African Wildlife & Environment Issue 78

& ENVIRONMENT

ISSUE 78 (2021)

SUBURBAN Conservation

A history of WESSA EDEN

RHINOS AT THE BRINK

Gardening for BIODIVERSITY

NATURE NOTES Incredible Elephants

THE MAGAZINE OF THE WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA

CONTENTS

The content below is hyperlinked to the article Just click and read

1 Editorial 3 Good reads

Conservation in suburbia

Conservation 11 Thomas Bain and the origin of our National Hydraulic Mission Fauna, Flora & Wildlife 14 Coping with the challenge of conservation in suburbia 18 Open your world by finding trees 23 South Africa's indigenous wonder cure 26 Rhinos at the brink!

Gardening for Biodiversity 33 Environmentally friendly gardens

An indigenous wonder cure

Birding 40 Deadly forest predator

Eco Hero 51 Petri Viljoen

WESSA Branches 48 A history of WESSA Eden

Rhinos at the brink!

Nature Notes 58 Incredible elephants

Subscriptions / General 62 WESSA membership 63 Leaving a legacy 64 Region, area office, branch & centre contacts 66 Publication details

Deadly forest predator

Copyright © African Wildlife & Environment. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by and means, electronic or mechanical without the prior written permission of the publisher. African Wildlife & Environment retains the right to make alterations to any material submitted. The publisher, while exercising due care, cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage to material submitted. The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of WESSA. Copyright on all content belongs toWESSA and the individual contributors.

Cover photograph: John Wesson

GENERAL

Dr John Ledger EDITORIAL Recent months have seen a well-organised campaign against hunters in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Animal rights activists have whipped up a media frenzy, and calls have been made from both side of the Atlantic for the introduction of legislation that would prevent hunters from bringing back parts of wild animals hunted in Africa as their so-called 'trophies'. In the process the hunters are demonised and all kinds of false claims are published that their activities are driving some hunted species to extinction. As often happens, the views of Africans are hardly ever reported in the overseas media, which is a pity, because they tell a very different story.

Members of WESSA and readers of African Wildlife & Environment magazine are all interested in caring for the Planet, the environment, wildlife and its conservation. Some are themselves active hunters, other have mixed feelings about hunting, and yet others are totally opposed to the idea of hunting, particularly when it is represented as a 'sport' which involves the display of 'trophies' as proof of success. I recently read an interesting article entitled Hunting Is Conservation: A Paradox Explained in which the author looks into the history of hunting in North America and provides some thought-provoking observations. You can find the article here: https:// dailycaller.com/2020/07/09/hunting-is-conservation-a- paradox-explained/. "Hunting today is about connecting with the natural world, testing one’s patience and skill in a challenging environment, the thrill of the chase, and passing ethics and naturalist know-how from one generation to the next. Some modern hunters feel a strong connection to their prey, one that motivates them to conserve the species and the habitats they rely on, and to protect the primeval experience of the hunt for future generations." In Africa, the Community Leaders Network (CLN) is a collaborative grouping of rural representatives from Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Vision of the CLN is socially and economically resilient rural southern African people whose livelihoods are grounded in their rights to sustainably use their natural resources, supported by international respect for their existing governance systems. Its Mission is to ensure that the voices of rural African people are heard, and influence international, regional and national public and policy-making processes that affect their rights and abilities to

sustainably manage those natural resources on which their livelihoods depend. Its Goal is equitable and sustainable use rights of their wildlife and other natural resources, for social and environmental justice, and the economic benefit of present and future generations of rural peoples. Towards the achievement of its goal, the overall objective of the CLN is to take its rightful space in policy negotiation, development and implementation processes to ensure informed decision-making at national, regional and international levels that reflects the demands and rights of rural people to manage their wildlife. The CLN recently produced a powerful video aimed at the celebrities who have lent their weight to the anti-hunting campaign. https://resourceafrica. net/video-let-africans-decide/

And the CLN has also written to the Governor of Connecticut in the USA, regarding plans to introduce legislation to ban the import of wildlife products from Africa. It is too long to quote in full here, but the following extracts are relevant: "As Chairperson of the Community Leaders Network, which represents millions of rural people in nine countries in Southern Africa, the majority of whom live below the poverty line, I am urgently appealing to you to assist us by preventing the undermining of our globally recognized conservation

