Zimbabwe Seven

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 27 2008 | By: zimbabwe7

Dear Readers,

Snaring of wildlife is a daily occurrence in Zimbabwe, under these very trying and hungry times. There are many animals who manage to break away from snare’s anchor, but are then left with the snares wires attached to one part of their bodies or another, causing unbelieve pain and damage. Kariba is one of Zimbabwe’s top tourist destinations, with Lake Kariba being one of the world’s largest man made lakes. With the conditions we are living under here in Zimbabwe, it is very important that we all work as a team. “Operation Kariba De-snare” has been a result of such efforts. The Tikki Hywood Trust would like to sincerely thank all of those involved in making this operation such a success. During these difficult times the outcome has been a hugely positive one, from all involved animals and man alike. As a result of this success we now know that should there be any further reports regarding snared animals in Kariba – we will be able to put together another team to go and help out.

Below is an excerpt from Geoff Blythe account of the de-snaring done in Kariba. Geoff is based in Kariba and alerted us to the dire situation of some elephant calves that had wires on their legs and one had lost its trunk. From that first contact, we soon discovered that there were other animals that desperately required de-snaring as well.

I will now try to relate the events and follow up on these animals and their rescue as accurately and correctly as possible.
And basically it is thanks to Roger Parry and his wife Jessica, and the Wild Horizons Trust, and Lisa Hywood and the Tikki Hywood Trust, that it all happened and was a success.
Roger and Jessica arrived from Vic Falls on Saturday 17 October 08, by air on a private charter flight per kind favour of Sefafani Air ( part of Wilderness Safaris). They were very generous to donate the chartered flight to and from Kariba for Jess and Roger.
Roger had been in contact with me by phone after receiving my ‘plea for help’ e-mail. And it was Lisa Hywood who put us in touch with one another.
So when I introduced him to the other participants and assistants in the program, it was just a case of renewing old acquaintances.
Once introduced we formed a loose plan of action by asking all those involved to keep an eye out for the herd (elephants), and those prepared to go that extra kilometre, to travel to certain areas in the search.
To cut a long story short, from Saturday midday to that evening we had no luck……. having travelled as far as the Kaburi lake shoreline and the Nyanyana River by the glitterstone quarry in the east, and the old Breezes hotel ‘valley’ in the West. Anywhere there was water to be found.
I forgot to mention that I went up with Greg Hall in his microlite float plane early Friday morning to try locate the herd, and apart from seeing plus/minus 30 odd bulls, no sign of the cow herd.
Anyway, Sunday was a repeat of Saturday…. round and around we went searching.
At midday we got a call from the Scholtz team that the herd had been located – this was huge relief to all of us.
With the help of Dolf and Andries and Lamec Dzodzo and the National Parks Scouts, we were able to do the first job. Due to the high temperatures, we went with knapsack sprays, drums of water, drugs, darts, medical equipment and treatment, muti (medicine) for wounds, heavy weapons, bolt and wire cutters, binoculars, radios, flares, and a great deal of goodwill and hope.
While Roger and his backup team of heavies with the ‘cannons’ ( weapons, just in case of emergency ) went in to dart, we all hung back with baited breath and the rest of the equipment. The first dart went into a snared older calf we had not seen before. Into the ear, and M99 bursting out the otherside, meaning no effect. However, Roger had mistaken this animal for one of the other injured ones as it too had a snare injury on the back leg? So the follow up continued, and Roger, with great patience and deliberation, and in temperatures of 45 degrees C, reloaded, went in again, and succeeded in darting the animal in the shoulder this time. 8 minutes later down it went.

We all helped to remove the snare, do the monitoring of the breathing, heartbeat and temperature, spraying to keep the animal cool, and take measurements.
The wound was very infected, with copious amounts of puss oozing out. A hole in the bottom of it’s foot was also weeping as a result of the wound. An incision was made to try and get at the cable snare, but try as we did to get it out, no joy. It appeared to be deeply imbedded into the flesh. So much so that bone was growing over it. Roger decided not to try get it out, and instead cut it to release pressure. Great care was taken thereafter to clean and treat the wound and infection with long-lasting, broad spectrum antibiotics, sprays and betadine (povidone-iodine).

The little ele ( a bull ) had landed up on his side in a jesse thorn thicket, right on the edge of a small spruit/gully. After finishing the cleanup and rescue operation, he was turned over and sprayed, and put in a better position for recovery.
The antidote was administered, and within minutes he was up and away with seemingly no side effects other than being a bit wobbly on his legs.

All this time the rest of the herd had moved off. Mother originally had to be given a slight reprimand when quite naturally she refused to move away, and Dolf fired off a flare. Otherwise there were no hassles. Great relief to us all when we saw the little fellow join the herd again….. just as the sun was sinking and the day cooling. Thought was given to trying to do the other animal, but with light fading, it was decided to try again Sunday.

Meanwhile Roger, Nikki, Chad and I set off for NAU Charara site to get fuel, ( which Landie was almost out of) and to have a chat with Steve Kok of Charara who had reported that the Zebra with deeply embedded snare in it’s neck was on the floodplain opposite Wild Heritage.
Exhausted as we already were from the previous ‘lemon’ of an exercise, we set off to look for the Zebra.
Fortunately for us no walking was involved this time, as Steve took us right up to the herd, and there was the injured animal.
So while Steve went off to meet up with Lamec Dzodzo of Nat Parks who was now on his way from Kariba to help us with the operation, Roger, Nikki, Chad, Mosi and I went off to the Wild Heritage swim pool to cool off, relax and rest, and demolish a chicken breadroll each that Nikki had thoughtfully included in the icebox full of cold water. What a relief and pleasure that was.
When Steve and Lamec arrived, the operation to get close enough to dart the Zebra was on. What a mission that turned out to be, when normally one can drive up to within touching distance of the animals.
This time plus/minus 2 hours of gingerly driving up to the herd, which would suddenly spook due to the frisky stallions therein. Causing much snorting, farting and a great deal of frustration for us.
Eventually the first dart fired from within Steve’s little red 4×4….! To land smack bang into the bone of the animals tail. And no reaction from the drug.
So once again to reload the dart and start all over again. Amazing to observe Rogers methodical, controlled and expert handling of the deadly M99 drugs to us humans, but life savers for the wildlife.
Eventually darted, the zebra went down, and we were able to get in and cut…..with great difficulty…. the double strand of cable that was deeply embedded into the animals neck.

