African Wildlife Environment Issue 75 FINAL

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

things like Honey Badgers, Caracal, Serval and other meso-predators if we see them. Any active raptor or vulture nesting sites also are photographed as well as any bad erosion sites or areas where alien vegetation is seen, so that there can be follow up on the ground. Ground Hornbills, Kori Bustards and Saddle-billed Storks are also photographed, and their position recorded. Flying the entire reserve will also indicate if there are any carcasses from animals that have died from natural causes or that have been poached.

into the rear seat. I am sure I heard a groan from the helicopter when I first approached it, but its “I think I can” approach was able to get us airborne!!! The versatility of a helicopter allows the pilot to circle around or even hover if necessary, to enable the observers to get accurate counts of larger herds of animals. Once you are satisfied you can then continue the strip again knowing that you are back on track and have not missed any wildlife. In a fixed- wing aircraft, there is no capability of stopping while

Having the helicopter and other aircraft flying over the reserve also acts as a deterrent for poachers if they are in the area - a case of very visible policing. All the reserves in the APNR do their annual helicopter census one after the other, the same time every year, which helps prevent double counting and gives a very clear picture of what the total population is of all the wildlife in the broader area. Because the APNR is open to the Kruger National Park (KNP) and we are all part of the Greater Kruger Area as partners, it is becoming more important to dovetail the private reserves aerial census with the KNP. This is being recognised at joint management meetings through the cooperative agreement, and it makes sense to collaborate where we can get a better overall picture at a landscape level. This brings me to me time that I spent as a conservation student involved in research, wilderness trails ranger and a section ranger in the KNP. I was called on as an observer to fly in many fixed-wing aerial census sorties and spent many very happy hours flying in helicopters doing not only ecological aerial surveys, but also other activities related to security and management interventions. I flew for many weeks in the newly acquired Italian built Partenavia P68 Observer aircraft that had twin engines, which made it safer for low flying, and was also able to fly slower than other aircraft at the time. The front of the aircraft had a Perspex dome, which provided good

counting. You can circle around in wider circles, but it does make counting a bit more difficult. High definition photos taken of the larger herds of things like buffalo or elephant are a more accurate way of determining the herd size, because this can be done post flight on a computer and not only the herd size but also the demographics and other variables can be easily distinguished. Dr Wynand Uys has mastered this technique, and many of the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) call him in to come and photograph the larger buffalo herds in particular, so that also saves time for the helicopter that does not need to circle continuously over a large herd and try and break them up into smaller groups within the herd for accurate counting. When a large buffalo herd is spotted from the helicopter, Wynand is called in and the GPS Coordinates given, which then gives him time to fly in, and be totally focussed on flying over the herd as many times as necessary, to get the high definition digital photos. The exact herd size and composition will be sent through a couple of days later once analysed and this is added to the single or small groups that were counted in the helicopter, giving a total count for the area. A good SLR digital camera is essential so that photos can be taken of the larger game species like elephant, rhino and predator species like lions, leopards and wild dogs. We even take photos of

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