Lephalale - Five suspected rhino poachers appeared in the Lephalale Magistrate's Court in Limpopo on Tuesday and were granted R10 000 bail each.

Patricia Mukwhevho, 30, Secret Cutama, 29, Rhinus Makhadu, 28, Louis Musekwa, 31, and Abram Kgalushi, 33, face charges of unlawful hunting of protected wild species and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The suspects, who are all from Louis Trichardt, are allegedly linked to at least eight cases of rhino poaching that took place in the Makhado area earlier this year.

“The hunting rifle that was found in their possession has been linked to other rhino poaching crimes,” confirmed Limpopo provincial police spokesperson Ronel Otto.

The suspects were arrested on Ferroland Private Game Reserve near Lephalale late last month.

An unlicensed .308 hunting rifle with its serial number filed off, as well as five rounds of ammunition, were confiscated.

The suspects have not been asked to plead and their case was postponed to November 3.

- African Eye

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/New ... accused-get-bail-20100907

Five suspected rhino poachers are expected to appear in the Lephalale Magistrate’s Court on Monday. They were arrested last month on a private game farm.

Four men and their female accomplices are expected back in the dock for a second time since their arrest.

Rangers from the Ferroland Game Estate spotted their vehicle driving near the farm last month and quickly stopped them.

They were found with a hunting rifle that had the serial number filed off and several rounds of ammunition.

There have been recent successes in the fight against rhino poaching that they were hunting rhino as their tracks followed those of the animals.

Meanwhile, security officials last week said they foiled two alleged rhino poaching attempts in Limpopo with three arrests being made.

In another incident Anti-Poaching Unit members gunned down a suspected poacher during a shootout at the Pilanesberg Reserve in the North West.

http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=47829

Wildlife conservation organisation Traffic on Wednesday said modern technology may have made some aspects of life much easier but it has made the fight against rhino poaching much harder.

The association said cellphones are being used by poachers to communicate with their pick-up teams, making it easier to flee the scene of an illegal hunt, while the internet is making it possible for them to sell illegal horn products around the world anonymously at the click of a button.

South Africa has lost 188 rhino to poaching this year and experts believe this trend will peak at about 1500 rhino being killed annually by the end of 2011 if nothing is done to curb the increase in illegal hunting now.

The World Wildlife Fund kicked off its Rhino Month campaign in Sandton on Wednesday to raise money for rangers at the frontline of the fight. The money will be used to buy body armour, binoculars, night vision goggles, radios and vehicles.

Traffic’s Tom Milliken said the rangers of today are facing an entirely new set of challenges compared to those working during the 1980s and 1990s because of new technologies.

http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=47584

Two lionesses stalk their male counterpart before launching an extraordinary attack on the stunned lion.

The dramatic set of photographs capture in startling detail the moments two females trade blows with the bigger lion.

The females were out hunting when they spotted the lion, and fearing he might be competition, they gave a show of force by landing powerful blows.

Game ranger Malcolm Bowling captured the images of a lifetime as he instinctively snapped away during the dramatic encounter, which lasted just seconds.




'As I started shooting multiple images, the episode unfolded extremely fast in front of us.'

'There was always going to be some kind of interaction - but the extent of this was dramatic.'

'I was completely stunned. It was one of those moments a photographer longs for.'

'Nobody can predict how events are going to unfold or to what degree, and then something like this happens in an incredible way.'

'There is that excitement and nervousness about whether or not you captured it.'

'Events in nature happen incredibly fast, so I was fortunate enough to capture what I got.'

'This sequence of photographs captures the whole approach, attack and reprieve which is unbelievable in itself.'

'This turn of events re-iterates the fact that we never know in nature what is going to happen - speculate, yes, but actually know? Never.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/world ... dering-male.html?ITO=1490

Durban — The Departments of Rural Development and Environmental Affairs have signed an agreement which is expected to assist in transforming the biodiversity and conservation sector.

The National Co-Management Framework was signed on Monday at the People and Parks Conference at the University of Zululand.

Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica said that strides have been made in certain sectors already. She was referring to the hunting industry which is transforming without much pressure from government.

"It is clear that the industry is aware of the need for transformation and they are willing to make it happen," said Sonjica.

It is also an industry which has been identified as a potential platform for the involvement of local communities in economic activities.