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GENERAL

key component that makes wildlife valuable to us.The consequences of ignoring or failing to encourage and incentivize community involvement in conservation in social contexts steeped in poverty are all too familiar to us. "The harsh reality is that if incentives for us to conserve and share our land with wildlife are removed, their future in Southern Africa will be as bleak as that of large predators that were once plentiful in other parts of the world." So there, in part, are the views of many millions of rural Africans that are seldom heard in the overseas media and in the corridors of political power in the UK and America. Africans do not regard hunters from the UK, Europe or the USA as wicked, cruel or depraved people. They see them as kindred spirits connecting with the natural world, testing their patience and skill in a challenging environment. Africans welcome hunters from all over the world, to visit the continent and to help make wildlife and the conservation of wildlife habitat a viable alternative to commercial agriculture. In South Africa, millions of hectares are managed for wildlife, meaning that every component of biodiversity within those habitats is de facto also conserved. In this context I believe we should recognise hunting as a powerful conservation tool in its own right.You don't need to be a hunter yourself to tolerate something that has a positive outcome for the environment. And perhaps an ecologically savvy way to approach hunting is to recognise that every wild animal sooner or later will die from starvation, disease or predation, often in a very slow and painful manner. The hunter is a predator who more often than not kills his prey swiftly and efficiently. And if you are still wondering about the paradox that 'hunting is conservation', consider this: Ducks Unlimited (an association of waterfowl hunters) has achieved a remarkable conservation milestone with more than 15 million acres (six million hectares) of wetland habitat restored or protected in North America. That sounds like good 'conservation' to me!

efforts and our basic human right to sustainably use the natural resources on which our communities’ livelihoods depend. "We understand that the Connecticut Legislature is considering legislation that will ban the import, sale and possession of items from legally hunted African species in the misguided belief that this will enhance the conservation of these species. Without an exemption for legally hunted trophies, the [proposed legislation] will have devastating consequences not only for conservation and our livelihoods but will also undermine our human right to sustainably manage our natural resources, a right clearly recognized in international and national law. "As Africans, we share with Americans a passion for wildlife conservation. It is a way of life for us and is deeply ingrained in our culture, traditions and rural economies. But without markets for high value, low impact hunting, we will not be able to sustain conservation or feed our children. We take this opportunity to share our perspectives and realities and ensure that our voice informs decision-making that affects our lives. Successful conservation must start with those of us who live alongside dangerous large animals. "During colonial times, European colonists removed our rights to manage and benefit from these animals, and in many instances forcefully evicted us from our lands, often to make way for protected areas. This led to dramatic loss of wildlife and habitat - a disaster for conservation, our traditions and our livelihoods. "Post-independent governments restored our rights, integrating wildlife into rural economies through inclusive conservation approaches. This provides us with socio-economic incentives to live with and sustainably manage our wildlife. While it varies from country to country: 50-90% of these economic incentives come from sustainable, regulated, humane and scientifically verified hunting methods. This has led, in southern African countries, to increasing wildlife populations and habitat expansion, in stark contrast to other regions in the world, where biodiversity loss and habitat destruction accelerate at disastrous rates. "Despite the damage to crops and loss of life they cause, elephants, lions and other animals live amongst us – not only in protected areas - and are multiplying because we want them to. Hunting is the

Dr John Ledger Consulting Editor john.ledger@wol.co.za 083 650 1768

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GOOD READS

GOOD READS Book reviews by Dr John Ledger

information gleaned at each of the three stages. First is to recognise the characteristics of the family, then of the relevant visual group within that family, and finally the key pointers that distinguish the species which are only relevant within the specific visual group. There is a bar code with every species description and when you scan that with your smart phone, the call of the species will play.You do not need to be within cell phone tower range, as the calls are stored on the app itself. It is all fiendishly clever and something that my generation would never have dreamed possible. Doug is an electrical engineer by trade who has applied his talents to birds and their calls. Gordon is an IT specialist, specifically in data methodology. Between them they have published a number of works and they are the co-founders of the Simply Birding website, which you can visit at www. simplybirding.com. Thank you gentlemen for this wonderful book, which is Simply Splendid!

Little Brown Jobs Newman, Doug & Gordon King (2021). Southern African LBJs made simple . Second edition. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 15x21 cm, 152 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs and diagrams. ISBN 978-1-77584 -652-6. R267. First published in 2011, this new updated, expanded and 'wired for sound' book will be wanted by every birder! Why? Because the LBJs are the most difficult and frustrating birds to identify accurately, and anything that will help meet this challenge is both desirable and necessary, to deal with the birder's mental anguish of not being sure of what species it was you saw on your last birding sortie. We've all been there: you get a good look at the bird, hear its call and then you come home and start browsing your books. Sadly, you are not quite sure if it had a stripe above the eye, bars on its tail, or whether it went "chick-chick-chick" or "zit-zit-zit". Oh dear…not again… Messrs Newman and King have provided the antidote to this miserable dilemma. If you use this book properly and follow their advice, you will be spared the embarrassment of LBJ fatigue.With this book in hand, and with your smart phone charged up and with the Struik free app installed, you will be ready to take on any LBJ challenge. The authors present a tested methodology that, if followed scrupulously, will guide you to the correct identification of the LBJ in question. They stress that the process is cumulative, building on

Bats Stuart, Chris & Mathilde (2021). Flying mammals – Quick ID guide to the bats of Africa. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 10x18 cm, 40 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs and diagrams. ISBN 978-1-77584 -728-1. R83. The Quick ID series are small books of 40 pages designed to fit in a pocket or a small backpack. Twenty percent of all mammals are bats. At least 259 species occur in Africa: 230 insect-eating bats and 29 fruit-eating bats, two of which are restricted to Indian Ocean islands.

