Game Capture-Giraffe & Kudu

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Was asked this afternoon to go help catch Kudus. Once we got to the area where we were going to be catching, we found that the boma had already been set up. The first capture operations were already underway so the students just fell in where they had help necessary. I was sent to the second curtain from the truck & man was that fun. Standing behind the curtain watching the kudu run by waiting for the siren to let me know I must close the curtain.

Thus I hit a snag... My curtain didn't close all the way so once we had the curtain closed, myself & Justin had to stand in front of the gap to ensure the Kudu wouldn't escape again. This was a bit nervy as its very interesting watching eight or more Kudu run in your direction looking for a way out. But Justin & I stood our ground & helped to get the kudu onto the truck. So this was quite an exciting end to our day.





Thursday 24 November 2011

Thursday brought about a slightly overcast start to the day, the perfect weather for catching animals. We started out the morning catching some more Kudu & loading them onto the trucks for transportation. Thereafter we were called aside by Sieg, who told us that we were going to go catch Giraffe, now having not done this before, I was excited to get out & help catch them. Sieg gave us a pre-capture briefing, explaining the method to us, as well as the dangers that would be ahead of us. The capture method is actually quite complex, as the Giraffe gets darted by a vet from a helicopter, then the guys on the ground run into the bush with a thick nylon rope which gets wrapped around the animals legs to trip it, once the animal is on the floor, an antidote for the anesthetic is administered, & ropes placed through the animals legs. From here the animal is helped back to its feet, & then using the ropes is guided onto a trailer for transportation.

The first Giraffe that was caught we just observed how it was done, thereafter we ran into the bush with the capture team to catch the next three Giraffe. I got to help out with leading the Giraffe onto the trailer. I realized just how strong they are by the fact it took about 20 of us to pull the Giraffe onto the trailer.

Overall it was an unbelievable experience & one that I can not wait to do again.

Ecological Management Plan

Over the course of October & November I am busy with a Conservation Management Plan for Sondela Nature Reserve.

A Conservation Management Plan is a five year setup up for the overall improvement of the Ecology of a wildlife reserve. It incorporates all the major areas that influence biodiversity on a Game farm. Such factors include Water Management, Invasive Plant Management, Fire Management, Game Counts for Carrying Capacity, Soil Erosion, Infrastructure Maintenance, Maintenance of Paths & Tracks as well as Road Networks, Resources Management & the impact of tourists.

My areas of the plan that I am covering are the Invasive Plant Management, Fire Management, Maintenance of Paths & Tracks, & Resources Management.

Invasive Plant Management focuses on the Alien/Invader Plant species we have on Sondela. Plants such as Inkberry, Bankrotbos, Sekelbos, Melkbos, Vaalboom, Sweetbos & Queen of the Night. The idea of the management of Invasive plants is to identify the role the play on Sondela, what effect they have on the environment, the effect they have on animals, where they are located on the farm & how they can be controlled. The importance of the management plan is to work out an effective strategy over a five year period that will assist in controlling the plants so that they dont completely overrun the farm.

Fire Management focuses on the effect of fire on Sondela as well as the methods we are taking into consideration to ensure that fires don't cause damage on the farm. Things that need to be taken into account are where the major fire danger areas are, areas that have burnt in recent times, areas where high amounts of combustible material are & the location of infrastructure. This information is very helpful in the set up of fir breaks that need to be cut out & maintained.





Maintenance of Paths & Tracks focuses on the constant repair, development & maintenance of the bicycle & walking trails on Sondela. This is a major factor considering Sondela hosts three major events throughout the course of the year, the Uithourit, the bicycle race & the Sondela fun run. Maintenance of paths & tracks can ensure that injuries to personnel as well as animals such as horse don't get hurt. The walking trails also afford guests the opportunity to spot some of the game that we have on Sondela. Maintenance plans worked out over a period of five years can ensure that the trails are always in pristine condition & the chances of serious accidents can be radically reduced.

New Road

We have been really busy lately with the layout of a new road on the van Resnburg Avenue stretch. The reason being for this is that the old road is very worn away by the constant use as well as the elements. This is the perfect example of an Eroded road.

The new design of the road is to be made in such a way as to negate the possibility of erosion in the future. The road is being made with a little more curve in the road so that any natural run off areas from rain fall flows into the bush rather than cause a river down the road.