And a very serious injury it was. Half the neck and mane had been eaten away by the wire, leaving the vertabrae almost exposed from the top. How it had survived for so long with this dreadful and obviously painful wound is a mystery.
Anyway, with the snare eventually cut through, and the wound now cleaned and dressed and antibiotics and antidote administered, we watched with great satisfaction as the poor slightly built little zebra leaped up, whoo wooped a couple of times, and ran off to join the rest of the waiting herd.
During the time we were administering to the zebra, Greg and Andries had just been up in the microlite again and spotted the elephant herd, way out on the other side of the quarry. So off we set again into the darkening evening, to see if we could find and positively identify them. A call from Greg positively identifying the herd on the Nyanyana National Parks access road.
In we went and had them sighted within another 15 minutes from the ground. In a thicket of Mopani trees and jesse scrub.
This time there would be no waiting, so in went Roger with his ‘cannon’ weilding backup in Marc Van Zuydum and Andries, and ourselves carrying the boxed equipment and the Parks Scouts the Knapsak sprays.
Kylie and I hung back with Mosi, until the first dart was fired. A branch in the thicket caused it to deflect and hit the animal sideways. But no undue stress from the rest of the herd or the calf….. this time the little trunkless fellow.
So another follow up, and this time success. Thanks to the inquisitive little chap coming up to investigate Roger crouched down in the thick jesse.
As it turned Roger put the dart into its rump. Unfortunately the sound of the second dart upset the rest of the herd which started milling around restlessly. Difficult to see in the very thick jesse scrub.
Roger then reloaded with a second dart in anticipation of trouble from the mother.
When the calf eventually went down, all hell broke lose from the now very distressed herd.
They were charging around everywhere, and eventually found Roger, Marc and Andries approaching their downed baby.
To avoid unnecessary complications, I held back with Kylie, and watched as the team went in to try chase the herd off the baby which was now being “attacked” vigorously by the mother and the matriarch in an attempt to wake it and get it up and away. Kicking and pushing it, rolling it, trumpeting and screaming. Shots were now being fired into the air from the pistols and revolvers that the team were toting, in an effort to try keep the enraged mothers and herd at bay.
At this point Roger was left with no alternative but to put a dart into the now charging mother. From about 10 meters away. Right into the trunk. The sting of the hit very fortunately turned the charging creature.
She was now far enough off for Roger to get in and attend to the calf. I went in with cutters and medical box, dropped it off and then raced back to the Landrover to drive back the five minute trip to collect Nikki, Bronni and Chad and camera from home. ( Nikki had been downloading the previous pics and was waiting uplift ).
Once back at the site, literally ran back in with an extra 20 litre container of water (in case needed) and the camera to get pics.
Nikki followed up with the children and kept them all at a safe distance.
By that time the removal of the snare and ‘cleanup’ of the wound (which was quite ghastly, and worse than when we had taken the original pictures) had been completed, along with penicillin jab and antidote to the M99. The mother had gone down by this time, but no one in the team was sure where.
So armed with the antidote and the backup team, Roger went back into the very thick jesse bush combretum, located her, administered the ‘wake up call’, and from a safe distance watched while mother and trunkless calf, minus the snare, happily reunited.

In this case, due to the haste of the exercise, and the danger presented by the mother, matriarch, and rest of the herd to all and sundry, measurement and data were not recorded.
It was also decided, after close observation, that the final baby ele to be attended to should actually be left alone.
Reason being that from what they could see, the injury had very much healed over, no sign of infection, was not presenting the animal with too much pain and discomfort ( observed by the way it was walking ) and that it would most likely be like the first animal darted in that the snare would be too deeply embedded and subsequently very difficult to get out. Opening it up and trying would most likely cause more damage than good.
And so ended the saga of 5 days of footslogging, nearly 500 kilometres of search driving, hard work, patience, perseverance, and blood ( scratches and wounds ), sweat and tears.
And a broken back door window of my Tdi Landrover. Which happened while in the haste of reversing when it slammed shut and shattered. If anyone out there knows where I can get a pane of glass for the back door of a 1998 Landrover 110 TDi Defender, please let me know.
So to all those who put in the effort here ‘on the ground’ in Kariba….particularly Andries, Dolf (on the first ele darting) Greg (flying), Mark, Kylie, Donna, Nikki, Bron and Chad, Lamec Dzodzo and his scouts, Liz and Franz, Steve Kok for his help with the Zebra, and those who have kindly donated food and drinks to help with our shortage of ‘vittals’, a VERY big thank you. And to Marc Brightman for putting me in touch with Lisa Hywood.
To those who generously donated funds….particularly Cavin Warren, and the Biss boys from Avoca…..another huge thanks.
And the biggest thanks of all to Roger Parry and Jess, without whom we could never have started…..?
And of course to the Wildhorizons Trust and Tikki Hywood Trust. And Jonny Rodriguez of ZCTF for the fuel coupons.