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Services in Skukuza. During this time with the vets, he was involved with researching diseases and the use and effect of commercially available veterinary drugs on wild animals. In 1974 he was appointed in the post of Technician in the Research Department of South African National Parks (now SANParks). In 1977 he gained the ‘Certificate in Field Ecology’ at the University of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) for studies on the ecological aspects of foot-and-mouth disease transmission in impala. In 1986 he was awarded a Master’s degree (Cum laude) at the University of Natal for studies on lions and wildebeest, and a Doctorate in 2001 at the University of Pretoria for studies on elephants. He also conducted other studies on buffalo, hippopotamus and baobab trees. In 1991 he acquired a private pilot’s licence to facilitate tracking of radio- collared animals, and he was given responsibility for aerial censuses of large herbivores in Kruger and some other national parks using both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. In total he was engaged in full-time wildlife research in the Kruger National Park for 37 years up until his retirement in 2007. He has been a Member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission's African Elephant Specialist Group since 1992, and a Professional Member of the Game Rangers Association of Africa since 1988. He has travelled and worked in a number of African countries. But this is not a book about science. Though some of the results of the author’s research are necessarily given, he has done this in an easy reading style for the layman. The book is mainly a compilation of stories from Ian Whyte's adventurous life during an earlier time when research was more ‘hands-on’, which resulted in many of the amazing close-up and personal interactions with animals like lions, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, snakes and birds. He reveals that he sometimes wonders how he survived it all! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and could hardly put it down. In correspondence with Ian, I learnt that we both shared some very similar experiences and had walked over the same ground in a number of places. Our fathers were both architects (Ian's father designed the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg), we are both interested in aviation (although Ian learnt to fly and I did not) and guitars, and I know many of Ian's friends and colleagues who are featured in the book. I have been to some of the places in the

This concise booklet is packed with information that introduces the reader to the bat families of Africa, and describes the typical characteristics that will help the reader to identify specimens to family. Opening headings deal with evolution, flight, anatomy, echolocation and reproduction. There are three pages of skull photos, and then follow the descriptions of fruit-bats, and the various families of insectivorous bats. There are many excellent photographs. The final chapter is about conservation and research, with a text box on 'Bats and Disease', very appropriate in view of the Covid-19 pandemic which is believed to have originated in bats. They may also carry rabies. I was disappointed that no mention is made about the threats of wind turbines to bat conservation. In the USA, wind turbines are now the second highest cause of unnatural mortality in bats, after a fungal disease that has caused the most deaths. In South Africa there are plans to build many new 'wind-farms', which spells big trouble for our bats. The national government department responsible for biodiversity conservation seems indifferent to these threats.

Kruger Park Adventures Whyte, Ian (2019). Living the Wild Life. Thoughts and stories from a researcher's life in the Kruger National Park. Masthulele Publishing, Box 814, Graskop, 1270 South Africa. Soft cover, 15x21 cm, 432 pp, Colour B&W section in centre, endpaper maps. ISBN 978-0-62083-366-0. Order from merle.m.whyte@gmail.com R345 plus delivery; also available from Amazon as a Kindle Book. The blurb on the back cover tells us that Ian Whyte was born in 1947, and spent his entire school career at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg. In 1970, he started his career with the Government’s Department of Veterinary

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the Whytes bought a house in the little town of Graskop, from where Ian continued to work for the organisation. It was probably a very sensible move, because many of the employees who spent most of their lives in Skukuza, for example, found the transition from those tranquil surroundings to the wider world rather traumatic. The book has an Appendix entitled 'The elephant management dilemma' which is especially important in the light of Ian's experience. He makes the point that real stakeholders in the management of the KNP should be the ones to take important decisions about elephant management, and not the self-appointed activists who think they have a right to interfere in such matters. The last sentence in this wonderful book is a chilling one for those who value all the biodiversity of this very special part of the world: "I remain convinced that a smaller elephant population would allow other ecological processes to function more normally, while losses of biodiversity induced by an over-abundance of elephants would result in impoverished ecosystems whose functionality would be drastically and perhaps forever compromised."

