“The Silent War Rages On“

April saw a life-saving week of rain, with Victoria Falls getting about 50mm in a few days. The bush has greened up, and people and animals rejoiced together. Whilst this rain will do very little for the farmers and their crops, it has given the bush an extra month or so before the harsh dry season really kicks in.

Not only did the rain bring respite from the heat and the dust, but it also gave us a week of relative peace. With the unpredictable weather and muddy conditions, we noticed a slump in the incursions. Even so, we continue to see regular attempts on our wildlife. A threat that seems at an all-time high due to the drought.

However, the situation would be significantly worse had it not been for all the support that VFAPU receives both locally and abroad. For this, we thank you for your continued and unwavering support for our work and our the wildlife that makes our Victoria Falls so unique!

Statistics for the Month

Snares Removed: 108

VFAPU Rangers, working closely with the IMPI Horse mounted unit managed to discover and remove these deadly wire snares from the bush in and around Victoria Falls. Whilst several of these were discovered set up and ready to harm an unsuspecting animal, we continue to see the trend of snares being hidden.

A poacher hides his weapons in a thicket and only deploys them when he has found a herd of animals that they can target. Whilst this certainly does help us a lot by not having idle traps set up for days, sometimes weeks before a victim stumbles into it and becomes ensnared. It is a very challenging form of poaching to police.

Animals Rescued: 2

Once an animal has been trapped by a snare, two possible scenarios can take place. One, they perish in the hideous trap while still restricted to the tree anchoring it. Or two, they break free, often with a tightly wound wire around a part of their body.

A big part of our boots-on-the-ground mission is to observe and monitor the animals that call this place home. As such VFAPU and IMPI Rangers are often the first to identify an animal in distress. As was the case with a large male waterbuck who had managed to break away from an encounter with a snare.

VFAPU Rangers managed to identify the animal, and whilst the wire around its neck had not yet caused much damage to the animal, it was imperative that the wire be removed. Thanks to the quick action of the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, this animal was darted and the snare was successfully removed before it could cause any damage.

Animals Lost: 2

Sadly, VFAPU Rangers identified 2 carcasses this month. A large female buffalo and a young male kudu, both the result of poaching. In both instances, the meat had been harvested. Whilst it is always a major blow to lose an animal, it acts as a stark reminder of how important our work is!

Poachers Arrested: 56

Firewood poacher arrests continue to dominate our monthly statistics with 53 of our 56 arrests being wood related.

Our approach to firewood is twofold. If we encounter ladies carrying bundles of sticks on their heads, we reprimand them, take their details, confiscate their wood and send them on their way. These are people just trying to survive, and while it is still not right to take from the bush, it will be impossible to stop unless an alternative is made available. We are working with a variety of other stakeholders to come up with an alternative that works for all.

However, we arrest anyone that we come across who is in possession of cutting tools or has used cutting tools to fell trees. These are usually axes and saws, but this month we arrested an individual who had been using a chainsaw! These poachers are taken to the Municipality Police who issue a fine ranging from $30-$50 per person. Whilst this does not equate to the felling of a 60-year-old tree, we have found that it is a significant enough amount of money to deter people for a while.

The highlight of the Month

The major highlight of the month is the drastic expansion of our intelligence gathering and informer network.

Whilst we aim to not lose any animals to poaching, this is inevitable. The expansion to our work centres around what happens to the animal’s parts once it has been poached.

Significant work has gone into understanding the bush meat trade within Victoria Falls. We are still at the intelligence-gathering stage and already have some significant leads under investigation. There is still a bit of groundwork to do and several stakeholders are being engaged before we can act on this information. My hope is that we will soon be able to conduct some intelligence-based operations in the near future, and take on the threat from a new angle.

One particular operation we conducted was based off information regarding 2 x 50kg sacks of meat attempting to be sold along the highway to Bulawayo. We immediately got an undercover team into the area and quickly found the concealed bags of meat. Our Rangers simply observed from a distance in the hope of nabbing the suspect. Sadly, no one came to claim their meat, and we abandoned our ambush late into the night. For the first time, we were able to closely examine the sacks and identify what was inside.

It was indeed meat, but much to our surprise, it was not game meat, but 4 whole pigs! Whilst not what we expected, it was a fantastic example of intelligence-based operations and could have very easily been a case of poaching.

With April drawing to a close, I think we can safely say that the rains are behind us. The early mornings have the nip of winter upon them, and the days are clear and pleasant. I encourage us all to gear up for what is promising to be a long and tough dry season.

VFAPU Rangers are working hard day in and day out, patrolling our wild spaces in order to be a positive presence and a force for good for our wildlife.

This is only possible thanks to your gracious contributions to our work. Thank You!