Sean Pattrick's new
book 'Game Ranger in your Back back
available for sale
Game Ranger in your Backpack (Co Author and Photographs by
Sean Pattrick)
Game Ranger in your
Backpack is not a conventional field guide in the
sense that it will not provide reams of dreary
detail on how to identify a particular plant or bird
(although it does offer useful pointers of features
to look out for). Rather, this book is intended to
substitute the presence of a personal guide or 'game
ranger' during visits to the Lowveld region of South
Africa. Perfect for all of Afreco's wildlife
courses and adventures to the bush and an essential
for the
safari guide training
or game ranger training
(as they are known) courses
It makes the practical, interpretative
information on the most commonly encountered species
in the Lowveld, accessible at a glance and
eliminates the need to have several different books
piled on the seat beside you. Game Ranger in your
Backpack is a compact companion that not only offers
interesting information on wildlife topics including
mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians,
invertebrates, trees, grasses, flowers and tracks
but it is also visually interpretative, offering
hundreds of images to assist with the deciphering of
animal behaviour or the recognition of common
species.
It can be purchased from these South
African websites :
Update From Craig Spencer - Camp
Manager and Project co-ordinator
Another month has passed in our
beautiful Balule and things are
exciting as ever. The lions seem to
have quite an appetite with the
peaceful night sounds shattered by the
apocalyptic roars and growls of lions
feeding and squabbling with each
other. Just yesterday we settled down
to watch one of our two DVDs for the
17th time when we heard the
zebras alarm call from across the
plain. We all knew what Dr. Jones was
going to do next anyway so we went to
investigate and stumbled upon 19 lions
partaking in a magic trick which
involved making a zebra disappear. The
two massive males were the chief
magicians who were supported by a cast
consisting of females and an
assortment of very cute cubs
They have been making a lot of kills
recently and I don’t know if it’s my
imagination but I can swear the impala
and zebra seem just that little bit
more nervous these days. Their eyes
seem big as saucers and they all seem
to be suffering from Post-traumatic
stress disorder. A huge herd of
Buffalo (157!) has also been seen in
Balule recently, making it an exciting
place to be.
The
mongoose is fit and well (and smells
vaguely like pee) and continues to
traumatize me at this very moment
while I try to write this blog. I take
no responsibility for any spelling
mistakes. It’s Eva who is running all
over my keyboard. She has also
destroyed the Fox’s DVD player and
about as many cigarettes as British
American Tobacco’s annual output.
We
have finally defeated the Alien
Scourge in the form of the
Jointed-Cacti which have invaded
Balule. They are a serious threat to
the biodiversity of the region but
with the help of our last group of
volunteers Skyler Chick and the Dolgin
duo we have managed to eradicate them
all. Our old friend the prickly-pear
still rears its ugly head now and then
but we are confident that the next
group of volunteers will take up the
fight to protect planet earth from the
alien menace.
A
milestone seems to have been reached
this month. Boris the Badger hasn’t
been back for a month and we are
hesitant to say but we think we may
finally have beaten him. We have
bolted up everything in the kitchen to
the extent that it is about as secure
as Fort Knox. We think Boris just
finds it too much effort these days
and has moved on to an easier target
like the Lodge down at the river.
Sekorocoro has lived-up to her name
recently by leaving me stranded on the
dark side of the moon twice this week.
I had to walk back to camp past an
assortment of ominous looking
elephants. The second time I was
strolling back to camp whistling a
happy tune when I turned the bend to
find a rather sizeable male buffalo
grazing 5 metres away from me. I
stopped dead in my tracks as he raised
his gargantuan head and looked
straight at me. Luckily their eyesight
is inherently bad so I just backed
away slowly with my heart beating in
my ears.
My
elephant and woody trees are
progressing nicely as I have finally
captured all the data. We are
currently analyzing it and are excited
by it potential implications. More on
that later.
One of the student group was walking
across the river from camp and found a
Rhino with a newly born calf
(estimated 3 days old).
Later when the group walked in the
area they tracked the rhino and found
the tell tale scuff marks of a fight
or struggle, they tracked the rhino
later hearing animals alarm calling
ahead ... they approached and saw
something (possibly leopard or a
hyena) moving off ... they moved
forward to find a Rhino close by
behind a termite mound, then one of
the students spotted the rhino baby
lying flat in the grass meters from
where they stood.
