Conservation Beyond Borders Foundation

CONSERVATION BEYOND BORDERS WORKS TO PROTECT AND SAVE WILDLIFE. WILDLIFE VETS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN ASSISTING WITH THE PRESERVATION OF WILDLIFE SPECIES. IT IS FOR THE REASON THAT CBB IS SUPPORTING AFRICAN WILDLIFE VETS BY ASSISTING WITH THE FUNDING OF A FULL-TIME VET. DR ROWAN LEEMING HAS 7 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE WILDLIFE VETERINARY INDUSTRY. HIS ROLE IS TO SUPPORT WILDLIFE MANAGERS AND ECOLOGISTS WITH THEIR WILDLIFE VETERINARY REQUIREMENTS INCLUDING PLACING TRACKING COLLARS ON ANIMALS, RELOCATING ANIMALS FOR GENETIC PURPOSES AND TREATING INJURED ANIMALS. 2022 WAS AN UNUSUALLY QUIET YEAR FOR AFRICAN WILDLIFE VETS IN TERMS OF VETERINARY OPERATIONS. DESPITE THIS, EVERY OPERATION THAT A VET ATTENDS TO CONTRIBUTES TO THE CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE. WE TESTED 115 BUFFALO FOR FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE IN HLUHLUWE IMFOLOZI PARK. THE SPREAD OF THE DISEASE IN THE AREA HAS HAD A GREAT IMPACT ON THE CONSERVATION EFFORTS OF MANY PROTECTED AREAS IN KWAZULU-NATAL PROVINCE.

TWO RESERVES IN WHICH WE'RE PROVIDING VETERINARY SUPPORT TO ARE HLUHLUWE IMFOLOZI PARK AND UMKHUZE GAME RESERVE. THESE RESERVES ARE BOTH HOME TO TWO RHINO SPECIES, THE BLACK RHINO (DICEROS BICORNIS) AND THE WHITE RHINO (CERATOTHERIUM SIMUM).OUR VETERINARY CONTRIBUTION IN 2022 HAS INCLUDED THE RELOCATION OF BLACK RHINO; CAPTURING A WHITE RHINO THAT ESCAPED THE BOUNDARY OF ONE OF THE RESERVES AND NOTCHING RHINO. RHINO EAR-NOTCHING IS AN EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE METHOD USED TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUAL RHINOS WITHIN A POPULATION. THIS IS ESSENTIAL TO INFORM MANAGEMENT DECISIONS AS IT ENABLES BIOLOGICAL DATA INCLUDING POPULATION SIZE, BIRTH RATE, HOME RANGE AND INDIVIDUALS' GENETICS OR RELATEDNESS TO BE COLLECTED. WITH THE CONTINUED RHINO POACHING CRISIS IN SOUTH AFRICA, WE HAVE ALSO HAD TO DEAL WITH THE EFFECTS OF THIS, INCLUDING ATTENDING TO FORENSIC POST-MORTEMS OF RHINOS AND RESCUING RHINO ORPHANS AFTER THEIR MOTHERS HAVE BEEN BRUTALLY POACHED.

DR ROWAN LEEMING COLLARED 7 ELEPHANTS IN HLUHLUWE IMFOLOZI PARK IN 2022. THE TRACKING COLLARS WILL ASSIST THE ECOLOGIST AND RESEARCH TEAM ON THE RESERVE WITH UNDERSTANDING THE MOVEMENTS OF THE HERDS AS WELL AS DETERMINING THE POPULATION SIZE. WE ALSO REMOVED A SNARE OFF AN ELEPHANT'S LEG IN UMKHUZE GAME RESERVE. SNARING HAS BEEN ON THE RISE SINCE COVID-19 AND WHILE SNARES ARE GENERALLY SET TO CAPTURE BUSHMEAT, THEY ARE INDISCRIMINATE, AND WE OFTEN FIND PREDATORS AND ELEPHANTS ENSNARED.

COLLARING IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF MANAGING AND PROTECTING LION, AFRICAN WILD DOG AND CHEETAH POPULATIONS IN SMALL, FENCED PROTECTED AREAS. TRACKING COLLARS HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN ASSISTING CONSERVATION TEAMS FIND ANIMALS WITH SNARES ON THEM AS WELL AS CAPTURING COLLARED ANIMALS THAT HAVE LEFT THE BOUNDARIES OF PROTECTED AREAS. TRACKING AND MONITORING THESE PREDATORS MOVEMENTS AND BEHAVIOUR CAN HELP RESERVE ECOLOGISTS AND MANAGERS DETERMINE THE GENETICS OF THEIR POPULATIONS WHICH WILL ASSIST THEM IN ASCERTAINING WHICH INDIVIDUALS NEED TO BE RELOCATED FROM THE PROTECTED AREA TO AVOID INBREEDING.MOST OF OUR PREDATOR WORK IN 2022 INVOLVED PLACING TRACKING COLLARS ON LIONS AND AFRICAN WILD DOGS. WE ALSO VACCINATED A CHEETAH FOR THE HERPES VIRUS AND RELOCATED TWO YOUNG CHEETAH CUBS WHOSE MOTHER HAD BEEN KILLED IN A SNARE.