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Network News Network News Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force News
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Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force News |
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In response to our ongoing appeals for assistance in feeding Tatenda, Bugs van Heerden of Cape Town in South Africa very kindly came to our rescue again with a donation of 100kg of skimmed milk powder and Laureen Bertin of Johannesburg raised funds and bought 300kg of game cubes, 10 litres of Quadripel (horse-fly repellent) and some glucose. We had intended to share the donations between Carla and Lisa Marie of Buffalo Range and Tatenda of Imire but sadly, a decision was made by the WWF and National Parks to relocate the Buffalo Range rhinos to Charles Davey's ranch in Bubi so they no longer need our assistance. We believe the relocation was successful and both rhinos are doing well but our sympathies are with Janey Style who, to the detriment of her health, rescued these 2 babies and put every ounce of her strength into saving their lives. Carla and Lisa Marie regarded Janey as their mother and we can only imagine how heartbroken she must be now that they have been taken away from her. JANEY WITH CARLA AND LISA MARIE Last Sunday, we took a trip out to Imire to deliver the food to Tatenda. The Travers were delighted to receive the milk as Tatenda's supply was getting very low but they were even more delighted with the game cubes. Game cubes are not available in Zimbabwe and the animals at Imire haven't had any for several months. As usual, Tatenda and Hogwash were very interested in the donations, especially when Judy broke open one of the bags of game cubes for them to taste. Once they tasted them, it was almost impossible to get them away from the bags. TATENDA AND HOGWASH TASTING THE GAME CUBES Little Tsotsi, the hyena was feeling a bit left out so Judy brought him outside so he could see what all the excitement was about. He clung onto Judy for dear life though because he is extremely nervous around anyone other than her. JUDY AND TSOTSI On our way out, we came across Nzou, the elephant who thinks she is a buffalo. Nzou is a remarkable animal. She was taken in at Imire 35 years ago at the age of 2, the orphaned victim of an elephant cull. At the time, she was the only elephant there and she was lonely so she was put with a herd of buffalo to keep her company. Having grown up with the buffalo, she naturally assumed that she was also a buffalo and as she steadily grew bigger and bigger, she assumed the position of "leader of the herd". There was no argument, in view of her size and the odd buffalo that has been foolish enough to try and take her place, has not lived to tell the tale. NZOU AND HER BUFFALO There is no doubt that Nzou regards the buffalo as her own personal property. She counts them regularly to make sure they are all present by touching each one in turn with her trunk and she protects them with her life. If a strange vehicle approaches, she runs in front of her herd and if any of the buffalo get too close to the vehicle, she nudges them back with her trunk or her leg. On more than one occasion, she has rescued buffalo that have been stuck in the mud. She recently rescued a buffalo calf that had wandered into the middle of a pool of deep mud. She responded to the calf's cries by going very carefully into the mud herself, wrapping her trunk around the calf's mid-section and pulling it to safety. One of the buffalo was caught in a wire snare attached to a tree and Nzou broke the snare off the tree, freeing the buffalo so that the Travers could remove the snare from its neck. Some time ago, 2 of the buffaloes were fighting. A buffalo calf was caught in between them and was mortally wounded by one of their horns. Nzou heard the baby screaming and ran to the rescue. When she arrived at the scene, the baby was lying on the ground, bleeding profusely so Nzou lifted it with her trunk and tried to make it stand, but to no avail. The baby died shortly afterwards and Nzou dug a shallow grave with her foot, pushed the baby buffalo into it and covered it over with sticks and leaves. She is also very protective over her handler who follows the herd around all day to guard them against poachers. The handler was charged by one of the buffalo and the horn caught him under his arm. He was lying on the ground, badly injured and screaming for help. Nzou heard him and arrived just as the buffalo was moving in for the kill. She positioned her great body between the handler and the buffalo and drove the buffalo off. The handler, unable to walk began to crawl back to the house and all the way there, Nzou slowly walked beside him to protect him from the buffalo. 2 weeks later, she killed the buffalo. The buffalo spend the night in pens and Nzou is chained to a tree every night near the pens. This is to give the handler a chance to sleep and to prevent the animals from wandering off and becoming the victims of poachers. Some nights, Nzou breaks free of her chain, opens the gate of the buffalo pens and calls the buffalo out to go with her to eat from the vegetable garden. 2 of the buffalo are due to be relocated shortly and they have been kept in the pens in preparation for the move. Nzou is not happy about this and persists in opening the gate and letting them out. Imire is desperately in need of new game fencing. The fence is old and broken in some places and some of the animals are escaping. Once they have escaped, it is only a matter of time before they are killed by poachers. We are trying to raise funds for this project and if anyone would like to assist, please contact us - details below. Johnny Rodrigues Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force Landline: 263 4 336710 Landline/Fax: 263 4 339065 Mobile: 263 11 603 213 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Website: www.zctf.mweb.co.zw Website: www.zimbabwe-art.com |