The instructor immediately moved the
group away from danger but was
concerned as the bay appeared to be
dead or dying. One of the students
said they had seen it's eye blinking
... so the instructor called the
Warden, he arrived sometime later to
find a very weak and injured baby
rhino in the grass. It's ears were
torn off at the base and the animal
was already smelling bad. They loaded
it onto the pick up and took it to a
nearby rehab centre, the baby started
to drink and is now able to walk
again.
We all hope that it'll be released
back into the Buffalo camp in the
Karongwe reserve until it is old
enough to fend for itself, all going
well!
In
the first week of April, Constant
Hoogstad ( Reserve manager
Karongwe Private
Game Reserve) received a
call from Gerrie Camacho from the
National Leopard forum about a male
leopard that had just been brought in
and kept at Moholoholo Rehabilitation
Centre.
The
leopard had been a resident in a
densely populated residential area.
Due to living so closely with people
he became extremely relaxed and easy
with people around him. Due to his
relaxed nature he became a problem and
officials decided to remove him from
the area. He was removed after
residents were concerned when they
spotted
him around
the houses. Sightings around houses
became more frequent and eventually it
was decided to remove him to avoid a
potentially dangerous situation.
Desperate
to save such a beautiful creature,
Gerrie had taken the leopard to
Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre in
the hope that a suitable home could be
found for him. After spending a week
there, an appropriate home could not
be found. Although Karongwe already
has a resident leopard population the
decision was made to bring the male to
Karongwe and give him a chance of a
new life.
On 12th
April, Dr. Peter Rodgers (Pro-Vet
Wildlife Services) and Constant
Hoogstad (Reserve Manager Karongwe
Private Game Reserve) went to
Moholoholo rehabilitation Centre and
darted the leopard. While the leopard
was under sedation a full examination
was done. It was noticed that the
leopard has broken off some of his
teeth, but it didn’t seem serious at
the
time and no abscesses
were seen. He was fitted with a
satellite and VHF collar, meaning that
both the National Leopard forum and
Karongwe Wildlife Research team could
keep track of his movements and
monitor his behaviour.
He was
brought to Karongwe, and sat with
through the night as he recovered from
the drug used. At 3am he was released
in the middle of the reserve. The
Karongwe Research Team spent 12 hour
shifts with him through the night to
monitor him. Shiloweni has moved
around in the southern section of the
reserve, exploring his new home, and
appeared to be extremely happy here.
He made several kills, and gave
rangers, guests and researchers the
opportunity to view him. He was
extremely relaxed after his arrival,
and was content to go about his
business regardless of his admirers.
After a
month of roaming free on Karongwe
Shiloweni’s kill frequency decreased
and he started losing condition. His
behavior also indicated that something
was not right. Management then decided
to sedate him so Dr. Peter Rodgers
could examine him.
After the examination it was noticed
that he had huge abscesses in his
upper canines. There were two options
left. Option 1: Find a dentist to help
, Option 2: Put the animal down. Now
of course a dentist was needed and not
any dentist, we needed a dentist that
would be willing to perform oral
surgery on a 60 kg male leopard.
Constant contacted Dr.
Sonia
van der Mescht
from
Tzaneen. Dr. van der Mescht grabbed
the challenge with both
hands and agreed to perform the
procedure cost free. After Management
and owners of
Karongwe Game Reserve decided to give
the leopard a chance and Dr. van der
Mescht took on this huge challenge.
The problem was far worse than we
anticipated and removing the canines
was not as easy as it would be on a
human.
Dr.
van der Mescht jumped right in and it
took approximately 6 hours to remove
the canines. The canines were
approximately 6 cm into the jaw. The
next problem we were faced with was
what to do next? Drs. Rodgers, van der
Mescht and Karongwe Game Management
decided to build the leopard a whole
new set of canines making use of
dentistry implants. The leopard is
free of pain.
The
leopard is currently in a quarantine
boma where he is fed soft meat and
organs. The constructing of this new
set of canines will take 2 months
which should give his bone enough time
to recover from the previous surgery.