Kruger Park where Ian had his adventures, and we have both been on the ground in the Tembe and Maputo Elephant parks. I cannot imagine that any reader of this magazine would not love reading this book as much as I have, and I guess the fact that it was reprinted twice in 2020 provides a clue to its popularity. Ian has a wonderful writing style and a sense of humour that shines through on every page. His experience of working in the KNP provides a rich historical context during an era when wildlife research grew from infancy to maturity. It was a time when 'hands-on' management was implemented to deal with the challenging and fickle nature of the relationship between the weather, the plants and the animals. Should the veld be managed by regular burning? If lions were killing too many rare antelopes, should you control the number of lions? And what about elephants, for goodness' sake? Ian was personally involved in these conundrums, and generously shares them with his readers. It makes for fascinating reading. Before reaching retirement age, Ian encountered some upheavals in the Kruger National Park around a change of leadership, and

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Nests Stuart, Chris & Mathilde (2021). Avian architects - Quick ID guide to nests and eggs of southern African birds. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 10x18 cm, 40 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs and diagrams. ISBN 978-1- 77584 -743-4. R83. Birds' nests come in an astonishing variety of

Skulls Stuart, Chris & Mathilde (2021). Skullduggery – Quick ID guide to southern and East African mammal skulls. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 10x18 cm, 40 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs and diagrams. ISBN 978-1-77584 -726-7. R83. Readers who have been on walks on beaches, over farms, nature reserves or on trails in wilderness areas will have experienced the discovery of some or other bleached mammalian skull lying on the ground. This concise Quick ID guide will help to identify what animal once walked around (or swam) with the skull hidden under its skin. The mammalian skull is made up of about 34 bones, many of which are fused together. A vast range of different skull shapes and sizes enable the observer to determine the species or family the skull belongs to. The tooth structure is particularly useful in pinpointing a species, as it shows the species-specific features that different mammals have evolved for finding, biting and chewing their food. Photographs and dental formulae provided in this booklet are valuable aids to making the correct ID. An opening spread is devoted to explaining how to determine the dental formula. The booklet then works through the different families of mammals, with excellent, clear photos and dental formulae. One spread is dedicated to the skulls of whales and dolphins. The skulls of the different mammals reflect their diets. Pangolins, for example, have no teeth in their conical skulls with reduced lower jaw. Their food comprises ants and termites which are swallowed whole and ground up by a gizzard-like action in the stomach.

shapes and sizes, and reflect the evolution of nest- construction in this wonderful group of creatures. As a schoolboy egg-collector (now illegal, please note!) I was very impressed by the amount of information the Stuarts have been able to cram into this booklet. The first nests were most likely simple scrapes on the ground, as seen in plovers, terns and ostriches.Then other species made their nests a bit more homely by arranging twigs and pebbles around the eggs. Then, probably to avoid predators, some birds started nesting in trees, first by building simple and flimsy platforms of twigs, similar to the nests of doves and pigeons. A great step forward was the cup nest, which provided protective side walls and a cosy lining that greatly improved incubation. Many passerines make cup nests, while others have added domes roofs, or build cups and completely closed nests with mud pellets. Some birds use cavities in trees, the ground or banks for nesting. Some species like bee-eaters and kingfishers excavate tunnels in banks and others like barbets and woodpeckers excavate their own holes in trees. After the introduction, the book kicks off with the giant nests of the Hamerkop and Sociable Weaver, then moves to the 'high-rise penthouses' of the cliff-nesters like eagles and ravens. Next are the 'Castles of clay' built by swallows, the woven nests of the 'Master weavers', then cups, purses and other shapes, and more, too many to mention in a short review. This is a wonderful little booklet, highly recommended and one that will fascinate adults and children alike.

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illegal trade is enormous, and the book tells the story, based on fact but with fictitious names, of a young man who captures a pangolin in Zimbabwe and travels to Johannesburg to sell it to a trader for a considerable amount of money that would sustain his family for some time. But he is caught in a 'sting' operation and he and his accomplices are destined to spend a long time in prison. The pangolin is cared for by dedicated veterinarians, rehabilitated and returned to a protected are in South Africa. The book covers many bases, from the ineffectiveness of CITES in providing any protection for pangolins, to Richard Peirce's own visit to Southeast Asia to see the markets where pangolin body parts are illegally traded. He also visited a research programme in the Tswalu Game Reserve, and provides much information about these fascinating animals and the terrible pressure they are under because of human indifference and greed. This book is highly recommended to readers who care about conservation and animal welfare, as most of us do.

Pangolins Peirce, Richard (2021). Pangolins – Scales of Injustice. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 15x21 cm, 40 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs and diagrams. ISBN 978-1-77584 -712-0. R206. This is an interesting but disturbing book. It is a mixture of fiction and fact and provides an insight into the plight of pangolins and the people who are trying to prevent the cruel trade in pangolins and their body parts. The book opens with the words of Lisa Hywood, who runs an animal rescue facility in Zimbabwe: "I opened this sack and inside, this one eye – and I remember it as distinctly as if it was happening right now – this one eye looked at me, through me, in me and around me. This one eye and time froze for me and I was in that moment humiliated, ashamed and saddened that I was a human being. It was horrendous and it was as if a knife went through my heart; how could we as an intelligent species allow this to happen? I have had a lot to do with many animals, especially elephants, but this was an animal that spoke more volumes in silence, with one look, than any other animal I have ever had an interaction with." More than 97 tons of illegally shipped scales of African pangolins were intercepted being exported to Asia in 2019. An estimated 1,900 animals are killed for one ton of scales, extrapolating to 160,000 pangolins killed for these intercepted shipments in 2019. And how many tons of scales left Africa undetected? Pangolins are today one of the most trafficked wild animals on earth, with one kilogram of scales estimated to be worth 3,000 US dollars. The pressure on impoverished rural Africans to try to procure pangolins for sale into the