Government will publish hunting norms and standards to ensure there is sustainable usage of resources.

Sonjica said transformation efforts must be expanded beyond male domination and training and include previously disadvantage individuals.

Another reason for the importance of the framework, is the continuation of the People and Parks programme.

"There is evidence of local economic development which is rooted in the communities with dividends accrued shared with the affected communities," said Sonjica.

But government is still not satisfied with the number of communities benefiting from such programmes given that fact that the country's biodiversity is ranked fifth in the world.

"I am disappointed that we have such a small number of beneficiaries... We need to double our efforts to ensure that in 2012 the number of benefiting communities should have increased, at least ten times," the minister said.

The absence of women is an issue which the departments want to address with urgency.

"We need them to play a vital role in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and their involvement in all decision-making processes," said Sonjica.

In addition, biodiversity and conservation transformation will play a crucial role in the development of a green economy.

Sonjica said government has committed to a new growth path in the form of green economy and realise that new and innovative financial instruments need to be developed.

"Gone are the days when the environmentalists were viewed as obstructing development. We believe that the environment portfolio has a substantial role to play in economic development and ensuring that as we grow our economy, we do so in a manner that is sustainable and pro-green," said Sonjica.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201008310182.html

A CAPE mountain zebra, an endangered species, has been shot dead on the edge of the Addo Elephant National Park.

The incident occurred in the Darlington section of the park, next to the main road, about 75km from Somerset East, and the animal was apparently shot through the fence.

SA National Parks spokesman Megan Taplin said the carcass of the zebra, a young stallion, had been found by rangers during a routine patrol on August 11.

“It appears it was shot some time during the previous night by a person standing on the outside of the park boundary fence that runs parallel to the R400 road to Somerset East.

“The zebra was standing no more than 30m from the fence when it was shot in the eye. It stumbled a few metres before dying.”

Somerset East detectives found evidence of vehicle tracks and a man’s shoe print.

Taplin said there was no evidence of the culprit trying to get through the fence to the carcass. “We have had incidents in the hunting season in winter where this kind of thing has happened with kudus, but those incidents were more clearly linked to poaching because efforts were made to breach the fence.”

A mountain zebra shooting had not occurred before at either Addo or the other stronghold of the species in the Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP), she said.

The animal was one of a group of 25 Cape mountain zebra introduced to the Darlington area this year. The transfer had occurred from the MZNP to inject new genes into the small mountain zebra population in Addo, Taplin said.

“SANParks is particularly concerned about the incident as the zebra is an endangered species. The loss of a stallion affects the breeding dynamics of the zebra herd.”

Somerset East police detective division chief Captain Richard Muller said yesterday no arrests had been made, but the police were investigating. Anyone with information on the incident can contact the Somerset East police on 042-2432233 .

http://www.weekendpost.co.za/article.aspx?id=595090

They are the weapons of a 64 000-year-old hunting scene in KwaZulu-Natal - quartz segments that still carry the traces of blood and tissue of the prey.

What that prey was has been lost to time, but the evidence of the kill is what Dr Marlize Lombard can see when she peers into her laboratory microscope.

There is a reddish-brown blob of animal tissue, white bone fragments still clinging to the stone-age tool, and there is the coppery tinge of a prehistoric blood smear, 64-millennia old.

This forms part of the evidence that has enabled a team of South African scientists to deduce the quartz segments are the earliest-known examples of stone-arrow heads.

This, at a time when mammoths and Neanderthals still roamed Europe.

The team's findings were published last week in the journal Antiquity.

The tools were excavated in Sibudu Cave, near Ballito, and the possible presence of such technology in the deep stone age, is making academics reassess just how complicated and modern-human-like our ancestors really were.

These arrow heads could be at least 2 000 years older than a bone arrow that was discovered at the cave, two years ago.

"It is like piecing together a crime scene and we were following multiple lines of evidence," says Lombard, who uses the jargon of a modern-day forensic investigator.

Lombard, an archaeologist at the University of Johannesburg, and other members of the research team have been able to replicate these impact fractures, using-modern day replicas of bows and spears and thrusting them into carcasses of wildebeest and other game.

But it is not just blood and animal tissue Lombard found on the tools; she also observed the remains of what the team believe is gum-based resin, used to glue the tips to the shafts.

It is the use of this prehistoric glue that would have required following a recipe and intricate multi-staged planning that has academics wondering.

