.png){kind=icon}
Name: Lynne MacTavish
Organisation: Mankwe Wildlife Reserve South Africa; http://www.mankwewildlifereserve.com)
Role: Reserve Operations Manager
Nationality and main countries worked: Zimbabwean; South Africa
What is your day-to-day job?
I have worked on a Wildlife Reserve in South Africa for almost 20 years. I am the Reserve Operations Manager, which means I get involved with almost everything on the reserve and do a lot of the day-to-day running of the reserve. I run multiple research groups each year and also coordinate university and college student groups and volunteer groups that come out to the reserve to learn about African ecology, wildlife and conservation from the UK and the USA. I am also involved with the Reserve’s Anti-Poaching Unit (APU).
Explain how and why the Reserve first became involved in reintroductions?
The area that is now Mankwe used to be a buffer zone around an explosives factory. The site was a closed area, surrounded by a fence to control access to the factory. When the area was fenced as part of the factory’s operations, some animals were enclosed. This included impala Aepyceros melampus, reedbuck Redunca arundinum, greater kudu Tragelahus strepsiceros, warthog Phacochoerus africanus as well as a lot of smaller mammals such as South African springhare Pedetes capensis and scrub hare Lepus saxatilis.
While the factory was still operational, my father worked to improve the area for wildlife, particularly by creating dams and water pans to provide vital watering holes for animals in response to kudu becoming extirpated from the site. Because it was not subject to any direct pressure from people in terms of farming and access was tightly controlled, the area started to become something of a wildlife haven. My father managed to eradicate invasive plant species and initiate a rotational burning management regime to increase the carrying capacity of the land, which enabled him to introduce new species. Eventually the factory was decommissioned and the site started to be manged as a wildlife reserve.
Some of first animals that we reintroduced to the site were waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus, tsessebe Damaliscus lunatus lunatus and blesbok Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi. In the case of the blesbok, the animals were captured on other local reserves using a game capture boma. This is essentially a temporary horizontal funnel erected in the bush. It consists of a frame and canvas with one wide end tapering down to a holding crate or truck at the other end. Animals are chased into the wide end of the boma by a specialist helicopter pilot who has identified and separated a suitable group from the air. This pilot has to be very skilled and experienced as they have to be able to identify species from the air and be able to sex and age them. For species with complex social structures, they have to make sure that the group structure is not compromised by splitting up a family group. The pilot also needs to know who far the species can be chased to make sure that the distance from separation to the boma is not too far. This is vital as if individuals are over-chased they can get myopathy, which affects the muscles and can result in the heart being affected. Once the animals were captured, they were transported to Mankwe and released immediately in a hard release. In the case of the tsessebe, which don’t respond well to boma capture, we used net capture with individuals being chased into nets positioned in strategic positions in small numbers – ones and twos mainly.
What is your most interesting project and why?
We have reintroduced white rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum to our site. We originally reintroduced four individuals to the Reserve, but since then we have moved animals to and from the reserve to allow gene flow or manage the group’s social structure, sex ratio or group dynamics. Most recently, we exchanged Magoo, our sub-dominant male, for a new male called Brutus. The males were from different blood lines so this helps stop inbreeding. Magoo went to a similar-sized reserve to be part of the breeding programme there. This involved darting both Magoo and Brutus in their respective Reserves by a vet from a helicopter. As soon as the animals were down, the ground crews moved in and blindfolded the animals while keeping them cool with cold water, both bulls were dehorned whilst anesthetized to lower the risk of poaching. The other rhino on both reserves had already been dehorned and if some rhino in a group are dehorned, it is imperative that that they all are to prevent dehorned individuals being injured by horned rhino. Once the horns were removed and DNA was taken a partial antidote was given. When the animals came round, they were guided by means of a rope into a specially built rhino a trailer which is exactly the right size so the animal cannot turn around and become stressed and injured. The animals were driven to their new reserves and released. Brutus has now mated with one of our females, Kelly, and we are hoping for a female calf in around 18 months’ time as the last few births have all been male calves.
Another project involved us doing a rescue translocation of a young female brown hyena Hyaena brunnea. The female, which we named Juno, was found running through the streets of Johannesburg. She was in a state of distress and the pads on her paws had been damaged from running on tarmac. She was darted by Johannesburg zoo and bought to Mankwe a few weeks later for rehabilitation to prepare her for a soft release on to the Reserve. We built an enclosure for her within Mankwe and she quickly gained condition. She was fed bones, carcasses, eggs and birds, which is a diet typical to a brown hyena. Human contact was kept to a minimum so that she would not lose her fear of humans. We had hoped to fit Juno with a GPS collar so we could track her after release, but unfortunately Juno proved to be an unsuitable candidate for a collar as she became extremely stressed and tried to pull the collar off. The following day the collar was removed and a week later she was released on to the reserve. She walked calmly and confidently into the night. Her movements are being monitored by camera traps using the fact that all brown hyenas have individual markings on their front legs.
What do you see as the main challenges in species translocation and reintroduction?
Translocation is not an easy process and is not something to undertake lightly. It can be difficult and dangerous both to us and the individuals concerned, especially if you are dealing with large animals that are inherently dangerous. Animals can die from capture stress, injuries inflicted by other individuals in the confines of a boma, or failure to come around from the anaesthetic if they are darted. However mortality is very low if the right precautions are taken and an experienced game capture team is employed. We rely on our own experience and that of the game capture organisations that we work with to ensure that risks are minimised as far as possible. We also employ a qualified veterinarian when doing game capture or darting to ensure that any injuries can be dealt with immediately and anaesthetised animals can be monitored constantly and a reversal drug can be administered if the animal starts to show signs of distress.
What are the most satisfying parts of your job?
I am passionate about conserving wildlife, especially endangered species such as white rhinos. I strive to manage a healthy ecosystem where all species of fauna and flora are studied, researched and protected. Future generations will have the task of managing and repairing the damage done to the environment by previous generations and this can only be accomplished through education and awareness so I am passionate about showing people the beauty of wildlife, in the hope that they will gain a deeper understanding of how all species, no matter how big or small, are essential to sustaining a healthy ecosystem.
What’s next for you, and why?
One of our main challenges here is the war on poaching, especially rhino poaching undertaken for horn. The reserve was hit by poachers in October 2014; two rhino were killed and one was orphaned and later sadly died too. We ended up using the skills we had learnt for capturing rhino for moving them for a very different purpose: dehorning our remaining animals in an effort to keep them safe. We again used an aerial crew to capture and a vet to dart all our animals in turn and then the vet carefully dehorned each individual with the horn then being removed to a safe facility. We never expected to be using translocation methods in this way, but we will do whatever it takes to keep our population safe.
We hope to introduce more species of antelope, including the Cape buffalo Syncerus caffer. We also hope to start more long term research projects and increase the number of students visiting the reserve. At present we have 4 PhD students working on various ecological projects, we insist that all of the research that they do can be applied back to conservation management in the hope that we contribute to the future conservation in South Africa. We also make sure that scientific publications are written to disseminate the research; to me it is very important that the knowledge gained through research and experience should be shared and applied.
Finally, how did you get into wildlife conservation and what advice would you give to others?
Growing up in Zimbabwe I was surrounded by wildlife and having a father that worked in National Parks enabled me to visit and be involved in conservation from a very young age. When my father started Mankwe it was my dream to work alongside him and turn Mankwe into a leading education and research centre. Working in conservation requires dedication and commitment - every day there are challengers and hard decisions to be made - but it is probably the most worthwhile job you can do.