Zimbabwe dreams Nott, Colin (2020). African Daydreaming. Colin Nott and Genesis Publishing. A self-publishing imprint of Ocean Reeve Publishing. www.oceanreevepublishing. com. Soft cover, 15x23 cm, 295 pp, B&W photographs. ISBN 978-1-92246 -142-1. Distribution by Protea Distribution; promoted by Helco Promotions (contact Helen Holyoake at helen@helco.co.za.) R320. Colin Nott was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1969. He enjoyed a privileged childhood, where the Zambesi Valley became his school holiday playground, and awakened the wildlife calling in his life, following his father

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unavailability of fuel in Zimbabwe's dark days. He has returned to his country of birth several times, and shares the deep emotions that he experiences during these visits – a visit to his beloved father's grave is particularly moving.This is a good book that tells a good story about a good man caught between continents by the history of an ever-restless Africa.

Graham as he travelled the length of the valley in his role as the National Parks Chief Investigations Officer. Colin realised his dream of becoming a game ranger after joining National Parks at the age of seventeen. Two years later, after completing a Diploma in Protected Area and Wildlife Management at the Mushandike officers' training college, he was awarded the Directors Award for the best student, with weaponry and law enforcement emerging as his strong points. At nineteen he became one of the youngest rangers in the history of the department in charge of the Matopos Rhino Intensive Protection Zone. During Operation 'Safeguard our Heritage', he was chosen along with nine other rangers from the frontline of the rhino war for training and anti-poaching operations with Zimbabwe’s Special Forces. Later he took on the responsibility of being theWarden of Matopos National Park. After leaving National Parks he established a safari company and became a professional guide, specialising in leading walking safaris throughout Zimbabwe for eleven years. But unrelenting political turbulence and finally the economic disintegration of Zimbabwe signalled the end of Colin's wildlife career, and he emigrated to Australia where he now lives with his family. This is a very readable book that recounts Colin's personal journey as a young game ranger, living in a beautiful country wracked by war, politics and racial intolerance. He has put together a collection of captivating African stories that provide an insight into the challenges of preserving wildlife in Zimbabwe. Among the tales of confrontations with armed poachers and undercover deals in the illegal trafficking of rhino horn and ivory, is the heart-warming story of 'Samantha' the rhino calf and her release back into the wild. Colin also describes some hair-raising encounters with wild animals of different kinds, and one gets the impression that he was more than a little reckless in his younger days! Like many others in the diaspora, he has a deep love for Africa and the country in which he was born. His affection for Zimbabweans also shines through, and his descriptions of exhausting, long bus journeys, crammed with passengers, their possessions and livestock tied to the roof of the vehicle, are vivid and evocative. These bus rides were necessitated by a lack of money and the

Hiking Magagula, Hlengiwe & Denis Costello (2021). Walking Safaris of South Africa. Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 15x21 cm, 184 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs, diagrams and a map. ISBN 978-1-77584-680-1. R277. The authors are both seasoned hikers and they have identified 59 guided walking experiences across 18 parks and reserves in South Africa plus one in eSwatini and one in Botswana for inclusion in their book. They present the choices available in each park, from short dawn and dusk walks to wilderness trails from dedicated base camps, to multi-day back-packing trails. The accommodation they describe ranges from ultra-luxurious to camping under the stars, providing alternatives to suit every pocket. A series of first-hand accounts illustrate the profound impact of encountering nature on foot. These personal accounts are illustrated with black and white images that appear to be held in place

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that surrounds the only nuclear plant in Africa. In Darling, we bump into Evita Bezuidenhout and have a craft beer at the Darling Brewery. Other highlights of the book are the spectacular floral riches of the West Coast and Namaqualand, which attract visitors from all over the world to view the flowers; the West Coast Fossil Park; national parks, nature reserves, wetlands and estuaries; bustling wine farms, famous eateries and colourful West Coast fishermen. The book is peppered with stories and anecdotes about people and places, and provides fascinating insights into numerous aspects of this fascinating area. I have often been to places where my visit would have been greatly enriched by knowing more about the history, the geology and the people of that place.This book is indispensable for touring theWest Coast, and it is a work of art in its own right. Highly recommended!

with sticky tape – a very effective presentation. A practical section deals with pre-trip preparation and the dos and don'ts of walking in areas shared with wild animals. The spirit of Ian Player lives on in this book, and the foreword is by Todani Moyo, the current Chairman of Wilderness Foundation Global.Walking Safaris is profusely illustrated with excellent photographs, and should be essential reading for anyone planning to walk in the wild. It is a really useful and practical resource, with contact details provided for all the operators of the walking safaris covered.