Lombard said manufacturing such bows and arrows would have demanded a high level of cognitive reasoning and thought to understand how to make rope and know how to tie a good strong knot.

"We are convinced they were or were at least similar to us cognitively and behaved like us too," says Lombard."

What Lombard cannot tell is whose blood is on the arrow heads, but other researchers working at the cave have drawn up a list of likely suspects.

"We have come across blue duiker, bush pig and buffalo," explains Lombard.

The presence of yellowwood shows that the environment then was wetter, but colder and the makers of those stone-tipped arrows would have hunted in a forest.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id ... n20100830065032258C803585

POWER tussles between two rival Zanu PF factions are threatening the viability of a wildlife-rich conservancy in Marondera after the party's government ministers failed to evict supporters who invaded the animal sanctuary this week, the Zimbabwe Independent has learnt.

Authoritative sources told the Independent yesterday that Wildlife and Natural Resources minister Francis Nhema, Parks and Wildlife Management Authority director-general Vitals Chadenga, and Campfire director Charles Jonga visited Domersville Farm in Marondera on Wednesday to resolve the issue, but failed.

Nhema had reportedly asked for the intervention of Mashonaland West governor Aneas Chigwedere, the area legislator and Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Tracy Mutinhiri and Zanu PF Mashonaland East chairman Ray Kaukonde, to evict the invaders.

The scheduled meeting between Nhema, his delegate and the three provincial leaders, the sources said, flopped after Kaukonde, Mutinhiri and Chigwedere did not turn up as they allegedly viewed the eviction of the farmers as a move to pursue Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa's agenda.

Kaukonde, Mutinhiri and Chigwedere are reportedly Vice-President Joice Mujuru's allies in the deeply divided Zanu PF where Mnangagwa and Mujuru's husband Solomon are rivals.

"Nhema's efforts to evict the families from the Domersville Farm were in vain because his Zanu PF counterparts were not cooperative," said the source.

The Zanu PF supporters occupied the wildlife rich Agos Farm, which is under Domersville Ranch, threatening wildlife at Elderado, Imire and Matope Farms in the province.

Government sources said wildlife farms invasions were a threat to the game population with reports of settlers poaching the animals.

"We wonder why ministers from Mashonaland East did not support Nhema," said the official. "It's sad that the ministers are playing politics instead of addressing the issue with urgency. The invasions in Marondera must be stopped."

Nhema, Jonga and Chadenga, sources said, approached the invaders to persuade them to leave the property, but faced stiff resistance.

"The families who occupied the farm told Nhema and his delegation that they were waiting to be allocated land by the Marondera district administrator," said the source.

Chadenga yesterday confirmed that he received reports of wildlife farm invasions in Mashonaland East, but insisted that he did not see the settlers during the visit with Nhema.

"We will monitor the situation and if necessary, we will deploy game rangers," he said.

Domersville Farm boasts of plains game - zebras, giraffes, waterbucks and impala.

Nhema yesterday confirmed that he visited Domersville Farm, but downplayed the farm invasions, saying he was assessing a Campfire project.

The chaotic land invasions, which began in 2000 and were spearheaded by war veterans, are blamed for the collapse of the agriculture sector.

Kaukonde could not comment as he was said to be in a meeting while Chigwedere and Mutinhiri were not reachable.

The invasion of wildlife farms in Mashonaland East comes against the backdrop of rampant poaching and looting at Denlynian and Tamari Wildlife sanctuary in Beitbridge.

The land invasions have benefited Zanu PF supporters at the expense of experienced white commercial farmers. Efforts by white farmers through the courts to reclaim their properties have failed as President Mugabe's cronies defy court orders.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201008271017.html

Kampala — The capture of one of the largest crocodiles estimated to weigh about one tonne last Friday sent residents at Namoni landing site in Mayuge District into wild cheers.

Describing the crocodile as a man eater, they danced and ululated after it was captured by rangers of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Namoni residents said the giant reptile had mauled about 10 people and more than 100 have lost their lives following its attacks. Most of the victims were reportedly fishermen using canoes and others were part of the lakeside communities that either collect water from the lake or bathe at the shores.

"This is the second largest crocodile we have captured in Lake Victoria," said Peter Ogwang, a ranger in charge of problem animals at UWA based in Kampala. "We captured him at about 6:00am with the help of the local people who assisted to pull him out of the water and load him onto the vehicle."

