African Wildlife Environment Issue 75 FINAL

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) have been mooted by many to be the future answer to collecting robust data. Also known as ‘Drones’ these can be operated from a separate location from the safety of a control room, and the military has used them very effectively inwar situations. The human factor in doing ecological aerial surveys is seen as critical because often split- second decisions need to be made, however, who knows what the future will hold. The ability of these drones that can fly at night and their night vision capability, does hold much promise for anti-poaching operations. However, there still need to be ground

formed by fire, wind and browsing pressure in a valley. During my tenure with African Parks, I also visited Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and there Iwas takenonanunforgettable flight in a Cessna 206 fixed-wing aircraft. The pilot, who was a Spanish National, flew us over the vast green fields of grass which in places were higher than that of an elephant’s back. The Kordofan giraffe, sub- species Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum , occur in Garamba and seeing them from the air was a highlight as there are now so few left. While flying I remarked what beautiful rivers

forces, ‘boots on the ground’, to effect an arrest. As technology advances and the exorbitant costs come down, maybe in the future you will just sit in a control room and request data from a fleet of UAVs that are overflying your reserve on any animal which will be constantly monitored from the sky. It does sound like science fiction; however, who would have thought that 47 years ago the first handheld mobile phone was produced in 1973 by Motorola and what a world-wide phenomenon this device has become and how it has affected our daily lives. What can be achieved in the next 50 years, who knows? Until then, I will continue to enjoy the immense privilege of flying over these critical areas of biodiversity that provide ecosystem services for all mankind and help us to manage and conserve our wildlife for future generations.

flowed through the park, and how amazing it would be to canoe down them. The seasoned pilot turned and looked at me and said it sounds like too much hard work, rather let me show you. He put us into a dive and soon we were flying just a meter above the water following the winding river below tree top level. This was an experience I will never forget and better than any roller-coaster ride in the world, although I did think that my last days had come and could imagine one of the hippos with a Chomp chocolate fetish, plucking us from the air as we skimmed above the water! The Garamba National Park has had major security concerns over the years, with a very negative effect on the Northern White Rhino, Elephants and other species. The dedicated staff need to be commended for their ongoing efforts, despite many losing their lives or being wounded in skirmishes with these rebel groups. The role of both rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft is becoming more important in the protected area environment and, even though it does come at a huge cost, these aerial assets help us to be so much more effective in managing biodiversity and helping in predictive analyses, so that that trends can be identified and mitigating measures implemented through adaptive management if or when necessary.

Bryan Havemann Warden of the Umbabat Private Nature Reserve warden@umbabat.com

27 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 75 (2020)