West Coast Nell, Leon (2021. The West Coast. From Melkbos to the Orange River . Struik Nature, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town. Soft cover, 21x25 cm, 184 pp, illustrated in colour throughout with photographs, diagrams and maps. ISBN 978-1-77584-702-1. R308. This is Leon Nell's sixth travel book, and it is a beauty. The large format, exquisite photographs and informative text make this a 'must-have' for anyone doing a trip to the West Coast of South Africa. The author takes readers on a journey from Melkbosstrand near Cape Town to where the Orange River runs into the sea, forming the country's northern border with Namibia. Along the way he explores the coast's history, its seaside towns and villages, fauna and flora, and agriculture. At the Koeberg nuclear power station we go on a 13 km hike through the 3,000 ha nature reserve

Museum man Trok, Loreto (2020). The Forgotten Scientist. The story of Saul Sithole. Jacana Media, Auckland Park, South Africa. Soft cover, 15x21 cm, 43 pp, illustrated with B&W photographs. ISBN 978-1-43142-989-9. R155. Saul Sithole spent more than 60 years of his life working at the Transvaal Museum (now called the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History), starting off as a cleaner but progressing over the years to become an excellent bird skinner. He was appointed as an assistant to Herbert Lang, a German-born scientist who had worked at the

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extremely competent 'citizen scientists' and some of them have published wonderful books which have been reviewed in this magazine. Such people have been self-motivated and driven to become experts in their chosen fields, despite not having university degrees. This skinny publication lacks real substance and is overpriced for what it offers.

American Museum of Natural History before taking up a position at the Transvaal Museum in 1927. Austin Roberts, renowned South African ornithologist wrote " Lang is training the boys to make good skins…Saul is far better than the other skinners and is doing very fine skins" Sithole went on a number of expeditions with Roberts and others to collect material for the museum. Saul also worked with Dr Robert Broom and Dr Francis Thackeray in their field of paleao- anthropology at the Sterkfontein caves. He was with Dr Broom when the skull of 'Mrs Ples' was discovered. This book is a tribute to the memory of Saul Sithole and a lamentation that history and racial discrimination saw to it that he was never recognised as a 'scientist' in his own right, but as a skilled and talented 'technician'. These days, many people without university training have become

Don't forget to get the new Sasol Checklist of Birds in Southern Africa ISBN: 9781775847571 Recommended Price: R50.00

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CONSERVATION

Thomas Bain and the origin of our NATIONAL HYDRAULICMISSION

South Africa is a fundamentally water-constrained country. We often hear that we are the thirtieth driest country in the world, as the media regurgitates memes that have little intrinsic value as elements of truth. The way we have chosen to manage this reality, is to embark on an aggressive national hydraulic mission.

The 'Hydraulic Mission of Society' was defined by commentators writing about the Spanish, as they mobilized national policy to create an engineering corps capable of damming rivers and diverting the water to distant places, where localised scarcity were inhibitors of economic growth. This has been referred to as the co-creation of nature as a 'hybrid' (Swyngedouw, 1999), as aquatic ecosystems have been fundamentally altered in the quest for modernization and economic development. The most famous hydraulic mission, is probably that of the Egyptians, referred to in literature as the 'High Dam Covenant' (Waterbury, 1979).

Prof Anthony Turton

As a road engineer, he was accustomed to long journeys into the arid interior of the Cape Colony, where he did a lot of mapping work. He was an inquisitive man, so when Brown published his seminal work on the aridity of the Cape Colony (Brown, 1875), Bain became interested in water. Two years later, Brown (1877) published his second book in which he proposed the damming of rivers, citing the success of the Chinese, but also referring to the need to tame and domesticate the wild rivers, if the Colony were to prosper (Turton et al ., 2004). This fired the imagination of Bain, and while he was travelling in the most arid of areas in the Karoo, he began pondering the notion of damming and diverting the Orange River. Bain was deeply impressed by a small mission station near present day Upington, where the desert had been made to bloom by diverting water from the Orange River. This fired his imagination as he applied the ideas mooted by Brown, drawing maps to show where dams could be built, and water diverted for economic activities. Being a surveyor, a foundation skill of road building, he began drawing maps of greater sophistication and accuracy over time. Great was his surprise when he discovered that it was theoretically possible to divert water from the Orange, through the coastal mountain range, and deliver fresh water to Port Elizabeth. This so excited him that he decided to write his book, published a decade after Brown’s first work on aridity. This book so captured the imagination of government, that it influenced the promulgation of the Irrigation Act in 1887. Bain was appointed head of the newly created Department of Irrigation and the Carnarvon River was diverted in 1888, triggering the idea of VanWyksvlei Dam.

Hand drawing signed by Thomas Bain in 1885 showing how a dam can divert water out of the river channel.