The man eater attracted crowds as the heavy laden Toyota-land cruiser pick-up truck groaned in the traffic jam between Mukono and Kampala on its way to Karuma Wildlife Reserve in northern Uganda, its new home. "I had never seen a live crocodile in my life; I rushed to have a look at the massive reptile," said Peter Kayongo, a hairdresser in Bweyogerere. "It had filled the back of the truck and its tail had to be folded for it to fit properly."

Two weeks ago, UWA captured a crocodile in the same area. The capture of the man eater on Friday brings to 23, the number of crocodiles UWA's capture team has rescued from different parts of the country. UWA relocated them to Karuma wildlife reserve. Their new home is the River Nile, where human habitation is about 30 kilometres away. But wildlife experts said crocodiles patronise about two kilometres, meaning that they can still be a danger to the human population settled outside the wildlife reserve.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201008230707.html

Nairobi — A man arrested while allegedly attempting to smuggle game trophies through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was on Tuesday arraigned in court.

Mr Aseche Aburila, a despatch attendant with Sunrise Ltd, denied being found with 37 pieces of elephant tusks and five rhino horns valued at Sh9.8 million at the cargo area of the airport on August 22, 2010.

He was accused of being in possession of the government trophies without a licence.

He was also accused of dealing with game trophies without a licence and failing to report to the Kenya Wildlife Service that he had elephant tusks and rhino horns.

He applied to be freed on bail.

Prosecutor Michael Mukui told the court he was not opposed to the accused being released on bond.

Makadara chief magistrate Martin Muya directed the accused to deposit a bond of Sh500,000 before he was freed from prison custody.

The case will be heard on October 27, 2010.

In an earlier case, two employees of a company that supplies food to Kenya Airways were charged with putting pins in meals served to the national airline's passengers.

Mr Simiyu Ayienda and Mr Brian Ayub of Nairobi Airport Services (NAS) were arraigned before Mr Muya and denied intending to cause deaths to passengers by adding pins in the meals.

This brings to five the number of NAS employees charged with the offence.

Others who appeared before Mr Muya were Mr Simon Nyaro, Mr Boniface Ongeso and Mr Michael Mwiru. They were released on bond after entering a plea of "not guilty".

The case will be heard on October 28.

They are alleged to have committed the offence between July 26 and August 16.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201008250259.html

KINSHASA, Congo — Police in northeastern Congo have seized 116 elephant tusks and arrested two men following a truck crash.

Col. Sylvain Tshikez said Wednesday that the ivory was found inside jerry cans that tumbled off a truck involved in a crash.

The discovery took place near the town of Kisangani in the northeastern Orientale province following the accident. The owner of the vehicle was seriously injured but was also expected to face charges.

Illegal hunting of elephants in central and eastern Africa has intensified in recent years, with much of the ivory exported to Asia.

Poachers also have taken advantage of the fact Congo suffered through back-to-back civil wars, and the country's volatile east remains mired in armed conflict.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/a ... c7CvGWuOpreSEsfgD9HQHQKO1

Johannesburg — A NEW committee to co-ordinate the fight against rhino poaching was formed yesterday as environmental groups vowed to work together to conserve rhino at the Lead SA Rhino Summit held in Johannesburg.

The summit's resolutions were supported by a range of organisations including South African National Parks (SANParks), the Hawks, the South African Police Service, Space for Elephants Foundation, NSPCA Wildlife Unit, the Private Rhino Owners' Association, the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the Department of Environmental Affairs.

Citizens with information about rhino poaching are reluctant to approach the police , representatives from rhino conservation groups said, calling for a neutral organisation to collect poaching intelligence.

So far 180 rhinos have been killed this year, the summit heard, with animals being killed on an almost daily basis, and endangering the future sustainability of SA's rhino populations.

The Hawks and the Asset Forfeiture Unit are conducting a joint operation to tackle rhino poaching, with the assistance of the South African National Defence Force. Assets worth R45m were seized from a suspected poaching gang earlier this year, while another three men were arrested in June for attempting to smuggle rhino horn out of SA.

Powdered rhino horn sells for more than R19000/kg in the Far East, where it is prized for supposed medical purposes, and organised gangs are believed to be responsible for the poaching.