We added to the road by laying branches and fallen sickle bush along the sides of the road to assist in the regrowth of the bush around the roads, the dying materials feed valuable nutrients back into the soil so that pioneer grasses can start growing again. Once these pioneer grasses start feeding their nutrients into the soil, even better grasses and plants can start growing.

Bulrush

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Went in the afternoon to the dam at the boys house to remove the bulrush around the dam. The dam was almost empty so it made access to the bulrush a little bit easier, the soil in the dam is turf soil which is very thick and makes getting stuck very easy.
Bulrush is a plant that grows in dams and lakes. It can grow to 10 feet in length and grows very dense. Fish use these plants as hiding place from predators as well as for food. These plants put a lot of nitrogen into water, they have a huge impact in particular on small dams.
We went in with rakes, forks and slashers to cut, rake and collect the bulrush, there after we took the bulrush to the compost heap as new materials to be decomposed.
The unit standard we covered was control of problem plants and harvesting of flora.

Y-Standards

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Was asked today by Sieg to remove the old Y-Standards along the Beest Kraal fence. It looked really untidy and was not attractive if guests rode past there. It was also a danger for any animals that might walk past there. They were really deep in the ground so we decided the best option would be to break them at the base. We bent them to the point where they snapped, then loaded them and took them to the pale kamp where they could be stored.
This was part of our erecting and maintaining wildlife fences unit standard.

EM

Wednesday 27 July 2011

We went to spray EM today. EM stands for Essential Micro-Organisms. It is very useful for the eradication of flies and other pest insects, as well as it is very helpful in the growth of grass that has died.
The areas we had to spray with EM were the hedge by the caravan park, the bathrooms in the caravan park, the stables, the latties at Piccinini's, the bathrooms at Piccinini's, the grass patch behind reception, the hedge in front of reception, and the hedge at the guest house.
We dealt up into teams, each with a 20 litre bottle of EM and a backpack sprayer. It was easier this way to get everything done quicker and more effectively.
This is essential for the Control of non dangerous damage causing animals unit standard.

Game Capture

18 March 2011

This was probably the most exciting and fun week I have had to date in the second year of my Resource Guardianship. With my first group of first years, as well as the species care group, we helped in the set up of the boma where the animals were going to be chased into before being led into the truck. This was very important for the first years in particular to cover their harvesting of fauna unit standard. For the second year students it was important for our carry out a game capture operation unit standard.

Before any game capture operations can begin, we had to go through all the planning with the first years, as well as explain to them how the game capture was going to work, what was going to be caught, and the most vital safety aspects that had to be followed to prevent injury. The first years were all very excited to get started on the game capture, but they had to do the hard work before the fun began.

The set up of the boma was the first really crucial thing that had to take place. The boma had to be set up in a place where we could be well hidden, that was relatively stable ground, as well as where there would be no obstructions on the curtains. The poles and cables went up pretty much in tandem, thereafter the curtains were hung up on the cables, and finally the camouflage areas were built up to hide the curtains and the men pulling the curtains.

Having to be at Sondela at half past 5 in the morning was critical, because with it being March and still summer, it got really hot really quickly so it was a major risk to have the animals running in the heat for risk of dehydration and fatigue. So the early morning start ensured the animals wouldn't be too greatly affected by the chase.

The helicopter was an essential part of the actual capture proceedings. When doing mass capture, the method we were using, the helicopter is very effective in chasing animals into the boma area and thus led onto the trailer of the truck.

The curtains on the boma are also very critical in ensuring that once the animals have been chased into the boma, that they don't escape again. the boma was designed in such a way that there are a series of boma curtains so that while the animals are chased further into the boma the curtains close behind them preventing their escape, Unfortunately for us Eland are unbelievable jumpers and one managed to clear the boma curtain.

In conclusion we managed to catch six Gemsbok bulls, a lot of Wildebeest as well as Zebra and Blesbok. It was an amazing experience and something I would definitely do again.

Bicycle Race Weekend

The last two weeks with my new Resource Guardianship students has been hectic to say the least. All the preparation for the bicycle race had to be done so that the riders could be as safe as possible on the route.