The South African Hydraulic Mission is like that of the Spanish, and can be traced back to when Thomas Bain published the first book on dam- building (Bain, 1886). Bain was a road engineer born in the frontier region of what we now call the Eastern Cape, in the aftermath of the War of the Axe. This was the culmination of a century of brutal warfare between the Xhosa and British.

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CONSERVATION

Hand drawing by Thomas Bain showing different dam designs.

Over time this created a sophisticated system of inter-basin transfers, linking almost all rivers of significance to areas of economic growth. The result, in ecological terms, was the systematic destruction of the flood pulse, and the long but steady destruction of almost all aquatic ecosystems. It is this very issue that is currently playing out at the St Lucia estuary, as a battle is waged between the narrow self-interest of agriculture and the tourism industry, versus the broader interest of society. In this battle space, scientists become the target of commercial interest anger, and the vilification of science becomes the strategy of choice. This serves to teach us the lesson about

Bain created several drawings to show how dams ought to be built, in response to the failures of early structures attempted by farmers. These drawings are still available today at the Academic Information Centre at the University of Pretoria, and the principles of design, while somewhat refined in the modern era, are still valid. When applying his mind to the scale of diversion needed to deliver water to Port Elizabeth, Bain noted that the project could be executed in phases, using convict labour. The sheer complexity of this project meant that it remained a concept from 1886, until 1966 when the Commission of Inquiry into Water Matters was mandated by the State President 'Blackie” Swart. This Commission rapidly developed Bain’s original concept, into what became known as the Orange Fish Sundays Inter-Basin Transfer Scheme. The security driver was the need to rapidly develop the economy around Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage as a counter strategy to the Armed Struggle that had recently been launched, with active recruitment of cadres taking place in the Eastern Cape at that time. The intention was to create economic prosperity as a means of dampening revolutionary zeal. The HF Verwoerd Dam (now known as the Gariep Dam) was therefore the genesis of the aggressive phase of the South African Hydraulic Mission. Water resource management was consequently politicised, a fact that now characterises our environmental discourse.

Hand drawing by Thomas Bain signed in 1885 showing how a filter system can be used to clean up the water in a dam and render it suitable for potable use. The filter is designed like a well, forcing water up through layers of charcoal and gravel when water is drawn by bucket.

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Map of the Cape Colony in 1886 showing Thomas Baines hand written drawings of the proposed transfer of water from the Orange River to Port Elizabeth.

the unintended consequences of interventions that alter the flood pulse of any river system. Once altered, the sediment-carrying capacity becomes a growing problem, as estuaries are starved of the water needed to continue functioning as viable aquatic ecosystems. An estuary starved of flood pulse naturally becomes a lagoon, and this permanently alters the assemblage structure in the wetland. The single biggest lesson that we learn, is that it took a century for the hydraulic mission to become mainstream policy, so we can anticipate that any attempts to alter this will take an equal period to effect change. We also learn that the management of water resources, and the provision of water services, are both profoundly political acts. Therefore, to articulate the interests of conservation, will require scientists and NGOs to enter that political discourse, if they wish to effect change. Reluctance to do this will merely exacerbate the prognosis for a desirable outcome.

FURTHER READING Bain,T. 1886. Water-finding, Dam-making, River Utilization, Irrigation. Saul Solomon & Co, Cape Town. Brown, J.C. 1875. Hydrology of South Africa; or Details of the Former Hydrographic Conditions of the Cape of Good Hope, and causes of its Present Aridity, with Suggestions of Appropriate Remedies for this Aridity. Kirkaldy, London. Brown, J.C. 1877. Water Supply of South Africa and the Facilitation for the Storage of It. Oliver Boyd,Tweedale Court, Edinburgh. Swyngedouw, E. 1999. Modernity and Hybridity: Nature, Regeneracionismo, and the Production of the SpanishWaterscape, 1890-1930. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 89(3), pp. 443–465. Turton,A.R., Meissner, R., Mampane, P.M. & Seremo, O. 2004. A Hydropolitical History of South Africa’s International River Basins. Report No. 1220/1/04 to theWater Research Commission.Water Research Commission, Pretoria. Waterbury, J. 1979. Hydropolitics of the Nile Valley. Syracuse University Press, NewYork.

Prof Anthony Turton Centre for Environmental Management University of the Free State

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FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

A Goliath Heron with a freshly caught carp

What do an airline captain, an analytical chemist, an IT specialist and a Reverend have in common? These four women run Korsman Conservancy, an organisation attracting attention in Benoni and beyond. Jane Trembath (the pilot and chairperson), Catherine Marques (the chemist and treasurer), Tracy Boggis (the IT expert and infrastructure chief), and Rev Debbie van de Laar (the secretary), all share passionate dedication to care for the 50 hectare Korsman Bird Sanctuary, a wetland in the heart of a Benoni suburb, the focus of this urban conservancy. Coping with the challenge of conservation in suburbia THE KORSMAN CONSERVANCY

Historically known as Westdene Pan, the area was fenced and declared a bird park in the 1950s. The project was initiated by town councillor, Nic Korsman, who felt the birds needed protection as new suburbs steadily expanded around it. Once the area was fenced, game were introduced as an attraction. Although popular with the public, game kept in a limited area was not practical. Some donated animals such as zebra were unsuitable,

Jan de Beer

and the same donor was upset when Benoni Council turned down his offer of a pair of giraffes. After many problems, including poaching, dogs killing the animals and hoof rot from high water levels,the game was finally removed in 1996.

