Durban — What was supposed to be a black mamba rescue in a roof saw Durban snake catcher Nick Evans and his wife Joelle learning about important conservation efforts.
Evans said that last weekend he and his wife headed to northern KwaZulu-Natal to help African Wildlife Vets and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife remove a black mamba from an office roof in a game reserve. He said the mamba had spent a few days in the roof, and caused some concern among some staff.
“Not many people like being monitored by their boss while they work, let alone a black mamba,” he said.
Evans said that Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife’s vet, Dr Rowan Leeming, joined him in searching for the mamba in the ceiling. He and Leeming have been on two successful mamba missions in the past, both of which were also in ceilings.
“Unfortunately, though, despite our best efforts on Saturday night and Sunday morning, we could not locate the snake. Hopefully, it’s moved out and doesn’t return,” Evans said.
“Although we had no luck with the mamba, we had plenty of luck in the game-viewing department. We were extremely privileged to join Dr Max Krings, from African Wildlife Vets, and Wildlife ACT on an exciting mission darting and collaring an African wild dog!” Evans said.
He said the African wild dog is an incredibly successful hunter, a beautiful animal with an interesting social structure, but it is an endangered species. They constantly get caught in snares, suffering a slow, cruel fate. Habitat fragmentation is another massive threat facing these very active canines, which require a lot of space.
He said that organisations such as African Wildlife Vets, Wildlife ACT and more are working to save them.
“On this particular day, the team was hoping to dart one of the dogs to fit it with a collar, so that the Wildlife ACT team could monitor the pack’s movements. These smart collars can also warn the Wildlife ACT monitor if the dog is caught in a snare,” Evans said.
“Unfortunately, the clever dog/s didn’t get quite close enough to be darted on that particular morning, but I know the team was to try again. We weren’t left disappointed. We got to spend ages with the dogs, often in close proximity. It was so special watching them like that. I didn’t take nearly as many photos as I’d have liked, I was worried the clicking sound from my camera might make them more nervous!”
Evans said that they were also lucky with cheetah, having three separate sightings in the morning.
“After two brief sightings, a female on the road, then a female with two older cubs, we were on our way back to the camp. We saw a few cars stopped on the road ahead, and noticed some baboons to our right.
“Suddenly, all the baboons started running to our left, over the road, and we soon saw what they were chasing – another cheetah! They chased it some distance, a monstrous, fearless male in the lead. The cheetah turned back once and attempted to scare the big male off, but that didn’t work and it soon moved into thicker bush. We could not believe our luck!” he said.
“I always learn a lot from the knowledgeable yet down-to-earth individuals I meet at the reserve, and it was no different this time around.”
Evans said that two things he has not been able to stop thinking about since he left were:
- The rhino poaching crisis has certainly not improved or gone away. It is just as horrific, perhaps even more than ever. Hearing about the numbers of them we are losing, and the lack of mercy shown by the criminals involved is deeply troubling. Human greed is disgusting.
- African wild dogs, which Evans sadly found on social media, are often not liked by people for the way they kill their prey, and are in a lot of trouble, too.
- “I’ve always been aware of that, but I wasn’t aware of just how low their numbers were,” Evans said.
Looking at the positives, Evans said that there are many people and organisations trying their very best to ensure that these species do not go extinct.
“It is a mammoth task, particularly, I feel, with the greed involved in rhino poaching. But they are putting up a great fight, having a number of successes. They need as much support as possible. There is still hope,” he said.
Evans asked for the public to please follow African Wildlife Vets & Wildlife ACT on social media, and consider supporting them if you have the means:
- African Wildlife Vets
- Wildlife ACT - Focused Conservation
WhatsApp your views on this story to 071 485 7995.
Daily News