News & Updates
Zimbabwe, Newsletter November 2009
Dear readers,
As to be expected November was a very warm but also dry month in
Zimbabwe. Only two showers from some importance were received in the
Hwange area.
Despite what a lot of people think, it’s not only the water pans that are used
to use the maiming snares. Places that are chosen by particular species to
graze or to rest are also being used by experienced poachers to get to their
victims. Buffalo’s in particular, often in combination with some smaller snares
for smaller animals. Buffalo’s because they produce a lot of meat which is
highly appreciated by the market. The illegal market that is.
This month, most of the snares we found were set for these buffalo’s.
The number of snares this month compared to the same month last year has
increased with 146. 272 snares were removed, all for mammals.
The question: ‘You know how many snares you have removed, but how
many animals did you save?’ is often asked. There is no 100% answer on
this question, but we will try to answer the question in the following year if
we have all the data over 2009. We will try not to become too theoretical, but
this question is certainly worth to be explored. The question: ’How effective
are snares really?’ is also a question that keeps us busy. This question is in
theory easier to answer then the first.
Since the end of the year is coming nearer, we organized a meeting/dinner
at ‘my’ house at ‘Katshana’(which means: far away place). By this time I can
shamelessly say that I can cook a reasonable stew (from the ox we
slaughtered together) and so we did. During the food and drinks we
evaluated our last year of operation. The team admitted that compared to
the previous year the team was more used to each other and also more
‘bush wise’. This certainly had an impact on this year’s successful result. We
will try our best to repeat this success in the year to come.
Until next month,
Martin & Team
Buffalo’s at Dete Vlei