Faan Coetzee, of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, which has its own antipoaching hotline, said the public is afraid to give information to the police. "Often the first thing they ask is, are you connected with the police. They fear that if they go to the police (the case) will go nowhere," he said.

Peter Milton, from Strategic Protection of Threatened Species (Spots), echoed Mr Coetzee's comments, saying Spots is often reluctant to act on information it receives because of the potential for bungling.

David Mabunda, CEO of SANParks, said most of the incursions into Kruger National Park are from Mozambique.

The summit resolved to launch a single national anti-poaching hotline, and intelligence will be passed on to the National Wildlife Crime Reaction Unit.

The committee will also raise funds for anti-poaching initiatives and conduct an information campaign about poaching.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201008240408.html

Kampala — TRADITIONAL chiefs from the 17 chiefdoms in Jonam county, Nebbi district have collected 537 weapons from game poachers and handed them over to Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) officials under the bush meat conservation programme.

According to the association chairman, Rwoth Charles Ottober of Amor chiefdom, the poachers voluntarily handed over spears, wire snares, bows and arrows and traps, which they have been using to hunt wild animals.

In an interview with New Vision last week, Ottober said the chiefs engaged in fighting poaching to conserve wildlife for future generations.

He added that there are over 2,000 poachers in Nebbi district, who need to be sensitised on the advantage of conserving wildlife.

Genesis Okello of the bush meat conservation programme hailed the chiefs for taking the lead to fight poaching.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201008230873.html

(CNN) -- Two suspects were arrested over the weekend after authorities found two tons of raw elephant ivory and five rhinoceros horns at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the Kenya Wildlife Service said Monday.

The cargo had been disguised as avocados, according to the service, which says its mission is "to sustainably conserve and manage Kenya's wildlife and its habitats in collaboration with other stakeholders for posterity."



A Kenya wildlife official on Monday displays elephant ivory seized at the capital's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

"Most of the tusks seem to have been collected from natural deaths of about 150 elephants over the last 20 years with the latest likely to be 6 months old," it said in a news release. "None of the tusks had the indelible ink used for marking government-held stocks. DNA tests will be conducted to determine the tusks' actual origin."

The seizure and arrests resulted from a joint operation that included the Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Revenue Authority, Lusaka Agreement Task Force and the Kenya Police, the wildlife service said.

On Saturday night, the airport's warehouse security contacted a canine unit after becoming suspicious about a cargo destined for Malaysia through Dubai by Emirates Airline, it said.

"The cargo, which was falsely declared as containing only fresh avocado fruits, was packed in 12 wooden boxes, which raised a red flag due to its mode of package, weight and destination," it said.

Inside the boxes, officials found the contraband packed among avocados and wrapped in black paper and banana leaves -- packaging used in an attempt to evade detection, the wildlife service said.

Last year, 204 elephants were illegally killed in Kenya, up from 94 in 2008 and 47 in 2007, the service said.

Also last year, 13 rhinoceroses were illegally killed in the country, up from five in 2008, it said.

In 1979, Africa was home to some 1.3 million elephants; by 1989 only 600,000 remained, a drop blamed almost wholly on the killing of elephants for ivory, the service said.

There are currently about 400,000 elephants in Africa, it said.

After the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species banned international commercial ivory trade in 1989, demand dropped as did the price of ivory -- from $300 per kilo to about $3 per kilo, it said.

As some southern African elephant populations appeared healthier, restrictions eased in 1997 and 2002, when Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe were allowed to sell limited stocks of ivory to Japan.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/ ... bid=Ial2Glhr8NB&wom=false

FARMERS in the Karibib district managed to corner three poachers on Tuesday evening.

The Namibian learned from reliable sources that a wild chase at around 22h00 eventually resulted in the farmers cornering the poachers and allegedly confiscating a firearm fitted with a silencer.

Well-known names were among the suspects, and a Swakopmund butchery was also allegedly linked to the poached meat.

Several springbok and oryx carcasses were found in different locations, allegedly gutted and with the heads cut off. The culprits would allegedly have gone back later to collect their kills.

A tip-off from farmworkers doing fence maintenance, led to the arrest.

The sources said poaching in the area has gone on for some time now.

"They always switch their lights off and gun for it, and until now it's always has been very difficult catching them," a source said.

The Police were allegedly called to the scene and the men were arrested.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201008201037.html