PATROL - VOLUME 24

Why Bother?

A study conducted by Lindsey et al. in 2013 shows that the estimated capital start-up cost of a game ranch in Zambia is in the range of USD 537 per hectare. 

Throw in the start-up capital, and a 2,000-hectare piece of property would be approximately USD 1,500,000 – depending on the area and the distance from the capital city of Lusaka.

Repurposing Snares for Good (5-Minute Video)

Snare busters repurpose the snares collected in the field, especially the wire and the thin cable, by donating them to an organization called “Down to the Wire”. The material is fashioned into jewelry and sold to the public. The money raised through the sales is plowed back into conservation.

But many snares are made from thicker cable, and their idea is to get a knife maker to create Damascus steel knives using this material. The knife handles could then be fashioned from buffalo horn and giraffe bone sourced from poached animals.

A Less Glamorous Narrative: The Mpungini Conservation Area

Martiens Potgieter is a burly, handle-bar mustached maize farmer from Normandien KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, who came to the area as a child in 1970. He has lived, worked, and played here ever since. 

He is a passionate conservationist, always looking to balance growing crops and the environment's health. 

The seed of establishing a conservation area in his district was planted in 1990 when Martiens and his brother bought 13 kudus and released them into the mountainous farm area of Normandien in the hope that they would multiply and reestablish the population.

Kizigo Game Reserve: Anti-poaching and Conservation Work (6-Minute Video)

Ganam/EBN have three safari hunting concessions in Tanzania, in the Moyowosi Game Reserve and Kizigo Central and West Game Reserve.

The anti-poaching efforts and conservation work in Kizigo had to be reactivated after a period of dormancy, and the company teamed up with the Tanzania Wildlife Authority, TAWA, to make it happen.

Some issues faced include timber poaching, meat poaching, charcoal production and encroaching pastoralists.

The conservation work includes providing water, road building, fire control, human-wildlife conflict and general habitat management.

The company also undertakes general research to understand the game reserve's health better.