Tuesday 12 July 2011 & Wednesday 13 July 2011
Was asked to go out with Mel on quad bikes to go on the bicycle routes so that we could see all the work that had to be done. We rode the entire stretch past the Olifant Kamp, up under the eskom lines, past the Tambuki koppies down to the Maroela dam.

Thursday 14 July 2011-Friday 22 July 2011
The hard work began, more than a week of hard graft on the bicycle trails so that we could have everything ready for the race. We started with splitting the students up into four groups with the hope of covering a lot of ground relatively quickly, but we ran into a major problem this way and were actually held back due to the students becoming easily fatigued. We went on like this for a couple of days until we came to realize it just wasn't working, so a change of plans was in order. We decided to move along as one large group through the whole trail, which was a lot more effective, the work got done a lot quicker and was a lot neater. The students I had working with me on the trails worked very hard and were hurting by the end of the trails. The first years learned a lot about maintaining in field infrastructure while they were busy on the trails. Maintaining in field infrastructure was one of the first year unit standards to be covered, meanwhile myself, Zenobia and San-Mari got to cover one of our second year unit standards as well, this being Maintaining paths and tracks.

Saturday 23 July 2011
Saturday was just an unbelievably crazy day. We had to be at work at 6:30 in the morning to start the preparation for the bicycle race. My day started with fetching the cruiser so that the marshals could be put out on the track for t6he race. Thereafter I went to fetch my quad bike for the day as I was going to be out on the track as both a marshal and a sweeper. I marshaled for the 5km race then was asked to wait for the 20 km and 40 km races to go out before showing the ambulance where to be stationed on the course. Once that was done, I was sent to sweep for the 40 km race, I drove the trail behind the riders to assist anyone who got hurt or got punctures. Once the race was done the clean up of the caravan park started, this took a good couple of hours where after I took the guests at the caravan park on a game drive.

Sunday 24 July 2011
A very quiet day for all of the students, and a good opportunity to just relax a little bit more. It was a day of mostly clean up work where we went out and collected all the danger tape and sign boards for the race.

Fire Fighter Kyle

Saturday 16 July 2011
Well interesting way for me to begin my off weekend. Relaxing all to nicely at home, got an sms to go through to the fire store because there was a fire. Got to the fire store and was told Id get onto the Buffel to go out with Heino, Justin and San-Mari. We set out to fill up the Buffel first before making our way across the highway to the plots. Once we got to the scene of the fire, we found Mel already there with the farmers in the area fighting the fire. We got the Buffel in and I got to helping the farmers with a flap to hit any coals that were lying around that might have ignited another fire. We werent there very long before the fire was doused and we could go home. It was overall an awesome experience that I cant wait to repeat.

Van Rensburg Avenue

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Took the students to Van Rensburg Avenue today to go and see how the fire breaks were cut on the road. The students also took the opportunity to do a little monitoring of the local wildlife, one of the unit standards they had to cover.
Seeing the variety of birds there where the bulldozer pushed over trees was amazing to see. The birds were all there for the insects that were exposed as well as seeds that would have been thrown on the ground.
The reason for the wide firebreak being cut on Van Rensburg Avenue is so that in the event of a fire coming through there, there is a lot of space to get our vehicles in and fight the fire.

Fire Spotting

Sunday 12 June 2011 & Monday 13 June 2011
My working weekend revolved mainly around one thing, fire spotting. Having a radio on me the whole weekend proved to be of vital importance as on Sunday and Monday was able to report a number of fires to Sieg who then asked me to drive out to the Highway bridge to spot the area in which the fires occurred. On Sunday I just went to the bridge to spot a fire that was in the Radium area, so it was quite far off and with minimal wind was not really a major threat to Sondela. On Monday there were a couple of fires that were of concern. The first one was in the Bela Bela area so was far from the farm, the other was in the area of the plots so I was sent into the plots by Sieg to see what I could find, after driving throughout the plots I found nothing much so with any danger averted I returned to the farm, where on the Caravan Park road I found 2 beautiful Kudu bulls, an Eland and to my utter surprise, a Gemsbok.

Fire Meeting with the managers

Friday 10 June 2011
Was requested during welcoming by Sieg to join him and Justin in the fire meeting. It was very interesting to be the only student to sit in with all the managers. The meeting went about the evacuation points found around the farm, and how to make it easier to find the evacuation areas. Also we discussed the availability and location of the water points on the farm, where we still need fire breaks, the entire Sondela fire sector. One of the important things discussed was the role of the second year students with regards to fighting fire, so all in all it was very informative and interesting to listen in on the managers views regarding the fire season.