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Korsman Conservancy was established in 2010, following decades of other volunteer groups caring for the Sanctuary. But it was when Jane Trembath became Chairperson in 2014, that the Conservancy really 'took off'. The biggest challenges facing the Sanctuary were massive infestations of invasive alien vegetation, and an overgrowth of reeds taking over the water and encroaching on the grassland. Another problem was fading interest in the Conservancy, with membership (and with it, funds) slowly dropping since it was established.

Nowadays, the Sanctuary is home to just birds and many invertebrates, some of these are quite special. Flocks of Greater and Lesser Flamingo regularly visit the pan, and Goliath Herons have taken up residence. There are presently two breeding pairs, unusual in an urban context and considering that they normally defend large territories. This may be partly due to the abundance of carp, so much so that there is no competition for food. The original breeding pair have raised an average of two chicks per year, with the largest successful brood in 2018 of three chicks that reached independence.

The Korsman committee members

Jane tackled the invasive vegetation first, with a steep learning curve identifying the species and best practise in removing them. Techniques and tools were adapted to suit the conditions, such as slashing dense stands of annual weeds to prevent seeding. Their successful 'sharp spades' are ladies spades, cut to to a point, which enables faster, easier weeding with less disturbance to the soil.

Some of the invertebrates are bio-indicators and testament to the clean environment that the Conservancy has worked so hard to ensure. The Red-listed Rare Marsh Sylph Butterfly Metisella meninx a wetland habitat specialist, and twenty recorded species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) flutter and dart around, in contrast to some other East Rand pans devoid of life.

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As with any urban wetland, the entire catchment's litter gets washed in the storm water inlets. Tracy's litter fences (repurposed pool fencing) catches plenty, but more slips through. The community takes part in regular pickups, and the 'D&D' (Dirty and Dangerous) events, where participants regularly have to be dragged out of thick mud, are inexplicably popular. The most popular annual volunteer event is 'The Burn'. Jane started a rotational ecological burning programme in 2015. Despite the challenges of burning in an urban environment, it has been a great success and played a huge role in rehabilitating the grassland. The key is careful preparation of firebreaks and date selection. Jane obsessively monitors the wind and weather forecasts for weeks to pick the date. Korsman has a relationship with some local schools. A new project in 2019 was inviting schools to build insect hotels for a less attractive part of the Sanctuary. The hotels are educational and add visual interest. School groups use Korsman to perform obligatory community service, but the pupils are not always there voluntarily, and if phones were left at the gate, more weeds would no doubt be pulled. Since there are many harder and more extensive jobs that can‘t be accomplished by volunteers, Korsman raises most of its funds from membership fees for workers and equipment to maintain the Sanctuary.

Some Category 1b species have been almost completely eradicated, and the rest are responding to management. Reeds and bulrushes threatened to overwhelm the Sanctuary. In some places, reeds had encroached so far into the grassland that they had breached the fence and grew on the verge. The glimpses of open water were getting smaller and smaller. If interesting birds came to the Sanctuary, one would never have known, because they were invisible behind the reeds. Eventually, the Conservancy persuaded the Metro to conduct high-pressure spraying in the accessible areas. After the reeds died back and a Conservancy worker slashed them with a brush cutter, one could see the water again! The community's support sprang to life with visible results, and since then Conservancy membership has quadrupled. After the initial success of Ekurhuleni‘s herbicide spraying, a year passed with no help.The Conservancy took charge of the situation and devised a technique where a worker kitted out in chest waders slashed reeds in water with a brush cutter and sprayed the regrowth. A serendipitous discovery of an eco-friendly management technique happened when the water was low one year, and a normally deep patch was reachable on foot. After the patch was cut, rain covered the cut stumps which drowned the plant. The cutting and flooding technique is timed for before the first rains, but is only suitable for deep water patches where the birds don‘t build nests. Closer to the shore, reeds must be cut in winter.

The next leap forward was when Tracy designed and personally built a set of portable pontoons out of recycled materials, that workers could place over reeds to cut them in deeper water. To date, three of the nine hectares of reeds in the water have been removed, and all those in the grassland. The Conservancy is now experimenting with burning isolated sections in the dead of winter. Although they will regrow, burning removes buildup of organic matter that could cause sedimentation, eutrophication of the water, and threaten the sustainability of the wetland.

Ecological burn

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