Tag: SANParks

SANParks get heli to fight rhino poachers

The SA National Parks (SANParks) received a new helicopter to improve its fight against rhino poaching, it said on Thursday.

“SANParks is a proud recipient of a brand new Airbus AS-350B3e helicopter with night flying capability made available with funding from the US-based Howard G Buffet Foundation,” the organisation said in a statement.

SANParks chairman Kuseni Dlamini said his organisation got initial funding of R254.8 million in 2014 to support anti-poaching operations in the Kruger National Park.

“This incorporated the establishment of ‘Air Mobility’ capacity and included the purchase of the first helicopter in September 2014.”

Subsequent to the initial grant funding, the foundation granted SANParks an additional R37.7m to buy a second Airbus AS350 B3e helicopter, with similar night flying capability.

The organisation was using various technologies, including unmanned aerial vehicles, in the park.

According to the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA’s website, 49 rhino had been poached so far in 2015.

Anthrax outbreak kill 30 hippo

Vets examine dead hippo

Thirty hippos have been killed by a bacterial virus in the Kruger National Park (KNP), the SA National Parks (SANParks) said on Monday.

SANParks said an anthrax outbreak was identified in late August and post mortem results confirmed that most of the dead hippo were infected.

The carcasses were discovered along the Letaba and Olifants rivers.

Spokesman for SANParks, Reynold Thakhuli, explained that anthrax was a highly infectious disease in animals caused by the bacterium, bacillus anthracis.

He said the outbreaks were a natural occurrence in the northern parts of the KNP and were experienced more or less every ten years.

“It is thought that the disease is spread mainly through vultures and blowflies. Vultures are immune against it and they spread the disease by consuming contaminated meat from affected carcasses and then defecating in water bodies where they regularly drink or bath.

“The toxins released by the bacteria when it sporulates are also fatal to some species, ” said Thakhuli.

“It is also closely linked to population density – when certain species like kudu and hippo reach high densities then anthrax spreads more rapidly.”

Park rangers were monitoring the rivers to check whether any more animals had died.

In a previous outbreak, around 2000 animals were killed. – Sapa