Wildvang

Thursday 9 June 2011
Went with Vaaitjie, Sieg and Willem (the vet) to dart animals. This was good for our Harvesting of fauna unit standard. The initial plan was to catch Kudu Bulls but we were unable to find any on the 400 hectare. So we went then to the chalet area to catch Nyalas. Sieg and Willem darted the animals, then we went in to ensure the animals were okay while Willem injected them. The Nyala bull that we caught managed to survive but the young Nyala that we caught unfortunately passed away. We then took the Nyala to the wildlife center where we put it into a boma before reviving him.

Amipor Pressure Plates

Wednesday 8 June 2011
Myself and J.P, as well as of our first year student went out to check the dip applicators and pressure plates around the farm. These checks were important for our Unit Standards about controlling non dangerous damage causing animals. We went to the dip applicator at Makhato 3 to set it to an effective level so as the Kudus could eat the salt blocks and be dipped with Amipor, a tick controlling poison. Karen and Moira were the two students with us at Makhato 3 and then at the dam at Main Gate. At the Main Gate dam we went to fix the pressure plates to ensure maximum efficiency, as well as cut branches to secure the boma around the dam, this was done to ensure the animals walk on the pressure plates, and get sprayed with Amipor. We were interrupted by rain during the precedings, which led to me taking guests back to their chalet. In the afternoon, myself, J.P, Elani and Sanet went to the Tambuki area to check the dip applicator, where we found Kudu feeding, which showed us that the dip applicators are working. Thereafter we went to Tambuki dam to fix the pressure plate there as well as cut Sickle-bush for the boma around the dam there.

Tuesday 7th June 2011

Fire Alarms
Our Tuesday morning began with a fire alarm, a fire had been spotted across the highway. The students all gathered outside the maintainence store, where they packed out the fire equipment for the more experienced fire fighters. The Buffel & the bakkie went out to the fire, which the fighters managed to contain relatively fast. The wind was strong but was blowing away from Sondela which was also a massive advantage for us. I was told to make a roster of all the students helping out at the fire store to ensure that once the fire was put out, that all the students were accounted for. The first years finally got their first taste of what the processes are for a real fire. With every new experience they get to learn just a little more and will be able to react faster, after all when it comes to fire fighting, time is of the essence. Once all the equipment and vehicles were back, it was then just checking the vehicles and equipment, ensuring everything was clean and in working order.

Fire Equipment

Thursday 2nd June 2011
Was asked today by Sieg to set up a rosterfor the fire equipment checks. So firstly took 2 first years with me to go show them how to do the fire equipment checks, we made sure that the Water tankers were operational & full, and that the tractors were starting & operational. Thereafter I took them into the fire store to make sure all the clothing was there, that they were neatly hung up, & that it was easy to access them in the event of a fire. I showed the first years how to check and pack the masks, then check the back pack sprayers, ensuring they were full & operational. Thereafer, I set up a roster including one second year & 2 first years for the rest of June to check the equipment to ensure that in the event of a fire, the equipment is ready to fight. The roster & checklist will also be put into my POE as evidence under my Operate a veld burn Unit Standard.

Uithourit weekend

This weekend was an awesome, yet long weekend as we worked the Uithourit. Its now the second time that Ive worked Uithourit and I enjoyed it this year even more than last year. It started on Thursday afternoon with our meeting with Tannie Antoinette to organize who would be working where the whole weekend. We had a long discussion about the events that would take place, what the plans were and where the first and second year students would work. My Friday started on the boys house road where we were fixing a fence that was run over by Giraffe, the first year students are really getting good at fixing fences, which made my job a little easier. From there I went to Dienshek to welcome all the participants in the Uithourit with their horses. It was fun to help Elani out with helping and welcoming guests to the farm.
Saturday morning was an early start, I was at work at 3 o clock on Saturday morning to help Justin out with filling holes on the routes for the Uithourit. It was freezing cold but it was worth it to ensure that the horses dont get injured. Unfortunately one horse still got seriously hurt during the course of the day. Other than that I was at Dienshek again with Elani to do guest welcoming.