanised if people are appropriately empowered.”

On the 27th of October, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) announced that the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) had issued a directive to the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to take full responsibility for the nurdle clean-up operation. Drizit Environmental were subsequently appointed to enable the clean-up, with an initial focus on the Harbour and surrounding beaches. They subsequently expanded this effort to include areas where high volumes of nurdles were being reported, with over 200 local community members currently employed to enable this collection.

However, it soon became apparent that the nurdle spill was turning into an unprecedented environmental disaster, with the nurdles appearing on beaches and estuaries along the entire Kwa-Zulu Natal Coast, and on Eastern Cape and Western Cape beaches as far south as Mossel Bay. DEA recognized this and tasked their Working for Coast teams wide to prioritize the collection of nurdles. In addition, they have mobilized over 200 additional workers to support this clean-up, and are expanding progressively along the coastline. The DEA response is driven by their deep concern that the nurdle spill could lead to the death of fish and birds that eat the nurdles, believing them to be food. Not only can the nurdles block digestive systems, but as they absorb chemicals they become toxic.

“The Department is aware that the incident resulted in widespread local volunteer-based clean-up initiatives across the Kwazulu-Natal province and subsequently the Eastern Cape. It is our view that these proactive initiatives are a demonstration of the high levels of environmental concern and awareness expressed by coastal communities. To ensure the cleanliness of beaches during the forthcoming festive season, 196 additional beneficiaries dedicated to deal with the plastic nurdles clean-up along the coast have been employed for a period of 3 months (November 2017- January 2018),” commented Zolile Nqayi, spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA).

The combined Drizit and DEA Blue Army is joined daily by hundreds of concerned citizens, spontaneously collecting the nurdles and other plastic accruing along our Coast. WILDOCEANS is working with SAAMBR, DEA and the KZN Waste Network to co-ordinate and direct the efforts of this rapidly growing Blue Army. Rachel Kramer, the WILDOCEANS Nurdle Response Co-ordinator, believes “the nurdle spill has reignited awareness around plastic pollution on beaches, and the response from civil society has been outstanding. Combining clean-up efforts is essential to track and mobilize the growing issue.”

There is no doubt that the nurdle clean-up efforts will need to continue for months, with only 5.4 tons having been recovered after 9 weeks, out of the 49 tons originally lost to sea. The nurdle spill has also highlighted the incredible volumes of plastic flowing down our rivers and into the sea, accruing on beaches, clogging our estuaries and Mangrove forest systems and killing 1000’s of marine animals.

If you would like to help, place any nurdles you collect in a sealed bag and take them to your nearest drop-off point: https://www.saambr.org.za/. Please note that nurdles should not be disposed of in general waste as the risk is that they end up on landfills and ultimately back in our oceans.

Angra Pequena keeps Madswimmers safe

At sunrise on 2 December Research Vessel, Angra Pequena was the base for twenty-one swimmers and a 24 strong support team guiding them to the mighty Agulhas Current about 20km offshore from Park Rynie – to swim to Port Edward in a bid to break a world record fast 100km swim and create awareness about the decreasing number of sharks in our oceans.

Captained by WILDOCEANS’ Executive Director, Dr Jean Harris, the RV Angra Pequena was the mother vessel for the Great Shark Swim – the Madswimmer series. The RV Angra Pequena escorted and sheltered the swimmers as they made their way over the Agulhas Current, one of the fastest currents in the world. The swimmers plunged in waters with no shark protection making a strong conservation statement about shark behaviour and the species endangerment.

Founder of Madswimmer, Jean Craven explains: “We were at the mercy of nature. Weather-wise no one could predict 6 months in advance the best day to swim. Above all, the current speed varies and can change over-night. We knew from the start that we would need both good weather and a fast current on the day to attempt a record like this. Meanwhile my team had to plan as if the swim was 100% certain to go ahead on the set date. We allowed a one-week window period from the 2nd to the 8th. Swimmers from as far as Israel and Spain booked out time to be available over the full period”

On 28 November the team was warned that a Durban Eddy, and possibly, a developing Natal Pulse, was causing a reverse current. By 1 December the current was moving in the right direction again but at a slack pace of 0.6 knots/h. The swimmers needed a minimum of 2.2 knots to attempt the record. The possibility of better conditions were too uncertain later in the week and waiting meant that Madswimmer may have had to forfeit the swim altogether, if elements didn’t align and they ran out of time.

Although not what they hoped for a year ago when the idea of the swim was born, when the swimmers got word at 3am on the 2nd of December that the current speed had increased to 1.5 knots it was the green light to make the best of this once in a lifetime opportunity to swim in shark infested waters, unprotected, in the usually fast Agulhas Current to add amplify their message on shark protection.

By doing the Great Shark Swim, Madswimmer hoped to open debate, inform and expand the strategic placement of Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) such as Protea Banks, through which the swimmers planned to swim. The Protea Banks is known to have many different offshore habitats and species which are found both on the seabed and in the water column and as a result, the area has been identified as part of the Phakisa Marine Protected Area network. This reef system attracts many important line-fish species as well as large numbers of sharks and rays. Further offshore of the Protea Banks are a number of deep submarine canyons with contain important deep reef habitats including cold water coral ecosystems. At least seven different shark species are known to aggregate in the area, including hammerheads, bull and tiger sharks which attract many divers to the area.

Whilst in the water, none of the swimmers encountered a shark attack. Although, according to Dr Harris, the swim was stopped in the afternoon when the group encountered many blue-bottles causing them to be stung badly. The doctor and medics treated them at sea and all were all well enough to return to shore in the small boats they were passengers on.

“Unfortunately there was near-zero southerly current (due to a suspected Natal pulse) and they did not complete their goal, but did swim a considerable distance – about 30kms,” explains Harris.

Nurdle Response Newsflash

In October 2017, Durban experienced a catastrophic storm. A container ship at the Durban Harbour was damaged and billions of little plastic pellets, nurdles, leaked into the ocean. It is estimated that around 49 tons (billions of pellets) of these nurdles are in our ocean – an environmental disaster!

The efforts reported were collated by the east coast Department of Environmental Affairs – Working for Coast, the formal Directive driven DRIZIT / RESOLVE Marine Group, SAAMBR, WILDOCEANS’ teams and volunteer coordinated response through the KZN Waste Network.

To date, a total of 4.117 tonnes have been collected by all parties combined.

Between 20th – 30th November 2017, 340.5 bags of nurdles were collected from 15 different locations in KZN including Amatikulu, Dokodweni, Umhlanga, North Beach and Umkomaas.

Teams will continue to work along the KZN coastline actively collecting nurdles.

If you find and collect nurdles, place them in a sealed bag and take them to your nearest drop off point – a list of drop off points can be found here: https://www.saambr.org.za/